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How did you start out in your career on the web - what age were you? why the web? etc - and what kind of challenges did you face? If you could start over, what changes would you make from the original path that you chose?
Any advice on doing a public speech is much appreciated too!
What audience are you facing? Age? Is it their choice to listen to you, or are the forced to do it? What level of motivation can you assume? What level of technological literacy has your audience?
Basic rules (not only) for public speeches:
Age?
14-17
Is it their choice to listen to you, or are the forced to do it?
Forced!
What level of motivation can you assume?
As teenagers its easy to assume they are a stereotypical apathetic, "Kevin"-like mob. I'm hoping this view doesn't pay them credit though but I remember from my school days that a lot of motivation is stifled by peer pressure. The end result for a successful enterprise is money so hopefully this will be a motivating factor for them to both interact and to take notice.
What level of technological literacy has your audience?
They will be comfortable browsing the web and using email but I don't imagine many of them will be able to design websites etc. I'm hoping I can encourage them to do their own learning by using the web as a resource. It is a lot easier to make an effort where there is potentially money involved!
Thanks for all the speech advice!
I don't know about Asian girls, but here in Europe girls are (still) traditionally much less tech-savy and tech-interested. However Asia as a whole is very much pushing forward technologywise, and especially the teenagers of today (in industrial countries) use technology much more intuitive.
I would try to get them involved directly at the introduction. Pick an example of a famous web portal for this age group. Is there a chat-platform which is "en vogue" among them? A popstars homepage they all frequently visit? A web-community? A web shrine to a Manga? You probably need to investigate into this - the danger is that you might make yourself a laughingstock because you focus on "old stuff" that was hot a few weeks ago and is now in disgrace :-)
Once they realize you're not an old fart but actually know the sites THEY know, you can get them involved by asking "So who run's this site?". Try to get them a (brief) understanding of the technology involved, cover the cost a successfull web-portal generates, and point out what ways of profit can be generated (advertising, member fees).
If possible, a demonstration how you can generate a "cool" looking website in minutes (with a WYSIWYG tool like GoLive or Dreamweaver) gives you a chance to involve them again by asking them for color schemes, headlines, graphics.
I guess a good goal would be to point out that it's cool, that it can be fun, and that it's possble to make a living out of it - but that it involves work and determination as well.
The talk's not for a while yet so shall investigate the world of teenagers today and hopefully (!) get it right. I do have worrying memories of pitying adults who tried to be cool and trendy though. Ah well, a bit of humiliation is good for you I'm sure :-)
Good time to talk "on the level" with some kids - before the presentation. There's always a surprise to be had in the warm-up conversations.
Lastly, I find school aged kids are accustomed to a question and answer format, so a dialogue works really well (instead of a speech or formal presentation).
Have fun. Kids are a lot of fun when they feel valued and respected. I always learn something when I'm asked to speak to kids, mostly because I'm honestly enthusiatic about what they know, believe, how they see the world.
Okay, stop reading right here and you'll do fine.
Just as an aside to all the old farts and to moderate my enthusiasm, allow me observe that when your/our own kids start to hit 17, 18, 19 . . . well . . . what do you say to an audience that knows everything and knows that you don't know what you're talking about? Sweet, loving irony, once you release yourself from the pain and frustration of the delusion that it would be any other way. No escapees here. We're all victims of ourselves. ;0) Except maybe Brett. He's seems to be a pretty together guy. Can't wait, though, for him to have a 17 year old daughter. Might finally see a few gray hairs and "the look" that parents of teenagers carry on their faces. You know: THE LOOK.
The end result for a successful enterprise is money
For some people a stronger motivation than money is freedom and independence from hierarchical authority.
The idea of being a lone mercenary isn't quite so celebrated in Asian (particularly Confucian-influenced) society though.
For me personally, there's nothing nobler than being a masterless samurai - in Japan however, being labelled a "ronin" (nowadays used to describe those high school graduates who have to take an extra year to resit their final exams) is generally a little bit shameful.
But, being a self-employed entrepreneur means never being made redundant, right? My strongest motivation to set up on my own came from when, at the age of 25, I was made redundant from my second job (I left my first job after university voluntarily).
The idea of not having to conform to an external structure may also appeal to some of your teenage audience.
Liven up your talk by making it a dialogue rather than a monologue. Encourage the audience to raise hands / keep them up / drop them while asking questions. Ask general questions to the whole audience and single one or two people out once in a while to keep them on their toes. Get volunteers to hold charts for you or help you with demonstrations of how compound interest works etc.
