@WeedenKim Agree but this is also a problem. It’s depressing how often senior people give crappy talks & presumably the fact they’ve gotten so comfortable is part of the reason. I worry about this tendency for myself all the time & I’m sure I’ve failed at counteracting it.

@ewzucker Must be a sweet spot where there's sufficient incentive to prepare a good talk, but not so much at stake (or perceived to be at stake) that giving talks generates unpleasant amounts of stress.

@WeedenKim Let me call you right now and give you a talk.

@WeedenKim You give me hope right at the beginning of the weekend

@Greg_Murray3 Finding blocks of time to read, think, and write.

@WeedenKim Also now me, "crap, I'm supposed to give a talk at this event I'm logging onto right now...."

@WeedenKim I once sat behind a big name scientist watching him put together a talk in the session in which he was speaking. Putting in images, typing text... that's the peak of calm

@WeedenKim This is so reassuring.

@WeedenKim Good to know it gets better.

@WeedenKim Emeritus professor you: Yikes, I had a talk yesterday!

@cheraghchi I think we're using "easier" in two different ways. Nervousness declines with practice and familiarity with the genre, even conditional on prep time. And, at some point stressing out about a talk makes prep time less efficient. Fewer "yikes" moments = easier.

@WeedenKim @enawoode In grad school, my advisor once got a call in the morning asking if he was planning to come to [nearby university about 2-3 hours drive away] for his scheduled talk that day. He made it just in time!