What I'd like to see is an ounce of professionalism in most technical presentations. I'm not easily offended by swearing, but I am offended by content. For example, a couple years back at jQueryConf in Boston I just walked out of a talk. In the first 10 min. the presenter had said "fuck" about 17 times and managed to make an MS joke. That's not Microsoft mind you, that's multiple sclerosis. In most contexts I wouldn't have cared, but I paid $300 to attend that conference and it was pretty evident that this guy wasn't going to provide any actual content in his talk.<p>Most tech talks I've seen in the past 5 years have been terrible. I see the presenters tweeting that they still need to do their slides while flying to the conference. Obviously they haven't rehearsed that all and it shows in their presentation. They read from the slides. The code examples don't work. They throw up pictures of lolcats and other memes to get a cheap laugh. And occasionally they'll swear to seem edgy. Most of this is mistaken as connecting with the audience. It's sorta like when you watch a horror movie that just throws in a loud noise all of a sudden to startle you. The result is that you appear scared but you can still walk away and think it was a bad movie.<p>The best talks I've seen have been practiced to the point that they seem natural. The presenter knows his content thoroughly. The slides are informative and all support the content of the talk. The talk isn't a thinly veiled vendor pitch for the presenter's consultancy or company. The talk isn't also just a summary of introductory information. There's real substance. Whether swearing is used or not seems to have little impact on that, but in my experience the best presenters manage to deliver a compelling talk by throwing out cheap rhetoric.
Swearing doesn't bug me, it's neither here nor there as far as I'm concerned. But the idea that it's being used to carefully craft a 'persona' in order to 'build a brand' is annoying and frankly immature. I have very little patience with the idea that our personalities can and should be carefully crafted for public consumption, to 'build a following.' There's a world of difference between, for instance, _why's comic persona constructed from wit and creativity, and a 'branded' persona constructed out of simplistic marketing principles.<p>It definitely reinforces the idea that, in this case, the swearing is a device used to draw attention to the speaker rather than the speaker's point. And that was the thrust of the original criticism.<p>I usually don't even notice or care if someone curses in a presentation, but my douche-radar starts going off if I get the sense that it's being done for self-aggrandizement. I don't get the feeling that Zach is a douche-y kind of guy. But one of his 'personas' might be leaning that direction.<p>Is this where the technology community is going? Do we really need 'personas' in addition to technical accomplishments and good communication skills? Are technologists going to start looking more and more like wide receivers?
"I wouldn’t have nearly as many of them if I played it safe. I enjoy keeping an edge, and they respect that. "<p>This is my problem with the "Swearing is a good tool" argument. Too often, and I'm not saying it's necessarily the case with Zach, people equate cussing with being edgy or controversial. But cussing is a shortcut; it takes the easy way to "edginess" because it takes advantage of how we've been raised to not swear in mixed company.<p>So, to some people, this otherwise bland statement qualifies as edgy: "Javascript is fucking awesome and fuck you if you don't think so."<p>I think a good rule of thumb is, if your point is uninteresting without the use of a cuss word, then don't use it. Or come up with a better point.<p>If your phrasing is reliant on the cuss word, as in, "[insert company name] can go fuck themselves", then keep it. But only if your evidence and support is just as strong as that statement.
Zach's writings, presentations, and videos are excellent. His passion and especially his creativity give him a distinctive voice among all the noise.<p>That's why I cringe with every f-word. Zach may think that helps give him his edge, but IMHO, it just distracts. He already has his edge.<p>Zach, you've reached the big time now, so I challenge you to abandon the crutches. We'll all be better off. Try it; you'll see.
To paraphrase XKCD: When did we forget our dreams that we would rather worry about fitting into some hypothetical mold somewhere than do whatever feels right? Fuck. That. Shit.<p><a href="http://xkcd.com/137/" rel="nofollow">http://xkcd.com/137/</a><p>To be honest, I don't understand the whole debate that's been raging for the past week. So Zach used a naughty word. So fucking what? Are we as a community really that petty?
I don't really care about profanity in speeches; I think the stronger argument was made by Rob Conery:<p><i>I'm not opposed to swearing in presentations, or anywhere for that matter. I don't cringe when I read F-bombs nor do I care if you have the word "Fuck" embroidered on your Calvins. Swearing says more about your abilities as a speaker then it does your content... that's the problem.</i><p><a href="http://wekeroad.com/2011/11/08/some-people-not-have-way" rel="nofollow">http://wekeroad.com/2011/11/08/some-people-not-have-way</a><p>Profanity can be a great way to drive your point home. It can also be a crutch, one that lets you avoid having to actually come up with something interesting to say.
I strongly disagree with the notion that swearing is a very strong tool for communication. In the conversations I'm a part of the in the real world I hear profanity used as a completely meaningless filler word.<p>In my opinion, in today's popular culture profanity doesn't hold much weight at all as an effective tool for communication. While profanity is often used by people who are communicating something passionate and emotional, it is used just as often in a completely flippant and emotionally detached manner.<p>For people who are offended by profanity it may evoke a negative emotional response but I find for people who are comfortable with profanity, it carries very little weight or meaning except for the fact that the speaker couldn't be bothered to come up with a more meaningful word to use.<p>I will acknowledge that because most of society is so lazy in their use of language, there is a strong relationship between a person who is communicating passionately and the frequency of profanity usage. This is why movie writers so often lace passages of emotionally intense dialog with profanity because it reflects what we hear in the real world. I however find that relationship to be one directional. The use of a profanity doesn't imply any kind of emotion in of itself because of how prevalent flippant usage of profanity is.<p>I'm aware that is a personal perspective and I may not be in the majority with these views.
There are all sorts of ways to be passionate and authentic without swearing, just like there are all sorts of ways to be funny without relying on the pavlovian response of a shared Monty Python reference. There's still time to get in on the hipster-cred level of not-swearing before everyone else is not-doing it!
I know our age is a bit poor in rhetoric, so go listen to a speech by: Churchill, FDR, JFK, MLK etc. It's really sad to hear some people need to resort to <i>swearing</i> in order to emotionally connect with their audience... If your speech/presentation would be utterly boring unless punctuated with strong words, then it was probably badly structured to begin with.
Usually not a good idea to swear, especially when presenting to a wide audience. Not everyone is cool with profanity and you risk being silently judged and dismissed by those individuals as a result. Moreover, you never know where your presentation will be circulated. Not everyone understands or is fluent with extremely casual American speaking styles and idioms. Swearing just does not translate well.
Holman is making a mistake by conflating use of profanity and strength of emotional connection.<p>He is implying that given his stated goal of a passionate reader base, profanity is a necessary evil. I dispute the necessary part.
"Together, it’s a crafted persona. That persona includes edge, informality, and passion for what I do. Sometimes I’ll swear to invoke that persona."<p>I understand there's a certain showmanship that goes with technical presentations, but this quote kinda sounds like something a reality show star would say.
"If an alien was looking down on us and inspecting our language, they would see that the worst thing we do on this planet is we torture, we kill, we abuse, we harm people… we’re cruel. And those are the things for which we should be ashamed.<p>"Amongst the best things we do is we breed children and we raise them, we make love to each other, we adore each other, we’re affectionate and fond of each other. Those are the good things we do.<p>"And they would say ‘How odd, that the language for the awful things is used casually all the time.’ ‘Oh the traffic was agony. It was hell, it was cruel. Oh, it was torture waiting in line!’ They’d say ‘You use words like torture! That’s the worst word!’<p>"And yet if we use the f-word, which is the word for generating our species, for showing physical affection one to another, then we’re taken off air and accused of being wicked and irresponsible and a bad influence to children. Now, we’re part of this culture so we often don’t question it, but if you think of someone from outside it, it is very strange.<p>-- Stephen Fry<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSQmk6gGTcE" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSQmk6gGTcE</a>
<i>I have had it with these mother----ing snakes on this mother----ing plane!</i><p>Samuel L Jackson swore so much he crossed the line from emotion to a parody of himself doing it. Also, he got to read "Go the ---- to Sleep".<p>You're debasing the most expensive currency in your wallet. Every word is costly, that's why Strunk and White tell you to get rid of them.<p>I swear once per quarter or so at work. I reserve it for the worst decisions, organizational maneuvers, designs, and code. And when I do, people notice.<p>If you use these words regularly you've got to find some way to really swear again, when it's called for. You could raise your voice or start mixing in some inappropriate animals.
Anyone else bothered by the idea of a "well-crafted persona"?<p>I'm fine with being prepared for your talk, and knowing your topic. But spending 2-3 weeks on a slide deck and crafting a "persona" for your public presence sounds a lot like something an entertainer does.<p>To me, this seems like something you do when you're more interested in your self-image than you are about your topic. And that bugs me a little, because if you just come to your audience well-prepared, knowledgable, and <i>genuine</i>, I don't think you'd have to rely on an edgy "persona" at all.<p>But if people like it and learn from your talks, I guess it's all good. Just doesn't sit right with me.
I'm rather bemused by this whole thing, I'd be intrigued to know the demographics of the people who take such, issue with use of swear words.<p>Perhaps it's an American thing, but in Britain I'm not aware of anyone I know who'd react in hysterics at the thought of a strong word appearing in something as public as a slide deck!<p>Swearing <i>at</i> someone can be extremely rude, but using such words passively to add emphasis seems perfectly normal to me.<p>The following video sums it up nicely IMO <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_osQvkeNRM&feature=youtube_gdata_player" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_osQvkeNRM&feature=youtu...</a>
Zack's talk at Ruby Midwest last weekend was, in my opinion, one of the best talks of the whole conference. Saying "meetings suck" just doesn't cut it, because usually "meetings fucking suck...hard" Maybe I'm a simpleton, but Zack's talk hit home for me, and I really appreciated the effort and passion he put into it.
I've always felt that the way you write should be the same way you'd talk to the person if you were face to face. I'll be blunt and drop f bombs when I'm talking with people informally so if we're having a round-table discussion regarding a blog I wont be afraid to call it "fucking brilliant" or "a piece of shit" because if we were face to face over a beer, that's how I'd put it.<p>A friend of mine took a "Business Communication" class recently and started getting on my ass about my communication at the office saying it wasn't professional enough, I don't feel that I should be toning down my language or using "less emotion" because its how I communicate; I'm not a god damn robot! Looking at my emails over the last few months I find I'm getting more positive and personal responses from my "informal" emails than I am from the formal ones.<p>People like talking to people, don't change that.
We had a discussion about the original blog post over on IRC.<p>I'm not going to tone down my talks (unless it's inappropriate for the audience) but I normally won't include it in a slide. There's a difference for me verbally and putting it down "on paper".<p>I want people to pass around my slide decks. A slide deck full of vulgarity is probably not going to get passed around. However I probably cussed like a sailor during the same presentation.
I agree that swearing is an incredibly strong tool in human communication. However, I <i>do not</i> agree that it belongs anywhere near technical discussions in the field of software engineering.<p>The best technical content is <i>dispassionate</i>. Appeals to emotion obscure the underlying rational argument (assuming there is one).<p>That doesn't mean that talks shouldn't be exciting or interesting -- but those emotions shouldn't serve as the primary argument for whatever position is being presented. Yet, this is exactly what happens when you leverage a huge emotional trigger like swearing.
I don't really understand why the whole issue is being blown so much out of proportions. A good developer has used "objectionable" words in his presentation to drive his point home. But really, who are we to decide if those words were indeed "objectionable"? He is the one who knows his audience best, and I think that is where we should leave it. If you found slides distasteful, just don't read them. It is that simple. You don't like the developer's style of communication? Dont follow his blog. Again really simple. But don't go around telling people how they should or should not write their presentations, let them be a judge of that.
Swearing is used for cheap pops. And it seems like many times swearing is used in place of quality content. A real shame. How come this author didn't throw up a potty mouth in his post?
You have to resort to the "I don't know a better adjective or adverb" so I will throw a moronic word into the fray! Emotion comes from believing in the product you are talking about. Relying on an asinine word that has no real purpose in the sentence is stupid. Think about it! You say what the #$%^. Really it means "What the sexual intercourse was that! Or that's some good defecation!<p>In my opinion the way that you talk and your method of speech tells me a lot about the person. If someone wants to sell me on an idea and they begin swearing that person will never sell ma anything. The individual will not work for me! And the company that the idiot is representing will not get my business!<p>By calling a person a writer, you have now put a label on that person that they are a professional, that they know what they are doing, what they are talking about. A writer targets a specific audience. By the language a writer uses, he will gain the adoration of some, and will drive others away. I guess it all depends on who you want following you. I personally would rather not listen to swearing. In fact, I will walk out of a talk or presentation if the person swears to "enhance" his vocabulary by swearing.<p>Kinda like steroids--make you look good, makes you feel strong--but it isn't real. And the majority of people would rather not here a pro on steroids.
I grew up in a Navy town, so I had an extensive education in all manner of swear words. I doubt there are many that I have not heard. You young edgy guys have nothing on the British Royal Navy ... not even close. I've heard people swear up a storm when they weren't even angry, they do it that naturally.<p>This means that I don't cringe when I hear swear words, but they don't impress me either. My parents taught me that swear words are for people who have a poor vocabulary. And that advice has stood me in good stead. And doubly so now that I pastor and have to preach and teach twice a week. I am now quite versed in connecting to my audience. I have even been known to inspire an emotion or two. I don't have a fancy AV setup, so I do it all without the aid of slides or videos. If you have good content and you know what you're talking about, your presentation will be memorable. If you care about your presentation, your audience will care and connect with you as you convey that passion.<p>Of course, I'm just a mid-forties fuddy-duddy who isn't edgy and doesn't have a crafted persona, so what do I know ... other than I suspect that I've made more presentations than many of today's speakers, and likely to more people and likely evoked more emotions and connected more and all with zero swear words.
I curse more than a sailor, really. It's not that (I almost cursed in this sentence) hard to not curse in a presentation. It's not that hard to not make your slides one step short of a porno. It is difficult to write and deliver a presentation.<p>I don't know if I'm a good speaker or not, I'm really not a good judge of myself. But I do know, if I'm a crappy speaker, it wasn't because people were distracted by things that had nothing to do with my technical content.
The way I look at it is that if he's not swearing <i>AT</i> you, then you shouldn't be offended. He doesn't go up there and say "dear audience, fuck you".
Whenever I hear people talk of the "f-bomb" I remember this quote from my friend.<p>"Euphemisms of bad words are still bad words. Words are not created filthy. We give them meaning. So whenever you say "effing" or "fricking"... you're missing the fucking point." - Jay Levanne
There have been many referencing to using those words.<p>E.g. <a href="http://zachholman.com/posts/shit-work/" rel="nofollow">http://zachholman.com/posts/shit-work/</a><p>And yesterday a rant on usage of swearing words in talks is given in many places including [1] & [2] on hacker news.<p>[1] <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3212694" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3212694</a><p>[2] <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3194287" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3194287</a>
IMO the swearing is much less distracting than his many failed attempts at humor. See <a href="http://zachholman.com/screencast/play/" rel="nofollow">http://zachholman.com/screencast/play/</a><p>Humor is great in a presentation when it's used appropriately (and when the jokes are actually funny). But in that video, it comes off as very contrived, like he's trying too hard to be funny.
Social norms fluctuate. Things that our forefathers took offence at seem inconsequential to us now, and vice versa.<p>Perhaps someday as a group we will get beyond taking offence over how someone unmaliciously manipulates their vocal chords and instead concentrate our outrage at more pressing problems.
Swearing is a last resort. It can be very powerful, but it can also signify loss of emotional control or lack of imagination. Hearing swears from a person who never does (e.g. my mother) would be shocking and cutting. Hearing swears from a sailor falls into the former category.
While I didn't really connect with his use of swear words on some of his slides (Like "Fuck ruby is so fast I love it so much"), I think the fact that everyone is talking about him and his presentations that he has succeeded in some weird way I doubt he expected.
I can appreciate a carefully-placed curse word.<p>But swears are like bolded words. Restrained use emphasizes a point, while overuse drowns the message.<p>Dropping "fuck" every few sentences isn't offensive, it's boring. It indicates your underlying message isn't powerful enough on it's own.
Swearing has been demonstrated to help distract yourself from a trauma- but only when it's unusual for the individual.<p>So, I tend to reserve my colorful language for those times when I've drawn blood and/or tears from myself.
"Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest fucking hour.’"
Almost any form of rhetoric can be used well or badly. For a writer's take on the subject, have a look at Robert Graves's essay "Lars Porsena, Or the Future of Swearing".
Zach: You get lots of people reacting to your talks because you're inflammatory. Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck get lots of reaction because they're inflammatory too. I'm not offended in any way by profanity in a presentation. But I know for a fact that your essay "Don't give you users shit work" did not benefit a single bit from the expletive in the title. In fact, my immediate reaction was "what 19 year old wrote this?"<p>You may cultivate an "edgy" persona, but it's not endearing. It may be a wise idea to take Scott Hanselman's criticism and learn from it. He's one of the best tech presenters in the world.
Take this with a grain of salt, since I'm talking about, as discussed, his public <i>persona</i>, but I watched his video the other day and the first phrase that came to mind to describe him was, "smug little prick". Now, that's not the sort of language I would normally use around here, but we were already on the subject of presentation, expressiveness versus politeness, etc.
> Swearing is a strong tool.<p>Mr. Holman has a lot of growing up to do. Don't swear in a professional conversation, specially in front of an audience. It's unbecoming of yourself and an insult to the listener who took the time out of their day to listen.
All the articles on the subject (including this one) should be one of those honey pots they were talking the other day (<a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3166209" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3166209</a>)