Patrick Winston: How to Speak (2018) [video]
24 comments
·September 1, 2025varenc
carver
What a great seminar, that was. I really appreciated his advice on writing recommendation letters, too: the expectation is shifted wildly towards effusive. If you are plainly complimentary, it can come off as a secret warning that you don't think they are worth hiring.
But there were also great AI papers, and meta advice on reading them efficiently. (I don't remember any crimes against ferrets, but presumably the reading list changed over time)
I appreciated that class, and it's only grown on me over time. Another line that really stuck with me was something like "forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit" (Which I remembered as "Perhaps we will look back on even this with fondness") It's so easy to undervalue amazing things when they are happening to you. I was really convinced that I was appreciating it, even more than many around me. But I still look back and think I could have soaked it in, even more.
delichon
> He also brought donuts to most every class.
In the video he appears to be suffering from metabolic syndrome. He died a few months later. I can testify that is downstream of too many donuts. I'm sure Professor Winston intended it as a kindness, but it's a damaging indulgence as a routine. It looks like he paid a very high price for it. My own workplace suffers from this same "kindness".
jxckshit
There’s no way you can confidently infer a metabolic syndrome by sight. And a donut once a week isn’t going to induce metabolic syndrome.
bongodongobob
Incredibly inappropriate. You have 0 clue about anything regarding his medical history. Next time you want to attribute cause of death for someone from an anecdote, do everyone a favor and shut the fuck up.
calmoo
I watched this years ago and really enjoyed it. One of the main lessons I took from it is basically, have almost 0 text on your slides. You should not be reading your slides, the audience should not have to read your slides. The slides should supplement what you are speaking about, not vice versa.
Any time I see a wall of text on a presentation, I know I can probably tune out and not miss much.
dang
Related, but I thought there had been larger threads - anyone?
How to Speak [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39670484 - March 2024 (2 comments)
How to Speak - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31489765 - May 2022 (2 comments)
How to Speak (MIT OCW) [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30046076 - Jan 2022 (1 comment)
How to speak (2018) [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23878328 - July 2020 (5 comments)
How to Speak by Patrick Winston - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23570443 - June 2020 (1 comment)
How to Speak (2018) [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22848034 - April 2020 (43 comments)
Also related:
Patrick Winston has died - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20482768 - July 2019 (81 comments)
jaccola
He says not to start with a joke, but he delivers this line as a joke (and the class laughs). So now I don't know whether to start with a joke or not!
Phenomenal talk.
HPsquared
His "humans have only one language processor" point has really stuck with me after watching this a few years ago. It's so true.
evrimoztamur
I feel like (or thought that) I had the ability to listen and read at the same time, until I heard that line, and it hit me like a bag of bricks. I absolutely cannot read and listen simultaneously! I can type and listen on the other hand, although it feels like I buffer the keystrokes than consciously typing out new sentences...
jll29
I never met Winston when he was still alive, sadly, but I first encountered his work when I was still in high school, learning CommonLISP from his AI book.
Every time I am sitting in the audience of a talk where someone uses overcrowded PowerPoint slides with small fonts and goes through tables of numbers that no-one in the audience can read, mumbling quietly or rushing nervously through their material, long having lost most of the audience, I feel like sending the presenters the link to this timeless masterpiece (happens at least a few dozen times per year).
It has also made me a better teacher in the lecture hall, and appreciate using chalk more, and slides less.
This clip is worth watching again every couple of years, which I do, out of enjoyment and to refresh my memory (reminds me I still need to procure some cool props for my upcoming AI1 lecture in October...).
thebeardisred
I've watched this video a number of times over the years. It's highly recommended.
echelon_musk
> Your success in life will be determined largely by your ability to speak, your ability to write and the quality of your ideas, in that order.
Ah, the good old days.
fuzztester
warning :)
i thought the standard (mba presentation) format was something like:
tell em what youre goin to tell em (intro)
tell em what you said youll tell em (body)
tell em what you told em (outro)
MeteorMarc
His high breathing is unnerving, though it could be caused by some lung condition.
bargainbin
He died about a year after this in his sleep. They never publicly disclosed the reason.
GLdRH
It's caused by his weight. The video is very much worth it though.
gdiamos
I had to rewatch his point about stage fright at the end several times before I finally got it
arnold_palmur
What was his point?
dustingetz
endorse this watch for developing leaders
I had the privilege of taking Winston's communications/AI seminar class in college.
It was an odd format. The class outwardly presented itself as a seminar class where you just read and discuss AI papers. Several of the papers involved doing mean things to ferrets. But really it was a writing/communication class with Winston giving you life advice. I remember one of his teachings was how to build and maintain your network (email them ~twice a year). And also before a big lecture you can warm up your voice by making a barking noise. He also brought donuts to most every class. I miss you professor Winston.