UGSS (Microsoft's User Group Support Services) have just published a video series that I recorded last year on How To Give Great Presentations. This free series of 8 videos covers the following subjects:-

1. Introduction (6 minutes 23 seconds)
2. Choosing The Right Presentation (8 minutes 30 seconds)
3. How To Explain Absolutely Anything (8 minutes 51 seconds)
4. Planning Your Presentation (22 minutes 52 seconds)
5. Nervousness And How To Overcome It (13 minutes 7 seconds)
6. How To Give Great Demos (26 minutes 9 seconds)
7. Preparing Your Laptop (19 minutes 21 seconds)
8. Presenting Your Presentation (35 minutes 39 seconds)

If you're new to presenting and feel that the leap is a bit daunting this video series will help you. It is aimed at first timers but experienced presenters will also find tips and tricks to help hone existing presentation skills. The series is also accompanied by a paper that you can download at http://www.guysmithferrier.com/Downloads/HowToGiveGreatPresentations.pdf.

Members of the resistance, important developments are occurring. The Next Generation User Group Empire are expanding their territories yet again. First Poland now Shenfield (near Brentwood, Essex). Wednesday 23rd February 2011 sees the inaugural meeting of the Shenfield chapter with a presentation on "Touch Me, Stretch Me, Squeeze Me: The Windows 7 WPF Multi-Touch Story" (I'll be there as a spy for the resistance cleverly disguised as a presenter). As their inexorable march towards the capital city continues I ask "who will stop them ?". In the South West we are fighting back with the newly formed and, of course, free, SQL Server User Club. Indeed London has its own new (free) Canary Wharf .NET User Group but has the venerable giant of the community grown fat on its pizza ? How long before we see NxtGen London ? Scaremongering or inevitability - you decide.