Reflections on Speaking at JAWS PANKRATION 2021

JAWS PANKRATION 2021 was an online event held by JAWS UG for 24 hours (strictly speaking, more than 24 hours) from 11:40 on 11/20 to 12:20 on 11/21.
I submitted a CfP for the first time in my life, and since it was accepted, I gave a presentation.
And, by speaking at the event, I gained some insights (including things I should have known by now), so I would like to output them here.

Presentation Slides

Presentation slides are here

https://speakerdeck.com/kwada/jaws-pankration-2021

As you can see if you take a look,
since this was a global-scale online event, there were two regulations.

・Presentation materials in English
・Generate subtitles using Pocketalk during the presentation (described later)

While I was making the materials, I just thought to myself that I had signed up for an event with quite strict regulations.

The creation process was as follows:
1. Create materials in Japanese
2. Translate with DeepL 3. Rewrite the Japanese where I thought it was awkward (even though I don't have English skills)
4. Re-translate with
DeepL Repeat 2-4 thereafter.

At first, I thought about publishing the Japanese version as well, but
it diverged significantly by repeating 2-4.
Since I started editing only the English version,
it ended up not being published. Sorry.
Instead, I plan to write an article that includes various things.

I was making slides with a lot of text, and I had set the font size to 50pt, but when you translate to English, the amount of text increases (a case of 'what am I saying now'), so the text overflows at the same size... This was subtly painful.
I managed to adjust and squeeze it in, but...
I think it would have been better to have less text and more diagrams.
I want to be careful about this in the future.

As for whether the translated content was okay, since my English skills are so poor, I decided to trust DeepL, assuming it must be correct.

The materials are in English, but since I speak in Japanese, this time I wrote a script in the PowerPoint notes section at the highest level ever.
Or rather, it was a situation where I couldn't speak without writing it down.
I often end up just reading what is written, but I want to make more use of the notes section in the future (a bit late to realize this).

Presentation using Pocketalk

In preparation for this presentation, since Japanese-to-English translation would be performed during the talk, Sourcenext's Pocketalk (Pocketalk W) was distributed to the speakers. No, I am truly grateful. (I am still using it at AWS re:Invent)

When I actually tried using it, well, it didn't translate properly.
This was because my articulation is poor, so it felt like I had no choice but to practice.
In this presentation, a device called the GPS Multi-Unit sold by SORACOM appears.

SORACOM didn't translate well at first; it turned into a certain consumer finance company or a pen tablet company, so I thought this was bad, and I tried changing the intonation, and it started working, so I think it was translated correctly during the actual performance (I'm too scared to check).

Also, I use Line Notify for notifications, and Notify doesn't translate properly either.
No matter how many times I practiced, it was no good, so I gave up on that and changed it to saying notify to LINE. Well, I think this is a matter of compromise. The meaning gets across.
So, it is a fact that I practiced more than ever to improve the accuracy of the translation and because I couldn't overrun during the actual performance (it gets cut off at 15 minutes).
Practice is important (a bit late to realize this)

For details on the translation, Mr. Numaguchi from AWSJ has summarized it, so please take a look here.

https://note.com/s_numaguchi/n/n285900e894e3

Presentation

I've been speaking quite a bit at hobby study groups this year, and I even did an LT the day before at another event, but I was still nervous. My heart was pounding right before, and my hands were shaking lol.
The operation from pre-presentation to the actual talk and conclusion felt very smooth and reassuring, perhaps because it has been refined (or so I like to think) through last year's JAWS SONIC 2020 & MIDNIGHT JAWS 2020 and JAWS DAYS 2021.

What I was careful about during the presentation was to stop speaking after a certain point. This is because the subtitle area has a fixed size as shown in the image above, and I heard that it becomes hard to read if there is too much text (I believe that's correct).
Pocketalk has two modes: a mode where it translates words spoken while holding the translation button (hereinafter referred to as Standard Mode), and a hands-free mode that translates words spoken until a pause occurs (hereinafter referred to as Hands-Free Mode).
At first, I thought I would definitely make a mistake, like failing to switch slides while holding the button. So, I initially planned to use Hands-Free Mode and practiced with it, but it wouldn't cut off properly, and since my articulation isn't great, it wouldn't pick up my words well, so I decided to switch to Standard Mode on the day of the event.
In fact, I was able to speak while being conscious of the pauses, and since I hadn't failed that much in practice, I'm glad I changed it. It might have been hard to hear because I paused too much, though.

How did it go on the day... It went well at first, but I think there was a part where the translation was skipped because I probably didn't press the button correctly in the middle. I realized, 'Oh, I didn't press it,' but I thought if I tried to rephrase it, I might get flustered and overrun my time, so I just kept going. Sorry about that.
Also, I didn't check if it was translating correctly while I was speaking during the actual event. That was something I gave up on. However, I was confirming that it was working properly, so as you can see in the image above, I had the Pocketalk placed on the PC side, and I feel like I was looking at it quite a bit while speaking. Everyone knows I'm using it, so one thing I could have reflected on is that I could have shown it while speaking.

Video Now Available

The session videos, including mine, are available at the link below, so please take a look if you'd like.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0hn91H42GGy0_bOHQ_DJ0w

Conclusion

Finally, to everyone on the JAWS PANKRATION management team, thank you very much for your hard work, including the coordination with international participants. For me, it was a truly great experience.
There are some sessions I couldn't watch, so I need to catch up on those. (I'm too scared to watch my own.)
And next, I'm aiming to speak at JAWS DAYS!