Since it is January and a lot of us are working on personal goals for the year, I thought it might be a good time to write this note for those of you who might have a goal of stepping into the community and presenting to user groups...

Is one of your goals to present at a user group?  Will this be your first time in a long time?

If the answer is yes to either of these questions, here is my advice (same advice I plan to follow):

1. Buy a copy of Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story - I found this via Robert Scoble a couple of years ago
2. Decide on a topic you feel you know well
3. Put the presentation together (and I hope also some code)
4. Contact your local user group leader and ask if you can speak to the group (if your local group won't let you in the door, try-try another) - set a date
5. Practice, practice, practice
6. Present