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Public speaking used to terrify me, but the more I’ve done it, the more I’ve learned to enjoy the process of not only creating but also presenting a conference talk.

And I believe that every founder, executive, and manager can benefit from giving at least one conference talk.

Now, I'm not a professional speaker, but last month, I gave my fifth in-person conference talk, and I've probably given or moderated close to a hundred talks for virtual conferences, webinars, and workshops.
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Here are some lessons I’ve learned along the way.

💡 Preparing a talk is a great way to improve your thinking. ​
I've said a few times that writing is a great way to become a better thinker. I actually think going through the motions of putting together a talk is an even better way to do this.

It doesn't matter if a talk is 10 minutes or 40 minutes. The process of building out your talk outline, figuring out what stories to tell, and how you communicate all of this in a way that's compelling is a great way to not only become a better communicator but also to become a better thinker.

💡 Memorize “the beats” not your entire presentation. ​
This is advice that Evan Hamilton gave me years ago before my first-ever conference talk. I’ve used it ever since.
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Trying to memorize a talk word for word is daunting and makes it easy to draw a blank if you forget a word. Instead, memorize just cues for key points and transitions. This not only makes the process much quicker, but I am also able to think on my feet.

💡 There is no such thing as too much practice.
​I always do at least one or two dry runs when I record my talk in full on Loom. Then, I force myself to listen back to it. Yes, it is painful, but it really helped me be more objective and spot things – like extra umms or weird pauses that I might not have picked up otherwise.
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​💡 If you have more than 4 bullet points on a slide, you have too many. ​
There is no bigger public speaking sin than having a wall of text across all of your slides. After all, if you have a bunch of text, the audience will spend all their time frantically writing everything down instead of paying attention to what you are saying.
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​💡 Use tons of visuals in your slides to enhance your presentation. ​
Your slides should complement your presentation not be your entire presentation. Nobody wants to see a speaker just read from their slides on stage. It is boring. Not to mention, anyone listening can just snap a photo of each of your slides for later.
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​💡 More slides are usually better. ​
One side effect of a visual slide deck is you’ll have a lot of slides. I had almost 60 slides for a 35-minute presentation. You might think that’s too many, but it actually provides a pace that keeps people more engaged.
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In fact, the more I practiced my talk, the more visual my slides became. I removed more and more of the text that was simply a “crutch” and replaced it with more visuals.
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🚀 Five interesting things I read or listened to
​Five top articles or podcast episodes I came across this month

• We all know we should be doing 1:1s with our direct reports each week. But, if you are a busy founder, it can be hard to fit it all in. And even when you do them, you may not be sure how to maximize the time. If you can relate, this guide is a must-read.
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• ​Lost and Founder is one of the books that I recommend most often to fellow entrepreneurs. This blog post is a sequel.​
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• Frustrated that your team is always coming to you looking for answers for every little problem? You may have the wrong employees. Or, more likely, you are engaged in short-term leadership strategies.
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• ​Content rubrics are one of the most underrated assets, especially if you are looking to scale your content initiatives. It is cool to see that I'm not alone in my thinking.
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• Watch the origin story of a B2B marketer. (I have no idea why this isn't viral yet!)

🤣 Just for fun

• ​Filed under things that make you go, "Wait, What!"​
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• To how to tell a very compelling story in under 10 seconds. 🦌
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• And I somehow made it to tunnel girl TikTok this week. I’m so deep down this rabbit hole and have so many questions about “her suburban mining operation.” 🧰

💪 Enjoy this newsletter
​Here are a few more things you might find interesting.

• ​Content Strategy: Are you looking for help scaling your content marketing strategy? I have close to a decade of experience working mainly with early and mid-stage software companies on both strategy and execution. I currently have limited availability starting in mid-September.
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• ​Copywriting: Need an experienced writer that can write both copy and content that converts. Check out my processfor writing longform blog posts, case studies/customer success stories, ebooks, whitepapers, industry reports, email drip campaigns, and newsletters. I currently have limited availability starting next month.
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• ​The Remote Work Tribe Podcast: My media brand that I've been working on since December 2019, where we help founders, CEOs, and marketers leading remote-first teams. Get curated resources—in the form of a twice-a-month podcast —designed to help you build better remote teams delivered straight to your inbox once a month.

As always, if you have any feedback or any reading recs, hit reply and let me know. The only thing I love more than reading is getting thoughtful recommendations for what I should read next.
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Cheers,
- Jessica and The Remote Work Tribe Team
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