Tips for speaking at events

I'm pretty decent at public speaking, and after today's talk to 200 people went super well, I figured I'd give some tips.

Writing/Submitting your Talk

• Know the vibe of the event and what people want
• Understand what other speakers are likely to talk about, and what their blind spots are
• Pick a subject that zigs where others zag, and that's super interesting to you but that you haven't seen covered elsewhere
• Write everything with the intent that you LOVE your audience and they NEED to hear what you have to say. If you're going to take an hour of someone's time, honor that and give them the best of you.

I try to pick subjects that I'm already a bit of an expert in, but that I also don't know 100% how to solve the issue. By giving the talk, I force myself to learn, and then I'm super excited about it, and that passion shines through.

3 tips for right before you give a talk:

1. Change your body to change your mind. Right before you give a talk, stretch or do pushups or jumping jacks or shake it off.

2. Remind yourself, that you love your audience & they really need to hear what you're going to teach them. If you keep this in mind, it will shine through in your voice and people will absolutely feel that love.

3. My secret weapon: I've never heard of anyone else doing this, but I always ask someone to smile at me throughout my talk. I'm human and I get nerves, and if I feel like I'm gonna lose my shit, I just find that person's smiling face in the crowd or in the zoom room and the world stops spinning and I regain my composure.