60 Seconds of Johanna’s WIP for March 8, 2024

This week, the 60 seconds is from the as-yet-untitled speaking book.

Enjoy!

Listen here:

The Transcript:

I’m Johanna Rothman, and this is 60 Seconds of Johanna’s WIP for March 8, 2024, where I read an excerpt of just a minute of some writing in progress.

This excerpt is from the speaking book.

Is Your Content Good Enough?

Let me turn this question around and ask why you want to speak. I suspect you have some hard-earned experience or expertise. If you have general expertise or experience, ask yourself how you can narrow your focus to showcase your expertise so you can satisfy your audiences. (I'll discuss more about this in a future section)

Those specific experiences or expertise make your content good enough. Yes, you'll still have to design your talk, but if you have something unique to say, your content is good enough.

Some people tell me they don't think they can fill an hour with their content. First, you don't have to create a one-hour talk. You have options for the form of the presentation.

Second, the more focused your talk, the more likely the right audience will identify with what you said. They will ask you questions that allow you to expand your content to fit their needs.

Third, most speakers I know cram too much content into one talk. I do this. To combat my tendency, I often write the article that goes with the talk. As a rule of thumb, I find that a 1000-word article translates into about forty-five minutes for a talk. That's my experience, not yours. But you might find that this rule of thumb works for you.

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