---
aliases: ["Public Speaking"]
Is A: Topic
---
# Public Speaking

Public speaking covers the craft of preparing and delivering talks at conferences, meetups, and company events — from structuring a narrative and designing slides to managing stage nerves and engaging an audience. It is a skill developed through practice rather than natural talent, and one that compounds in value over time.

## Why this matters

Public speaking is one of the highest-leverage activities for building a personal brand and expanding the Refactoring audience. A single well-delivered conference talk can generate hundreds of newsletter signups, open doors to podcast guests, and establish credibility with sponsors. It also forces a level of clarity in thinking that writing alone does not — when you have to explain an idea on stage with no backspace key, you discover quickly whether you truly understand it. The themes explored in [[writing-for-clarity-vs-writing-for-credit]] apply equally to speaking: the goal is to be understood, not to impress.

## Key resources

- [[writing-for-clarity-vs-writing-for-credit]] — the principle of communicating for understanding, applicable to both writing and speaking
- [[note-show-your-work]] — the philosophy of sharing openly, which translates naturally to the stage
- [[note-on-writing-well]] — Zinsser's principles of clarity and simplicity apply to spoken communication equally
- "Talk Like TED" by Carmine Gallo — practical techniques for structuring and delivering memorable presentations
- Speaking.io by Zach Holman — the best free resource on the logistics and craft of conference speaking

## Notes

- The biggest mistake in conference talks is trying to cover too much — one clear idea, well-developed, is worth more than five ideas rushed through
- Nerves never fully go away, but they become manageable with repetition — the 10th talk is dramatically less stressful than the 1st
- Storytelling is the most effective structure for a technical talk, more effective than a list of tips or a tour of a tool — stories create emotional engagement that bullet points cannot
- Slides should support the speaker, not replace them — if the slides make sense without narration, the talk is probably a blog post in disguise
- The Q&A after a talk is often more valuable than the talk itself for building relationships and understanding what the audience actually cares about
