Sharing Your Expertise: Top Tips from Speak Up plus An Exclusive Invite
- Theresa Miller
- Apr 8
- 3 min read
Last month, ABC's award-winning journalist Anne Connolly helped launch my new book Speak Up – How to be a Successful Presenter and Media Spokesperson.
At Gleebooks in Sydney, Anne interviewed me about why I wrote Speak Up and why public speaking matters now more than ever.
My aim in writing this book is simple: to empower you as a subject matter expert to share your stories, expertise and experience with a wider audience, to shine a light on your work, attract funding and collaboration and combat the disinformation choking our social media feeds and undermining our trust in institutions and the media.
Whether you are a CEO, an academic, founder of a charity or entrepreneur, public speaking skills are no longer a 'nice to have'—they're essential. However, stepping into the spotlight can feel daunting. In Speak Up I share my own nightmare on-stage story of when my dress unravelled while I was addressing a hundred people. Despite being red-faced, I learned that when things go pear-shaped, it's best to laugh it off and carry on.
Ultimately, the audience wants you to succeed and your ability to roll with the punches makes you more personable. That very human response is something ChatGPT can't compete with. And in this AI era, it's real life anecdotes and genuine emotions that set us apart from bot-generated content.
Top Tips for Your Next Presentation
Here are a few tips from Speak Up to help you find your voice:
Focus on the ‘Magic Minute’: Grab the audience’s attention in the first 60 seconds by starting with an attention-grabbing opener: a startling statistic, a thought-provoking question, or even a relevant personal anecdote.
Ditch the Jargon: Many industries use technical lingo as a handy in-house shorthand, but it can be a turn off when speaking to lay people. Use plain English that a 14-year-old could understand, or you’ll risk alienating your audience and/ or being misquoted.
Prioritise the Audience, Not Your Slides: Speakers often spend too much time preparing their PowerPoint and not enough practising their delivery. Focus on your eye contact, gestures, and voice to keep your audience engaged. The way you dress also signals who you are.
Remember, the goal is to give your audience what they want, not just what you want to tell them.
Use the PRES Structure: When preparing key messages for an interview or a Q&A, use one of the four simple structures I outline in my book. This is the simplest: Point, Reason, Example, So What? It gives you and your audience a clear, logical roadmap to follow.
Finish with a strong call-to-action. What do you want your audience to do at the end of your talk? Act or think differently? Invest in your start-up? Collaborate on your research project? Change an industry policy or sign up to your cause? Make your CTA specific and dated if possible.
Media and presentation skills training is your best insurance policy: As American investor and philanthropist, Warren Buffett famously said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and just five minutes to ruin it". Whether it's a pitch/presentation or a media interview, being prepared is your best defence against being misunderstood and misquoted.
Join Me for a Free Live Talk
We need more diverse voices 'joining the choir,' especially as women make up only 30% of expert sources in news coverage and the numbers are even lower for people from diverse backgrounds. Your insights and lived experiences are vital in shaping public debate and realistically representing the society we live in.
If you'd like to boost your confidence and refresh your skills, please join me for a free seminar on May 7 at Waverley Library at 6:30 PM on how to nail your work presentation and pitch.
Speaking Up isn't about serving your ego; it's about serving those who might benefit from your message.
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