Public Speaking Myth Five: Shy People Cannot Be Effective Speakers Anyone can be shy. Shy people tend to be more reserved and more reluctant to share their ideas in public. Yet, those reasons are why shy people can be effective public speakers. That’s often because shy people purposefully curate their ideas. They clarify their thoughts. […]
There is another pernicious myth about public speaking: that only extroverts can be effective public speakers. Early in my speaking career, a fellow speaker, an introvert, said, “You’re so lucky to be an extrovert. It must make public speaking so much easier. I have to think every time someone asks me a question.” I laughed.
There is another pernicious myth about public speaking: that exposure is enough compensation. That myth ignores the value the speaker offers. Imagine this scenario: a large, multinational company or a famous conference asks you to speak. You feel flattered and warm all over. You have exactly the right presentation for their audience. Then you ask:
If you follow me, you know I’m running a Kickstarter for the Effective Public Speaking book. Once they fund, many Kickstarters offer stretch rewards. I wasn’t worried about offering a stretch reward. Instead, I worried that the Kickstarter audience would not back a nonfiction book. This entire endeavor is an experiment in product development, product
Since I’m running a Kickstarter for the Effective Public Speaking book, here’s another public speaking myth: the one where you introduce yourself so you look impressive to an audience. Uh, sorry, no. Here’s why: Most conferences or meetups have a facilitator who will read the bio you sent them in advance. The audience chose you
I’m running a Kickstarter for the Effective Public Speaking book. It funded on the first day thanks to all my backers! I am thrilled. Now, I get to think about stretch goals, and finishing the audiobooks, the bookplate stickers, and all that finishing work. Why a Kickstarter? Several reasons: Experiment with new forms of marketing. Invite
Since I’m running a Kickstarter for the Effective Public Speaking book, I expect to record several videos about the myths and traps of public speaking. However, I never memorize my talks. These videos are not exactly presentations because I’m trying to keep them short, so people will watch them or read these blog posts. So
This is Johanna Rothman’s December 2025 Pragmatic Manager newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this email. In the first part of inviting culture change, I wrote about Stephanie, a senior leader who wants more organizational agility. She’s used the flow metrics to invite that culture change. So far, she’s succeeded with the
I’ve been diligently working on my Kickstarter for Effective Public Speaking. I have learned a ton about graphics, creating an inviting Kickstarter, and organizing rewards. Yes, I am acting as a product manager for my book. (All you product managers—no one respects you enough. No one. Launching anything is quite the challenge.) Here is the
I am so pleased to announce I have a short launch video for Effective Public Speaking: How to Use Content Marketing With Stories to Show Your Value. Len Epp, from Leanpub, interviewed me. We both had a great time. While I love to speak about my books, I find doing a video like this challenging.