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👂🏼 Friends, lend me your ears.

In a few weeks time, I’ll be stepping on stage to deliver a keynote speech at the CDO Forum in Warsaw, Poland. It’s an honour to be invited to speak and I’m really looking forward to getting back up there on the stage.

I gave my first public talk in 2018 at C.R.A.P Talks when I worked for Pizza Hut’s digital business (you can catch that talk here - it’s super cringe, but I’ll own it)

While I won’t spoil the upcoming keynote content here, I will share something that’s made a huge difference in my journey, and can do the same for yours:

Whether you’re presenting internally to execs or onstage at a conference, becoming known as someone who can communicate ideas clearly and confidently is one of the most underrated growth accelerators for data leaders.

It can literally set your data career on fire (like, in a good way).

So in today’s edition of Strategies For Effective Data Leadership, I’m breaking down why every data leader should at least dip a toe into public speaking, and how to get started.

BUT! Before we go any further - this week’s poll👇🏻

🚀 Becoming a speaker is a cheat code for your data career

The idea of getting up on stage in front of strangers once scared the living sh*t out of me. But for some reason I felt drawn to it and knew that it would help me in my career.

All the big wigs do it so why don’t I?

So I reach out to the C.R.A.P. Talks founder Bhav Patel and asked him if I could give a talk sometime. He said, “how about in a month’s time?”.

That’s it. I was booked, the word was out and I had to go and write a talk!

I couldn’t tell you how many talks I’ve given in the years since. Quite a few in person, and a much bigger number online (thanks Covid).

What I can tell you is how it helped me and my career growth.

Here are the key benefits to becoming a public speaker in your domain:

• You build visibility and credibility FAST
  Speaking on a stage, instantly positions you as someone worth listening to. It gives people a shortcut to trust your expertise. Whether it’s within your company or at an industry event, speaking builds your reputation like few other things can.

• You get better at storytelling and influence
  Data leaders need more than insights, they need buy-in. Speaking teaches you how to package your message in a way that moves people. You’ll naturally improve your communication, persuasion, and storytelling skills. It also increases your empathy levels and makes you wonder, “what do other people care about?”

• Opportunities start to find you
  Once people see you speak, they start to come to you. I’ve had coaching clients, collaborators, and job offers appear because someone saw me give a talk. Speaking puts your name into rooms you haven’t even walked into yet. It’s your personal brand on more roids than Liver King 💪🏻

• It changes how you see yourself
  This one’s underrated. The first time you step off a stage, heart pounding, nerves still buzzing and realise you did it, something shifts. You start believing in your voice and leadership in a whole new way. That confidence shows up in every other part of your career. Its like giving yourself the pep talk of the century!

🛠 Getting started (even if it scares the hell out of you)

• Start small and close to home
  You don’t need a TED stage. Offer to present at your team’s next all-hands. Run a session at a local meetup. Speak at your company’s internal learning day. Practice in safe, low-stakes environments first. Build up your confidence.

• Talk about what you know
  Don’t worry about being cutting-edge. Speak on a challenge you’ve faced, a lesson you’ve learned, or how your team solved something messy. Authenticity > novelty.

  You don’t need to be the world’s leading expert on a topic - you don’t even need to be an expert at all. People want to hear stories and perspectives that differ from their own. Expert talks are usually boring anyway…

• Reframe your nerves
  Here’s the truth: I still get anxious every single time before I speak. But I’ve learned to trick myself. When my heart races and my hands get clammy, I say: This isn’t fear, it’s excitement. Same feeling, different story. And it works, you just have to reframe it in your mind.

  The high you’ll feel after you get off the stage is worth going through all the anxiety prior to it. Trust me on that!

• Ask for feedback, not perfection
  Your first talk won’t be perfect. That’s the point. Record yourself, ask trusted peers for feedback, and keep iterating. You get better every time. No one becomes a great speaker without being a nervous one first.

💭 Final thoughts

If you’re serious about becoming a more influential data leader, public speaking is a skill worth developing.

You don’t need to wait for permission or perfection. You just need to start.

And if you want to shortcut the process, reply to this email or DM me. I coach data leaders on how to craft powerful talks and show up with confidence on stage among a range of other strategies for levelling up your data leadership career.

You’ve got something to say. We all do. It’s time people heard it.

⌛️ Taking new clients for June

I work with data professionals like you looking to supercharge their careers and grow into influential and unstoppable data leaders.

If you’re curious or you’ve been thinking about working with me, make sure you book in your free 1:1 intro call right now. Availability for starting in June is limited.

To book in your free 1:1 intro session click here - availability limited!

Tristan Burns

Find me on LinkedIn or Book a 1:1 call