Growing up in small towns in India, it was tough for us to converse in english. And on top of that to speak in public on stage was horrifying.

All my public speaking skills were honed by leading a group of students towards trouble making, both at med school & later in the US as a founding member of the Indian Graduate Students. Organization.

During my first few jobs, I focused on the content of the presentation. Only when I started Vaatsalya I realised the power is stories rather than content.

TED fellows network introduced us to the concept of managing energy of the audience thanks to Nancy Duarte

What I realised is that while all these tips work, I was terrible in some audiences and great in others. I was searching for answers and came across what Dave Duarte shared a few years ago

How do you want them to feel?
What do you want them to think about?
What do you want them to remember?

Always works for me to structure the talk.

But more importantly allows me to decide upfront – would this audience get something tangible on these three?

If not, I politely decline.