It’s been a minute since we’ve had an episode focused on public speaking, but we cannot think of a better person to bring the topic back than Kris Jenkins. Kris is a developer advocate, software developer and host of the Developer Voices podcast.

Kris gives us some practical and most importantly actionable advice for any public speakers -  whether you’re doing a one-off speech, weekly talks, or even a podcast! Kris’s approach to stagefright (many people’s barrier to the practice of speaking) is simple but effective. If you choose to run, it’s fear - but if you choose to approach, it becomes excitement. As with many things, a mentality shift, rather than a physical one, can make the difference in truly hacking your own body’s pitfalls.

On composition, Kris believes in structuring ideas before and above content. After all, a speech, no matter how technical, is ultimately a story. And a story’s plot can be the most exciting innovative creation ever written, but if the structure doesn’t make sense, then sitting through it will be nothing less than painful (see Game of Thrones finale for reference).

This chat is full of great takeaways, amongst them that if you want to be an interesting speaker, you must first be interested in the world around you; that it’s not your job to imitate flashiness, but to take genuine inspiration from those who you truly admire; and last but not least - that you should buy a clicker! Unchain yourself from the laptop and enjoy your freedom!

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Reach out to Kris here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krisjenkins/

Check out the Developer Voices podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@DeveloperVoices/videos

Find out more and listen to previous podcasts here: https://www.voxgig.com/podcast

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