Your voice is your gift to the world, but only if others can hear you. In this brilliantly simple book, Danielle and Christina give you the tools, the inspiration, and the roadmap to making your voice heard. Your voice matters, so share it. Your voice is your power, so use it.
- Dan Roam, bestselling author of The Back of the Napkin and Draw to Win
Get ready to speak up and show up.
You have a unique perspective. Your insights can establish you as a thought leader. Your expertise fills key knowledge gaps. You have a powerful story to share—and your voice deserves to be heard.
Present Yourself is for everyone who has ever fought for an equal shot at the spotlight. Christina Wodtke, Danielle Barnes, and a diverse group of accomplished speakers share stories that will inspire you to communicate with authority. This self-guided, step-by-step framework features practical, actionable advice for authentic and effective public speaking.
Find clarity in why you want to speak and what you need to say. Discover how to harness the power of storytelling. Explore techniques for overcoming anxiety, silencing your inner critics, and minimizing biases that can lead to self-doubt. Learn how to engage with your audience to Present Yourself with clarity and confidence in any situation!
Present Yourself is now available!
"Present Yourself helped me find specific actions I can take to build engaging stories to share. I didn't feel pressured to create in a specific way. Now, I feel empowered and look forward to (rather than dread) speaking soon!"
— Allison H.
"The tools I got from Present Yourself were absolutely incredible. They’re so evergreen – I can see myself using them over and over again. My biggest takeaway [was] having ways to put a presentation together and make it really compelling. That’s priceless for me."
— Natalie R.
“...what Women Talk Design has created is solid, filler-free guidance. The advice that’s shared gets straight to the point and is practical, actionable and reassuring. And all the contributors are knowledgeable and relatable people."
— Dawn K.
Present Yourself program taught at...
Get inspired.
Grab the Present Yourself Inspiration ebook with quotes from the 13 speakers featured in Present Yourself.
Present Yourself features essays from the contributors about their own speaking experiences and advice. We pulled a piece from each to offer you a path forward when you’re feeling stuck.
Get the book for yourself or gift it to someone you want to inspire!
a Preview of Present Yourself...
Part 1: Finding Your Voice
Chapter 1: Clarify your "why"
Why should you speak and share your ideas? Learn how to identify your own personal why, what to do with it, and why it matters.
Chapter 2: Build your community of support
How and when should you invite others into your process? Learn why it's important to build your network, the types of support your need, and how to ask for that support.
Chapter 3: Find Your Topic
What can you specifically share at work or with the world? Learn how to hone in on a topic and quiet that voice in your head that may be working against you.
Chapter 4: Tell a story
How can you tell a story in a professional setting? Explore why storytelling matters, how to tell a compelling story, and how to incorporate story into any presentation.
Part 2: Building Your Presentation
Chapter 5: Use a Framework
What are the ways you can develop effective presentations? Learn what to consider when putting your ideas to words and how to use story to make an impact.
Chapter 6: Clarify Your Goals and Constraints: Context and Poetics
How does your audience and your location influence your presentation. Learn about what you should consider before you start to design a presentation.
Chapter 7: Shape Your Presentation: Architecture
What should you include in your presentation and how can you structure it to be effective? Learn a method you can use to brainstorm and structure your ideas.
Chapter 8: Engage Your Audience: Mechanics
How can you engage your audience? Learn how to capture their attention, carry them through your presentation, and achieve your presentation goals.
Part 3: Sharing Your Voice
Chapter 9: Prepare Yourself
How should you prepare, calm your nerves, and show up in a way that feels authentic to you? There's no one right way. Learn techniques to help you warm up and be present.
Chapter 10: Deliver your message
If something goes wrong while you're speaking what should you do? Learn tips for speaking off-the-cuff and how to continue to show up, even when things don't go according to plan.
Chapter 11: Get Your Ideas out there
How do you get your ideas out into the world? Dive into what mediums you can use to share your ideas and how to find opportunities to make yourself seen and heard.
It made me a bit more bold. It made me more courageous. I have a speaking event and I’m really excited about it....Women Talk Design’s Present Yourself prepared me on how to go from start to finish in creating presentations – knowing your audience, knowing how to form your slides and just every basic thing you need to know and more about speaking.
— Rachael A.
successfully funded on kickstarter
Present Yourself came to life thanks to the over 420 Kickstarter backers who pledged their support.
About the Authors
Danielle Barnes
CEO, Women Talk Design
Danielle is passionate about empowering designers and technologists at all stages in their career. She co-founded and organizes Austin Design Week, and prior to Women Talk Design was an early employee of tech education company, General Assembly.
Christina Wodtke
Founder, Women Talk Design
Christina is an author, lecturer, and established thought leader in Silicon Valley. She has helped grow companies like LinkedIn, Yahoo, and Zynga, as well as numerous startups. Christina is the author of three books. She teaches at Stanford in the HCI program.
Meet the contributors
Alexis Wong
Public Speaking Vocal Production Coach
Paola Mariselli
Head of Product Design, Bumble
Kat Vellos
Speaker and Author of We Should Get Together
Alla Weinberg
Keynote Speaker and Author of A Culture of Safety
Margot Bloomsteim
Principal, Appropriate, Inc.
Meena Kothandaraman
Experience Strategist and Co-founder, twig + fish
B. Pagels-Minor
Founder, Dvrgnt Ventures & The Wealth Salons
Sara Wachter-Boettcher
CEO, Active Voice
Tomomi Sasaki
Designer, Coach, and Facilitator
Eleanor Mason Reinholdt
Design Leader and Storyteller
Ariba Jahan
Product & Innovation Leader and Founder, Up Next In Tech
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Request a free copy of Present Yourself
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Present Yourself guides you through finding your voice, process, and confidence as a speaker.
Present Yourself doesn't just cover how to create a presentation—that’s only one piece. This book shows you how to tap into your own voice, be present, and feel confident. Present Yourself acknowledges that public speaking isn't a level playing field and emphasizes that there is no one right way to speak. You'll learn a framework that you can use over and over again to create more compelling, effective presentations.
In addition to practical tools and advice, Present Yourself features the stories of over a dozen brilliant women and non-binary public speakers and their approach to getting ideas out in the world.
There are a lot of public speaking books out there. This book focuses on you—your voice, your unique needs, and your path as a speaker.
Want to learn and practice alongside a supportive cohort?
Check out our 8-week virtual Present Yourself program
©2024 Women Talk Design
Questions? Email us at contact@womentalkdesign.com