Build A Presentation Muscle : Showcase Your Expertise Through Content Creation
Hi, I'm John Lacey, and in Build A Presentation Muscle, I want to talk about finding your voice, refining and sharing your message, using tools and technology to share that message. and looking after yourself as a creator.
The Affinity Apps are now free?! Graphic design software for content creators
Free is one of my favourite price points and, boy, do I have some exciting news for you!
Hi, I'm John Lacey and this is Build A Presentation Muscle, the podcast about showcasing your expertise through content creation.
I don't know if you're familiar with the Affinity suite of Apps but they consisted of:
Affinity Designer - for vector image creationAffinity Photo - for raster image editing Affinity Publisher - for desktop publishingThey were available to purchase for a one time fee. In a world where so much software now requires...
Back To Basics : The Build A Presentation Muscle Project
Hi, I'm John Lacey, and this is Build a Presentation Muscle, the podcast all about showcasing your expertise through content creation.
The elephant in the room: Where this podcast has been. Can you build a reputation through content creation?Getting back to basics: build a body of work, showcase that work, and avoid distractions and practice self-care. This is all an experiment, and experiments can fail.For more information about this podcast, check out JohnLacey.com
To subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@LearnLivestreaming
This podcast is returning very soon
Hi everyone. This is John Lacey and you're listening to Build A Presentation Muscle, the podcast about showcasing your expertise through content creation.
If you've been here for any period of time you may have noticed that it has been quite a while between podcast episodes.
I'll talk about why in the next episode. But right now I just want to let you know that the podcast is coming back soon.
I have a brand new shiny podcast host, and I just wanted to add this temporary episode to make sure that it...
We all start somewhere (Digging into the archives)
We all start somewhere, and it can be painful to be a beginner, personal growth can be very (ahem) "character building."
And I don't tell you this to scare you. In fact I tell you this to reassure you.
No matter how you feel about where you are right now, if you apply yourself and practice you will improve over time.
Hi, I'm John Lacey and this is Build A Presentation Muscle, the podcast about showcasing your expertise through content creation.
https://johnlacey.com/build-a-presentation-muscle/we-all-start-somewhere/
Looking for signs of life (in your content creation)
I see a lot of people refer to the idea of “vanity metrics.” And while it’s true that some statistics may be more meaningful than others, I think —especially for beginner content creators— we need to acknowledge all the wins and not just the impressive sounding ones.
Hi, I’m John Lacey, and this is Build A Presentation Muscle, the podcast about showcasing your expertise through content creation.
For more information about today’s show, head over to JohnLacey.com
The hardest part of content creation
This one's going to be a bit of a car crash, so please fasten your seatbelt securely.Â
Hi, I'm John Lacey and this is Build A Presentation Muscle, the podcast about showcasing your   expertise through content creation.Â
I think outsiders and beginners might assume the hardest part of content creation is the content creation itself. But the truth is you can relatively easily create the things you want to share, whether they're videos, livestreams, podcasts, articles or graphics.
For more information about today's show, head over to JohnLacey.comÂ
Do you have to be on video?
I saw a tweet during the week where someone was lamenting feeling like they should be on video, but not having "the skin" to do it yet. So I wanted to talk about that.Â
Hi, I'm John Lacey, and this is Build A Presentation Muscle, the podcast about showcasing your expertise through content creation.Â
Do you, as a content creator generally or an audio podcaster specifically, need to be on video?Â
You might've heard me say this before, but unless you've signed a contract or have a boss or a sponsor telling you tha...
What should I talk about?
When you first realise you want to showcase your expertise through content creation, you may wonder, “What should I talk about?”
And it might seem like a daunting challenge at first, but I want to explore some starting points here today.
For more information about today’s show, head over to JohnLacey.com
ÂContent Libraries and Repeating Yourself
Content creators can be really self-conscious about repeating themselves.Â
They'll say things like, "But I told people about this back in February 2018. I can't post it again."Â
You can —and should— repeat yourself.Â
But even more than that, you need to work smarter. And part of that involves creating a content library.Â
Hi, I'm John Lacey and this is Build A Presentation Muscle, the podcast about demonstrating your expertise through content creation.Â
I'd love to hear more about your content creation workflows. If you would like to tell me about the...
Content Creation Workflows: Constraints
Back in episode 12, I spoke about how your message transcends any one medium or format.Â
And I still think this is true. I don't want you silo yourself away in one medium or channel when your audience could be larger.Â
But there's another truth I think we need to unpack here too: People experience your expertise through your content, and content has specific formats.Â
To create content consistently, you really need to think about a workflow that will support you. Constraints can help.Â
I'm really interested in hearing more about your work...
Generative AI is gross
Generative AI is gross to me.
I have a visceral reaction to it. It makes my skin crawl. It causes my blood pressure to rise.
Some days I wish I could “agree to disagree” about it, but, honestly, it feels like a real moral challenge of our age.
I don’t necessarily see AI becoming sentient and taking over. What I do see is a lot of people using it for deeply cynical purposes.
You can head over to JohnLacey.com for more information about today’s show.
Trends: Follow them or buck them?
When it comes to trends, do you follow them or do you buck them? And yes, I said 'buck' with a b, no explicit language for this podcast thank you very much.Â
This is a subject we'll talk about it in more detail over on The Video and Livestreaming Show later in the week.Â
Hi, I'm John Lacey and this is Build A Presentation Muscle.Â
It can be fun to jump onto the cultural zeitgeist, but whether it's a good idea or not often depends on what the goal of content actually is.Â
<...Getting out of a rut
You no doubt hear a lot about the importance of "consistency" when it comes content creation. And broadly speaking I think this is true.Â
But there's a good chance you're much more intimately familiar with your own content than anyone in your audience. Building habits can be useful but too much repetition can lead to boredom.Â
Hi, I'm John Lacey, and this is Build A Presentation Muscle.
For more information about today's show —including a Behind The Scenes video about how this podcast is produced— head over to JohnLacey.comÂ
Your Message Matters More (Than Your Medium)
Hi, I'm John Lacey and this is Build A Presentation Muscle.Â
Part of the reason this podcast exists is that I see so many people silo themselves away in one format or one destination. I want you to share your expertise with whoever is ready to hear it. I want you to be able to express yourself well. And I want you to understand that your message and your voice transcend any one medium or format.
For more information about today's show, head over to JohnLacey.com.Â
Signpost Your Content With Text
Do you signpost your content? Does your content leave clues?
Can people find it? Can they search for it?
Hi, I’m John Lacey and this is Build A Presentation Muscle.
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Signpost Your Content with Text
About Alternative Text
Missed OpportunitiesÂ
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For more information about today’s show, head over to JohnLacey.com
Pulling at Threads
It's been a wild couple of weeks in the world of social media, and it's probably too soon to understand what it all means, but I want to pull at a few threads.
Hi, I'm John Lacey, and this is Build A Presentation Muscle.
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The beginning of the end?Â
Do you have bandwidth for Threads?Â
How does a product or service stand out anyway?Â
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For more information about today's show, head over to JohnLacey.comÂ
You're Not For Everyone
You're not for everyone. And that's okay.
Hi, I'm John Lacey and this is Build A Presentation Muscle.
For more information about today's show head over to JohnLacey.comÂ
Microphones: types and connections
So much of this show is about capturing your voice in a figurative sense. It’s about exploring who you are and what you need to express and refining your message.
But I thought it might be useful to talk about capturing your voice in a literal sense through the wonder of microphones.
There’s a lot of ways we could tackle this subject, but for today’s show, let’s focus on two things:
Dynamic microphones versus condenser microphones, and Connection types: XLR and USBFor more information about today's show, head ove...
The show must go on
Last week was a weird week for me. I had taken time off from my day job to record podcast interviews. I was really hoping to get at least three recorded, maybe four. For various reasons only one happened and if you've subscribed to this podcast you may have already heard it.Â
I kind of want to unpack that experience in this episode because I feel like I learnt a few things about myself during that process.
Hi, I'm John Lacey and this is Build A Presentation Muscle.Â
For more information about today's sh...
Camera fear, collaboration and community with Michelle J. Raymond
This week, I talk to Michelle J. Raymond about overcoming camera fear, finding community and collaboration opportunities.
Working with a global audience Dressed for success Overcoming camera fear with LinkedIn Live Is AI the answer? That probably depends on the question… Mindset and Branding The Power of Collaboration Your Audio and Video setup LinkedIn as a destination and opportunity LinkedIn profiles, company pages and groupsFor more information about today's show, head over to JohnLacey.comÂ
Evaluating advice from other people
I don’t know about you, but I listen to an obscene number of podcasts.
And I don’t listen to comedians or works of fiction, I listen to podcasts about the things I’m interested in doing — content creation, YouTube, audio, video and the like.
And the unintended consequence is that I am often bombarded with unsolicited advice every single day.
I thought it might be worthwhile to explore how I negotiate all of this and some things that might help you along the way too.
For more information about today’s...
If something is worth saying…
If something is worth saying, it's worth repeating.Â
Content Creators can be super self-conscious about repeating themselves.Â
But the truth is your audience actually needs you to repeat your most important points.Â
Hi, I'm John Lacey, and this is Build A Presentation Muscle.Â
For more information about today's episode head over to JohnLacey.comÂ
Self-acceptance for content creators
As a content creator, you will get to see and hear yourself in ways you likely have never done before. This can be confronting. Any anxiety you have about how you look or sound can be immediately amplified, and if you're in a situation where you're editing your own content you will see and hear yourself a lot.Â
The struggle is real, but know you're not alone in this particular struggle.Â
Hi, I'm John Lacey, and this is Build A Presentation Muscle.Â
For more information about today's show, head over to JohnLacey.comÂ
Philosophical differences of content types
Philosophical differences of content types
I am a firm believer in the idea that there is power and possibility in all content types. Video, audio, text and graphics. They all have the potential to share your message, to convince, to educate.
Think about different content types and formats as being different tools in your toolbox, or different colours in your palette. Depending on your goals some might be more appropriate than others.
For more information about today’s show, head over to JohnLacey.com.
Building A Presentation Muscle
I've been on a fly on the proverbial wall of seemingly a million discussions about whether video is better than audio, whether YouTube podcasts are even podcasts and the like.Â
My hot take, if you will, is that you should create whatever you want to create. Video is awesome. Audio podcasts are awesome. They all have the opportunity to build awareness, spread a message, educate and entertain.Â
But while I've been in a lot of these conversations I'm really struck by this feeling that really the important thing is not the format, it is the me...