Public Speaking Tips From The Search With Sean Panel

Public speaking is no longer limited to standing on a conference stage. It can mean presenting to a client, leading an internal meeting, joining a webinar, appearing on a podcast or simply turning on your camera and explaining an idea clearly.

That was the starting point for a recent Search With Sean panel featuring Erica Rooney, Molly St. Louis, Jamie D'Alessandro, Marjolein Schollaert and Joshua Squires. The group brought together experience from keynote speaking, acting and voice work, podcasting, SEO, content, corporate leadership and thought leadership.

Rather than searching for one perfect presentation formula, we explored three practical questions: how speakers prepare, how they manage nerves and what separates a competent talk from one that people remember and act upon months later.

Who Joined The Public-Speaking Panel?

Erica Rooney is an author, speaker and podcast host who previously spent 15 years in corporate HR, progressing to Chief People Officer. Her work focuses on visibility, women in leadership and helping people communicate ideas with greater impact.

Molly St. Louis is an independent producer and voice actor. Drawing on her acting background, she brought a useful perspective on emotional objectives, performance and how a speaker can create a genuine connection with an audience.

Jamie D'Alessandro works at JAKALA and has more than eight years of experience across SEO and content. Jamie highlighted that public speaking includes client calls, internal meetings and panels as well as traditional conference presentations.

Marjolein Schollaert is an SEO strategist and on-page specialist whose work takes a human-centred approach. Her advice repeatedly returned to the value a speaker gives the audience and the importance of feeling mentally and physically comfortable.

Joshua Squires is Director of AI Search at Amsive and began his professional career as a copywriter. He focused on structuring a clear message, practising spoken delivery and trusting that every speaker has knowledge that somebody in the audience needs.

Theme One: Preparation Should Make The Talk Sound Natural

The panel agreed that preparation matters, but effective preparation is not the same as memorising every word. The aim is to know the material well enough to deliver it confidently while retaining the flexibility to respond naturally in the room.

Marjolein recommended practising in front of the smallest possible audience: one or two trusted people who understand either the subject or presentations. This exposes difficult sections and builds confidence before the real event.

Jamie uses notes to clarify the narrative and the story the audience should follow.

Joshua starts with the overall point of the talk, breaks it into digestible sections and identifies the message for each slide. He then says the presentation aloud to find wording, transitions or clusters of sounds that cause him to stumble.

Molly introduced an acting technique: breaking a speech into ‘beats’. Each section should have an objective. A speaker might begin by establishing common ground, move into persuasion and then introduce information designed to challenge the audience. Asking what each part should make the audience think, feel or do creates more intentional delivery.

Erica stressed personalisation. She researches the organisation, its culture and its leadership before a keynote so her examples use the audience’s language rather than feeling imported from a standard presentation. She also memorises the opening and closing, giving herself certainty at the two points that shape the strongest impressions.

The wider discussion produced further techniques: recording the talk and listening back while doing everyday tasks; attaching sections of a keynote to physical positions on the stage; handwriting an outline to reinforce the narrative; and checking whether the final wording sounds like something you would genuinely say to a friend.

The shared lesson was simple: write for the ear, not only for the page. A polished paragraph can still sound unnatural when spoken.

Theme Two: Prompts Can Help, But They Should Not Become The Performance

We also discussed cue cards, speaker notes and presentation screens. The group did not treat them as universally right or wrong; the context matters. Expectations for a paid keynote on a large stage differ from those for a technical conference, internal presentation or informal panel.

Slides can provide visual cues, and brief notes can protect important details. The problem begins when the speaker reads continuously. At that point, the audience starts watching the struggle with the notes rather than listening to the idea.

For technical specialists in particular, expertise matters more than performing like a professional entertainer. A few prompts are unlikely to undermine a useful talk when they help the speaker share knowledge accurately. The best approach is to match the support you use to the message, audience and setting.

Theme Three: Nerves Do Not Have To Disappear

One of the most reassuring conclusions was that nerves are normal, even for experienced speakers. They often remain because the speaker cares about the audience and wants the message to land.

Marjolein focuses on what she can give rather than the reaction she hopes to receive. If a joke does not land or the audience is slow to participate, it is easy to become flustered. Returning attention to the value of the message removes some of that pressure.

Jamie described nerves as something to acknowledge rather than eliminate. Part of managing them is setting comparison aside and owning your own speaking style.

Experience helps because every completed talk becomes evidence that you can manage the next one.

Molly uses singing to warm up her voice and regulate her breathing.

Joshua similarly recommended recognising the physical response without fighting it, using grounding exercises and finding friendly faces around the room. Speaking to two or three attentive people can make a large audience feel far more manageable.

Erica reframes nerves as excitement because the physical sensations are similar. Her preferred outlet is movement rather than stillness: jumping around, walking or using a few deep breaths to channel the energy. This was an important reminder that the right routine is personal. Comfort may mean breathing quietly for one speaker and moving energetically for another.

The panel also challenged a common source of anxiety: the fear that your topic is not advanced enough. An audience contains people at many stages of their careers. Information that feels basic to one person may be exactly the explanation another person needs. There is an audience for different levels of expertise, and a speaker does not need to reach every person to provide real value.

Theme Four: Memorable Talks Connect Stories To Action

Our final question asked what makes a presentation memorable long after the initial applause. The strongest answer was not storytelling alone or a long list of practical tips, but a combination of both.

Marjolein explained that a story without practical value may entertain people but leave them unable to do anything differently. A talk made entirely of tactics can create the opposite problem: the audience becomes overloaded. Embedding a small number of useful actions inside an authentic story gives people a framework through which to understand and remember them.

Jamie added that memorability is subjective. People remember different talks depending on what they need at that stage. However, stage presence, clear storytelling and the ability to translate a complex idea into accessible language consistently improve the chances of a message staying with them.

For Molly, the missing ingredient is emotion. An audience needs to feel that it has met the person behind the presentation, rather than a polished representative performing somebody else’s voice. Authenticity helps people lower their guard and connect.

Joshua described memorable presentations as creating a ‘mental unlock’: one phrase, example or reframing that suddenly helps somebody understand an idea. Speakers cannot always predict which detail will produce that moment, but a distinctive perspective makes it possible.

Erica reinforced the role of openness. In her talks, sharing personal experiences of imposter syndrome, perfectionism, fear and burnout makes the concepts tangible. Naming a feeling the audience has experienced but struggled to describe can create an immediate and lasting connection.

The key Takeaway

• A successful presentation is not a flawless recital. It is a useful exchange between a speaker and an audience.

  
  

• Prepare until the structure feels secure, but leave room to sound human. Use prompts without becoming dependent on them. Accept nerves as a sign that the moment matters. Most importantly, combine a perspective only you can offer with a practical idea the audience can use.

  
  

• As AI makes it easier to produce polished slides and generic scripts, personal experience, emotional honesty and genuine human connection will become even more valuable. The talk people remember is likely to be the one that helps them feel understood, see something differently and know what to do next.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGO8ptYlWc&t=8s