All Things Product with Teresa and Petra Crafting a Conference Talk
Apr 15, 2025
32:09
Topics Covered:
- Why more people should consider public speaking—and how to get started
- How Petra approaches talk creation: mind maps, card decks, and structured rehearsal
- Teresa’s top-down talk-building method focused on audience transformation
- What makes a good “first talk” (hint: show your work!)
- Why meetup organizers want to hear from new speakers—especially women and underrepresented voices
- Tips for managing stage fright, finding your voice, and choosing your topic
- How big-stage talks (like Product at Heart and Y Oslo) come together over months
- The surprising power of impromptu lines—and how to leave room for them
- Matching your prep process to your stage and experience level
- How public speaking sharpens your thinking and deepens your learning
Resources & Links:
- Follow Teresa Torres: https://ProductTalk.org
- Follow Petra Wille: https://Petra-Wille.com
Mentioned in the episode:
- How I Go About Creating a Talk: My Step-by-Step Process by Petra Wille
- Nancy Duarte's books
- Myers–Briggs Type Indicator
- Opportunity Solution Trees: Visualize Your Discovery to Stay Aligned and Drive Outcomes
- The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
- Cicero Public Speaking Deck – Petra’s go-to tool for structuring talks
- Melissa Suzuno - our mutual blog editor
Places to give your first talks:
Conferences mentioned:
Some of our talks:
- Continuous Discovery Habits with Teresa for Y Oslo
- Managing Up with Petra for Y Oslo
- Justify Your Product Decisions and get Stakeholder Buy in – Teresa Torres, Mind the Product SF 2019
- Even You Can Do Continuous Discovery - Bringing the - Discovery Habits to Every Organization – Teresa Torres, - Product at Heart 2023