Why I Reuse Talks

Recently at one of the many WordCamps I’ve attended this year, the topic of reusing talks came up. It’s no secret I’ve been reusing my Responsive Design and WordPress talk at several events (not just WordCamps) but during the discussion a few folks mentioned that they will only give a talk once or twice, and there was a very strong opinion that you should never reuse a talk. I think that’s plain wrong, and here’s why.

Let’s ignore for a moment that I’m a software developer and reuse is in my blood. There are a lot of practical reasons for reusing a talk that will make you a better public speaker. If it’s apt to change your talk a little, definitely do that. In my case, I would modify the Responsive Design talk sometimes during the session before. With web especially as a constantly changing landscape, keeping your talk up-to-date is important. But that doesn’t mean do an entirely different talk.

1) My Talk gets Better

I always rehearse my talk before giving it, but the more I give it, the better it gets. I can really hone the important stuff of the talk, trim the fat, add new content based on questions, and more. Each real talk I give garners real feedback from attendees and that is much more valuable than giving it to friends (who might not be familiar with the subject) or in front of a mirror. Why would I want to throw all of that away after giving the talk just once?

2) Different Audiences

Presumably, different conferences bring in different people, or at the very least people who opted not to go to my talk at a previous conference. This will give me new perspectives as well as give folks the opportunity to to ask me questions. Yes, my talks are up at WordPress.TV and other websites, but it’s not the same as being there, seeing my slides as I talk, and being able to ask me questions during or after the talk. Again, I (and I assume you would too) put a ton of work into my talk, why throw it away after only 50 or 100 people see me give it? Every time I’ve given my talk, I’ve had people come up to me and tell them I taught them something new.

3) Important Updates

I alluded to this before, but since giving my responsive talk the first time in December, a lot has happened. I’ve made some very important updates regarding RWD and WordPress that were needed. I was able to frame those updates around the same message I’ve been promoting. I’m making sure my talk is consistent and fresh at the same time.

4) I Learn New Things

This is similar to important updates, but I’ve learned a lot while giving my talk this year. The audience will tell me about new tools or techniques they came across, I will find new stuff through research, and I will work on new stuff to give the talk. I’m getting better at the topic I’m already passionate about.

5) Talks are a lot of Work

If you want to do a good job, you’re going to spend a lot of time on putting your talks together; ask professional speakers. I can’t put a talk together in a day without it sucking. It’s unrehearsed, it’s thrown together and rushed, and it’s not going to be great. It will probably have value, but I want to be a great public speaker, and further, I want to make sure my audience gets their money’s worth. I’m going to spend a few days over several weeks on any new talk I give to make sure I know the information I’m talking about well enough to answer questions and deliver the message I want to deliver. I’m also a busy guy. I’ve been to a bunch (maybe 10?) conferences this year and I don’t think I know any topic as well as I know RWD. I want to give people my best. Picking some random topic because I haven’t talked about it before isn’t an option for me.

That’s not to say I’m always going to give the same talk. As a matter of fact, I probably gave the RWD and WordPress talk for the last time at WP Summit. It’s time for something new and I have some ideas. But Imagine everything I and others would have missed out on if I stopped giving the talk in January; the talk was good then, but it became great.