I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
Why you should never end a speech with Q&A
Hey Reader,
I’ll never forget the feeling of horror I had watching someone ask Ramit Sethi the most uncomfortable question on stage after he gave a speech.
He’d just delivered a fantastic talk and said he would answer a few questions. A very common thing to do after a speech.
After answering several questions, he said he had time for one more.
A hand went up. He pointed in their direction.
“When are you going to be a good Indian son and give your parents a grandchild?”
You could have heard a pin drop.
Ramit stared at them, shook his head, and walked off stage. Not exactly the ending you hope for as a speaker!
This experience drove home some good advice I remember reading from my friend David Nihill in his article, 1 Trick to Finish Your Next Talk in Style:
Never end on Q&A.
To be clear, that doesn’t mean you can’t take questions at all, but don’t let questions be the last thing. You want to control the ending.
Let’s say you do want to take some questions. Great! A good way to control the ending is to prepare three main takeaways to deliver at the very end and have them ready to go. Announce you’ll be taking some questions and will then leave them with a final thought. That way, they know questions won’t be the final thing, and if you do get an awkward question, it won't be the last thing that rings in everybody’s ears.
After answering questions, bring things to a close by leaving them with your three main takeaways. This will also result in ending things with solid applause instead of whatever lackluster clapping might’ve followed an “okay, any more questions…? No? Okay, thanks for having me.”
Control your ending. Never end on Q&A.
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NEW WAYS TO EARN & GROW
Speaking of Creator Network...
There are two fun things happening:
- It's insane the results people are getting there. Ryan Holiday just passed 100,000 subscribers from other creators recommending him. That's as many as the largest stadiums in the US.
The #1 tip that makes a difference: reach out to other other creators directly and form partnerships. Everyone I see with success is having conversations, meeting other creators, and suggesting swaps.
- We just paid out $136,000 to the single biggest earner through paid recommendations...for July! That's just for one month, to one creator. And there's so much more to pay out. We have nearly $1 million in sponsorships available to payout that are unclaimed for August.
It makes sense if you don't related to those giant numbers. Of course the biggest creators are crushing it. But here's what I love about both free and paid recommendations on Creator Network: it's accessible at the smallest levels as well.
We have so may sponsors eager to pay for quality subscribers that you can recommend them (and start earning right away) even if you only are getting a few new subscribers per day. That can easily turn into $100/month or more of income.
If you haven't set up Creator Network go do that now!
Our mission is to help creators earn a living. It's so fun to see that play out through these new methods of earning!
Have a great week!
—Nathan
P.S. Do you live in NYC, Austin, or Nashville? I'm launching something new and will do a three city tour in late September to kick it off. Hit reply and LMK if you want to come.
Nathan Barry
I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
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