So, you want to give a Ted talk? There's a lot of content and advice about giving presentations out there, but most of it is really useful only some of the time. Intercom has been holding events for years, with their founders delivering acclaimed talks on building software and scaling customer support teams. The author has been helping colleagues hone their material and practice their delivery behind the scenes. This summary aims to distill everything they've learned down to a few key areas in an organized and useful way, providing tips on public speaking that you won't see elsewhere and inspirational resources along the way. Talks serve many practical purposes, including promoting ideas, making pitches for capital, communicating who you are and what you're about, and connecting with the community. A good talk involves three stages: before writing, while writing, and after writing, each with its own important steps. The key areas to focus on include getting started, finding inspiration, and ideation. When starting out, it's essential to begin with your audience and tailor your content to whom you're speaking. You can start by writing for a small audience and expecting them to be small. It's also crucial to draw inspiration from various sources, including comedy, politics, Ted talks, podcasts, TV shows, and movies. The best talks are a mixture of educational and inspirational, with big picture concepts and micro examples that all weave together to form the narrative tapestry. When writing your talk, remember that it's not about you, but about your audience. Focus on how they want to feel and what they want to get out of your talk. The most common mistake is to focus too much on text and not enough on visuals. Good talks are not about that time you built a cool new tool in your job, but about what your audience can learn from it. When practicing, recreate the environment you'll be in as much as possible, and don't be afraid to make mistakes. You should seek feedback from people who know how to give good talks, and use their insights to refine your content. The key is to never give a talk just once and to always adapt to new situations. Talks are really just conversations, and the best ones generate conversation and participate in an existing conversation that's already happening. To get the most out of your talk, prepare ahead of time for luck to turn against you and adapt on the day.