Presentation Guidelines

Congratulations on being accepted as a presenter for the Create Your Own Brand Certification Program! We follow a TEDx-style format (short, high-impact presentations). Please review the guidelines below. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

1) Get Familiar with the Create Your Own Brand Presentation Format

What is the Create Your Own Brand Certification Program?

The Create Your Own Brand Certification Program showcases speakers who share inspiring, practical, and experience-based insights on personal branding, storytelling, communication, and professional growth. Each presentation is designed to empower participants to define, design, and grow their authentic personal brands.

Why 10 or 20 minutes?

An audience focuses best on a single idea at a time, and a concise, clear message is often the most memorable. You will have the option to give a 10- or 20-minute talk.

2) Develop an idea

What makes a great presentation idea?
Like a compelling article, your presentation should focus on a clear, specific, and meaningful idea — something your audience can relate to or be inspired by.
It can challenge existing beliefs, offer a new perspective, or share real-world experience that others can learn from.

Do I need to be a branding expert?
Not necessarily. What matters is that you bring authentic experience and valuable lessons.
You don’t have to be the world’s top expert, but please ensure your content is accurate and supported by your own practice, research, or credible sources.

Is my idea ready?
Try summarizing your talk in one or two sentences. Ask yourself:

Is my idea new or thought-provoking?
Is it relevant and interesting to a wide audience?
Does it inspire confidence or provide practical takeaways?

Best Practices for Presentations
At the Create Your Own Brand Program, we welcome a wide variety of presentation types:

Personal stories: How you built or evolved your personal brand
Practical frameworks: Step-by-step strategies that helped you grow your visibility or career
Case studies: Examples of brand transformation, communication breakthroughs, or leadership growth
Action-driven insights: Tips, tools, and lessons participants can immediately apply

3) What is the best structure for a talk?

There is no single formula for a great presentation, but the following flow works well:

Do NOT introduce yourself at the start. We’ll handle introductions (with your bio).
Hook your audience early — start with a story, question, or relatable situation.
Clearly explain your key idea — what’s the main message of your talk?
Show evidence or examples — connect your idea to real experiences or results.
End with a call to action or reflection — what do you want your audience to do or think next?

4) Create slides

Should I use slides?
Slides are optional, use them only if they enhance your message, not distract from it.

If you decide to include slides:

Keep them simple, clean, and visual.
Use images, graphs, or infographics to reinforce your story.
Limit text to short key phrases or quotes.
Choose large, legible fonts (minimum 42 pt).
Prefer a sans-serif font like Helvetica or Arial.
If unsure, use 1920x1080 resolution (16:9).

Image Use Reminder:
Only use visuals you own or have permission to use. For Creative Commons images, cite the source at the bottom of the slide.

5) Record your presentation

Please schedule a time with us and we can record it for you at a time convenient for you. We will send you a link to schedule your presentation once your proposal is accepted.

Questions: info@createyourownbrand.org