Build A Presentation Muscle : Showcase Your Expertise Through Content Creation

Hosted by John Lacey

Technology Education

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Nov 2025

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About the show

Hi, I'm John Lacey, and in Build A Presentation Muscle, I want to talk about finding your voice, refining and sharing your message, using tools and technology to share that message. and looking after yourself as a creator.

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24 recent

November 2, 20251 min

The Affinity Apps are now free?! Graphic design software for content creators

Free is one of my favourite price points and, boy, do I have some exciting news for you!Hi, I'm John Lacey and this is Build A Presentation Muscle, the podcast about showcasing your expertise through content creation. I don't know if you're familiar with the Affinity suite of Apps but they consisted of:Affinity Designer - for vector image creationAffinity Photo - for raster image editing Affinity Publisher - for desktop publishing They were available to purchase for a one time fee. In a world where so much software now requires a monthly subscription, this was HUGE, and this software is genuinely super powerful and useful. Affinity actually removed the ability to purchase the apps from their website and a lot of people feared the worst. But much to my surprise, they've returned with a single app that combines all of this functionality and they have made it completely free. You will need a Canva account to use the software —Affinity were acquired by Canva some time ago— but you can use a free Canva account. Paid Canva users will get some additional AI functionality but as someone who doesn't love AI, I can definitely live without this. I purchased the version 2 suite back in 2024 and have been loving it ever since. The new single Affinity app is not missing any of the functionality I have come to know and love. Content creators often need graphics software to do things like create video thumbnails and podcast artwork, banners, livestream backgrounds and overlays and documents more generally.You might need to spend some time learning how to use this powerful software and for this I definitely recommend the university of YouTube. There are so many great tutorials out there. And this is software that will support you as you continue to learn and grow. So if you haven't already checked this out, head over to affinity.studio to get started.

May 11, 20254 min

Back To Basics : The Build A Presentation Muscle Project

Hi, I'm John Lacey, and this is Build a Presentation Muscle, the podcast all about showcasing your expertise through content creation. The elephant in the room: Where this podcast has been. Can you build a reputation through content creation?Getting back to basics: build a body of work, showcase that work, and avoid distractions and practice self-care. This is all an experiment, and experiments can fail. For more information about this podcast, check out JohnLacey.com To subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@LearnLivestreaming

April 20, 20243 min

We all start somewhere (Digging into the archives)

We all start somewhere, and it can be painful to be a beginner, personal growth can be very (ahem) "character building." And I don't tell you this to scare you. In fact I tell you this to reassure you. No matter how you feel about where you are right now, if you apply yourself and practice you will improve over time. Hi, I'm John Lacey and this is Build A Presentation Muscle, the podcast about showcasing your expertise through content creation. https://johnlacey.com/build-a-presentation-muscle/we-all-start-somewhere/

March 19, 20243 min

Looking for signs of life (in your content creation)

I see a lot of people refer to the idea of “vanity metrics.” And while it’s true that some statistics may be more meaningful than others, I think —especially for beginner content creators— we need to acknowledge all the wins and not just the impressive sounding ones. Hi, I’m John Lacey, and this is Build A Presentation Muscle, the podcast about showcasing your expertise through content creation. For more information about today’s show, head over to JohnLacey.com

February 4, 20245 min

The hardest part of content creation

This one's going to be a bit of a car crash, so please fasten your seatbelt securely. Hi, I'm John Lacey and this is Build A Presentation Muscle, the podcast about showcasing your expertise through content creation. I think outsiders and beginners might assume the hardest part of content creation is the content creation itself. But the truth is you can relatively easily create the things you want to share, whether they're videos, livestreams, podcasts, articles or graphics. For more information about today's show, head over to JohnLacey.com

October 21, 20233 min

Do you have to be on video?

I saw a tweet during the week where someone was lamenting feeling like they should be on video, but not having "the skin" to do it yet. So I wanted to talk about that. Hi, I'm John Lacey, and this is Build A Presentation Muscle, the podcast about showcasing your expertise through content creation. Do you, as a content creator generally or an audio podcaster specifically, need to be on video? You might've heard me say this before, but unless you've signed a contract or have a boss or a sponsor telling you that you have to do something, you can (mostly) do what you like. Follow laws and platform terms and conditions, and the rest is pretty much up to you. But I think a lot of anxiety about this comes from a sense that what we're doing isn't reaching enough people, and, maybe, just maybe, video might actually help. And, frankly, it might. But it might not. Opportunities are everywhere, but opportunity cost is real. No one can guarantee your results. If you're not interested in doing video, you don't have to do video. You have my blessing. Don't feel bad. Work on what you want to work on. But here's the thing... I want you to be ready to take opportunities when they present themselves. Some of those opportunities might require you to be in front of a camera. I don't want you to turn down a huge opportunity because you don't have enough camera experience to not feel nervous. I have a prescription for you. Try it and let me know how you get on. For more information about today's show, head over to JohnLacey.com

October 8, 20234 min

What should I talk about?

When you first realise you want to showcase your expertise through content creation, you may wonder, “What should I talk about?” And it might seem like a daunting challenge at first, but I want to explore some starting points here today. For more information about today’s show, head over to JohnLacey.com

September 24, 20234 min

Content Libraries and Repeating Yourself

Content creators can be really self-conscious about repeating themselves. They'll say things like, "But I told people about this back in February 2018. I can't post it again." You can —and should— repeat yourself. But even more than that, you need to work smarter. And part of that involves creating a content library. Hi, I'm John Lacey and this is Build A Presentation Muscle, the podcast about demonstrating your expertise through content creation. I'd love to hear more about your content creation workflows. If you would like to tell me about them, head over to JohnLacey.com and leave me a message via SpeakPipe or follow the social media links. Keep on creating!

September 10, 20232 min

Content Creation Workflows: Constraints

Back in episode 12, I spoke about how your message transcends any one medium or format. And I still think this is true. I don't want you silo yourself away in one medium or channel when your audience could be larger. But there's another truth I think we need to unpack here too: People experience your expertise through your content, and content has specific formats. To create content consistently, you really need to think about a workflow that will support you. Constraints can help. I'm really interested in hearing more about your workflows. If you'd like to tell me about it, head over to JohnLacey.com and follow the social links or send me a voice message via SpeakPipe.

August 27, 20232 min

Generative AI is gross

Generative AI is gross to me. I have a visceral reaction to it. It makes my skin crawl. It causes my blood pressure to rise. Some days I wish I could “agree to disagree” about it, but, honestly, it feels like a real moral challenge of our age. I don’t necessarily see AI becoming sentient and taking over. What I do see is a lot of people using it for deeply cynical purposes. You can head over to JohnLacey.com for more information about today’s show.