Integrating Public Speaking and Presentations into Your Trusts & Estates Career – Terrence Franklin Shares His Expertise with ABA RPTE’s Probate & Property

For many if not most attorneys, public speaking is an essential part of both successfully practicing law and building a law practice. In early 2022, Partner Terrence Franklin joined a panel of trusts and estates attorneys who are nationally known as successful presenters, as part of the ABA Real Property Trust and Estate Law Section Special Committee on Career Development & Wellness’ series on public speaking. The attorneys pulled back the curtain on their processes, wisdom, best practices, and tips and tricks for public speaking. The panel discussed strategic use of public speaking as a tool for career enhancement, preparing materials, working with co-presenters, dealing with stage fright, and the “why” and “how” of integrating public speaking into a trusts and estates career.

On selecting your speaking topics, Franklin said: “The idea is to figure out a way to become the go-to person on a particular topic or build off of a case or a problem that you’ve already researched and used. You’ve been doing memos for a court or for clients. Take that and transform it into a speech or into an article. You can also repurpose presentations for maximum leveraged output. If you can find a way to take a topic that you know and develop it well, and then reuse it on other occasions, it helps to sharpen the edge.”

Read the full transcription of the panel’s conversation in ABA RPTE’s Probate & Property magazine.