Don’t open a talk with your name or your title. Open with a hook.

It sounds simple and was also the first correction I got on 8 October, Day 1 of the Bitcoin Educators Academy in Lagos.

As Bitcoin educators, we put so much into studying Bitcoin and bringing new people in that we rarely stop to check whether they understood us. I’ve always believed Bitcoin education is essential for adoption. Day 1 showed me the other half: education only works if you can communicate it.

What Is the Bitcoin Educators Academy?

The Bitcoin Educators Academy is a three‑day “train the trainers” program run by AmityAge, a Bitcoin company with bases in Roatán, Honduras and Bratislava, Slovakia.

It’s built around soft skills: handling objections, building and using analogies, debunking Bitcoin myths, public speaking, and talking to people who don’t use Bitcoin yet. AmityAge’s own line sums it up: BEA isn’t about learning what Bitcoin is, it’s about learning to communicate it simply.

The Lagos edition runs from 8 to 10 October, 2pm to 6pm each day, at Neona Synergy, in Lekki Phase I, in partnership with DigiOats. The first track filled up fast enough that a second was added, and a grant from the Human Rights Foundation’s Bitcoin Development Fund made it free for selected participants: 20 seats across two tracks of 10.

Lagos is the second BEA in Africa and the first in Nigeria. A week earlier, Lusaka hosted the first African edition with Bitcoin Zambia.

What Makes a Good Bitcoin Educator

We started with introductions: your name, what you expect, and a crazy fun fact. My expectation was simple. I want to be a better educator and communicate with more confidence.

Then we built a picture of a good Bitcoin educator together. The room came up with things like patience, being well‑informed, open‑mindedness, humility, emotional stability, and speaking clearly and simply.

We each picked one quality to commit to. Mine is speaking clearly and simply.

We also asked how you keep Bitcoin education going without drifting from what Bitcoin is about. The answers: get people actively participating, ask for feedback, and don’t compare yourself to other educators.

Ethos, Logos, Pathos: Aristotle’s Triangle for Bitcoin Educators

We went through Aristotle’s rhetoric triangle, the three ways a speaker persuades an audience. Here’s how it was framed for us as educators:

  • Ethos is who you are: your position and your experience.
  • Logos is what you say: key terms, stories, facts, numbers, analogies and your key message.
  • Pathos is how you say it: gestures, eye contact, voice, stance and slides.

Most Bitcoin educators I know are strong on logos. We can explain the block size and the halving all day. Pathos is where we lose people.

Abstract vs Concrete: Making Bitcoin Easy to Picture

Abstract means explaining a big idea that may be difficult to picture. Concrete means using specific examples people can see, imagine, or relate to.

Merek, one of the facilitators, illustrated this by drawing two pictures: a cloud with the sun behind it (abstract) and a house with a fence and a tree (concrete).

When you’re too abstract, people may struggle to picture what you mean or understand how it applies to their lives.

When you’re too concrete, people may understand your examples but miss the bigger idea you’re trying to communicate.

A good Bitcoin talk connects the big idea to real‑life examples people can understand and relate to.

How to Open and Close a Bitcoin Talk

Based on what was shared, here are the key lessons on how to open and close a Bitcoin talk:

  • Don’t start with introductions.
  • Start with a hook: a stat or a short headline.
  • Lead with a story.
  • Be descriptive.
  • Say your key message, and tie it to the story.
  • Know your closing message.
  • End with a closing line.

Public Speaking Tips for Bitcoin Educators

The rest of the day was about what happens on stage.

Breathe in, hold, breathe out, repeat before you go up. Leave space when you talk, so you have time to think and your audience does too. Power posing and loosening up your whole body help with nerves. So does visualisation: picture the talk going well, because most of us picture it going badly.

Two lines stuck with me. Your audience only knows what you tell them, so if you skip a point, nobody notices but you. And if a talk doesn’t go well, work on yourself and come back stronger.

Rewriting My Talk: The Value of Bitcoin Education

My talk is called “The Value of Bitcoin Education.” My old opening was: Bitcoin education is essential for Bitcoin adoption, and without education, no one would get it.

It’s true, but it’s a statement, not a hook. Nobody leans in.

So I started again with a story. Before Bitcoin, I was lost. Knowing Bitcoin gave me clarity, and now I’m growing my career. That’s why I teach it and why I started Bitcoin Africa Story.

Then I define value: what makes something worth having, using, protecting or investing in. The key message follows from there. Bitcoin education is how people find that value, and educators are the ones who carry it.

I know my closing message now too. I want people to leave inspired.

Bitcoin Educators at BEA Lagos

I spent the day with Hussein, Isaac, Fission, Gracias, Poosha and other Bitcoin educators from across Lagos. Thanks to Dusan and Merek from AmityAge, and to DigiOats for bringing BEA to Lagos.

Two more days to go. In the meantime, a question for every Bitcoin educator reading this: when did you last check whether your audience actually understood you?

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