hotlips

That's the first & most important thing you need: interest! And I'll bet you know more than you think.

I'll be honest, I am not into public speaking...I was very uncomfortable, especially at first, but snakes really need vocal allies. I was first encouraged to try by a local nature museum curator (who also kept snakes & other small creatures in the museum). When I started, I only had "small" snakes and mostly non-natives, since I am not into field collecting & only had rescues. The rattlesnakes came a year or two later, and typically that was a separate program.

Anyway, it doesn't matter, because most people are afraid of snakes and most people have never even met one up close...you'd be surprised how much you can matter, how just that one personal contact can change minds (assuming the snakes you bring are docile & harmless). You'll have to make a judgement call at some point about whether or not, and how much, to allow others to touch or hold your snakes. I only allow young children to gently touch (remind them) while I hold the snake, but many teens & adults often want to hold a snake briefly. I've never had any of my snakes bite or try to bite...their comfort with me carries over nicely to public settings.

One way to start is to talk about how you got interested in keeping them, what you've learned about snakes that they probably aren't aware of, & how snakes manage to survive in the wild, in the face of what seems like
overwhelming "disabilities" that actually work in their favor. Talk about how snakes sense their surroundings: for example, many people don't realize they're deaf, and when a snake is in their yard, yelling won't make it leave.
Then they see the snake as being "defiant & even aggressive" so they justify killing it...even harmless snakes. They don't understand that natural selection has resulted in many snakes (including rattlesnakes) that "hold their ground" because they aren't fast enough to flee and survive, but that they really are afraid of us.

Explain that snakes don't rely on vision to identify, that motion attracts them because they must always search for food to survive. They need to know that snakes bite for only a few reasons & that they aren't mean or out to get us: self-defense (*anything that picks them up in the wild is normally a predator about to eat them, & we appear to be big scary predators!) or an honest mistake (feeding bite, which is preventable by paying attention to how we're perceived...ie. don't handle & smell like prey- snakes trust their sense of smell way more than what they see). Because they are near-sighted & deaf, smell & touch become their main senses. (along with heat sensing pits for those that have them) By explaining these things, people start to feel some empathy. Remind them snakes are shy...

"But snakes are so squirmy & slimy!" The lack of limbs actually lets them go into holes & crevices to catch prey that eludes other predators...they are the world's best mouse-traps and environmentally-friendly to boot! Without snakes keeping rodents in check, we'd be over-run with rodents, & they carry diseases, eat/damage our crops, cause house fires & expensive auto repairs when they nest & chew on wiring, & reproduce exponentially.

See? don't get me started- Best bets: try a show & tell with school kids, either in a classroom or through your local library, including summer-reading programs & "camps". One thing that I've been doing locally is participating in a yearly "Wildlife Expo" put on by a local feed-store. Of course they & many of the booths are vendors with relevant products (this is a big hunting & fishing area), which is why it's such a hit having someone there with live snakes! (a friend joins me with some of her snakes too, and we are both mobbed for about 5 hours- it's very tiring for the snakes so we each have about 4 & give them "breaks") It's held indoors (A/C essential in summer heat here) at our fairgrounds, & the "meet & greet" format isn't really like "public speaking" at all (though I've been asked to do that as well). It's not only kids that want to see/touch/ask questions, but many adults...quite a few that are amazed to change their minds about snakes and say so. I usually take intact 'sheds' with me & snake eggs- I have 2 un-bred rat snakes that insist on laying about 2 dozen duds every year, anything to help educate. It's very easy to talk with people this way & I never get tired of hearing adults say "I NEVER EVER thought I'd touch a snake...& he's really pretty too...I actually like..." If you wonder if this is worth doing, just think about all the people (family & friends) that THEY influence afterwards.

Another fun thing (with a well-behaved snake) is to go to a "Blessing of the Animals" where pets are invited to a local church blessing in celebration of St. Francis of Assisi*. I'm not a church-goer, but I go with others, & with a little courtesy "heads-up" (I made sure the minister wasn't phobic- I don't want to frighten anyone) it goes awesomely well, lots of fun. Turned into a 'meet & greet' with animal-lovers. (*normally held in the fall) After the first one, their church bulletins now invite "all pets, snakes too" and the minister seems to enjoy the "bragging rights"? The bulletin after each blessing mentions that snakes attended also.

Local Petco here has a "Reptile Rally" every so often but I hesitate to take my animals there because they might be exposed to mites etc. That's a risk, IMO, and mostly a promotion for them. Anyway, you get the idea?