Speaking in front of an audience can be downright intimidating.<\/p>\n
As a speaker, you are offering yourself for unsolicited feedback and criticism, you will most likely be ridiculed for the vacuity of your arguments, and you will be berated for your rhetoric or told exactly what you did wrong and why, when all you want is to have a cup of coffee, wind down, and enjoy the rest of the event in a good mood.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n On the other hand, you have been blessed with the incredibly rare opportunity to share your knowledge on a public stage. People will hang on to every word you say, and you have a real chance of compressing years of experience, knowhow, and practical tips into a 45-minute-long-with-5-minutes-for-questions bundle of altruistic power.<\/p>\n In this article, I tap into my inexhaustible vein of hubris and ego, and I\u2019ll tell you exactly what I think about public speaking and conferences alike. Maybe there\u2019s a tip or two for someone here, but I\u2019m pretty sure my method of preparing for talks (and for giving talks) isn\u2019t one to emulate in any shape or form.<\/p>\n \n \n Subscribe to the Simmer newsletter<\/a> to get the latest news and content from Simo Ahava into your email inbox!\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Because lists are cool, I\u2019ll present my ideas in a list (bonus tip: circular reasoning works like a charm on the public stage, too!).<\/p>\n This is one of the things I live by.<\/p>\n I try to rehearse my talks as little as possible.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I walk through the slides in my silent voice once or twice so that I\u2019ll know if I\u2019m risking going past the time limit. Note that there\u2019s no penalty for going under<\/strong> the allotted time – in fact, many organizers might actually thank you for that since it leaves time for Q&A, and it also makes up for the delays incurred by other, sloppier speakers.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t rehearse because I don\u2019t want my talk to appear scripted. The rhetoric devices I employ are mostly conversational, and any kind of scripting kills that.<\/p>\n This means that I find myself running down tangents more often than not, and every now and then I go in so deep that I lose track of the main path. But having done this for years, I now have a full toolbelt of methods I can use to segue back to the original point.<\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing as powerful and disarming as laughing at yourself.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I try ridicule myself at least twice in every talk. I think it\u2019s important to show that I, too, am just a human, charmingly flawed, clumsy, and often unintelligible.<\/p>\n One difficult thing about conferences is trying to identify a common theme. Why am I speaking on the same stage as, say, Rand Fishkin a bit earlier? The conference organizers might have a difficult time in drawing the parallel, so it\u2019s up to you as a speaker to help them out.<\/p>\n I always try to refer to speakers who were on stage before me, and if I know what upcoming speakers will be talking about, I\u2019ll mention them, too.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Just make sure you don\u2019t crack too many jokes at their expense (I\u2019m often guilty of this) – they might not share your opinions on self-deprecation, especially when you present those opinions in their name.<\/p>\n I have nothing but anecdotal evidence, but I have a feeling that many speakers forget to be grateful for the opportunity to speak on the big stage.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a tremendous amount of ridiculously<\/strong> hard work that organizing a conference takes. As a speaker, you typically only see bits and pieces of this hard work, and most often in the form of recovering from a technical snafu, or getting ushered on stage by the MC.<\/p>\n When you are invited to speak at a conference, start your stream of never-ending \u201cthank yous\u201d already in your first response to their invitation. Be grateful that you were considered<\/strong> and accepted<\/strong> to participate as a laborer<\/strong> in the event.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Thank the MC for the kind introduction when you step on the stage, thank the organizers for having you over, thank the audience for having the patience to listen to you drawl, thank the tech people for how everything worked like a charm (even if it didn\u2019t<\/strong>), and thank the cloakroom folks for taking care of your belongings.<\/p>\n You might think that this conflicts with points (1) and (2) above, but there\u2019s a balance between being disarming and professional at the same time.<\/p>\n I never have stage fright<\/strong> – and this is an honest statement. Why? Because I know the subject matter of my talk through and through.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n If you feel nervous about your talk, just focus on the stuff you know really well. Make that the core of your talk. Make it obvious how well you know what you\u2019re talking about. Exuding insecurity is not a good look for anyone.<\/p>\n I also try to avoid scripted laughs such as memes and written jokes in my slides. Most of the self-deprecation and tangential stuff happens in the beginning and end of my talks, because I want the core to be informative as hell.<\/p>\n Because my talks typically revolve around technical stuff such as \u201cthings you can do with X\u201d or \u201chow to turn an organization into Y\u201d, I rarely have the kind of inspirational content you might see in keynotes of some of the larger conferences out there.<\/p>\n That\u2019s OK. Inspiration can be derived from hardcore technical content, too. There\u2019s nothing as inspirational as seeing the potential of some tool or platform, and waiting for the chance to try it out when going back to the office the following day.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But there\u2019s also room for reaffirming the audience\u2019s preconceptions (that\u2019s the inspirational part). It\u2019s OK to let them know they\u2019re on the right path, and to show them where that path might lead if all the pieces lock in together. It\u2019s OK to say platitudes like \u201cBelieve in yourself and the world will be your oyster\u201d<\/strong> (actually, never say that, please), as long as you cut it with some self-deprecation right after.<\/p>\n Though this leads me to\u2026<\/p>\n If you ever have to think \u201cShould I dumb this talk down?\u201d, my advice is: DON\u2019T<\/strong>.<\/p>\n First of all, going slightly over the audience\u2019s heads is better than playing into their comfort zones. As an audience member, being enlightened about potential knowledge gaps is a good thing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n However, and this is why not rehearsing is a good thing, leave room for interpreting the audience\u2019s reactions. If you see confusion in their faces, take a step back and explain the idea again from another angle, and if you see them give you the \u201cCome on dude, I know<\/strong> this stuff\u201d look, switch gears and tell them something they should certainly not know about.<\/p>\n The fault isn\u2019t in the audience\u2019s intelligence – it\u2019s in your rhetoric. So fix it.<\/p>\n After the talk, just as you\u2019re heading for the open bar, you will have people coming up to you to talk about your presentation, your life, your family, your ukulele hobby, or your clothes. Don\u2019t complain or roll your eyes.<\/p>\n Remember, you have been employed<\/strong> by the conference as a performer. You are expected to play your part to the very end.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And hey, why are you complaining about social contact? It\u2019s absolutely delightful, humbling, and uplifting to be greeted by so many people who come and thank you<\/strong> for your contributions!<\/p>\n Some events have a speakers\u2019 lounge. It\u2019s a great idea, letting the \u201cstar performers\u201d wind down.<\/p>\n But far too often I see speakers spending the majority of their time in the lounge, rather than out in the bullpen with the rest of the attendees.<\/p>\n Remember, again, you are an employee of the event. It\u2019s your duty to make the event the best event it can be. And that requires you to mingle, meet with people, and just make your presence felt among the vendor booths, cafeteria lines, and the main lobby.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It\u2019s OK to spend some time in the lounge, especially before and after your talk, but try to avoid it at other times.<\/p>\n There comes situations where you must (gracefully) turn down an invitation.<\/p>\n When you do so, it would be really<\/strong> great if you have a list of recommendations you can pass to the event organizer as potential speakers in your stead.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Heck, even if you CAN make the event, it\u2019s a good idea to share these recommendations, since they might still be on the lookout for other speakers, too.<\/p>\n The following list has some overlap with the previous one, but I want to focus especially on what I think makes a conference good<\/strong>, and what I\u2019ve learned through my interactions with conference organizers.<\/p>\n I would like to say that the key to success is finding the right speakers and a motivated audience.<\/p>\n But, truth be told, I\u2019m most easily persuaded by two things: coffee available at all times<\/strong>, and a Wi-Fi that doesn\u2019t suck.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Those are two most important things you\u2019ll need to keep the satisfaction level of the audience at a positive base level.<\/p>\n This goes without saying, but multi-track conferences are frustrating.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll always miss some great talk because there was another great talk going on at the same time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I totally understand economy of scale, so having more than one track is necessary for any conference that wants to grow, but it\u2019s still frustrating.<\/p>\n I typically dislike panels. Most of them are just speakers sitting next to each other and answering questions.<\/p>\n Best panels are those where there\u2019s a debate<\/strong> or heated discussion<\/strong> going on. So pick speakers who are known to disagree on many topics, and pick these topics for conversation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And don\u2019t forget audience participation!<\/p>\n Try go for a 50\/50 split between male and female speakers. It shouldn\u2019t be difficult. If you\u2019re having trouble finding female speakers, ask around for lists in Twitter – you\u2019ll get plenty of responses!<\/p>\n At the very least, try to get a 50\/50 split in keynote speakers and in panel participants.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Having an all-male cast in either is just lazy.<\/p>\n There are many other manifestations of diversity, but the gender gap is one that\u2019s most striking to me (and this is my list).<\/p>\n Don\u2019t blow your entire budget on the speakers, and don\u2019t spend your entire conference fussing about them and catering to their every need.<\/p>\n Remember that when the conference starts, the audience is what matters.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n They\u2019re the ones who\u2019ll spread the word and decide if you\u2019re worth a second shot next year.<\/p>\n It\u2019s terrible that we live in a world where there\u2019s a need for codes of conduct. But, as it turns out, human beings can often be total dicks to each other, intentionally and unintentionally. Having a CoC will let you establish some ground rules for how to behave at your event.<\/p>\n Create a code of conduct (check out the SearchLove CoC for inspiration<\/a>), promote it heavily, and make it extremely prominent in all your PR material.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n If you fail to create a safe environment for your conference, you will lose the trust of the attendees, and you might even harm your and your brand\u2019s reputation permanently. In addition, you might actually place some of your guests in danger.<\/p>\n This is more of a personal opinion, since I know some conferences simply have a very short build-up time, but try to get invitations out months<\/strong> in advance.<\/p>\n Many speakers have a full schedule, and might need advance notice of up to six months to be able to make room in the middle of their busy weeks.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Also, try to scout around if there are other events happening at the same time in the same industry \/ niche. If possible, avoid too much overlap between other events – it might make it difficult to get speakers AND attendees to join you.<\/p>\n Another way of building a \u201csafe\u201d environment is to prevent vendors from harassing the attendees with their pitches.<\/p>\n Sponsors are super important, and it\u2019s often really interesting to see what different vendors have been up to, but some can be really aggressive in trying to pick up new customers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And if vendors are awarded a speaking slot in return for their co-operation, please suggest that their talk be about something more practical than just gushing about how great their tool is and how much all competitors\u2019 tools suck.<\/p>\n For many, conferences are networking events. It\u2019s possible some attendees don\u2019t actually visit a single talk – they come over to meet vendors, friends, business associates, and to make new contacts.<\/p>\n Cater to these as much as possible.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Building networks and bringing people together is one the best ways to get people to come back the following year.<\/p>\n There are gazillions of conferences that are so alike it\u2019s impossible to tell each one apart.<\/p>\n So try to think of something that makes your event unique<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n For example, Superweek<\/a> is on top of a mountain, MeasureCamp<\/a> is an unconference, Conversion Hotel<\/a> is on a small island, and Digital Elite Camp<\/a> is at a spa.<\/p>\n There are many ways to make your event memorable, and the more memorable you can make it, the more buzz it will generate.<\/p>\n These twenty items condense my learnings from the 150+ keynotes and conference presentations I\u2019ve done in digital marketing\/analytics conferences since 2013.<\/p>\n I usually think saying this is totally redundant, but these are all my own subjective thoughts<\/strong>. I\u2019m not trying to teach you how you should present in conferences, or how you should run an event. I simply wanted to share my own ideas and thoughts about public speaking and attending these events year after year.<\/p>\n Do you have thoughts about public speaking or running conferences? Please do so in the comments!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Speaking in front of an audience can be downright intimidating. As a speaker, you are offering yourself for unsolicited feedback and criticism, you will most likely be ridiculed for the vacuity of your arguments, and you will be berated for your rhetoric or told exactly what you did wrong and why, when all you want […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":102653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12033],"tags":[27402,3767,5294,27401,13186],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-102652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analytics","tag-ahavas","tag-blog","tag-public","tag-simo","tag-speaking"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Public](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2018\/11\/public-speaking.jpg\")
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\n The Simmer Newsletter<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n10 Things I\u2019ve Learned About Public Speaking<\/h2>\n
1. Rehearse as little as necessary<\/h3>\n
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2. Self-deprecation is your best friend<\/h3>\n
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3. Throw shoutouts to the other speakers as much as possible<\/h3>\n
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4. Be ridiculously thankful for being invited to speak<\/h3>\n
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5. Be professional<\/h3>\n
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6. Find a balance between inspiration and action<\/h3>\n
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7. Never underestimate your audience<\/h3>\n
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8. Be patient after the talk<\/h3>\n
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9. Avoid the speakers\u2019 lounge<\/h3>\n
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10. If you can\u2019t make it to a conference, have a list of recommended speakers at hand<\/h3>\n
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10 Things I\u2019ve Learned About Conferences<\/h2>\n
1. Coffee and solid wireless network<\/h3>\n
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2. As few tracks as possible<\/h3>\n
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3. Be careful with panels<\/h3>\n
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4. Diversity is extremely important<\/h3>\n
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5. Speakers might help you sell tickets but it\u2019s the audience that makes the conference<\/h3>\n
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6. Implement a code of conduct<\/h3>\n
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7. Send invitations to speakers in good time<\/h3>\n
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8. Set rules for vendors<\/h3>\n
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9. Make sure there\u2019s plenty of time for networking<\/h3>\n
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10. Do something unique<\/h3>\n
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Summary<\/h2>\n