This past weekend I had the pleasure of attended and speaking at the Blogalicious Weekend, in Washington, DC. Speaking to large groups can be nerve wrecking. Speaking to a group of your peers (in my opinion) can be even more nerve wrecking- and Tina and I were slated to speak about networking in front 200+ bloggers after the opening keynote, who was sure to be nothing short of inspiring and uplifting … and he was {{let the hyperventilating begin}}. People laughed when I told them that I hadn’t a clue who was coming to the conference. But it was true. I hadn’t searched the hashtag, asked around, talked about it….nothing. In my mind, the less people I knew in the crowd, THE BETTER. Speaking in front of 200 people didn’t freak me out. Giving advice to 200 fellow bloggers didn’t freak me out either…. thinking about the people I might know in the crowd on the other hand, made. me. want. to. vomit. I didn’t think about all the friendly faces I’d see- like Carol, Issa and Roo who sat front and center rooting us on 🙂 -because they’re all sorts of awesome-sauce. I thought about the others who I’ve seen speak before- whom might be bored, disagree with the advice I was giving, and find the game we had worked so hard on- completely lame- (even though it was really totally awesome, just sayin’). Now having the experience successfully behind me, and realizing how silly all that worrying was- I wanted to share some advice for others thinking of applying to speak or being asked to speak at a conference.
Here are my top 5 tips for first time speakers:
– Know your topic and be passionate. The more knowledgeable you are on the topic, the more confident you will be. If you’re bored with the topic, your audience will be bored too- so be sure you’re speaking on something you are passionate about. People love passion. It’s what inspires and keeps them engaged- even if its a topic that initially they weren’t sure they were totally into.
– Get out of your own head. Those voices of doubt, they are always wrong. It’s self sabotage at its best and its awful. Remember that anyone who might be in the crowd that you might consider a “seasoned pro”, has had a “first time” speaking experience. No one is born a pro. We are all fine tuning our craft.
– Find that person in the crowd smiling and nodding in agreement and focus on them. When I was at She Streams and Blogalicious I had the privilege to hear the inspiring Renee Syler speak in which she leveled with the crowd and told them “Not everyone is going to like you. LET THAT BE THEIR PROBLEM.” And it completely applies to speaking. There will be people who might disagree with your tips, but that’s ok- because for every person like that there are 2 or 3 others nodding and taking notes. Focus on speaking to those people.
– Ask for a quick tutorial on the venue’s presentation clicker. I learned not all clickers are created equal. I assumed the one I would be using was like the one’s I’ve used in offices before- and it was not. So that tripped me up a bit, but I continued on and the AV guy and Tina eventually got things under control. {Whew!}
– Try to give a few online tools and resources that people can reference. Everyone wants to walk away with not only advice, but tangible tools they can take away and sites to reference at home. If you can put the presentation online that is always helpful and appreciated too. And then… when its all done, grab your roomies and… Wobble.
Thanks to Tina and Roo for a ton of laughs throughout the weekend. Go check out their sites- they have some fun videos and pics from the conference as well. Also, stop by and visit the gals of Getting Gorgeous, Natalie, Rachel, Lori and Gigi who provided us with their tips and sound bites for our presentation video (posted on Lifewithoutpink.com). And of course, a BIG thank you to Therapon Skin Health who was our sponsor for this conference and provided our Blogger Bingo winners with their amazing skin-care line!
