Becoming Conference Speaker in 6 Easy Steps
Presenting for the first time at a conference can be intimidating and overwhelming. Here are some tricks that even experienced conference dwellers with years of presenting experience under their belt used as they were starting their successful careers.Promote Your Achievements
Here are some qualities that conference organizers look for in a presenter:• people actively engaged in the domain
• book, blog and podcast authors
• people from well-known companies
• fresh ideas
• influencers
• university lecturers.
Start your journey by:
• being active on social media; LinkedIn, Twitter and other platforms are a good place to start
• showcasing your presentations from other conferences or meetups when applying for a conference
• being vocal about your achievements in your area of expertise
• for blog and podcast owners: promote the conference by reviewing it on your blog/podcast.
Understand the Conference Topic
Make a short research before you start working on your abstract to understand what are your customer’s needs (a.k.a. organizers expectations) so that you prepare a topic that fits perfectly into the conference' agenda.Here are some things you can do to prepare:
• research online what’s the main topic and if this is not clear, you can always get in touch with the organizers for more information
• look into the last year’s conference, or even agenda from a few years back to get an idea what topics other presenters covered and identify useful patterns
• learn about participants – get information on who the participants are and what backgrounds they come from.
Learn about the Conference Format
Before you send your abstract, figure out how your presentation fits into the conference. Is it an open space, a workshop, a 1 hour presentation, or a 15 minute inspirational talk?If you are accepted as a speaker, ask organizers where will you have the talk. Is it a conference room with 100 places, do you need to step on a stage in front of a larger audience, or will you be in a smaller room with 20 people?
Create a Competitive Abstract
Many people would like to become speakers at conferences, however only few are selected.Here are some tips for writing a competitive abstract:
• focus on the overall conference topic
• bring something new and creative, fresh and original
• solve a problem or a need that no one else is covering
• make sure that participants get an immediate practical advantage from your talk
• be original in your presentation format.
Engage your Audience
We've all been in a presentation that seems to last forever and puts you to sleep. To avoid falling into this trap, make your presentation exciting and fun.Here are some ideas that will help you keep your audience engaged:
• ask questions to the audience during your talk
• tell a story that will connect with your audience
• organize polls, but check with the organizers if this is okay; “hands-up if...” approach is always a good alternative
• ask your audience to perform tasks, involve them in a role play or a short game
• check that your body language is open and welcoming, and keep appropriate eye contact
• keep your slides brief so your audience can follow what you're saying instead of reading content of the slides
• try to memorize most of your presentation so you don't have to read during your talk; this also makes it easier to keep eye contact with your audience
• summarize the key points at the end of your presentation so your audience can leave with a clear idea of what they have just learned.
And finally...
...start small and keep it simple. We all start humble and build our way up.You can always start with a smaller conference and just a dozen of participants. This is an ideal place to try out your ideas and learn from participants' feedback. Since the risk is low, it will also be easier for you to keep your anxiety levels in check and get used to talking to a group of people.
Every time you present you will notice you're getting better and better at it.
What Tips Would You Give?
Anything else you would add to this list?Share your feedback in the comments bellow.
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