Here’s How to Prep an Outstanding Talk – 4 Tips for a Speaker

This article couldn’t be more on point – as I’m typing this, WordCamp Europe 2023 has just announced this year’s speakers and I’m proud to share that I’m one of them. Aside from all the excitement and anticipation, I figured the timing would be perfect for me to share with you some essential tips – if you’re about to participate in a conference of some sort as a speaker, then you’d certainly find this piece useful.

I know for a fact that many people find it hard to beat their stage fright and participate in conferences, seminars and all kinds of speaking events. On the other hand, the networking opportunities those types of venues offer is unimaginable – virtually every business owner could benefit from taking part in such events since it offers great exposure opportunities. We live in a world where networking truly makes a difference – whether it will bring new clients, help you in the brand awareness department or simply craft a name for yourself as a professional in a certain business niche.

However, if you are part of the great majority of people who find it hard to wrap their heads around picking a topic and doing their best when it comes to performing on stage, this article will probably assist you. Let’s get going.

Don’t Miss Out On Opting for Business Exposure

Conferences, seminars, workshops and all types of social events that are situated around a certain business niche are in fact great career boosters. Although stage fright is indeed something that’s stopping a lot of experts and entrepreneurs from pursuing networking opportunities, it in fact does more than that – by missing out on taking part in such events, you miss big time on business exposure and placing yourself as a professional in the industry.

Right at the beginning of my dev career, I also experienced slight discomfort whenever a speaking opportunity came at me – but with time, I learned to see right through the stage fright and began witnessing the numerous opportunities attending conferences brings to the table:

• It’s a great place to meet like-minded individuals. Networking is truly important when it comes to professional development. Whether you’ll be a speaker or just attending a seminar, conferences and workshops are a great place to meet people from the same business niche, discuss important topics and exchange valuable experience.
• Conferences help you learn new things. It’s needless to say there’s always room for improvement. Once you start attending speaking events, you will certainly learn tons of new information and priceless know-how; you can then use those to further develop your career and professional expertise.
• You can meet mentors or even great employees-to-be. Aside from networking that widens your horizons, conferences and seminars are a great place both for getting introduced to thought leaders and stumbling upon amazing potential employees who might express interest in joining your company.
• All the trends are awaiting! Usually, conferences are a great place for speakers and attendees to learn what’s new in their industry and learn how to implement the latest trends and discoveries. Essentially, that’s a great way for everyone to experience everything that’s new and successfully implement it in their own companies and teams.

Of course, this list could go on and on – all I wanted to do is highlight the very essential reasons why attending conferences and participating as a speaker is indeed a great opportunity for any business. So once we’ve covered this, now it’s time to proceed with some useful tips on how to choose your topic, as well as how to present it in the best way possible. Let’s continue!

4 Tips On How to Nail Any Attendance Event as a Speaker

1. Think of a topic that won’t be excessively covered. Usually, at conferences that are situated around a certain topic, most of the attendees gravitate around the most sought-after subjects; but if you want to make an impression and bring true value to the crowd, my advice for you is to focus on picking an important, yet not so excessively covered topic – this way the audience would learn something new and would certainly remember you for bringing up interesting topics.
2. Make sure you feature plenty of visual elements and infographics. A successful talk is one that succeeds at grabbing people’s attention and offering insightful information backed up by a plethora of examples. A great way to achieve this is by featuring presentations, infographics, videos, interviews, case studies and pretty much anything that will help you prove your point and make your topic memorable.
3. Take a moment to research your audience and get to know their experience, interests and possible pain points. This way you’ll discover how to best navigate through your speech and how you can bring the biggest value to the crowd. After all, all you want for your topic is to be relevant and educational for the audience.
4. Don’t be stiff – use the power of storytelling to make an impression. Regardless of the importance of the topic, nobody enjoys a stiff speech that doesn’t intrigue or bring out emotions. Storytelling is indeed your best friend in situations like these – opt for stories, personal experience, humor and everything that could shake things up.

I hope this short piece has managed to give you courage when it comes to overcoming your stage fright and also provide useful key points when it comes to dazzling the crowd and offering valuable information.