At some point in your professional career, your work will take you to the stage at a local, regional or national conference, and your presentation needs to engage with the audience. Whether you are attempting to sell marketing strategies for small businessleaders or build brand awareness in your industry, the right speech can help your company go the distance. Here are three tips to consider when presenting at your next conference.
1.) Stories capture your audience – Conference attendees often visit these showings because they’ve found themselves in similar industries and their employers want them to go, which doesn’t mean they aren’t passionate about the work, but that you need to do a little extra work to keep them engaged. For this reason, it’s always great to tell a relevant story to open up your presentation. If you can tie a real-life experience to the subsequent topic you’re about to talk on, viewers may give you their attention for the remainder of your speech.
2.) Show them who you are – There is nothing worse than listening to a presentation from a speaker who is inanimate and uninvolved. Anyone can stand in front of a crowd and recite mindless data to an audience, but it takes a real thought-leader to be able to insert personality into a speech, and if you can achieve that objective, you will convey your passion for the topic. If your goal is to convert your viewers to customers, you won’t get very far if you don’t show your interest in your brand, so be as animated as possible when talking to a crowd.
3.) Never say you’re sorry – A common mistake presenters make when they stumble through their words is offering a quick apology. The first rule to speaking in front of a crowd is to remember that a lot of the nerves you feel inside, aren’t visible to the naked eye, and while a short stutter might be heard, you can quickly correct yourself without undermining your authority as a speaker.
You might not attend industry-related conferences regularly, but when you do, it’s important to be prepared. Taking the appropriate amount of time to prepare in advance and understanding how to capture the attention of your audience can help your presentation stick out and potentially bring new business your way.
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