Speaking - Your Presentation Was Selected - Now What

19 Jan 2019 by Keith Elder

Everything you've been working so hard on has led up to the moment. All the work you've put in to your abstract, title and bio has paid off. You've been selected to speak at an event - now what? In this section we're going to cover all of the details you'll need to know as a conference speaker and how to prepare yourself for stepping on stage.

Upon Notification

Conferences will alert you via email if you've been selected or if you haven't been selected. If selected, they'll request you confirm your attendance. Be sure to watch for this email and confirm your attendance upon selection.

Once selected, share the good news in your social media circles. Conference organizers appreciate the extra bump in visibility to help them sell some tickets. Also, now's the time to let your team leader know and to alert The Wire.

Travel

Before booking travel, find out if the event is hosting a "Speakers Dinner." This dinner is where all of the speakers get together for a nice meal and drinks and is typically the night before the conference. If they're having one, you should attend. This is also when you'll typically receive a speaker gift for your efforts. Not all events do this, but some do. Once you know the dates you'll be traveling, head over to http://shorty/tdev to complete the form and be sure to mark that you're a speaker. This will alert the Travel team and they'll reach out to help you schedule your travel needs.

Before You Leave

Backup your presentation to a thumb drive and also the Cloud. Anything can happen, so you want to be prepared just in case something happens. Be sure you have everything you'll need.

Here's a quick checklist of what you should have in your toolbox:

Presentation remote/clicker
HDMI cables/dongles to plug the projector into your computer
Laptop charger
Phone charger

Upon Arrival at the Conference

After you've arrived at the conference, spend time understanding where you're going. Some conferences are in the hotel or the convention area is next to the hotel. Other times you may have to drive to get to the venue. If you aren't familiar with the area, understand where you're going and how you're going to get there. Have a backup plan. For example, if you're planning on taking Lyft, also have Uber installed and ready to go.

At some point before you're scheduled to go on stage, locate the room where you'll be speaking. Spend some time in the room. What cord does the project have? Do you have one? Where will you stand? Take time getting to know the space you'll be presenting in and getting comfortable.

The Speaker Room

Most conferences have a dedicated room at the venue where speakers can plug in and work on their slide decks. You should already have everything ready to go, but you may want to find a quiet space to think and prepare yourself. Use the speaker room for final touches and mentally prepping yourself. If the hotel and venue are not connected, get over to the conference early and spend time preparing in the speaker room. A lot of bigger conferences will provide food and snacks to speakers so they don't have to fight the long food lines during lunch. The speaker room is a great place to meet other speakers.

Starting the Day

Try to maintain a normal routine from the moment you arrive at the conference until you speak. This means eating at the same times and the same types of foods. This isn't the time to get adventurous and try a new food you're not sure will sit well. Let's say you speak at 11:00 a.m. What do you normally do before 11 a.m. most days? Do you have breakfast and a cup of coffee? Hydrate? Exercise? After you've covered your basic routine, spend the time leading up to your talk doing more run throughs and practicing your demos, if there are any.

Using Your Own Equipment

For smaller conferences you'll use your own equipment to deliver your presentation. For larger events, those that request slide decks turned in weeks or a month before the event do so because you aren't allowed to use your own equipment. Larger events typically have A/V teams that handle everything. If you're speaking at an event that asks you to submit your slide deck, be sure you check with them to see if you can use your own equipment.
The morning of your talk, start the day by rebooting your machine. This ensures that its ready to go. Never do any software updates before a presentation, especially if you're doing a technical demo. Don't complete any updates to your Mac or Windows laptop or buy some random device that you have to install software on to make it work.
If possible, work with the A/V team to check your laptop with the projector or check it in the room by yourself. There are horror stories of speakers who've given the same talk at several events with no problem but then randomly have trouble with a projector. Others report fuses getting blown because they plugged in. The horror stories are numerous, so just plan that anything can happen. Be sure you have everything you'll need including VGA, DVI and HDMI adapters.
Close all applications down that you don't need on your laptop. Shutdown all notifications. You don't want to be on stage and have a Facebook message pop up. On the flip side, open all the applications you'll need for your presentation. Don't make the audience wait for you to open apps or other things.
If you're showing video clips, or anything requiring internet access, have a back plan. You never know what the situation will be. Video clips should always be played locally and already downloaded. Just in case you don't have internet, be ready for plan B. This might be putting your phone in tether mode or hiding that slide in PowerPoint so it isn't used.

Be Ready Before Going On

Use the restroom before you go in for your sound check and get your mic situated.
Empty your pockets so you're not creating any unnecessary distractions on stage.
Drink a cup of hot water with lemon to ensure the best voice clarity and projection.
Wear a shirt with a collar or buttons so you can make the lapel mic as inconspicuous as possible.
Put your cell phone on silent.

10 Minutes Until Showtime!

Arrive early to test equipment, do a sound check, meet with A/V and make sure your slides work.
Mingle with the audience as they enter the room and encourage them to sit in the front. Speaking to a large, empty room can be unnerving for some speakers.
Check your clicker to make sure it's working.
Work with the A/V team to run the microphone cord inside your shirt. This ensures you don't catch your hands on it and send it flying during your talk.
Remove your badge. You can assume everyone on stage knows who you are. Badges can be distracting and are another thing to get caught in your hands

Lights, Camera, Action!

Remember the audience is rooting for you to knock their socks off. They really want you to succeed, so there's absolutely no reason to be nervous. Seriously, no reason. Got it? Good.

The first thing you want to do is set the stage:

Introduce yourself. If you were introduced by someone else, say something different or link what you're saying to what has already been said.
State the name of your talk. You want to make sure that everyone in the room is in the right talk.
Set expectations. This should be impactful and brief. The goal is to grab their attention.
Cover any pre-requisites that may be needed to get the most value out of their time. Providing this information up front gives the audience a chance to leave if they don’t meet the minimum requirements. There's nothing worse than hearing your talk was too technical when you made it to be technical in the first place.
Say thank you when you're done. They gave you their time and their applause. This is gift and you want to express your gratitude.