YOU CAN BE A

CIRCUIT SUPERSTARCONFERENCE

This should be your microphone!

this is me

i’m giving a talk on technology strategy at The Asian Banker 2014

<whisper> i’m not actually a superstar

but I’ve been on the circuit for 20 years

and do 10-15 gigs a year

and along the way, I’ve turned speaking

into millions in biz dev and dozens of

job offers

so if you are interested in

speaking at an industry conference

This is not me!!!

i can share my industry speaking

journey

This is definitely not me!!!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rachelstrum/

0 1

WHY SPEAK AT AN INDUSTRY CONFERENCE

getting a gig, preparing, and speaking means personal/career risk and quite a bit

of grunt work. So why do it?

1. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTyou’ll be seen as an expert & a superstar with:

• fellow speakers• audience members• exhibition vendors• colleagues• industry press

Oh that guy again

2. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTspeaking drives sales, branding and PR, and

partnerships

3. BENEFIT FROM PREPARATIONby preparing to speak, you will gain an incredibly

clear understanding of the subject

4. STRETCH YOURSELFstage fright? busy schedule? out of your

comfort zone? GOOD! EAT IT! stop whining!

ONE FINAL NOTE!

clear your speaking engagement and materials with your boss, corporate comms,

legal, and marketing

0 2

HOW DO YOU GET GIGS

1. DO A SWOT-TOWS ANALYSIS this helps you clarify your strategy

Click to view this instructional deck!

2. BE VERY FINDABLEuse google to list all relevant conferences. grab the names of key organizers & admins from the “about us” section. send them linked-in connect requests. since linked-in is slutty, you’ll get 70% acceptance.

2. BE VERY FINDABLEnext, since good conference organizer friend other

organizers, friend their conference organizing contacts too. you’ll quickly get a lot of 2nd degree

connections, and your accept rate will go up

2. BE VERY FINDABLEnow, add relevant keywords to your linked-in profile.

add the “public speaking” skill, and get endorsed. add, “dynamic industry speaker and XYZ domain

expert” to your summary.

2. BE VERY FINDABLEthis is important because conference organizers use

linked-in to source speakers. the more 1st degree connections you have & the better your profile

keywords are, the more you’ll appear in their search

2. BE VERY FINDABLEalso, generate content. post your presentation decks on Slideshare and link them to your linked-in profile

page. get a copy of a video of you speaking, and add that too

2. BE VERY FINDABLEfinally, make sure your social media identity is all

over your slide deck

3. BRIBERY WORKS TOO!if you sponsor an event, you usually get speaking

slots and a booth. this is expensive so it should be used only once or twice to kick start

4. BEFRIEND SPEAKERSI get 2 speaking requests per month but I speak at

only 1 event per month. that means I turn down lots of events. my ‘go-to’ friends get my over-flow.

4. BEFRIEND SPEAKERSof course, you must do a phenomenal job, or you’ll

burn your rep fast! so I’d get your chops down before developing this resource

5. WORK YOUR WAY UPstart small and work your way up. there are many

opportunities to speak in front of crowds of 8! scoring a small gig at a user group or meet-up is much

easier as these groups are often undersupplied

5. BE PERSISTENTyou will get rejected. no problem. think barney

stinson’s approach to the bar scene

6. DON’T GO OUT OF POCKETyou probably won’t get paid to speak, unless you’re a

pro. however, you should never be out of pocket: transport to & from the airport, plane tickets, travel

insurance accommodation charges including room-service meals and wi-fi

0 3

HOW DO YOU DEVELOP A TOPIC

1. OWN ITConference organizers usually give you a topic. But don’t feel restricted to those topics. Most organizers

are happy for you to change topics or just create your own - so long as it blends with the overall

conference theme

2. BE PASSIONATE & INSPIRE PASSIONjust choose a topic that makes you passionate, because, it is passion that creates memorable

conference audience experiences. that said, choose a topic that has the potential to also make the

audience passionate too.

3. INSPIRE, DON’T EXPLAINwith this in mind, choose something

inspirational, contrarian, or unexpected. don’t try to explain.

Explanation is better done in other mediums like books or slideshares. in

30 minutes, you don’t have time.

presentations should inspire, not explain. leave the audience wanting to

follow-up, not satiated (bored).

that doesn’t mean that your talk should be fluff. You need credibility

and to add value as an expert. but it does mean that the focus should be

on “why” questions, not “what” answers.

4. LIMIT YOUR SCOPEsimilarly, scope down your messages. as a rule of

thumb, I try to hit no more than 3 major themes in 30 minutes and no more than 1 minor theme every 3-5

minutes of speaking time.

5. GET THE PACKAGING RIGHTfinally, make sure your presentation will be sexy to

conference attendees. take time to craft your strong, relevant bio and a good, professional, hi-res selfie.

pre-event marketing makes a difference. you’ll help self-select the audience as they will attend the talks

that pique their curiosity,

5. GET THE PACKAGING RIGHTand have a sexy presentation title please!

Approaches to dealing with software end-of-life issues

10 Ways to Kill Zombie Software!

BAD!

BETTER!

04HOW DO YOU PREPARE & DELIVER

0 4

HOW DO PREPARE & DELIVER

Slideshare is chock-a-block with decks on this topic, so rather than repeat, I’ll

just share what has inspired me

CLICK THUMBNAIL TO VIEW THE DECK

CLICK THUMBNAIL TO VIEW THE DECK

CLICK THUMBNAIL TO VIEW THE DECK

CLICK THUMBNAIL TO VIEW THE DECK

CLICK THUMBNAIL TO VIEW THE DECK

0 5

HOW DO YOU FOLLOW-UP

If you are building a brand as a speaker, follow-up is just as critical as the presentation.

Good follow-up means: Link-in with other speakers, audience members, conference organizers, and post

your material all over social media

That’s it! Good luck!

1. WHY SPEAK• Professional Dev• Business Dev• Benefit from prep• Stretch yourself

• Get approval

2. HOW TO GET GIGS• Be very findable• Bribery works too• Befriend speakers• Work your way up• Be persistent

• Don’t go out of pocket

3. DEVELOP TOPICS• Own it• Be passionate and

inspire passion• Don’t explain, inspire• Limit your scope• Get the Packaging right

4. HOW TO PREPARE• One Message/slide • Beautiful slides• Ideas, not data• Great Title page • Know what’s in it

for audience• Manage A/V

5. HOW TO PRESENT• Practice, • Be rested • Arrive early & scope• Watch body language,

volume, tone, & speed• Speaker monitor

6. HOW TO HANDLE Q&A• Stay on Message• Predict the questions• Paraphrase • Engage everyone• Be nice• Don’t bullshit• Be brief

7. FOLLOW-UP• Link to speakers,

organizers & audience

• Post like mad!

SHARE THIS DECK & FOLLOW ME(please-oh-please-oh-please-oh-please)

Selena Sol asks…..

http://www.slideshare.net/selenasol/presentations

stay up to date with my future slideshare posts

selena@selenasol.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/pub/eric-tachibana/0/33/b53

CLICK HERE FOR MORE!!!!

CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTIONS & REFERENCESTitle Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/evanforester/

Whisper Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/conveniencestoregourmet/R U Interested in Speaking slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/schani/

Hard Work Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/artripoli/Coins Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiki99/

Benefit from Prep Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/vox_efx/Stretch Yourself Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sick_rdm/

One Final Note (Stormtroopers) Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bobsfever/Bribery Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/26008993@N04/

Befriend Speakers Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/universidaddemontemorelos/Work Your Way Up Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/10216416@N00/

Don’t Go out of Pocket Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/Own It Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/skynoir/

Passion Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/badboy69/Inspire Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenpoff/

Limit Your Scope Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/21560098@N06/Packaging Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/

Bald Eagle Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeff_sch/This Slide: https://www.flickr.com/photos/21572939@N03/