YOU CAN BE A CIRCUIT
SUPERSTAR CONFERENCE 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/

01WHY 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 DEVELOPMENT you’ll be
seen as an expert & a superstar with: • fellow speakers • audience members • exhibition vendors • colleagues • industry press

Oh that guy again 2.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT speaking drives sales, branding and PR, and partnerships

3. BENEFIT FROM PREPARATION by
preparing to speak, you will gain an incredibly clear understanding of the subject

4. STRETCH YOURSELF stage 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

02HOW 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 FINDABLE use
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 FINDABLE next,
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 FINDABLE now,
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 FINDABLE this
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 FINDABLE also,
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 FINDABLE finally,
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 SPEAKERS I 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 SPEAKERS of 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 UP
start 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 PERSISTENT you will
get rejected. no problem. think barney stinson’s approach to the bar scene

6. DON’T GO OUT OF
POCKET you 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

03HOW DO YOU DEVELOP A
TOPIC

1. OWN IT Conference 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
PASSION just 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 EXPLAIN with
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 SCOPE similarly,
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 RIGHT
finally, 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 RIGHT
and 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

04HOW 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

05HOW 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.com http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eric-tachibana/0/33/b53

CLICK HERE FOR MORE!!!!

CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTIONS & REFERENCES
Title 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/