Give engaging talks, online and off

Make It Kickass

So you're going to speak at a conference. How do you make the most impact with your presentation, especially in this world where it could be virtual, it could be in-person, it could be hybrid, it could be something entirely different that we haven't even discovered yet. How do you do this? This week, what it really takes to give a talk the audience actually wants to listen to.

Timestamps to relevant points within the episode:

• [01:22] - How to give a standout talk in an intra-pandemic or post-pandemic world
• [05:10] - An attendee's surrender to the speaker
• [10:48] - Conference organizers should be caring more deeply and investing more heavily in the quality of the presentations being given at their conferences.
• [13:45] - The new set of skills speakers need to develop
• [18:07] - Start with good content
• [19:59] - TL;DL summary of the episode

Key takeaways:

• Care deeply about your topic
• Know who you're speaking to
• Know your outcomes. Start with the end.
• With online events, there is no social contract keeping the audience in their seats. It's more important than ever to work to keep them engaged.
• Start with good content and then develop the performance skills unique to the particular presentation format.
• Look to other types of performers who've figured out how to pivot to virtual; YouTubers, stand up comedians etc.
• Conference organizers should be caring more deeply and investing more heavily in the quality of the presentations being given at their conferences.
• Zoom fatigue is not an excuse for boring content.

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Next episode: Event accessibility, it's more than ramps.

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