Episode #367: Prepping For Future Presentations

We may not have the chance to give that many public presentations in a year, but usually we will have some common themes which we can speak on. As businesspeople, we will have our areas of expertise and experience and based on those attributes, the hosts will invite us to present. Basically, in the lull between hostilities, we do nothing and just wait for the next chance to speak. If we want to improve as presenters, that passive approach doesn’t make any sense. There are a number of things we should be doing between presenting gigs.

Further researching our expertise areas should be a constant item for us. We are daily looking for things in the media, in journals and on social media which we can collect and stash away for when we need it. We can’t put it in the shoe box like our tax receipts, because we need to be able to find it when we need it. So a simple sorting system is required, so that we can extract what we have found, when the occasion presents itself.

We need an idea collection system as well. At different times we get some genius inspiration about one of our topics and then that thought is totally overtaken by the next thought and then lost forever. Instead, we need a place where we can quickly grab that thought and keep it for later when we need it. Ideas pop up at the most unlikely times, so we need something with us all the time. Usually, our phones have apps suitable for that quick notation we need. Again, we need a basic filing system, so that we can locate that excellent insight, observation or idea.

We may have a great amount of knowledge and experience on certain topics, but those searching for speakers may never know we exist. This is where we need to be constantly making any effort to alert others that we know lots about a few things. I was reminded of how important this whole “be found” thing is recently. Ironically, we were doing leadership training for a large consulting firm and had been doing it for quite a while. One day, out of the blue on LinkedIn, I received a message from a junior person in that firm asking about whether I could speak to a conference they were holding. In the note to me, it was mentioned that two people who knew me had recommended me for the gig.

I was happy to be considered, but confused as to why the connection had come through this circuitous route? I have given over 550 public speeches, pump out six podcasts and three TV shows a week, have written the book Japan Presentations Mastery, have 27,000 followers on LinkedIn and have published thousands of articles on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Maybe the person doing the research was hopeless. Maybe it was Covid, where public presentations basically vanished, I don't know, but it really highlighted for me how invisible we all are. Anyway, we have to make a positive effort to be found and we have to calculate in that the designated researchers may be sub-standard, so we need to do even more to be found.

Also, we should always try and video our presentations. This provides us with material for our “show reel” where we can select the bits and pieces to show a prospective speaking gig host our goods. As I mentioned, the chances to speak in a year are relatively limited for most of us, so we need to produce some proof that we are the one they need for the next speaking spot. Videos can be edited and flashed up to make us look even more amazing than we already are and they can be on our websites, on YouTube or sent to the hosts, when they inquire about speaking to their audience.

We shouldn’t be too snooty about taking speaking gigs either. Imagining you will save it all up for the big stage and be totally awesome is wishful thinking. We should grab every spot we can get, however humble, so that we build our craft. We should also keep notes on where we went well and where we need to improve, so that the real time insights are not lost in a busy life. A lot of little events can help hone our skills to really shine at the big events. As I have mentioned a million times, having incredible data to share doesn't mean your presentation is going to be spectacular. The brilliant content won’t save you from decimating your audience with ums and ahs, or a monotone, boring, wooden delivery.

Speaking in front of others, in this Age of Distraction and this Era of Scepticism, means the act of presenting has never been harder. Audiences are well equipped with their gateway to the internet in their hand. In the first ten seconds, if you sound dull, they bolt and don't wait. Also, the “fake news” era has driven up the scepticism scale people are gauging us by when speaking. The bar has never been higher for public speakers. That means we have to become Masters of the Mechanics of speaking at the very least. Great content is meaningless, if no one is taking any note and you have lost control of their attention

So, between major speaking gigs, we have work to do. We should be in a constant state of prep, always anticipating our next chance will emerge and making sure that we will be more than ready to take that opportunity.