You’ve gone through the preparation process of your speaking topics and pitching conferences and events to speak, but what do you do once you’ve landed one? In today’s episode, I’m sharing 5 tips that I believe every speaker should consider when they’ve landed an opportunity to speak at a conference and event.
5 Tips for Speakers at Conferences and Events
While there are dozens of considerations when you’ve booked a speaking opportunity, I want to highlight just five things that I think more speakers should be aware of in regards to the event they’re speaking at!
1. Treat your speaking opportunity like a professional job.
Within the creative industry, we are very comfortable with each other and be personable—yet it can be detrimental if you forget to keep that professional hat on to an extent. You should treat each opportunity like a professional job, just like you would any other opportunity that you have.
This is one of the most important tips you should go into an event knowing.
2. Be aware of deadlines.
If you run your own business, you’re likely used to setting your own deadlines, but when it comes to working with a conference host or event host, you have to be aware of their deadlines and respect them. If you don’t respect or adhere to these deadlines, you may not be considered in the future and it could hurt your reputation.
Bonus Tip: Communicate expectations ASAP if you’re not able to meet their deadlines.
3. Show up with a servants heart.
One of the best things you can do as a speaker is serve beyond your talk—with the host and the attendees. This could mean offering help where needed and connecting with attendees (don’t just network with other speakers).
4. Dig into the audience and tailor your talk to them.
Even after you’ve done your research, pitched a talk and gotten a yes, it’s important that you take the time to review the audience and dig into your talk so that it is tailored to them. This will help the audience get even more out of the event, trust you more, and that will shine through to the host.
5. Ask for feedback.
If you have the opportunity to ask for feedback from the event host, do it. This will help you continue to improve as a speaker, educator, and industry leader. Plus, you can get feedback from attendees through social media and understand what they enjoyed!
When you are a creative entrepreneur, time management is the number one key to preventing burnout! Click to join the list and download my free worksheet.