Propose, Prepare, Present

Preface

Introduction

Every year, thousands of conferences happen around the world. Tens of thousands of companies—from industry giants to aspiring upstarts—jockey for their moment in the limelight, submitting presentation ideas and chasing organizers. They pump millions of dollars into these conferences, hoping to find new customers, strengthen their brand in the marketplace, and meet new partners.

Despite modern advances in technology, there’s no substitute for the genuine contact of a face-to-face interaction or the serendipity of lobby networking. Conferences and events are big business, and done right, participation in an event can vault a company to the forefront of its market.

Yet for hundreds of companies, things don’t go that way. Submitted topics aren’t chosen, and when they are, they come across as tone-deaf sales pitches that alienate the audience and undermine all of the hard work done by organizers and presenters.

I’m hoping to change this. After working on dozens of live and online events for nearly half my life, and with the help of some of the smartest conference organizers from a dozen different events, I’m going to lay out what it takes to be chosen and how to make your presentation memorable and effective.

Apologies in Advance

This document may be a bitter pill to swallow, particularly for traditional marketers who expect their company to stay “on message” and who want to control a one-way dialogue with audiences. That world is over. In an era of social networks and immediate feedback, a one-way, controlled attitude is outdated and unsustainable. Conversations go where they will, and you need to rethink the monologue in a two-way world.

I’ll also cite examples (with names changed to protect the innocent) in an attempt to better explain what works and what doesn’t. Apologies in advance if you recognize yourself. I’m doing this to try and make things better for organizers, vendors, and presenters—and, above all, for audiences.

Ultimately, all of the suggestions and observations in this document come down to one thing: figure out how to be interesting. That’s a difficult task to do well, but if you succeed, your efforts will be hugely rewarded.

Whom This Is For

If you’ve got something to say, you’re a speaker, a PR/marketing person tasked with securing speaking slots, or a speaking consultant specializing in executive speaker placement. This book is for all three of you: it’ll show you why conferences are run the way they are, how to work with organizers, and what to do to make your participation successful.