01.18.08

Whether you were just invited to speak at an international industry event, a regional conference, or a local event, it is up to YOU to make the most out of the speaking opportunity. This is one of the times where a little bit of planning will go a long way.

Should you accept the speaking opportunity? The choice is up to you. Before you accept the invitation you might want to take a look at the tentative schedule and see whether or not this is an event you would have wanted to attend if you were not invited to speak there. If when looking at the content, there are no sessions you can relate to, chances are that you might not want to be speaking there. Over time you will learn to be more selective about your speaking opportunities.

Once you make the decision to speak and accept the chance to speak, you now have an opportunity to prepare for you chance to be in the spotlight. The chance for you to shine amongst your peers. A chance for you to stand out. It is now your responsibility to get the most out of your commitment to speak.

Once you commit to speak at a conference, you should find out what hotel the other speakers will be staying out. If this is an event in one hotel, the answer is simple. If you are speaking at an conference at a convention center which has multiple conference hotels, you should contact the event organizer and ask them which hotel they are recommending to their speakers to stay at. Traveling a great distance to speak at an event and staying at the wrong hotel during the event is one way to ensure yourself that you will feel not as productive as the person who spoke at an event and stayed at the hotel that all of the other speakers were staying in.

One of the things I love about conferences are the chance meetings that occur. Staying at the same hotel as the other speakers just increases the chances you will also have chance meetings that amount to something. Sometimes it is the late night conversations that take place in the lobby of your hotel that make the entire trip worthwhile.

Whenever possible, try to avoid “Hit and Run” speaking opportunities. Whenever you “hit and run” a conference, you lose any chance you had to connect with the community and network and you might damage your standing within the industry / group of people who you did connect with during your talk. Conference organizers appreciate it whenever the people they invite to speak decide to stay for the entire conference and become active members of the event community.

When preparing for the speaking opportunity, you should spend some time understanding the demographics of the community of people attending. Look at the conference program and make sure the talk you are working on is on target. If the event organizer contacts you and asks what you will be talking about, be as specific as possible. Listen and think about what they have to say before you say a word. Being on target with your message is important if you want to get invited back to speak again.

When I plan my attendance at an event, I scan the conference brochure and identify the people I want to meet. I recommend finding out the social networking platforms being used by the community and join the appropriate networks. Look for the people you want to meet on these networks and try to schedule meetings in advance. Within the online community do whatever you can do to get noticed. Stand out in your own unique way.

As the conference gets closer, take another look at the conference program.

Be aware of when you are speaking in the conference schedule. If you are speaking early in the conference, there is a good chance you will be noticed by your peers in the audience which will help your on-site networking. But if it turns out you are speaking in the second to last session of the event, you may need to make a special extra effort during the event to network with everyone else, unless you are speaking at an event where you are well known since the audience will be introduced to you just an hour before the conference is ending.

Look at the conference schedule and look for when the networking opportunities are. If you are speaking at the event because you want to benefit from the on-site networking, make yourself available and plan to be on-site at the conference early in the morning. Surprise the event organizer and show up during breakfast. Sit down at a table of strangers and have coffee with seven new friends. Get up and grab some food and sit down and meet another table of people. Repeat this for as long as you can. Position yourself in a strategic location during the scheduled breaks so you can be nearer to the people you are looking to meet. I’m not advocating that you stalk anyone but just taking advantage of any and all opportunities that present themselves.

Whenever I attend an event, besides speaking at the event, a series of questions goes through my mind. I ask myself: Why am I really here? Is it to generate business for my company? Am I here to prospect for leads? To share a vision? To promote a cause? To validate a concept? To raise money? To get noticed by the media? To sell an idea? To find the people for a team? Or something else. And it doesn’t really matter what the answer is but the point is always know what the answer is. Understanding your goals and objectives gives you a much better chance of being able to satisfy your goals rather than going home feeling unfulfilled.

If I’m looking to maximize the networking with the other speakers, what I always do is look at the conference schedule and take note of the times the people I’m looking to meet are speaking. I then make it the point to show up in the “Speakers Lounge” or “Green Room” up to an hour before that person is scheduled to speak and hang out and wait for them to show up. While not every speaker shows up in the speaker’s lounge before their talk, many do. Being a speaker gives you full and unfettered access to the areas generally reserved only for fellow speakers. Use the status of being a speaker to spend time in the speakers lounge. This is your ticket for premium networking opportunities.

Most of the time, your speaker badge will also be your ticket to get access to the press room. Just tell the person at the door you have an interview scheduled. Once inside, it is up to you to get yourself into a story by making yourself available to the media. Politely overhear a conversation and share a comment. You never know who may be listening.

If you are invited to a speaker’s dinner or lunch or breakfast make it a point to be there. These are usually special VIP events which offer great networking opportunities.