| Conferences allow you to speak directly to your target audience enhanced by the authority of the event. Malcolm Sleath from coaching consultancy 12boxes offers some guidelines for success. |
| How to make a conference presentation work for you |
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| | By Malcolm Sleath
Question: In a few
weeks’ time I have an
opportunity to speak on
my specialist subject to
a number of influential
people at a conference.
In particular, the
audience will include
some firms that have the
right connections to be a
very effective route to
market. I want to
convince them that I have
something special to
offer, but don’t want to
give too much away. Any
tips?
Answer: There is a
risk of being too pleased
with yourself when you
feel you have something
to offer which is
significantly better than
anything else currently
available. It almost
always provokes a ‘not
invented here’ reaction.
No doubt you will have
seen this happen to other
people.
The first thing to
bear in mind is that your
real target audience may
be a small subset of the
number of people in the
room, so you have to do
something that the
majority will find
interesting, but will
prompt the important
minority into action.
It is important to get
your head in the right
place before you begin to
plan your approach. Much | |
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| | depends on how you frame
the task you have set
yourself. Think about
what Antony Jay calls
your desired audience
response (DAR).
Telling yourself, “I
want them to be
impressed”, is likely to
result in a different
presentation to one where
you say, “I want the
right people in the
audience to come and
speak to me afterwards”.
Assuming it is the latter
that you are interested
in, how do you set about
it?
Step one: Get
their attention by
talking about something
that is familiar to them
and where they are likely
to nod in agreement. It
might start off, “You
know when the client
says...” Examples like
this are often an
opportunity for the wry
humour of recognition.
You are putting yourself
alongside the audience
instead of above them.
The underlying message is
“this has happened to me
too”.
If you are not too
clear about what will
resonate with your target
audience, it’s worth
taking the trouble to
interview two or three of
them in advance, just to
get a flavour of their
experience and reference | |
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| | points. Of course, you
have to avoid putting
anything into your
presentation that they
would see as betraying a
confidence, or would
embarrass them to recall
– even privately. But it
is a great confidence
booster when you know
that two or three people
in the audience will
definitely know what you
are talking about and are
already on your side.
Step two: Having
got their attention and
interest, you now have to
get them to look at the
real consequences of the
amusing situations you
have just described. “We
have to laugh”, you say,
“but of course we all
realise this represents
an underlying problem”,
and you go on to spell it
out. The syndrome to
which you have drawn
attention should
represent a lost
opportunity not only for
the ultimate client, but
for the individuals and
firms which will provide
your route to market.
Ideally, you will be
highlighting a situation
where the resolution of
this issue will create
significant business
opportunities for them.
Otherwise, why would they
want to work with you?
Continued on page 12
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