Public Speaking- Major Conference Keynote Strategies (NCSL)

I need to start doing a video blog. I could go on and on about all I learned this weekend. I must forewarn you, I sense some randomness stirring up. Don’t expect any well-developed points in this article.

 

About five years ago, I did a workshop at a conference called National Conference on Student Leadership. I was relatively new to the national scene so I looked like a deer in headlights. I saw Marlon Smith and Sex Signals and Mike Domitrz and I remember saying to myself, “Dang, if this is what it takes to be at the top, whoa!” All of them had incredible, well-put-together programs and were incredibly talented. They were giants in my eyes.

 

This weekend, I was a giant. What’s so ironic is that, in some people’s eyes, I was “there” a long time ago. As many accolades and applause as I get, I still vacillate between feeling like I’m one of the industry’s top speakers or whether I’m just a guy who loves what he does and works hard to get better. There is no contest to win that would validate either opinion. I guess I prefer to stick with the latter. It keeps me hungry and humble.

 

SPRINKLE OF WISDOM: If you focus on accolades, you’ll take your focus off the people you serve. Just do the work!

 

I learned some great speaking lessons during my keynote:

1. When speaking for an audience that has been traveling all day, wit doesn’t work.

It requires too much thinking. If they’re dog tired, your quips won’t have the same impact. Jokes (that have been tested) are okay. Your best bet is physical humor is your best bet. The more exaggerated and physical the better.

 

2. If you start slow, you’d better have a mechanism to change gears.

 I was striking out in the first part of my talk. I was worried. Nothing was working as it normally does. You could hear in my voice my confusion about what to say next. They weren’t a ’silly’ crowd. Not yet. They were looking for meat and I was trying too hard to build rapport. I felt like I was getting shot down, like I was the kid who asked the girl for her phone number and she kept saying, “NO!” Not that I’ve ever experienced that…

 

I finally rolled up my sleeves and went into overdrive, dropping those Sprinklisms they weren’t ready for. I wasn’t going to let this one slip out of my hands. I peppered in questions that would stump them, so I knew they had to listen to my solutions. Once I stopped playing so much, it became clear that I knew my stuff. The energy was reversed from “prove to me you’re good” to “keep talking, this is good!”

 

3. Pitch your next talk during your first.

My one major knock on myself for this talk was that, for my purposes, it was incomplete. I mentioned from the stage that I had a workshop the next day, and even did a masterful job (off the top of my head) of pitching the benefits of tomorrow’s session. But the best part was left out. I didn’t finish my story during my talk. It wasn’t intentional, it just happened that way. The solution to their problems was at the end of the story. People kept asking me about it afterward. I SHOULD have told them that I would take my time and explain in detail in my workshop how to solve the problem…but they had to be there to get it.

Having a packed workshop means better evaluations, additional product sales and repeat bookings. Many people will wait until they see you twice to decide whether you got “lucky” the first time or whether you really have skills. I decided to shake things up and do my workshop outside. Great idea…on paper. BAD idea in reality! The sun melted the clouds then slowly melted me. I will think twice before I ever do that again.

 

SPRINKLE OF WISDOM: Don’t overlook ANY opportunity to sell yourself!

 

I get to go home now! I’m so excited about going home! I have a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerio’s with my name on it. YES LAWD!

 

Connection is key,

 

Jonathan

“The Connection Coach”

 

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