#speaking

Conference organisers spend a lot of time and money on recording, hosting, transcribing and describing recordings of talks. And for you as a presenter, you do benefit from a great recording of the session. You reach a lot more viewers that way and other conference organisers do watch recordings to pick speakers for their event. You also add longevity to your session and reach people that may have picked a talk that was in parallel to yours. That’s why it is important to avoid a few things on stage if you want to benefit from all that effort. Here are some I encountered. And, yes, I also made these mistakes many times both as a presenter and as a moderator. But I learned from them.

The best public speakers are as nervous as you are. They've just done it before, and they all do certain things much better than you. But you can change that. It's an extremely learnable skill.

Not an extrovert? Great. Speaking is for introverts!

Not an extrovert? Great. Speaking is for introverts!

"One day, I wasn’t a speaker at conferences, and then I was. And then a little while later, I was a paid speaker. And now, I’m a decently paid speaker. Some day, I hope to be a really well-paid speaker"

"Of course, I'm probably free at midnight, but I wasn't sure if that was great."

"Do NOT wait for an invitation!"