I got a call yesterday morning, from a very well respected and known seminar event holder in London.
He needed someone, anyone to speak on Digital Marketing.
I said yes, although nervous as it was that evening.
I learned that to much text on slides is a bad thing, and not knowing your audience doesn't help.
The fact that i networked and the first 3 people I spoke to helped me to understand the audience of Tech startups helped a lot.
If your interested in Facebook advertising enjoy this video, but if your a fellow speaker, see 'warts and all' of my presentation... from technical issues, to engaging with the audience etc
My respect to the true professional speakers out there, they are superb at their craft. I hope to get there one day.
I knew my subject matter so that wasnt the issue.
My main concern was knowing the audience. Understanding their goals.
I talked to a few people before hand to understand what the meetup was really about 'tech startups' and it helped a lot.
I met two business owners and their teams developing super amazing apps, that could be game changers in their fields.
One new their audience. The other less so.
Its interesting to see how startups love their product / service but dont know how to get the eyeballs which is where my knowledge / experience is useful to them hence being on stage in front of them.
I think were all to close to our own 'projects' sometimes, so having an outside voice helps.
Overall Im happy with the event, even with the tech issues.
The real skill I think of speaker, is knowing the audience, understanding their desires, goals and objectives and tailoring a presentation as closely to that as possible.
That was my biggest learning of the night, and invaluable.