This is a guest post by Dr Simon Raybould.
Let’s face it, if you’re a blogger, you’re a writer. By definition! You may be a good one, or even a great one, but you’re a writer, not a speaker.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with being a writer. I like writers and I appreciate writing: one of my favourite gadgets is my Kindle.
The important point is that writers aren’t automatically speakers… and if you’re going to speak about your blog (and hey, what an honour that is!) you need to do a bit of work.
This post isn’t going to be the answer to your prayers, I’m afraid. I’m barely going to touch on how you should do things.
Instead, I’m going to give you a pretty high-level overview of the kind of things your should be doing and/or thinking…
It’s All in the Mind
Firstly, you need to change your mindset. It sounds easy but it isn’t. Sadly it’s also the most important of your challenges!
Written words spoken sound aloud tend to sound like…well, written words spoken aloud. They don’t sound like ‘normal’ words spoken. Writing down things that then get spoken aloud and making them sound ‘normal’ is hard… that’s why there are a lot fewer people who can write plays with dialogue than there are people who think they can!
To do it well means you’ve got to come at creating your presentation with a totally different mindset. I talk not about writing a presentation but about designing it instead.
Apart from anything else, when you deliver a presentation the words themselves are only part of the package that your audience receives.
Like it or not they’re going to be judging the credibility of your content at least in part on how you deliver it and whether you sound like you believe your own material.
In short, you need to think about looking good and sounding good as well as having great content! I’m not going to go into detail about how to do that in this overview – it’s more important that you make the mindset shift than you get into the details!
Bangs, Whizzes and Gremlins
Secondly the first time presenter needs to deal with the extra technology and factors that go with presenting – laptops, data-projectors, microphones, auditoria, chairs, squeaking floorboards, rattling cups and glasses and audiences. It goes without saying that the last item on that list is the hardest to predict!
Despite the adage, practice, doesn’t make perfect (it makes permanent) but it certainly helps – the more presentations you do the easier it gets. A nice basic tip about your first event might include asking every question you can think of to do with the logistics of how you’ll deliver your presentation – where, when, who to and so on. The sooner you ask, the better!
There’s no such thing as a stupid question, honestly! I’ve been doing this for years and years and I still ask the questions.
Another tip that might help here is to write yourself a checklist of questions and issues before the event – before you get nervous and before you say ‘yes’ to the invitation in fact. Only say ‘yes’ once you’ve got answers to all your questions.
Even if the answers are only in the form of “either X or Y” (so long as you can cope with X and Y, of course!) you can plan for it. On the other hand, if the person inviting you to speak answers with things that sounds like “I don’t know” think very hard about whether you want to speak for them!
Write the list as soon as you can, before you start to get emotionally involved in any way, any way at all. Once you’re committed it’s too late!
For what it’s worth, as an aside, our checklist of questions is called the ‘Ties and Flies list’ for the simple reason that the last thing we check before going on stage are exactly that… our ties and flies (or equivalent for my female staff).
Knowing Your Audience
Thirdly, make sure you know what the audience wants. Is that what you’re going to deliver? Yes, yes, I know, it sounds bloody obvious doesn’t it, but if it’s so obvious, how come most presentations are a waste of time?!
The killer-skill is this: divorce yourself from what you know and then ask what the audience wants to know about. Then ask yourself if you can deliver this. It’s a mistake to think to yourself (albeit sub-consciously) “what do I know?” or ‘what can I talk about?”.
To be blunt, if you start from that mindset you’re on a slippery slope to audience-boredom: that sort of thinking is best left to your time in the pub with your mates!
Finally (for now!) remember that you can’t turn back time.
- When you’ve said something live and in front of an audience it’s said (or not said).
- You can’t edit reality.
- You can’t go back and insert the point you suddenly realise you missed out like you can when you’re writing a blog. (Seriously, think about it – when was the last time you wrote a blog post without at least some editing, reworking and even re-ordering?).
That means that you need to have a plan – and you need to stick to it! It takes longer to design a presentation than to write a blog. A lot longer. (Trust me on this, I do a lot of both!)
No one can make a presentation up on the spot. Seriously. No one. Some people look like they do, sure, but that’s a whooooooole different ballpark.
Finally (again – see what I did there?!?) you need to learn to deal with the fear. It might just be a vague sick feeing in the pit of your gut or it might be a full-blown urge to die, but you’ll feel the fear. Learn the tools for using it and dealing with it. Anyone who says they didn’t or don’t feel the fear is a lier or a fool. The skill lies in using it, not suffering from it.
That’s a whole different blog!
And that’s it – I know it’s not a hands-on list of how to do things but at least you now know where to start! 
About the author: Dr Simon Raybould’s career started in research (into the cause of childhood cancer). He’s now one of the UK’s leading presentation skills trainers. He’s also in demand as a conference speaker, specialising in personal resilience, stress and confidence. Connect with Simon on Twitter at @presentations.
photo credit: Thomas Hawk
| Get our posts straight to your inbox! |    |
About Sarah Arrow
[...] first speaking gig, you can see my guest post on for http://bestbloggingtipsonline.com/: it’s here. Enjoy! Be Sociable, Share! [...]