What to Expect When You’re Speaking
Did you get a speaking request? Hooray, someone likes what’s going on in your brain and wants to share it with the rest of the world…by…
Did you get a speaking request? Hooray, someone likes what’s going on in your brain and wants to share it with the rest of the world…by putting you on stage in front of a bunch of strangers. 😳
Public speaking is hard enough. Showing up to a speaking engagement and getting blindsided by anything unexpected is the worst. These questions will help both you and the event organizers prepare, so the likelihood of anyone being surprised is greatly reduced.
Before Accepting a Speaking Request
What is the event?
Make sure you’re comfortable with the event and what it supports. But then maybe you’re cool with showing up to speak at the National We Hate Puppies Conference.
Where is the event?
Maybe you don’t want to fly to Alaska to speak…
What are the date(s)?
…in the middle of winter. Also maybe you won’t be able to prepare an entire talk in 2 weeks.
Am I expected to attend the entire event?
But if you decide to go, maybe you just want to get in and get out of the arctic, quickly.
Will there be an honorarium?
I always say “Don’t work for free.” It takes a lot of time, energy, and effort to put together a good talk. If you’re not there to promote something, you should be paid. (Note: if you’re speaking on behalf of your company, you’re almost certainly promoting your company.) If there isn’t an honorarium, you can decide for yourself if you want to work for this event for free. Sometimes it’s for a cause you strongly support. That said, run far away from places that ask you to pay to speak. They don’t respect you, they just respect your money.
Who is sponsoring the event, if anyone?
Do not get caught out speaking at an event sponsored by Trump Hotels.
Will travel and expenses be covered?
If the talk is local, this isn’t a big deal. However, did you know trips to Alaska cost a lot of money? If a plane ticket or hotel is involved, be prepared to pay for that if you don’t ask about T&E up front.
After Accepting a Speaking Request
Do you need my headshot?
Sometimes this is needed for marketing marketing materials but often it’s needed for the website, as well as your intro slide during the event.
Do you need my bio?
Also needed for the website and your intro slide.
Will my likeness be used in marketing materials?
You want to be prepared to see your face being used to sell an event.
Am I expected to promote the event on social media?
Likewise, you want to be prepared to sell the event yourself.
Will my appearance be recorded?
If you’re going to say something sensitive or that you don’t want to be easily repeated, this is important to know.
Will my appearance be live streamed?
So you can tell your friends and family to watch you live!
When do I need to arrive at the venue?
You need time to get mic’d, practice one more time, pee, have some water, and make sure you don’t have food in your teeth. Figure out what time you’re required to be there and when you want to be there.
Will there be a green room?
If there isn’t, be ready to do your prep and practice in the bathroom.
Will hair and makeup be provided?
Rare, but if there is, you don’t have to bother doing your makeup before you get there. Win.
Speaking Solo
What subject am I covering?
Don’t prepare a talk on product market fit when they’re expecting you to talk about your build and release process.
How long am I speaking for?
Knowing how long you’re expected to speak for is required in preparing a talk that fits the time allotted. It’s hard to stretch a 10 minute talk to fit into a 45 minute space.
Will I be sitting or standing?
Wearing 4.5" heels while standing for an hour isn’t for everyone.
Will there be a podium I’m expected to use?
There will be a place to put your notes…or not.
Will I be holding a mic or wearing a lavalier?
It’s hard to switch note cards while holding a mic. Not impossible, but hard to do without looking like you’re fumbling.
Do I need to prepare slides?
Slides take a long time and a lot of energy to prepare.
Should I expect to use my own computer to present my slides?
Make sure your computer is prepared for presenting. Notifications disabled, bookmarks bar hidden, desktop cleaned up. Also make sure you know how to put your computer into presentation mode.
What format do the slides need to be in (Powerpoint/Keynote/Google Slides/other)?
Conversions between the different file formats will almost ALWAYS mangle your slides. It’s almost guaranteed. Deliver your slides in the format they’ll be presented in to avoid this.
What aspect ratio do the slides need to be in?
Ditto the above.
Will you install the fonts I need on the computer used for presenting?
This always happens to me: I make some slides, I carefully pick my fonts, I get to the event and look onscreen and my fonts aren’t there, replaced by Times New Roman, making words wrap, making emojis not appear (P.S. the text emojis never work, use images instead).
When do my slides need to be delivered?
I personally can be found tweaking my slides the night before I speak. Events like to have the slides loaded up and ready to go days before the event happens. Find out when they want your slides, so you can come to an agreement about when you’re actually going to deliver them.
Do you need to modify my slides?
Sometimes events want to put their branding all over your slides. If they do, prepare for your slides to be mangled. You care about what your slides look like. The person branding them just cares about getting all the slides watermarked as quickly as possible. Ask to see them after they’ve been branded. Better yet, ask if you can apply the branding yourself.
How will speaker notes be handled?
You know all those carefully prepared speaker notes you’ve put into your slides. Rare is the venue/event that has thought about them and how you’re going to see them. It’s important to check ahead of time about whether you’ll even have access to them.
In relation to the stage, where will my slides be presented?
If you plan on gesturing to your slides thinking they’ll be behind you, when really they’re off to both sides of you, you’ll need to walk closer to them. Did you wear those 4.5" heels thinking you’d be sitting?
Will I have a handheld device to advance my slides? (A clicker.)
You want to make sure this is available, otherwise you’re advancing your slides with a computer. Or you’re saying “next slide” to someone in the back, who is being distracted by 3 other people and might not advance your slides.
Will I be able to see my slides while presenting without looking behind me?
If your slides don’t advance and you don’t know but the audience does, this can make them super confused. You’re talking about the price of tea in china, while your slide is referencing the weather in Istanbul.
Will there be time for Q&A?
You will never know what questions people in the audience will ask. You want to know ahead of time if you need to be prepared for challenging questions.
How much time for Q&A?
If your slot is 45 minutes, but Q&A will take 15 minutes, how long should your presentation be? (Math!)
Speaking on a Panel
What topic am I covering?
To help you get your research and facts together.
Who else is on the panel?
If you’re on an 11 person panel that is onstage for an hour, with 15 minutes for Q&A, you’re not really there to have an engaging discussion, you’re there to speak for 3.5 minutes total and then be quiet.
What format will the panel be in (discussion/moderator led Q&A/etc)?
I personally avoid moderator lead Q&A because they are often aren’t engaging for the audience, unless the moderator encourages interaction between panelists.
Will I need slides?
Biased note: if they say yes to this, your panel is probably really a bunch of people giving mini-talks of their own (and likely pitching their products), so prepare yourself accordingly.
Will there be audience Q&A?
Again, audience Q&A can throw you some curveballs. Prepare yourself mentally for the challenging questions.
Because I value your time (and honestly, mine too), I’ve put these questions in something appearing like a form to send to event organizers when they ask you to speak. There’s a solo speaker version and a panel speaker version. :fingers_crossed: that they make the process of preparing for your speaking engagement just a little bit easier. ❤️💛💚💙💜
Solo Speaking Request Form: http://bit.ly/solospeakingrequest
Panel Speaking Request Form: http://bit.ly/panelspeakingrequest