Are You An Aspiring Speaker? Learn To Show Gratitude!
Why you must be thoughtful and thankful as a speaker!
It is the first article in the “Are You An Aspiring Speaker?” series.
So, you are an aspiring speaker.
You just delivered a talk at a conference.
You thought your content was good. You felt you did a good show.
But,
Why should the audience remember your session — and not the one before or after yours?
Why should the organizers invite you again for the next edition?
What differentiates the star speaker you met at the conference from you?
Do you ask the above questions yourself?
Conferences are becoming more popular, and the demand for quality speakers is rising.
Conference speaking is a competitive field. On average, even a single-track, one-day technology conference receives ten times more proposals than the available speaking slots. Thousands of experts await an opportunity to share their knowledge on stage.
You are just one of thousands.
To be successful, your life as a speaker should continue beyond the conference stages.
Though you spend most of your time preparing the content and focusing on the on-stage delivery, you must understand several aspects of conferences and your duties to become a complete speaker.
This article guides you on how to be thankful as a speaker.
Promote your talk
Conferences need to attract an audience and sell more tickets. Money is involved, whether it is a community-driven conference or a commercial one. For this, they promote their ace speakers.
As a new and upcoming speaker, you are not their priority. Hence, you must market yourself. Promote your session on your active social media avenues.
Remember, no one knows you unless you tell the world who you are.
Thank the audience for attending your session
Regardless of how you felt about your session, always be thankful to those who attended your talk.
Write a brief message thanking the audience for attending your session, summarizing your positive experience, and sharing it on social media.
In your message, highlight any curious questions the audience asked during the session and interesting post-talk conversations you had to show how engaging your session was.
Don’t forget to attach memorable pictures from the conference!
Send a note to the organizers
Organizing a conference is challenging. Whether a small or big conference, each has its complexities—from the venue to logistics, attendees, speakers, support staff, catering, swags, etc. Though some of these are taken care of by the event management companies, the core team gets stressed in the run-up to and during the conference.
Show your appreciation for the team by sending a personal Thank-You note for giving you the opportunity and support.
They will feel valued and remember your name!
Share your content
Delivering your talk at a conference is a live show. While the audience enjoys the experience, very few take notes and pictures of the content as you present.
Though many conferences record the sessions, due to the time and effort required for editing, only a few upload the recorded sessions online. Hence, it is beneficial to share the slides while your session is still fresh with the audience.
This action also serves the content to those who didn’t attend your session and inspires them to attend in the future.
With more clicks and eyes on your content, more will know you as a speaker.
The above are simple but effective practices you can repeat every time you speak.
In the next article in the Are You An Aspiring Speaker? series, we will examine the importance of organizational skills.