376: 7 Non-Obvious Things I Learned from My First Conference Talk

If you have aspirations to be a keynote speaker of any kind, this episode is for you! I recently had the opportunity to speak at my first conference, the Mental Health Marketing Conference, in Franklin, TN. This conference is for clinicians and marketing tech people in the mental health field, and it was a fantastic gathering of about 300 in-person participants. I’m sharing what I wish I had known earlier about speaking at conferences. I hope you find this episode helpful!

You’ll Learn:

• 7 things I wish I had known earlier about speaking at conferences:
• Know the setup. 
• This varies from conference to conference. Know about rehearsal opportunities, Green Room, mic/sound/slides check, timekeeping, etc. 
• Find a place to rest and re-center before you go backstage.
• I didn’t do a great job at this, and I should have made other arrangements.
• Make sure the mic doesn’t hit your clothes when you move.
• I’ll be more careful with this and test it better next time.
• Use social media to share “before/after” posts to document your journey.
• I did LinkedIn posts and selfies and had friends in the crowd take pictures during my presentation.
• Have a small squad of friends sit near the front in the crowd.
• This 100% helped give me confidence.
• Start with a story that people will remember.
• Leading with a story makes an impact and connects you to your audience. (Hint: Be clear about your topic.)
• Understand the crazy power in public speaking. Pace yourself.
• The endorphin rush of being “in flow” brings an amazing level of external validation. I loved it!

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