I spent many years at my desk doing the things that healthcare administrators do. But little by little as I attended conferences or workshops, I began to realize that I could probably present various topics as well as the instructors. In fact, I thought I probably had a few topics that would be more interesting and valuable then some of the ones I’d seen. The thought of getting up on stage and presenting some ideas of my own seemed exciting and intriguing to me.
I decided I would try and see if I could get approved as a speaker for an industry conference in the next several months. Since I knew absolutely nothing about how to do this, my first step was to simply ask the event organizers what to do.
If you’re interested in getting on stage yourself, here’s the best way to get started.
1. Find an event that fits your area of expertise and also your audience level. You’re not going to start with a TED Talk. But maybe a local chamber of commerce meeting would be interested in hearing about your business, or a couple of skills you have found to be valuable to other business people.
2. Ask the event organizers what their application process is and what the parameters of the presentation are. Things like the length of the talk, will there be a Q&A after, do they like to see slides, or is it just a casual talk, and do they have particular topics they are encouraging. Most events book their speakers month in advance, so be prepared to work with the organizer’s schedule.
3. Brainstorm a few topics that fit the organizer’s needs and also your expertise. Write a summary paragraph about each topic for yourself as an exercise. List why the topic is important and what insights you have to share in the presentation. This exercise will help you decide which topic you feel most passionate about. Frequently I have found when I stumble on the right topic, the presentation starts to write itself in my head. The ideas come quickly, flowing into each other fairly easily. This is when you know you have a good topic to talk about. If there is a subject or idea you can talk about for 30 minutes to friends or colleagues, that’s something you can easily speak to an audience about.
4. At first when you start writing your presentation down, you’ll feel that trying to come up with 30–45 minutes of valuable and entertaining information is hard. But you’ll soon realize that the challenge is actually editing your talk down to fit the time allowed. It’s important to stick with only a few key points and to present them clearly and thoroughly without babbling on and on.
5. Follow up with the event organizer’s and provide them with whatever they need as they begin to schedule the event. Usually they will ask for the basics of your talk, including a summary and some key points you will be making. Also be prepared to provide them with a head shot and brief bio for their marketing and promotion.
It really is as simple as deciding you want to do this and taking the steps I’ve outlined. Remember, you don’t need to be an expert in anything to give a presentation. You just need to have some little tip, insight or information that would be useful to someone in a similar situation as you.
Good luck, you’ve got this!