How do you refine your conference presentation? I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions?

Things develop quite a bit as you rehearse and add design elements. Know what you want to say - your key takeaways - but don't get so caught up in it to start. Write first, think second, and don't be so quick to refine. A lot of refinement comes organically as you rehearse and hear it out loud. Some things just don't work (and some things you simply can't remember), so be open and curious at this stage. A big thing at this stage is to start early. Give yourself ample time to enjoy the process without feeling stressed or rushed. Of course, that can't always be the case, but if you can -- plan it out and enjoy the process.

There are three types of speakers, self centric, message centric, audience centric. About 80% are message centric. They are thorough with their message, have rehearsed it and try to deliver every piece well. There are few who are self centric and would like to get the focus on themselves. They start talking about themselves and what they did. The problem with the first is that although well rehearsed, the message falls flat on the audience. They may sleep through it. The second ends up distancing your listeners because they see you are interested in yourself and not in them. Only the audience-centric speaker holds the attention and makes the connect. The preparation for this requires researching what they want! And skillful interaction!

Don't use the word presentation for a start. Like the word meeting, it carries all kinds of negative connotations in organizational life. It signifies one way communication rather than the involvement, engagement, connection and challenge inherent in any good delivery. Remember Aristotle's three anchors - Logos- Pathos - Ethos and don't worry too much about the 'technical' advice around body language and so on. Never forget to honor the person who preceded you on the rostrum and tie your contribution into the bigger purpose of the conference.

The one thing I have always started with is 'what are the takeaways I want from this presentation?' 'What is going to be different for the attendees because they sit through this?' I choose no more than three at the most, as research tells us that adult learners can take in about three main points at most. Once I know that, I choose the 'top and tail'. What will I say at the very start of this presentation? And how will I end it? I find these book ends super important to a clear presentation and the confidence to share it. Then I build the key points in the middle And only then to I brainstorm the title, the 'hook' that draws people in, and decide what my call to action will be (jump on a call, go to this resource on my website etc)

I have found that beginning with the end in mind is paramount to success when planning a speech/presentation. My belief is audiences now need help with not only the "what", your topic, but also the "how", what they can do with what you are talking about. The Think, Feel, Do framework helps here. Changing their normal thinking pattern is important > this is achieved by providing proof that what your saying means something. Making them feel different is normally achieved by delivering a relevant and timely story. Making them do something requires the success in the first two parts of the framework. Thinking, Feeling leads to Doing. So, how do need your audience to think? How do they need to feel? What is the action required as a result?

Before I rehearse anything or ask for feedback I create a visual plan on one page of the presentation. Like a mind map with keywords only or even little drawings to remind me what I want to cover. This will include the intro, the main part of the presentation and the call to action I find seeing it visually is super helpful and gives me visual clues rather than having a 'script' to follow which makes everyone sound less genuine (unless you're an actor!)

Feedback from preparation is valuable to make sure all areas are on point and well structured. For me, timing is an important consideration and also not cramming in to much.

A crucial stage, and a very enjoyable one. I tend to not move in front of the camera or rehearse in front of anyone until I feel confident with the content. I find practising in nature, on a walk or while stand-up paddle boarding to be a really effective way to learn and retain information. This way you are under no pressure, feel relaxed, and can really connect to the joy of the process. Once I have the tone and have been creative with certain elements I then take it to someone who is curious and cool. The wrong person and you can start second-guessing yourself. Enough practice allows you to really dissect when its time to speed it up, slow it down, add humour, pause, or when your content needs to be replaced.

I inject humour right from the start to get the audience on side with me. It doesn’t need to be a joke that makes people roll around on the floor, just enough to encourage the feeling “oh, this is going to be good!” Then I always have a ‘bridge’ between stories/metaphors and the learning. That way they remember it more and are more likely to implement it.

Yes I have found practice definitely improves delivery and confidence. Of course timed and coordinated with any slides helps immensely. People expect a coherent story that they can follow, so getting the sequence right is important. Best to not just read your slide words, best to avoid looking down. So to engage you need to be looking around at connections to the audience with confidence. Of course keeping your eye on time, yet noticing whether the audience is engaged back is important, remember to tack around your story or change it on the fly if they are looking away or bored and not hearing you.

Building rapport and connection from the start by being authentic, relatable and sharing experience and knowledge as a guide, encouraging the audience to make the most of opportunities and learnings and have things they can implement right away.

Once I have my visual plan, I deliver the presentation and time myself. Saying the words out loud really helps you refine what you want to say, and gives you more confidence as your muscle memory kicks in and helps you recall what to say when you are actually presenting. My best tip is to absolutely nail what you are going to say at the start when you open your mouth! Rehearse that until you are confident and word perfect so it will really sound conversational. The power of knowing what to say at the start can't be understated. Then for each 'chunk' in the presentation I do the same - break it up into smaller pieces so I recall the key words I want to include I take the one page visual plan with me in case I need to refer to it

In my first big keynote, I focused too much on content. I saw a speaker present after me who had very little interesting content but spoke well and worked the stage with energy, tone and body language -- I saw how that was so important in engaging the audience. For my next keynote, I worked on the delivery (alongside the content) and found the response was much better - and I had more fun too. Then I kept adding elements the more confident I got, learning that design and slide transitions are imperative to a good talk. Drop your slide 5 seconds early or late and you've missed it. Use the wrong image and your words suddenly have no impact. As Da Vinci said, "Everything connects to everything else" and for a good talk everything must combine.

I recently gave a talk on AI for entrepreneurs and those who work with entrepreneurs. Instead of using my usual branded slide deck, I deviated completely and did the slides all with a pixel art and video game motif. I thought it was going to be well-received, especially since so many slide decks are flat-out boring, but didn't expect such a fantastic response. I highly recommend tailoring the context of the slides to match the content. I've given 300+ in-person speeches, and have never had such a positive response to the slide design. Keeping things playful during the presentation helped, in my estimation, take what could be a serious topic and made it fun. If you follow a similar approach, I know you'll find success too :-)

Live, virtual, hybrid…speakers HAVE to be adaptable today. Turning up early, running through everything and being confident enough that if the tech breaks, you can still deliver, always helps! Practice makes perfect…the. You can play and interact with the audience more easily.

People love it when the example or stories you tell to support your presentation are relevant to them or even about them. Generic presentations sound like a press conference, so always tailor it to who will be in the room. A great example of what NOT to do is a recent TEDx in Melbourne where one of the speakers could have been anywhere, rather than acknowledging the unique experience Melbournians had during the pandemic. She lost the audience connection immediately. Often if I am giving and example it will be about someone I chatted to before the presentation or someone they can all relate to in their industry that I have worked with - this shows them I 'get' them and everyone loves feeling understood.

You must adapt to your audience. I did a keynote in Chicago and a few weeks later in Amsterdam -- the people attending the conference were completely different even though it was the same industry. If you don't adapt you will simply fail to engage and connect. Spend some time walking around the city where you are talking, then you can speak and connect with them more authentically - and have fun exploring new places.

My tips on refining a conference presentation: 1) Think about overall key takeaways as well as key messages related to each slide. Make notes for yourself to make sure you remember to state those key points. 2) Practice - as you are practicing you'll notice what doesn't flow well, what's missing or needs other edits. 3) Remember to be authentic - speak your voice. 4) In the end of the presentation thank the audience and also let your audience know how to connect with you for further follow-up. 5) Consider if you plan and want to share your slides after the presentation. If so, design slides in such a way that people can follow even without hearing the talk.

For people who aren't experienced speakers it can be hard to 'relax and enjoy' at this stage. I encourage clients to focus on what makes them feel confident >an outfit? >a specific ritual such as a deep breath before heading onto stage? >visualisation and affirmations for example If you create a confidence code for yourself THEN you can relax and enjoy!

You have knowledge and experience to share..its not about you, its about helping and supporting others ...do your best. Connecting the audience with knowledge and each other, is what I enjoy and I want to enable them to move from "awkward" to "awesome"

This is a challenging area, especially for new speakers. Leave your mic set up as late as possible; giving yourself some extra minutes outdoors will help keep you clear and relaxed. Add some simple breathing techniques, I enjoy box breathing to stay present and in the body. The lure is to go over your talk in your head, but at this stage try to feel your body, look around and enjoy the crowd - really listen to your own introduction and listen to the audience as you jump up on stage. This is a cool experience - be there to enjoy it.

Don’t try to do too much! If you have more than three learnings in your presentation, split it into a series. I have 4 keynotes that follow the points of the compass. It makes it easy for your audience to follow, absorb and take on board, and whoever books you knows there’s always more great content to rebook you to deliver!

Adding to very useful points and discussions here, I think audience recognition is one the most important phase in process. Audience recognition can be carried out by conventional analytics or smart analytics based techniques. Every phase of conference presentation should be fairly tailored to the audience indicators from"Breaking the ice" till the note of thanks !

Think about what you want people to think at the end of your talk. Do you want them to take action on something? Do you want them to feel something? Or perhaps you want them to leave thinking about a question you have posed? Thinking about these things helps to structure the presentation

Getting used to the sound of your own voice is a major ingredient in a confident presentation. Practice practice practice! You can do that in the car, when you're getting ready in the mornings, when you're cooking! Anywhere really. It's a game changer - that's what makes many people seem like they can speak 'off the cuff' They know their stuff so well that they are naturally conversationally confident (aka extemporaneous) in their presentation style