How can you stay organized when working on a public speaking project with multiple stakeholders?

My tips from managing multi-billion dollar projects, that I learnt as an urban designer: 1. Ask who is part of the project, what their role is, and if they need to be on all emails. 2. When emailing everyone (as per above), keep it on a single email chain (that way it is better for traceability). I highlight a person's name if there is an action item for them 3. Set up a call with all stakeholders to get on the same page 4. Give a clear summary It is VERY important that you are concise and clear in your communications. Don't overcomplicate thing, but also be clear to document what you propose to do (and have approvals documented). It's is ok to ask twice for approvals. (PS - Follow me as I have written a lot about organization)

Based on my experience, effective organization in public speaking, especially with multiple stakeholders, requires strong communication and flexible coordination. Establish clear responsibilities and open channels for feedback and updates. Utilize collaborative tools for real-time editing, commenting, and sharing of documents and schedules. Regular check-ins and adjusting roles and timelines as necessary are crucial. Adapt communication styles to meet stakeholder expectations. Continuously manage and align all moving parts in a dynamic environment to maintain organization and cohesion, even during unexpected changes.

One way to start is writing down topics you would like to discuss. Who your audience is. Then start to reduce the topics that do not match your target audience.

Having started my professional career working as an architect, I am well versed in having multiple stakeholders (with different priorities and points of view). As a consultant, your job is to be a positive conduit. I would suggest having a briefing call with all relevant stakeholders to understand their desires and expectations for the talk. Be sure to take notes. During the call you should synergies what they have said, and provide a suggested plan of action to get their feedback on. If they're particularly tricky, I offer to do a dry run a week prior to the event so that there are no surprises.

🔆 To get where you want to go, everybody needs to know the destination... and the route. With multiple stakeholders, this planning stage is key to success, since it will help to keep everyone on track. To ensure that everyone buys in, ensure that everyone's voice is heard, that they feel part of the project and that they also know what's in it for them. This will keep them committed and motivated. As far as scope is concerned, it really helps to decide what the project will and won't include. Many future ideas might come up, but it is worth completing this project first! Alongside the goals and scope, keep in mind: • WHO will do WHAT? • HOW will this be tracked? • WHAT is the backup plan? Clarity is the foundation for success.

Offering stakeholders deadlines is just as important as giving yourself deadlines - keeping those involved accountable for giving you feedback at necessary times is important for YOU to stay productive.

Along with creating a timeline, I feel that it is also important to tell great stories. The more personal you can get, the more engaged the audience will be. Incorporate laughter if able to, use visuals, and stay on topic.

🔆 Timelines and milestones help keep everyone on track and accountable. Here are some specific tactics: • Use tools everyone can use. The many apps and tools available today can be a huge help, but only if everyone is comfortable with them. If they're not, scale down the tools or train up the people. • Build in communication milestones. Especially if you are collaborating remotely, this keeps information flowing AND relationships thriving. • Always pack a parachute. Planning buffer time means even a missed deadline is not a tragedy. • Celebrate milestones together to build commitment and team spirit. • Build a template. Keep records of your project systems so you can repurpose them in future. How can your team use these tactics?

As a new leader of a team, I have began using TRELLO to organize thoughts, projects, and data. This allows me to keep track of stakeholder messages, updates, or changes.

🔆 The systems are important, but it's the people that make it work. Learn from my mistake! Early in my career, I was appointed convenor of an international academic conference. Eager to impress (and being a natural introvert), I tried to do everything myself, with meticulous systems to ensure things would run like clockwork. The event was not a failure, but by the second day of the conference, I was a wreck. I had exhausted myself by trying to do everything — perfectly. But even worse, I had missed the opportunity of building stakeholder commitment and team spirit by involving people more actively. If I had put the people first, rather than the systems, the event could have been far more memorable. And I would have kept my sanity!