I’ve been speaking at conferences since about 2004 or so. I’m always looking to improve my craft of presenting the material that I’m looking to deliver. I certainly think I’ve improved, but know that I can always get better. Now, I have seen a lot of good advice to speakers, particularly Peter Hosey’s, Presentation Tips and others. However, most of what I’ve seen talk mostly about your slides. I also used to run a conference, so I have some views from that perspective as well.

Here are my tips on delivering your message at a conference.

Know what’s expected

Find out from the conference organizer(s) what is expected of you. How much time do you have? Are you speaking to a room or running a hands-on, follow-along workshop? Should you leave time for Q&A? Is there a conference laptop for presenting, or will you use your own? Can you present from an iPad or other possibly unexpected device? Do you have to provide a presentation remote? (If you’re expecting to use the Keynote Remote.app from Apple, have a backup plan-—I’ve seen conference WiFi make that impossible. It isn’t the conference WiFi alone, but the density of WiFi signals that can even make a peer-to-peer network crap out unexpectedly. Use a professional presentation remote.

The Presentation

<Of course, the presentation itself is your focus. Since the “presentation” is the encapsulation, start working on it /immediately/ once you find out that you’re speaking. Even possibly before. (For example, you may have a topic that would make a great talk, but haven’t submitted it anywhere yet.) In either case, start mapping it out, either in your mind, on paper, or both. Make an outline. Start a document to collect notes as you think of them.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

From inception, to the last practice before delivering the talk, it all counts. You can’t invest a short amount of time working on a presentation and expect it to be rock solid. The rare speaker that you see that makes it look off-the-cuff and effortless does that through practice and preparation.

A big part of preparation is understanding the audience. Remember: the presentation is for /them/ and /not you/. Understand what the audience wants to get out of your talk–what keeps them up at night? What one or two things will improve their life (at work or whatever)? That’s what you should be covering. What main point do you want people to take away from your talk? Make sure you make that point in a way this particular audience will be able to relate to. Work with the conference organizers to understand the audience. If they can’t define it enough, try to find a previous speaker or attendee to get some semblence of a typical attendee.

Really Like Your Topic (Passion)

There’s no better rule here: Love your topic, or don’t try to sell people on it. Again, this writeup is for presenting at a conference where you’re invited or respond to a call for papers. In a business environment, you may need to give a report on something you don’t necessarily “love”. At a conference, though, where your attendance is likely optional, have some passion about your topic/solution/vision/whatever /or don’t speak/. Just having some enthusiasm for your subject can drive your entire presentation forward by leaps and bounds.

Overall: Have Fun!