Show Up for More Than Your Talk Time

We’re just getting into the first part of event season here in the U.S. Conferences, seminars, summits, you name it, they’re being hosted all over the place.

If you’re speaking at an event anytime soon, here’s one piece of wisdom I learned from two different meeting planners shared with me in two separate conversations.

Stick around for more than just your talk.

If you’re a keynote speaker, try to stay for the whole day that you’re speaking. You can interact and engage with attendees beforehand. It also means you can listen to a few other speakers, see if you can pick up a few techniques and takeaways that can help you continue to improve as a speaker.

Most importantly, it shows everyone at the event that you truly support the event. If you fly in or attend just for your talk, it’s telegraphing to the attendees and the meeting planner that you only support your time there, not everyone else’s time.

I’ve seen a few speakers do this really well by showing up for more than just their talk time. It allows others to ask follow-up questions, get to know you as a person, not just as a speaker, and see how you show up in the world around you.

It may mean you’re inconvenienced a bit more, but in the long run, it means you’re showing others they matter just as much, if not more than you do.

Copy and Content for Thought Leaders is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to the Copy and Content for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/CopyContentFlash and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”