1) Be Prepared

If you want to present yourself as confident, it’s important that you are utterly prepared. Preparing for your presentation ahead of time is key. Not only should you spend time outlining and developing your presentation, but also saying it out loud a few times.

Also, if possible, spend some time in the venue beforehand. This will allow you to get a feel for space and ensure everything is set up the way you need.

1) Dress the Part

What would happen if someone showed up to a black-tie affair in khakis and a ripped T-shirt? They would be asked to leave. Conversely, what would happen if someone showed up to a surfing lesson in a tuxedo? They would most likely be asked to change.

It’s important to dress the part when giving a presentation, but how do you know exactly HOW to dress? You must know your audience and your topic. Are your topic and audience more formal or casual? Are you are talking to millennials about investing in Bitcoin? If so, causal will work best. Are you talking to a group of baby boomer CEOs about IRA planning? Better put on a suit.

The more you know about your topic and audience, the better able you’ll be to dress the part.

 

 

2) Create a Fantastic Introduction

Why not make a great first impression before you even take the stage? You never know who will be introducing you. They may or may not have a lot of energy or excitement in their voice or attitude. Don’t leave your introduction to chance.

Create one yourself by writing a paragraph about yourself that gets the audience excited. Can you add a VP, CEO, CFO or any other valued letters to your name? Have you written any books or won any awards? Try to sell yourself in the intro. It will go a long way in making a great first impression.

3) Use an Attention-Grabber

Some people will make up their minds about you as soon as you step foot on the stage, while others will still be on the fence until you begin speaking. This is your chance to win them over so don’t blow it!

Use an attention grabber such as a joke, a startling statistic, or a personal story. This trick wins over most crowds and gets them on your side immediately.

4) Leverage the Power of Pre-Event Marketing

This is akin to the introduction tactic. The idea is to make people fans of yours before they even see you in person.

You’ll want to speak with event organizers and ask how it would be possible for you to provide the audience value ahead of time. Once you have this information, be sure to use the magic number 7 – it generally takes 7 times before someone says yes to an offer.

 

 

 

5) Provide 7 Touchpoints before the event

Provide 7 touchpoints before the event to market yourself as an authority in your industry. As for channels, think about using
online and social media channels, Facebook Live presentations, direct mail campaigns and using specific hashtags.