158: In-Person Speaking is Back: BTS Speaking Debrief
In-person speaking events are back, and I truly didn’t realize how much I missed it. I just returned home from my first in-person event in nearly a year and a half, so I’m giving you all the details of how it went.
Listen in as I debrief you on the behind-the-scenes of speaking in-person, what I noticed changed with in-person events, and how you should be adjusting your talks to be more impactful with those changes.
If you loved this episode and it motivated you to work on more polished presentations, I’d love for you to leave a review on iTunes and tell me about your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of you listening on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @jessicarasdall.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
In-Person Speaking at Signature CEO
What an honor it was to head back to the stage after nearly a year and a half away from in-person events—especially to a stage as genuine, kind, and welcoming as the Signature CEO conference. Tara Melvin puts on such an inviting conference that truly felt like home.
As excited as I was to be back at conferences, I still had my concerns and nerves that came with not seeing people for a year, but I couldn’t have picked a better opportunity to kick off in-person events with!
As both a speaker and an attendee, I highly recommend this conference! Next year’s tickets were just announced, so make sure you grab your’s here or apply to speak here!
In this episode, I’m breaking down some of your lingering questions about in-person events and how they’ve changed with the impacts of COVID..
HOW Event Organizers Supported Speakers with COVID Considerations
If you’re not familiar with the event industry, there were so many rescheduled events—Signature CEO was one of those events. They actually rescheduled twice due to COVID restrictions, meaning they prioritized the safety of their speakers and attendees.
Outside of rescheduling, the event organizers went above and beyond in ways that I can only encourage other event organizers to do in their upcoming events:
They required all attendees and speakers submitted vaccination card or negative test before attending the event (if they were unable to, they couldn’t come to the event).
Temperature testing was facilitated each day of the conference to ensure no one contracted anything on site.
Sanitation stations were everywhere—which made my heart so happy..
Our seating arrangements included spaced out half circle tables that were only half seated, allowing us to spread out!
The organizers continuously reminded everyone to be considerate about comfort level with others at the conference (ask before your shake hands or approach others).
They also followed all local protocols.
If you're planning to speak at events in the near future - there will be similar protocols for the event, but you need to have a backup plan in case you can't be there in person.
Consider this: at this event, I noticed that there were missing attendees (who likely became sick prior to the event and couldn't come). What if you get sick? You have to have a plan B to speak virtually. Whether you’re recording your talk ahead of time, quarantining before traveling, or figuring out how you can deliver you talk virtually—make sure you have a backup plan.
How Am I Keeping Myself Safe?
I’ve always been a health-conscious traveler. Anytime I head out to speak, I travel with supplements, medicine, hot tea, etc to keep me healthy and my vocals safe during traveling.
You have to be considerate of what works best for you, your health, and your immune system. Staying healthy ensures you perform well and deliver your talk.
Reminder: No one will take care of you, except you.
What's Changed with Speaking?
I was very intentional at this conference in watching others and connecting with attendees. I was surprised to learn that across the board we've consumed so much in the last year and a half that we're now making moves immediately. This feedback directly impacts the content we’re sharing and how we’re delivering our talks.
To solve the problems of your audience, you need to share bite size actionable content—what’s the one step that they can take to propel them forward today?
A great example of this was a talk by Liz Simpson about LinkedIn. I’m not one who takes advantage of LinkedIn or shares a ton of time there, but Liz did something that stuck with me in her talk. She had everyone take out their phones, open LinkedIn right then, and make updates on the spot. She was improving things for the attendees right then and making a huge difference.
This made us take an action that would show a result.
So consider, how can I cut the fluff and teach my audience a real action item that will encourage a transformation? How can I improve something in their lives or business right now?
In a post-COVID world, our audience needs less information, more information, and action steps to move them forward.
Presenting Your Talk
Now one other thing that I noticed had changed was how speakers were delivering their talks. After a year and a half of being out of practice for in-person speaking, speakers were looking at and relying on our slides too often.
Connection is so important at an in-person event, but we’ve lost out on the comfort level that we all had when looking at people and being on stage before the pandemic.
My advice is to practice away from your computer so that you’re not focused on your slides the majority of the time.
Did Anything Surprise You?
I was surprised by how much I missed being in-person. Seeing an audience enjoying your talk, nodding along, smiling, hearing them laugh, learning about them and their businesses—those things were missed.
I truly missed events.
Virtual vs. in-person
I was also asked about the battle of focusing on in-person or virtual events. Here’s the thing, speaking is a two-way street. An in-person audience brings so much more than a virtual audience. Virtual may be easier, but in-person is more powerful.
If you're not already a member of the academy, we'd love to invite you to apply to join The Speaking Strategy Academy. You'll get instant access to our A-Z speaking training system with video lessons, transcripts, scripts, templates, and more.... access to our live group coaching calls, personalized 1:1 feedback on your work from me, and an opportunity to present your work live in front of our community for hot seat coaching and feedback. What are you waiting for, friend? Apply today!
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Read the Transcript from this Episode
Transcript for Episode 158:
Are you getting a little nervous about the idea of speaking in person again, if you are, you're not alone. I just gave my first in person presentation after a year and a half of virtual speaking. And I'm going to give you the full debrief.
Welcome back to another episode of The speak to scale Podcast, where we're helping small business owners just like you grow and scale their companies by speaking on stages, podcasts, webinars, and more.
I'm your host, Jessica Radsall. And I can't say thank you enough for listening in today. Because I know Today's episode is gonna be a little more pull back the curtain and have a little friend a friend chat. I'm breaking down what that first in person speaking engagement really looked like after a year and a half of only doing virtual speaking. So whether you're looking to do your very first in person presentation, or you're just trying to get back into the swing of it like I was, I hope that this episode will let you know what you can expect, and maybe some things to prepare ahead of time to make the transition a little more seamless.
So first and foremost, let me tell you a little bit about the event I was speaking at. I spoke at the signature CEO conference, which is hosted by Tara belvin. And this is a conference that I have never attended or spoken at. The signature CEO conference is for those in the creative industry. It's mostly those in the events, industry, corporate events, weddings, such but over the years, I've had quite a few clients speak at this conference. So I've had the honor of getting to help with presentations that were being delivered. I've heard nothing but the most amazing things about these events. And I met the host Tara A few years ago, actually speaking at a conference, we were both speaking there together, I we hit it off really well. And I was so impressed with her attention to detail when it came to putting on her conference.
So when she reached out and asked me to be a part of this conference, it was a no brainer, I wanted so bad to be a part of this. And what I can tell you is that I've been speaking for over 15 years, right? I've been in a lot of events. And I'm saying this, with full transparency honesty, like this is just it is what it is. I have never, not once and all of the years of doing this speaking thing has spoken at a conference in a room that was so genuinely warm, welcoming, and collaborative. Like, that might sound silly, but there was absolutely no drama, no ego, no clicking this, none of that. Sometimes you go to these industry events, and it can feel like some of this, the speakers are, you know, up on this pedestal, and they have their little fan club or There seems to be a separation of speaker and attendee and there was none of that every single person in this room, one of the person next to them to be better to do better to, you know, achieved success in their business. And it was incredible. It was such an encouraging feeling. But it was infectious.
Like you couldn't help but feel motivated and want help the person next to you like what she has created at this event is special. And it's an event that I definitely am going to want to go back to. And if you're looking for something to attend next year, she just released the march dates at the end of March and 2022. I'll link all of it for you where you can go ahead and get your ticket if you want to go in the show notes. She also just put out a call for speakers. So if you're interested in maybe speaking at this conference, you definitely want to go check that out. So that's just before we get into it, I
need to let you know, this conference was absolutely incredible. Okay, like I was so blown away with the community. But also it's an event conference. So all the little details I'm telling you a nice big gala with a live band incredible dinner like no detail was overlooked. And I don't want to spoil too many of the details in case you go next year. But no, this is one that you don't want to miss. So when I was preparing to record this episode for you today, I created a list of things that really stood out to me during this conference things I wanted to make sure I told you about but I also asked you friends over on Instagram, what do you want to know about? What are the things that should keep in mind when I'm at this conference to be able to tell you about. So I'm going to be sharing some of your questions right here on the show. And if we're not friends on Instagram, come hang out with me.
My handle is Jessica Rasdall and I love hearing from you what you want to learn about and bringing that right to the show. So the very first question I got, let's just rip off the band aid and have this conversation of what did event organizers do to support speakers with COVID considerations? I feel like that was the biggest question I had in my DMS around going back to in person speaking, or COVID considerations. So for this conference, in particular, know that this conference was planned pre COVID, it got rescheduled twice. So this was something that wasn't in the original contract had to be dealt with later. It was constantly, you know, being reevaluated as situations were changing. But when it was push come to shove, when it was time for the conference protocol, there were options for the different protocols. So this conference required that all attendees, whether their speakers, attendees, staff members, that everybody either submitted vaccination records, or a negative COVID test within a certain timeframe of the event, they followed all of their local protocols. So we there was temperature testing each day.
And I will say that, you know, going to your first big in person event after being in your home for so long is weird, right? Like it's uncomfortable. And it's weird, but it was so nice. The way the tables were set up where it didn't feel it was the the nice little circle with industry friends are dying, the way I'm saying this right now, but the circular tables, and they were only half SAT, which was so nice, because if you've ever been to an event where your table is sat and your back is to the speaker, it's incredibly annoying. Or when you're at a really big event, and you feel like you're just shoved body to body and rows and rows of chairs, that doesn't feel good either. So it was great, the way they spaced everybody out where it didn't feel like you were separated or disconnected. But you felt like you had enough breathing room to be comfortable, and not on top of each other after so much time away from people. So there were temperature checks, all the sanitation considerations, everything like that.
And I really appreciated that in the opening remarks, as Tara was kicking off the conference, she reminded us that not everyone's level of comfort is going to be the same. So before you like dive into shaking someone's hand or giving them a hug, maybe take a second to like, see if they're okay with that. And I don't know about you, but can we keep that consideration going I for one, you know, big time introvert over here, lover of personal space would appreciate that. I totally love I love I love a little space, I'm digging it. So this organizer followed all local protocols and everything she needed to do. And then some but did it in a way that felt inviting nothing felt clinical, nothing felt isolated. It was It was lovely. So and I can't say that all events are gonna be like this. But I felt like this one handled it perfectly meals were outside, like all these little details that you wouldn't think about. But they thought about it. And they really made sure that it was delivered gracefully. So one thing with that on that note is if you are planning to speak at events in the near future, granted, we don't know what things are going to be like this stuff is constantly changing. But know that there are probably going to be the same or similar protocols for your event, and have a backup plan
to be able to fulfill your obligations. If you can't be there in person. One thing I wasn't expecting, I don't know why I wasn't expecting. I don't know why I was surprised. But was to find, you know, quite a few empty seats at the conference of people who were planning to be there but, you know, had a positive test, you know, hours or days before the conference and they weren't able to show up. We've got to make sure that if we are agreeing to speak at an event and there are these types of protocols in place that what if what if that happens like what if there's a situation what if you get sick What if you can't be there, we've got to have a plan B in place to still be able to deliver our presentation, even if it's remotely because times are constantly changing and we might not be able to guarantee whether we'll be in that room or not. But we need to guarantee that We will have our presentation available for that audience. So have a plan B.
The second question I got on very similar to this was like, how am I keeping myself safe. And I feel like this outed me a little bit. If you followed me for a long time, if you've been with me from my beginning speaking days, you already know this, but I, like nothing has changed for me. I've always been a when it comes to traveling, like a very health conscious traveler, because like, that's my livelihood. Traveling is gross. airplanes are disgusting. People can be nasty. There's so many germs, right. I don't have the time, the money, the energy, the resources to get sick, I can't be doing that. And I know that. When I first started to be, I didn't realize I had autoimmune issues before. And I would run myself into the ground speaking all the time. So I always have traveled with lots of supplements and taking care of my throat and hot tea and wiping everything down like a weirdo. And now just stuff that we all do every day, no big deal, right?
But I think you we all need to be going into our work and into travel with that mindset of like, our health is a priority. And we need to do whatever we need to do for ourselves to feel good to be at our best frame of mind to be at our top peak health. Because that's how we perform well. So for me, I know that my throat is very sensitive. And I want to make sure that I'm incredibly hydrated that I drink a specific t that like I'm bringing things with me that I'm taking all of my supplements, do whatever you need to do to take care of yourself, because I don't know, it's just, nobody's gonna take care of you for you. So take care of that. One thing that I noticed a lot, let's let's talk about the actual presentation, let's talk about speaking and has it really changed? Is there something that we need to think about when it comes to our presentations in person now, now that we've been, you know, removed from one another for so long? Well, what I can say is I spent a lot of time watching the audience what other people were speaking, I spent a lot of time talking with the audience in between sessions and getting really clear on what landed for them, what did it What, what's working, what's not working.
And it is crystal clear that we have all consumed so much information over the last year and a half, and we're tired. We're looking for inspiration and actionable steps to take. And I can say that the audience members, myself included, were implementing right there in that room while people were speaking. And that's powerful. Like, that's how change happens. So what I mean by that is like, we can't rely on our old presentations, where we're giving people, 3 million steps to do X, Y, Z, like, that's not going to support them, that's not going to serve them where they are right now. There is an answer to their problem out there on the internet, and they can find it, they can find it in 100 different ways, what they need from you as the speaker to come in, and give them that bite sized piece of action, that step that they can take today that's really going to propel them forward. That was so powerful. very specifically, there was one speaker, who I will actually link in the comments, she spoke about LinkedIn. And LinkedIn is something that, you know, it's not my forte, I ignore that thing all the time.
But I've had quite a few clients and students who speak on this. So the topic is a new to me, I thought I'd heard it 100 times. the speaker's name is Liz Simpson. I'll link her in the show notes. But she was speaking on LinkedIn, and she had us pull out her phone, she actually had us physically rewrite things in our profile physically take action with one another. And that's the kind of stuff that just helps people get a transformation. It helps them put our concepts into action and start seeing results. So I want you to really start to think about when I look at my speaking topic, How can I calm that down into less? How can I cut out the fluff and really build a case for what it is I'm trying to teach my audience? How can I give them one action item that's going to help them see a transformation.
Our audience needs less information, more inspiration and action steps to move them forward. So if you have an old presentation that you're looking to give in person I want you to go back through that talk through the lens of is this really what my audience needs right now? We don't have to keep shoving more and more information into our talks. Instead, let's ask, How can I help them take one action today? Now, with the speaking side of things, there was something that I noticed, and it was with a lot of the speakers, and I'm not sure if it's a combination of things, or what but the fact that I was seeing it so often made me realize that, guys, we've gotten a little bit awkward. That's myself included, right?
Like, navigating a social setting can be a little weird. And then getting up on a stage in front of a roomful of people feel strange. But one thing that I noticed was a lot of the speakers were looking at their slides a lot. And I'm not saying that from a place of they couldn't have delivered their presentation without their slides. But I'm saying it from a place of it felt like they were uncomfortable. making eye contact with the audience. That's what it felt more like, it feels like, it looks like that maybe after a year and a half ofnhaving this security blanket of delivering virtual presentations and being able to look at our screens, and look at our notes.
And look at the next slide that was coming, that the thought of letting go of our slides, and just looking at our audience and connecting with them is a little scary. So if you're thinking about or if you're planning to give an in person presentation soon, I want to make sure that friend to friend, you've got my voice in the back of your head telling you to practice away from your computer. Okay, you need to have the timing down, you need to be able to know your slides and advance your slides. But don't look at them. And this is such a subtle thing. And the rest of the people in the audience probably didn't notice. But you know, I noticed because this is my job, this is what I do. And I'm looking for things and trends to be able to share with you. But I'm not saying that the presentations were bad or the content wasn't good. That was not the case at all. There was some incredible content delivered from that stage.
But I did notice that so many of the speakers kept looking at their slides maybe longer than they needed to. And I truly feel that it is just because we have, we've gotten to a place that we are looking at our screens all day long. And looking at people looking back at us is weird, it's uncomfortable, it always adds in. But especially now. So while you're practicing your presentation, I really want to challenge you to not look at your slides to get to a place where you know your rhythm. You know what's next. And you can stand there confidently without the slides, that your message is important that it is good enough and your audience is ready to receive it. So look them in the eyes, connect with them. And just just give that talk friend give that talk. So one thing, one of the questions you guys asked me was did anything surprise you? And this is such a good question. I was expecting you were gonna get nitty gritty questions. But did anything surprise you? Yes, I am. I didn't realize how much I missed this.
You know, I think my enneagram seven ness likes to just bring in the silver lining and act like everything is great. And you know, over the last year and a half, I've tried to say like, at least we still you know can speak online, and we can still do podcasts. And we can still do this. And we still do that. But I was messaging back and forth with some speaker friends of mine was at the event and I didn't realize how much I missed seeing the audience nodding along with my presentation. Right. I didn't realize how much I missed hearing them laugh and giggle at different parts throughout. I didn't realize how much I miss listening to their stories after my talk, learning about their businesses, what they're working towards, like seeing that excitement in their eyes, when you're able to just let them share with you. It was so, so good for the soul. And speaking is not something that's new to me. But this like it didn't relight my fire because my fire didn't go out. But this definitely threw a few more logs on the flame. And if you are in a place where you've thought about like speaking isn't as exciting as it used to be for you or it's feeling more like a task then something you're excited about or you're thinking about, well, maybe I can do other things in my business instead of speak. You just need to get back in person. I'm not telling you to rush it.
Do it when you feel good. Man, seeing that room light up, being able to look into their eyes seeing, seeing the AHA is hearing from them afterwards. That was incredible. And I was surprised at how much I missed that. I don't think I had really gotten to a place where I was willing to acknowledge that I missed it that much. And I really am so much looking forward to doing more in person speaking. And being able to connect with my audience with our students in person, I can't wait to be able to host our clients here in town again, because this is the magic of speaking. Yes, there's so much we can do virtually, there's so much that we can do to support our audience and to pour into them and deliver our message. But this is a two way street. And the amount that I get from the audience when I'm in person. It I just have not getting it that same way online.
And I'm not trying to be selfish and say that, like I need to get that too. But it feels really good. And I feel like I can do my best work in that scenario. And I want to do more. So if you've been hesitant if you've been saying no, I'm awkward, virtual is easier. This is your awkward introvert friend saying Yeah, virtual might be easier. But in person is more powerful for both the audience and yourself. This is not something that has to be rushed. It doesn't have to be for everybody. Take your time, do what feels good for you. But as somebody who was hesitant, as somebody who tried to talk themselves out of going to this, I can tell you on the other side, there is no replacing in person presentations, and I cannot wait to do my next one.
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