On this podcast, we’ve talked a lot about pitching yourself. Promoting your business and speaking journey. Connecting with the right people or getting on the right stages at the right time.

It’s a lot to take in! Which is why I wanted to get back to the basics for a bit and discuss what to say when promoting your talk. There are three major details you want to focus on: your title, talk, and takeaway.

This exercise will help you prepare to promote your talk, no matter what opportunity it’s for. Big or little, paid or unpaid, virtual or in-person — you should always be ready to market yourself and your talk.

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.

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RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Title: Stand out with something informative and catchy

The title of your talk may be the last detail you think about, but it’s an important one! Your title is an opportunity to be unique if your speaking topic has already been covered. (And chances are, it has.)

Your presentation title should:

Tell someone what your talk is about
Be short, sweet, and to the point
Explain what someone will gain or learn from hearing your talk

So, you can see why having a great title is crucial. Think of it as the first impression people get of your talk before they even hear what it’s about.

Here’s an exercise that’ll help you assess your talk titles. Imagine that your talk is included in a big list of scheduled talks at a conference. Would it stand out to your target audience? Would it be so catchy that someone would want to attend?

Talk: What’s the story?

Let’s move on to the talk part of promoting your presentation. What should you say about your talk? How in-depth do you wanna get when describing it?

It’ll vary depending on your topic and who you’re promoting it to, but you want to share just enough information to explain what it’s all about, without giving everything away.

Use the 4 Ws to help you with this part:

Who is your talk for? New business owners who are thinking of starting speaking, for example.

What would they learn, in a nutshell? How they can get started with speaking by aligning their goals with their business, choosing their topics, and finding the right events.

When would this talk resonate with someone most? When a business owner is ready to scale through speaking by finding new opportunities to grow and reach new audiences.

Why should someone listen to this talk? This is the important one, so we’ll get to it in the next section!

I actually think the hardest part of promoting your talk is choosing the right speaking topics from the start! As long as you’ve done that, promoting it gets easier the more you do it.

Takeaway: Make the connection between the talk and your audience

Last but definitely not least is the takeaway. Why is your talk right for this audience, event, or organization? Why should you be chosen over someone else who covers the same topic?

Your job is to answer those two questions when promoting your presentation. Be clear on what the audience will get out of listening to your talk. No podcast host or event organizer wants to hear what you will get from being booked.

Take those example answers from the previous section. Biz owners want a way to stand out among their competitors. With the right topics, delivery, and speaking opportunities, biz owners can reach new audiences and find more customers. You’ve actually done this yourself, so you know what the process is like. Audiences can relate to and learn from you.

See how that builds on the information you shared in the Talk portion? You’ve already provided the basic description of your presentation. Explain why you’re worth it in the Takeaway portion.

Be honest and confident, but don’t brag. Or humblebrag, either. (Is that still a thing?) If you focus on being authentic with whoever you’re promoting to, it’ll help ease some of the pressure and let you be yourself.

Get out there and start promoting your talk

Promoting your presentation well is tough, y’all. It’s a delicate balance of being confident but not arrogant. Informative but not too revealing. But I promise, the more you get used to promoting your talks, the easier it gets.

If you’re thinking, “Jess, all these details swirling around in my head are kinda freaking me out. I need HELP,” then I have your back, my friend. The Speak to Scale Vault can help.

The Speak to Scale Vault is full of resources to guide you forward on your speaking journey. If you’ve already honed your message but aren’t sure how best to promote it, you’ll find resources, recording, exercises, and lots more to help you take that next step!

All of the expert speaking resources you need to scale your biz through speaking, all in one place. Gain access to The Speak to Scale Vault now and start promoting yourself, my friend.