Conferences provide a multitude of opportunities for presenters – from a platform to share their message in front of an interested audience to the capability to cultivate their personal or company’s brand. When a presenter is considering whether or not to speak at a conference, several elements factor into the decision-making process. Need help checking yes or no? Ask yourself the following 5 questions to evaluate the benefit of adding a particular conference to your repertoire:
1. What is the purpose of your presentation?
Before committing to speaking at a conference, have your main message and purpose etched in stone. Then, if you haven’t already, conduct thorough research on the target audience. If possible, contact the event organizer and inquire about an audience member list or description. From there, utilize social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter to determine the precise value that your presentation could bring to a specific audience. If your presentation proves valuable, press forward.
2. Will there be networking opportunities?
For a presenter, conferences are much more than avenues for disseminating a message. One conference could enlist industry leaders in a presenter’s field that they may not have met yet. Although networking opportunities are typically listed as a conference benefit for audience members, the advantage could be the same for presenters. Don’t pass up on a conference that could introduce you to a larger or more prominent sector of your field.
3. What is the cost versus reward?
Some conferences pay for presenters to come speak at their event, while others don’t offer a similar incentive. Some that don’t pay for presenting services may pay for the presenter’s travel. How much time will you need to take off of work? And will someone be able to shoulder your task during your absence? Oftentimes, the choice to speak at a conference or not is decided by logistics. Presenters should perform a cost/benefit analysis before telling the event organizer that you are on board.
4. Will the conference aid in personal, professional, or organizational growth?
Just as an audience member assesses the amount and value of learning that could be gained from a conference, a presenter should consider the event’s role in his or her’s overall growth and how it could possibly spark positive change within their company, organization, or agency.
5. Is there a chance to experience something new?
Maybe the conference in question is in a different country. Maybe it’s a country you have never visited. Maybe they are paying to fly you out to the event. And maybe your schedule (and the stars) aligned to make attendance at the conference possible. If there’s that degree of flexibility in a situation, perhaps it’s a compelling enough benefit to persuade you to hop on a flight – presentation remote in hand.
There’s almost no debate that conferences are an important tool for information distribution, idea production, and inspiration induction. Presenters struggling to determine whether a certain conference is the right one to showcase their presentation design and delivery skills, as well as their innovative content, a little bit of soul-searching, audience evaluation, and goal-orientation can go a long way in leading to an appropriate decision. For more tips – for presenter and audience – on conferences, explore the following resources:
Is Speaking at a Conference Really Worth Your Time?
How to Get Paid for Public Speaking
