Speaking at Meetups

I was invited to speak at a Meetup group in Pleasant Hill on Wednesday and I’m fond of saying “Give me an audience and I’ll be there.”

There were about 20 people there, all women except one. The Meetup leader, Rachel Capil had asked me to do my “7 Techniques to Thrive in Any Economy” presentation.

I got there early enough to enjoy a yogurt and sat outside in the beautiful sunshine.

They were so welcoming and friendly. I had a great conversation with several people before the group got started, so I felt very much at home.

I love to weave my stories in between giving pertinent business techniques. It allows the audience to engage better with me and then they’re more receptive to the business skills. They’ll remember the information long and they’re more likely to do something with the information.

I speak at my Speakers and Authors every month, but it’s great to speak at other Meetups as well. The groups are very receptive and I have a lot of fun speaking in front of any audience.

The great thing is speaking at any Meetup group is great practice for getting your stories and timing down.

Customizing Programs

What can your speaker do to create an impactful presentation? How about offering them the names of at least six of the attendees for them to interview? It will be one of the best methods for your presenter to create the best possible speech. You might suggest a few of your decision makers who will have a better insight as to what they want the attendees to hear.

Years ago I heard a very well paid professional speaker who showed up at a keynote presentation and began delivering his canned presentation and after he was done, the event organizer told him they had announced the previous week they had laid off twenty-five percent of the workforce. His presentation was all about how positive their work environment was and how lucky everyone was to be working at the company.

In truth, it was the event planners responsibility to have approached the speaker and inform him there had been a drastic change in the corporate environment. But the real responsibility was the speaker’s.

And to be fair to the speaker, who could possibly imagine a company would have a corporate event when they had just laid of a quarter of their workforce. One of the things I suggest all the event planners do even as close as the day before the event is to contact the speaker and make sure there is an update in case they need to change their presentation. It will save everyone from going through embarrassing situations.