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New Year’s Resolutions for Speakers
We’ve spiraled into a new year without the benefit of all those parties we used to go to in person, and without the benefit of lots of face-to-face speaking opportunities to look forward to, at least in the next several months. We can still hope for the middle of the year, and Q3, but for now speakers are reduced to virtual keynotes and webinars — and working on your chops in preparation for better times ahead.
So given the current enforced idleness, what can a passionate, expert, engaged public speaker like you do to keep the devils of indolence and despair from the door? I’ll cast my suggestions in terms of new year’s resolutions.
1.First, I resolve not to waste the pandemic. I’m going to rip my current speech apart and re-create it from the pieces as a virtual presentation. Perhaps you have already begun this process, or quickly revised an existing speech to give as a virtual presentation. But now is the time to re-think it entirely. You need to make the virtual version interactive from the start. You need to break it down into 10-minute chapters and mix up the style and method of delivery every 10 minutes. You need to think about using video sections so that you can bring in other settings and images to keep the audience, used to movies and television, engaged. Now is the time for a complete re-think.
