10 reasons why I speak at industry events and why you should too
There’s an often quoted and even more often debated, stat that more people would rather die than speak in public. For those of us that have avoided that particular temptation, speaking at conferences is a great way to further this particular skill. There are lots of other reasons though, so here are a few of — some of which are more selfish than others!
If you’re interested in putting any of it into practice, we’re helping to pull together next year’s IOF Fundraising Convention and are currently looking for speakers on a range of topics: http://www.fundraisingconvention.uk/call-for-papers
1. It helps you to clarify your thoughts on a topic
I don’t know about you, but until I actually start putting pen to paper (or keyboard to Medium) I haven’t fully explored a topic in my head. Yes, I’ll have a view and maybe even the top line conclusions, but I won’t have thought about every variation and potential route of enquiry. Pulling together a session forces you to do this and always results in a greater level of confidence and knowledge about a topic.
2. It’s rocket fuel for networking
If you run a session at a conference, speaking to people afterwards is instantly a walk in park. You both have a shared topic of conversation you’re (hopefully) passionate about and conversation flows from there. Even better than that, if you really nailed it, people will be approaching you to talk and they’ll be starting the conversations. Before long your diary will be filled with ‘catch ups’ and ‘coffees’ from all manner of people (this has its upsides and downsides!)
3. It’s good for your job prospects
There’s no denying it — people who are able to get up on stage and sound smart in front of others, get hired. Whether this is an overall good thing or not is certainly up for some debate, but for the time being that’s the truth. If you’re working in a smaller organisation and want to move to a big one, or are looking for that upward move in your own company, get out there and get your voice heard.
4. People will want to work for you
On the flip side, speaking at industry conferences helps the brand of your organisation and team. This will make people want to join your team. Good people tend to go to conferences — either off their own back or because their bosses want to help them develop in order to keep them. No matter what industry you’re in, but especially if you’re in a competitive one (say for example Digital) then you want these good people to be looking you and your jobs up above someone else’s. Talking to them about interesting work that you’re doing is a great way to ensure that. It’ll save you on recruiter fees having to go out and find them if nothing else!
5. Improve the quality of your industry by helping people use your learnings
If you’ve run a project and it’s gone well, then you will have learnt something (most likely lots of things) that other people can use as their starting point rather than having to relearn. You might feel that what you’ve got to say will never make an impact, but this is how progress is made in any industry.
6. It helps you develop your own presenting process and style
When speaking in public, particularly to large groups, you need to find out a way of pulling it all together that works for you. The only way you can practice this is to actually put yourself in those situations. More tips on this here:
7. It makes ‘day to day’ presenting at work MUCH easier
Standing in front of 400 people in a conference hall vs a room of 20 on the first floor opposite Procurement. It’s not really much of a comparison for which is going to get the nerves jangling. But once you’ve got a few large scale sessions under your belt it gives you much more confidence to go into those sessions in the office with a positive attitude.
8. You normally get in for free
If what you’ve got to say is valuable enough, most event organisers will give you a free pass to their whole event. If you’re good, then this is a value exchange where everybody wins. It’s not costing them anything, you’re doing something that benefits you and your industry and you’re getting something for free. Win win win.
Bonus tip — if you’re presenting, always go to all of the sessions before yours. Otherwise you won’t know what’s been discussed and how to weave it into your material.
9. You will find another way of looking at a topic
No matter how well you explore a topic in your own mind, there’s no substitute for exploring it with other people. Through the conversations that are generated before, after and during your session you will end up with numerous perspectives, many of which you won’t have considered before. There’s no better way to give you fuel for development of an idea or initiative than this.
10. Your mum (and boss) will be very impressed
In my experience of managing teams, nothing signals someone on the up more than a person who’s willing to present at industry events. For all the reasons above and for the fact that it’s extra work and stress that you definitely won’t be given space for (take note of this!) you’ll definitely impress your manager and those above them. Also your mum will be dead proud.
Some of these might seem a bit mercenary, but overall, industry events are a great way to network, learn and push things forward. The more you can get involved, the more you will benefit personally and the more your colleagues and peers will benefit from your expertise and experience.
As I said at the top, we’re helping to pull together next year’s IOF Fundraising Convention and are currently looking for speakers. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss any session ideas you’ve had, in particular on the digital side of things — james@williamjoseph.co.uk — or just submit a suggestion and we’ll come back to you
