How to prepare for a keynote, part 1 of (?):
My first keynote opportunity arrived unsolicited, or so I thought…
An EHS colleague, J.A. Rodriguez Jr. listened to something I said in passing at a networking event years ago, that I wanted to do a keynote someday. When J. A. led the VPPPA, Inc., he invited me to be part of a Ted Talk style keynote event where 3 speakers would present for 15 minutes each on 3 completely different topics.
I prepared my slides, and edited them multiple times in the style of Derek Sivers to “leave out what isn’t surprising” because “people only learn when they’re surprised.” I timed my talk by speaking to my dog and cat (whether a keynote or other talk, I never practice in front of people, to me it’s like telling everyone your baby name ideas while you’re pregnant).
On the day of the VPPPA Safety+ event in New Orleans in the fall of 2019, I arrived for the tech check. Waiting in the darkness backstage, I heard Frank King quickly practice, and clearly heard his professional speaking experience come through. Glenn Trout would follow my talk, and he had the advantage of familiarity with the crowd. I was the unknown with a topic that was controversial at the time.
Standing backstage “for real” while Frank delivered his talk was a completely different experience. His talk was about suicide, and it’s very personal. In 15 minutes he had the audience laughing, tearful, and introspective; he even gave out his cell phone number! I worried about following him and realized that wasn’t productive and had to deliver my points to this HUGE audience in the way that I had practiced. In short, I had to play my game, as past sports coaches explained it.
The talk went well and I finally had a keynote on my resume!
What I learned:
– Center the audience: the advice to leave out what isn’t surprising is key to every talk I deliver. I love surprising the audience and hearing what resonated with them afterwards.
– Give yourself a confidence item: for me, it’s my shoes. I wear Vans to events now because they’re comfortable and reflect my personal style.
– Find friendly faces: whether it’s someone you already know or a complete stranger, there is likely a person in the crowd (even under the bright lights) that you can see reacting to your talk in a positive way. Speak to them, then look around (or look out at the crowd without focus), then come back to the friendly face, repeat throughout the talk.
– Be ready: When you speak for 1000s of people, you project an air of approachability, this opens you up to unsolicited feedback of all kinds and for more opportunities. It is rare for people who aren’t professional speakers to put themselves out there on these large stages, there are negatives but I think the positives outweigh them.
Here’s a recap post about my VPPPA Safety+ keynote at the link below, including my script and methods of preparation:
https://lnkd.in/gD_jFW2i