This week, I had the biggest and best delivery of my life!
Now, this could be skewed by my excitement of being at a huge - 2800 people! Incredibly well-designed, highly-produced event after 3 years of nothing like it!
So what made it so good?
Preparation, Service, & Enthusiasm.
This event was a wonderful opportunity. It was incredible to be on a huge stage surrounded by world-class speakers - two had flown in from the USA and one from South Africa for the event.
Being able to have the presentation filmed made me do loads of thinking about the slides I used and the most valuable and relevant content I could deliver. I arrived three hours before my presentation. I was on hand for tech and sound checks, I was able to meet and chat with key event staff and company leaders with no rush or stress.
I watched the sessions before me. Both sessions were quite heavy and emotional - deeply inspiring stories. I knew that I needed to shift the energy and the focus of the room. This changed the way I started my presentation and entered the stage.
Preparation:
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” - Seneca
It’s very easy to think that it’s all about YOU when YOU turn up to an event that YOU have been paid to be at. Constantly reminding yourself that you are there to serve is a game changer. You are there to serve the organiser. To be easy to work with. To deliver incredible value. To make an impact on the people in the room. Not there to talk about yourself. Not there to take up people’s time. Not there to add problems to the event organiser and production crew.
“You don’t matter, they’re not listening and no one cares.” was one of the most valuable things I learnt when I did Matt’s Speakership Program years ago.
You don’t matter is the perfect reminder that this event is not about you! Do not assume that you are important, that everyone should be on had to solve your problems. Be organised and be easy to work with.
They’re not listening makes you work harder on stage. If you arrogantly arrive assuming that everyone needs to listen to what you have to say, you will not be anywhere near as effective.
No one cares about your drama. That you had a bad Uber ride in, that you forgot your clicker. The event is not there for you. You are there for the event.
Service:
“No one has ever become poor by giving” - Anne Frank
Enthusiasm is contagious and the good news is that you can fake it! Even though you might attend hundreds of events every year, that you might train hundreds of people, the only thing that matters that day is that event. Their people. Be interested and enthusiastic about what they are doing. The theme they are running and the program that they have created. Many speakers are too cool and too self-absorbed to be emotionally available to the event. Empathise with the event organiser. Smile at the staff. Thank the crew. Be grateful to everyone who has turned up and served the space.
Being excited and enthusiastic about an event you have been booked for is a form of gratitude. It’s being grateful in advance. Arrive in the room as if this is the best day of your life. As if this is the greatest delivery you have ever done. Your client is paying you for your energy. Paying for your service and the least you can do is turn up turned on!
Enthusiasm:
“What I do best is share my enthusiasm.” - Bill Gates
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