Public Speaking – should you STAY BEHIND?
Today, I want to discuss the reasons why you should hang around after you’ve given a talk or made a presentation.
Perfect Time is after public speaking
Often, when we’re done presenting all we want to do is run away. We want to blow off steam. We want to be by ourselves or with close friends. We want some time to think through what just happened.
But there is no better time than right after your talk to have a chat, shake a few hands, meet a few people, and get some feedback.
Some of the responses you’ll get from the audience right after you spoke will be incredibly helpful.
It’s a great time to ask them if they might give you a testimonial. Also, it makes you seem more relatable.
Speaking Opportunities
A client recently came to me because she wanted some help with an upcoming high stakes presentation in front of her peers at an industry conference.
She was a bit nervous about it and we worked together remotely for several sessions.
After the presentation, she came back and said that she had been rebooked for two additional speaking opportunities. The audience thought that she was super relatable and wanted more of her.
And part of that was because she hung around at the end. She gave the impression that she was caring, she wanted to know what the audience thought.
The end result? More opportunities to speak!
Also, another good reason for staying around is that the organisers see you’re genuinely interested in the audience and in the event. If you take off as soon as you finish speaking, it may give the appearance that the event wasn’t particularly important and that you have better things to do.
Summary of reasons why you should stay around:
1 – Great time to get feedback.
2 – Good time to get testimonials from people. If they say something positive, you can ask if you can capture that on camera or if you can write that down, just a way to actually capture that moment.
3 – Also, it’s great if you want to be rebooked. Because that’s the time when people are really full of energy about what you’ve just done and they will say that they’d love to have you at their event. Then you can follow up with them later.
4 – It makes you seem more relatable because you want to connect with the audience at a conversational level .
5 – The organisers can see that you really care about them and their event.
Rebooked after public speaking
Recently, I was rehired to speak at a big event for an organisation that runs events for women in STEM around the country.
I’m sure that in part that was because I stuck around.
Quite a few attendees wanted to chat and discuss some of the details of my talk and I made sure that everyone who wanted to managed to get a few minutes of my time.
I also went for a quick drink with the team that organised the conference, even though pubs aren’t really my fave place.
I was very approachable, conversational, I made it very clear that I enjoyed the event and that I wanted to work with them more. And then, just a couple of weeks later I was rebooked at short notice when another speaker let them down.
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So resist that urge to run back to your hotel room, or jump on the next train home, and stay around a while.
You never know what might happen. Lots of really great things could well come your way.
And even if it’s just some decent feedback that you can take home and use next time, then that’s a feedback you wouldn’t have got otherwise.
Stick around after your next speaking opportunity and see what happens!
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P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you improve your speaking or grow your business:
1 – Get my free guide – 27 places to find speaking opportunities.
Find out where your next speaking opportunity might come from – whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or experienced speaker.
2 – Join my Facebook Group – Public Speaking for Female Coaches and Entrepreneurs.
Join us for tips, discussions and community!
3 – Are you an ambitious coach, consultant or small business owner? If you’d like to wow your audiences and find more speaking opportunities, then watch the FREE on-demand training video here: https://sholakaye.com/masterclass
4 – Find out about my VIP Days and private coaching.
Book me for a VIP half or full-day session if you want to make some serious progress! We could help you create a business networking strategy and perfect your pitch. Or we could work on your signature talk so that audience members or hungry to work with you. Or we could explore frameworks and strategies to help give you confidence whether you’re speaking at conferences, in meetings or at other events. Or more!!