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Understand the business before you say anything at a trade show
Network World, 3/31/97
Before you go trotting off to get yourself a speaking engagement, there are some basics you should understand.
- Plan ahead. Proposals for giving a presentation at a trade show need to be submitted as many as nine months ahead of time. "For a large show - 40,000 attendees or more - the serious work of selecting topics and assigning speakers is completed five to eight months before the show," says Bill Laberis, president of Bill Laberis Associates, a media consulting and publishing firm in Holliston, Mass., and conference chairman of the ComNet '98 show. "It's certainly not two or three months. There's always the chance of last-minute cancellations or changes, but don't count on that."
- Show organizers will have dozens of submissions for sessions on popular topics. Even though many of them won't be even remotely appropriate, you'll need to take extra care to make yours stand out as worthy of a closer look.
- If you have spoken somewhere before, let show organizers know. While the industry always needs new blood, people who know the drill make life easier for show planners.
- Define topics that will be of interest to the audience. "Study last year's brochure," Laberis says. "Typically, for annual events, the overall tracks and sessions are similar from one year to the next, although there's clearly change over time."
- Follow instructions and deadlines in terms of submitting materials such as the handouts you'll give attendees.
- If you do get selected, by all means show up or don't expect to be invited back. Even if you need to send a substitute speaker due to a schedule conflict, let show planners know as soon as possible.
The same applies to content. Don't turn in one presentation at the proposal stage and give another one at the show. Make show planners aware of the change early enough for them to work with you. Above all, don't turn your presentation into an advertisement for your company or its products.
- Start small and local. Speaking at a local company- sponsored event, user group or professional association is one way to break in to the trade show speaking business.
- Study your competition and learn the scene. Go to other sessions led by end users and observe critically. Notice what seems to be well received by the audience. Borrow what works.
