How to Be a Conference Warrior – 5 Top Ninja Tips
ARE YOU MAXMISIING EVERY MOMENT AT THE CONFERENCE?
It’s time to get your glads rags out, your face on, your small talk ready and your networking ninja radar activated.
You really can learn to be a conference warrior and make the most of every second you spend there if you take note of these top tips.
Come on, picture you, networking like a ninja, speaking on a panel, sashaying onto podiums and speaking to audiences with your witty and relevant keynote speeches! Ha ha.
Don’t worry, I used to think I couldn’t do that too. Seems like a dream right now, however you can be brilliant at it if you set your mind to it!
Are you ready to dive in, get conference savvy and win more business?
Good. I can help you, just like my thousands of clients who used to think they couldn’t be conference warriors.
BC – Before COVID, I was helping one of my regular clients from a law firm, to organise their annual conference. As we were going through the ‘to-do’ list, it occurred to us, that there were all sorts of secret (ninja) skills you need to put on a successful conference, as well as attend one as a delegate.
We realised it was much harder work than it appeared on paper.
The most important wake-up call? Most of the time they’d dread both putting on events and attending them, and they really weren’t getting much out of them. They were spending money and wasting time.
So, we decided to get savvy and make a list of the top 5 tips they could put into practice to make the most of that precious time away from the office.
They asked me..
“how can we…
Make an impact
Attract more business
Network with purpose
Be invited to speak again
Enjoy ourselves, yes, this is important, as we usually dread it?”
So, I shared my top 5 conference ninja tips with them. And I’m delighted to share them with you too.
Whether you are putting on an event, speaking at one, advising your colleagues on their panel appearance, or attending a conference, you CAN maximise your time and energy. And guess what? You might even ENJOY it.
Are you ready?
Here are my Top 5 Conference Warrior Tips…
TIP 1 - Have a killer intro for every occasion (like an elevator pitch)
You have 0-10 seconds to encourage your audience to stay tuned!
If you are a speaker, or you are advising your colleague about their keynote or panel appearance, make sure they have a punchy intro.
Avoid reading any boring bio.
If you are networking, intro yourself in an engaging & punchy way in 0-30 secs.
My top tip about killer intros? Introduce your subject before you introduce yourself! (Your name isn’t a hook, or very interesting…. no offence!)
Here’s a useful blog if you’re speaking at an event – How to Make an Impact in 0-10 Seconds
TIP 2 - Network Like a Ninja. Even if you hate small talk.
The one big tip here is to be generous! Take an interest in the other person.
Ask questions, nod, smile and LISTEN to THEM. Remember the quote
“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.
― Dale Carnegie, Author, How to Win Friends and Influence People
Check this out…
YouTube clip…. here’s the most basic but the best networking tip ever! And watch out for my friend, fellow speaker and author Will Kintish…
TIP 3 - Look Good and You’ll Feel Good. Know What NOT to wear!
Chapter 21 in my book Goodbye Glossophobia is all about avoiding wardrobe malfunctions!
Wear something familiar not something brand new (in case it shows surprise sweat patches LOL).
Choose the right shoes or be prepared to do what they do at the Oscars – spray your feet with ‘Deep Heat’.
Rule of thumb, if you were to go on TV you’d go into wardrobe, hair and make-up before going into the studio. Treat the conference like a ‘show’ and ask yourself… ‘am I TV ready?’.
TIP 4 - Own it. How do you look, sound and feel effortlessly confident?
That’s my specialty! When I was producing the Breakfast show at the BBC a few years back, I came up with this quick fix mantra to get people in the mood to perform at their very best – quickly! Checkout chapter 26 in my book, it is all about POSE. P-Posture, O-oomph, S-speech, E-eyes and teeth.
Practice these physical POWER POSE tips and you’ll get your body, mouth and mind in the right place immediately.
This is how you build your executive presence and gravitas. Gravitas comes from the word gravity, weight. Feel the weight on your feet and find a strong planted position to give you a powerful base.
BIG tip. Own your space both physically and mentally. You are the expert, accept this and think BIG, big posture, big shoulders, big voice!
Tip 5 - Avoid the Q&A tumbleweed.
Sometimes that ‘Any questions?’ moment, kills the atmosphere. It’s even worse during virtual events as there’s a short time delay and the awkward silence can be deafening.
Turns out there is a very easy solution.
TIP - Start the Q&A with a Q. Yes start with a question and keep it simple. How? Check out my Tumbleweed blog below….
Conclusion
So, there you have it…a bit of clever conference consideration!
1 – The Killer Intro – have a punchy top line at all times.
2 – Network Like a Ninja – show interest in others.
3 – Dress to impress - avoid wardrobe malfunctions (sweaty armpits arrhh)
4 – Own it. Use body language and the power pose to ooze confidence! (Fake it til you make it)
5 – Ace the Q&A. Avoid that tumbleweed moment.
There are many more tips to be a conference warrior, and we haven’t even touched on the keynote speech, the eating (careful of smoked mackerel pâté), the drinking, how to handle slides, microphones, PowerPoint bullets, jetlag, and maximising your ‘comfort break’.
What’s your biggest conference tip?
I’d love to hear from you. Please do email me with your top tip esther@estherstanhope.com
If you’d like me to help you organise an event or host your next summit, I’d love to share my best & worst experiences with you to help you and your team put on a show!
Or if you’d like me to run my masterclass ‘How to be a conference warrior’
email me for a quick chat esther@estherstanhope.com
For more tips…
My award winning book about public speaking “Goodbye Glossophobia” has more useful speaking tricks – it’s been described as the “bible for public speaking”
And it’s getting rave reviews….
“ I just read the whole book on my train ride in. Absolutely LOVED IT…
…Factual, easy to digest, great take away tips and hilarious”
‘Goodbye Glossophobia – Banish Your Fear of Public Speaking” is only £10 reduced from £14.99.