Andrew Grill

Podcasts are a great way to establish thought leadership, by interviewing key voices in your industry. I started a podcast 5 years ago and now not only have access to some of the smartest minds in my industry, I now have over 100 interviews for a book to help better understand new technologies.

Podcasts are a great way to establish thought leadership, by interviewing key voices in your industry. I started a podcast 5 years ago and now not only have access to some of the smartest minds in my industry, I now have over 100 interviews for a book to help better understand new technologies.

One of the best investments you can make will be a small tripod and clamp for your mobile phone. Set this up and record you rehearsing your speech on your phone. Share the footage with your friends and family and ask for honest feedback. When reviewing the footage, you must accept that your voice sounds the way it does. We will never hear our voice when recorded the way we hear it live because we hear it through the air AND our ear canals, so it will always sound different to how others hear it. Embrace that, then work on your delivery, knowing you will always "sound like that". In my speaking career, I have given over 550 talks, and I still learn from each one by watching a replay of my delivery. There is always room to improve.

Embed your videos into your presentation. NEVER trust the wifi. All versions of powerpoint allow you embed a local video file that can play automatically as you advance to the next slide, in full-screen. Never ever trust a wifi connection to play a video live. If you do this then you’ll look like the true professional you are and won’t have a “YouTube failure moment”.

One element to consider to ensure your speech will be seen as perfect is simple. Keep to time! I've been using an app on my iPhone and iPad for the last 14+ years called "Presentation Clock" https://futurist.click/presentation-clock It does one thing and just one thing. It counts down in minutes and seconds and turns yellow and then red as your time runs out. You can instantly see exactly how long you have left out of the corner of your eye and can then modulate the talk to ensure you finish on or before your allotted time. If you've been given 20 minutes to speak, then speak for 20 minutes. You've, of course, rehearsed your talk a few times before the big day and know that you'll be on time, and with a countdown clock, you'll be on time.

Start by watching other, established speakers and write down the techniques that stand out for you. Attend events that you are interested in and speak to the organiser after the event to see if they are looking for speakers at their next event.