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Rand's Unofficial Guide to Speaking at SES
Posted by  randfish on Sun (11/5/06) at 5:46 PM to People, Events &
Conferences
More than a few speakers have written to me asking about the SES
conference series - how they should prepare, what they should bring,
how the conference is organized for speakers, etc. There's an irony
here that shouldn't be overlooked - when I was a first-time speaker
(just a couple years ago), I had these same questions, and plenty of
nervousness. I'm going to address this purely from an SES
perspective, as Vegas will actually be my first Pubcon speaking
opportunity.

Below, I've listed many of the most common questions and provided my
answers (remember, there's nothing official about these, I'm just
sharing my experiences):

How does the Speaker Selection Process Operate?

For most of the shows in the US and Europe, it's either Danny
Sullivan or Chris Sherman. Both are very fair minded, but you've got
to pay close attention to the timeline for speakers that's listed on
the show page (e.g. here's the one for Chicago). Basically, it
follows a general pattern:

Pitch New Session Ideas
(unofficially, you can also pitch an idea that could fit in with an
existing session and if they think it's a good fit, they'll make it
work)
Initial Agenda Posted and Returning Speakers Contacted
(if you've been a positively reviewed speaker in the past, they'll
ask you back with rare exception. The only times they might not is if
they're seeking to mix things up a bit or your particular session has
high demand).
Pitches Accepted/Declined
(if you pitched something to Danny/Chris, they'll let you know if
it's been accepted or not)
Session Openings Posted
(if you see something open you want to pursue, this is your chance)
Sessions Filled Up
(at this point, it's a waste of everyone's time to pitch a last
minute session or request to be on a panel)
Danny & Chris are primarily interested in how much value and
enjoyment the attendees receive from each session. It's not just the
right thing to do, it's also the most profitable. The more people
come away from the show blown away by the amount of value provided,
the more likely companies will be to send more people to the show the
next time around.

What's the Best Way to Become a Speaker?

This practically deserves its own post, but I'll just list my top 5
tips:

Attend at least 1-2 shows in person before you pitch
Make a name for yourself online
Get yourself on film (and show the video online)
For your first time, pitch a small show - try for Toronto, Paris,
London, Stockholm, etc.
Write a compelling, easy-to-digest pitch that shows a mastery of your
topic and your communication style
Your goal is to get Danny/Chris comfortable with who you are and
confident in both your grasp of the material and your ability to
impress the audience.

How do Finances/Travel/Accommodations Work for Speakers?

For a very small, select group of speakers, the SES events will cover
your flight and hotel, plus your pass to the conference. My
understanding is that this only happens if you're invited to speak,
not if you pitch.

For the majority of speakers, you'll be on your own to book and pay
for the flight and hotel. The only perk of being a speaker is the
free, full pass to the conference. Personally, I've never been
offered flight & hotel accommodations for SES, though I have gotten
these from a few private conferences where I've spoken. Don't let
this dissuade you - for most folks in the US, the conference price of
~$1600 will be more expensive than roundtrip airfare and hotel, so
you're saving at least half the cost. In addition, the small
expenditure to attend should be easily recovered in new business (and
new tactics to use on your return). I would value the networking
alone in the tens of thousands of dollars (assuming you take
advantage of it well).

What Should I do When I'm Not Speaking?

Three things - network, attend sessions and attend meals/parties.

Sessions - if you're at the SES conference, you should do your best
to attend every session you can to get an idea of what the audience
enjoys, how they interact, what they don't like and how you can
tailor your presentation to fit. Since this is also likely to be one
of your first few times at the conference, attend sessions you
haven't seen before and speakers you've heard good things about -
watching folks like Jake Bailie, Greg Boser, Jonathan Mendez, Jessie
Strichiola and many more taught me an incredible amount about how to
be a great speaker.

Networking - don't miss an opportunity to chat. If you've already
spoken, sitting with people you know were in your audience is a good
idea, as is hanging out with folks who can get you introductions.
Once you've met a few plugged-in regulars and made a positive
impression, you can meet dozens of folks over the course of a day.
However, you SHOULD NOT think of your connections as purely for
business. Yes - I recognize that we're all there to make money and
further our economic interests, but going directly towards the issue
will work against you. Instead, try to learn from the people you
meet; be humble and receptive to ideas; always ask what your new
introductee does - ask them questions until you feel you've got a
great understanding of their business. If you show interest in
others, they will reciprocate and you can share things about your own
work.

Meals/Parties - Many of the SES shows feature some built-in parties
like the Yahoo! celebration in NYC and the Google Dance in San Jose.
For the smaller shows, there's often more-intimate, private
gatherings - don't expect to get invitations to these right off the
bat. I spent plenty of nights at my first few conferences hanging out
in the hotel bar or eating Luna bars (yeah, I know they're for women,
but have you tried a Powerbar or Cliff Bar? Those things are awful).
Because I hadn't yet become friends with a lot of conference-goers, I
spent my time hanging out where i might be seen by folks I knew of
and respected. Occasionally, I'd buy someone a beer in the bar or
show them something on my laptop (something interesting and not self-
serving). Once you've made a positive impression on some well-
connected folks and seen them in 4-5 cities around the world, you
will be invited to join events and can even start to plan your own
when SES shows come to your town. SEOmoz threw a huge dinner party in
Seattle after the SES show here. It cost the company ~$2,000 to feed
two dozen or so speakers, search engine reps, conference organizers
and other VIP types, but it was the least we could do after all the
times I've been treated visiting other folks around the conference
circuit.

What Kind of Return Should I Expect from a Speaking Slot?

There's two major opportunities for return on your speaking
investment. The first is direct - people will hand you their business
card after you present. You have a chance to spend a few minutes
chatting and many times have a good shot at a friendly contact for
services. The second opportunity is through relationships. These
often takes weeks or months (even a year or more sometimes) to pan
out, but eventually, someone will call your company and say "I heard
you speak last November in Las Vegas and really enjoyed it. We've got
a rollout and think you might be able to help." Even if the contact
doesn't come directly through speaking, your networking can go a long
way. Almost everyone on my recommended list is someone I've met at
one conference or another - we became friends, I got to see some of
their work (usually long after the conference was over) and from
there, I decided they deserved to have business referred their way.
I've sent at least 150 inquiries with significant budgets to that
list over the last year (probably more), and plenty of contacts have
sent work my way, too.

What does the Crowd Want to Hear?

This is sometimes problematic because audiences are almost evenly
split among two groups (in my experience). The first group wants to
know the basics about your topic. They're relatively unfamiliar (yes,
even if your session is marked "advanced") with how to optimize a
page or build links or avoid duplicate content penalties or start an
AdWords campaign or "fill in the blank." They'd love to have the
equivalent of a beginner's training session that explains the process
cogently and throws in a few tips that will make them instantly
competitive relative to their competition.

The second group, which has been growing over the last few years, is
fairly advanced. They may have been to a few SES shows in the past
and they're often working on the types of projects you describe on a
regular basis. They're far beyond the basics - these people want an
edge. They want to know how you leverage tools, tricks, new
strategies, new software, outsourcing, etc. to stomp the competition
and make their bosses look at them in awe.

In my experience, if your session says beginner, play to the first
market and if it says advanced, serve the second. When Bill Slawski &
I speak on the algo panel, I try to gloss over any basics and talk at
a high level - not so high as to be obtuse, but high enough so that
the only people who'll be bored are the ones who read this blog
everyday (and know 99% of the material I might share). Also, by
serving the audience who's in the right place, you'll get more
positive feedback overall. Talking to beginners with advanced
material can earn you respect, but many of the attendees will be
frustrated. Talking to advanced folks with beginner level topics is,
often, even worse because you

What Should I Wear as a Speaker?

Men - If you're seeking business from folks who are accustomed to
professionals in suits and ties, wear a suit and tie. In fact, the
best advice I can give is to wear a suit and tie, or, if you look
better in a suit with no tie (which I've found many men do), go that
route. The only reason you should dress like I do is if you have
built expectations that you'll be in jeans and yellow trainers (with
a sportjacket) or if your primary goal is not to get business from
large companies. My goal at the SES shows is to attract readers to
the blog, and I believe that jeans and yellow shoes accomplish this
task well. However, I can say with near certainty that being
underdressed has cost me some leads from folks who think that I'm not
serious about the profession. I've decided that the balance is there,
but you need to think carefully about it.

Women - sadly, I can't be of much help, but I can say that business
casual appears to be more popular than a full suit. I've heard from
several women speakers that they feel it's more approachable. You'd
have to ask a woman speaker, though, to get more accurate input on
the realities of this subject.

What Formats are Appropriate for My Presentation?

They almost always use Powerpoint, but a few people do presentations
off a web page (like Eric Ward), and I've been known to do most of
mine in Macromedia Flash. Personally, I feel that the crowd loves
when you branch out of Powerpoint, open up a web browser and show
them something live on the web, even if it's as simple as running a
search at the engines. One of the designs of the Pg Strength tool was
actually to build something that could be run on a site while on a
stage giving a presentation - it usually finishes in 20-40 seconds,
so this works pretty well.

How Can I Structure My Presentation so as Not to Run Over Time?

One slide or concept per minute is pretty good, unless you've got a
lot of meaty stuff on a slide, in which case, I recommend 2 minutes
for the slide. Some folks will race through slides, having short,
easily digestible, single ideas on each. This format can work very
well, as long as you remember to keep engaging the audience with your
eyes and your voice. I'll often put several points on one slide,
rather than spacing them out so that I can engage the audience before
returning to the task of clicking the next slide, ensuring it's the
right one and giving my verbal input.

How Can I Make Sure that Attendees Don't Leave the Room During my
Presentation?

I've made a list of seven things you can do to keep people from
leaving the room - I hope these can be of help. If you've been a
speaker or an audience member, I'd love even more input in the
comments on these:

Use visuals in your presentation - charts, graphs, screenshots,
examples, etc.
Speak authoritatively, clearly and with a mastery of the language (I
have little doubt this applies in Nanjing, Paris & New York equally -
audiences often struggle with heavy accents or poor phrasing)
Put yourself in the shoes of your audience before you craft your
presentation; think of what they would want to hear most (if in
doubt, ask Chris/Danny about the demographics)
DO NOT be self-serving - it helps if you come across as a pure expert
and just touch on what your business does at the end of your session
(this will actually get you more business, rather than less as people
respect expertise over salesmanship)
Look at the audience, not just the crowd. It's a lesson I've
struggled with, but if you use your eyes to actually make eye
contact, rather than simply roaming out over the masses, you'll have
more interest. Just be careful not to look at one or a few people the
whole time.
Be funny and charismatic. I make jokes at my own expense, attempt
horrible puns, use bad comics and give a "wink-wink" when there's a
topic that might cross the line between white hat and black hat (or
even gray hat). Everyone has their own style and plenty of people are
more effective than I am - leverage the qualities people find
attractive about you offstage and you'll do fine.
Provide at least one "killer" piece of advice every 4-5 minutes (in a
standard 15-minute presentation, I shoot for 4). This should be
something that most of your audience will rush to their notepads to
write down - a tool, a website, a strategy, some research figures, etc.
Be passionate and engaged. If you're not excited about your topic,
the audience will sense it and tune out, even if your material is
fantastic. In all honesty, I think that passion and excitement (as
long as they don't overwhelm) are the biggest component that
differentiates successful speakers from ones who aren't asked back.
Passion doesn't have to mean you're shouting and jumping up and down
- just ask Mike Grehan or Greg Boser, who both are relatively
reserved and staid in their physical mannerisms on the stage, but
have incredible energy and focus in the lines the deliver.
Obviously, I'm not an authority on the SES subject. I've spoken at a
dozen or so conferences over the past 2 years, and while I've had a
lot of success, I've certainly had my share of bombs, too. I can
think of one session in particular on search & branding that I was
sure would sink me (since Danny was moderating and I executed
awfully). Luckily, my feedback has always been relatively positive
(although it's oftentimes hard to get it back from Incisive/Jupiter),
and I always bring a lot of passion to the sessions I join.

If you've got other issues you're curious about, please don't
hesitate to ask and, likewise, if you've got experiences or advice to
share, we'd appreciate that, too.

# posted by JP @ 9:34 AM