Give a BETTER presentation with LESS prep

Hey there you beautiful Blasters!

Today, I’m giving the secret speaking tip, right up front:

“When you’re doing a talk, leave WAY MORE TIME for Q&A.”

Here’s why:

As a public speaker myself, I’ve been doing this for over 7 years.

I estimate I’ve done over 75 keynotes & workshops in person, and 180+ webinars.

The more I do this, the more I realize:

The most valuable thing you can do for your audience is answer their questions.

We try to GUESS what their questions are as public speakers, don’t we?

We spend SO much time creating the perfect PowerPoint slide deck, coming up with all this content to entertain, inform, and/or inspire them.

BUT:

By spending LESS time trying to come up with MORE content, and leaving more time for Q&A, you can create a way better experience for the audience.

Why this works:

No one wants a lecture the whole time.

Even though you’re the expert, people want to interact and have their voices or concerns heard.

A Q&A changes the dynamic in the room, makes the audience engage, and even if they didn’t ask the question, they probably have the same or similar issue and will listen intently.

Plus, you’ll be able to address - or at least ponder - things you never thought of, making you a better speaker/expert in the long run!

“But Will, I’m not good at thinking on my feet!”

Welcome to the club. Neither was I till I did this a million times.

Trust your knowledge, prepare for some FAQ’s, stay curious, and start ASAP!

How LONG should the Q&A be?

Here’s my rule of thumb I try to follow:

• 30 minute talk = 5 min Q&A

• 45 minute talk = 10 min Q&A

• 60 minutes = 15 min Q&A

• 90 minutes = 20 min Q&A

• 120 minutes = 30 min Q&A

• 3 hour workshop = 45 - ONE HOUR Q&A

Proof this works:

My client sent me this in an email recently, after we worked his content for a 3-hour workshop, down to 2 hours, to leave 1 hour for Q&A:

If THIS is the kind of feedback you want from your talks, then:

Leave time for Q&A.

That’s IT for this week!

If you enjoyed this, please SHARE it with a friend and reply:

What did you think of this new format for the Greenblast?

Greenblast out 🚀

P.S. If you’re interested, I talk about why I’m doing this new format below.

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I got some incredible responses to my last newsletter.

I asked how I could improve the Greenblast, and you sent me some really useful feedback.

One message I got stood out to me:

This rang true to me. When I do:

• My workshops

• My 1:1 coaching

• And on LinkedIn

My main goal is to give you things you can use TODAY to be a better public speaker.

But I’ve been using this newsletter as a therapeutic writing outlet, to get things off my chest (while still trying to make it useful and interesting).

So from now on, I’m gonna give you something clear, simple and applicable each week.

While still trying to be real, vulnerable, and kind of funny (at times).

Thank you all ❤️