Zero to Keynote - a book for conference speakers
On this page you will find details of my new book called Zero To Keynote plus a free conference speaker checklist.
Speaking at conferences can be a highly enjoyable, rewarding and interesting activity?
You grow in your behaviours and skills, you meet people, you push your boundaries, you share your message, you get to travel, you sometimes get paid well, and yes, you often get free conference tickets too.
It's been a highlight of my career to date - and that's why I wrote this book.
No matter where you are in the journey, from first starting out, or working toward a Keynote, this book will be helpful for you.
The book is structured to follow a logical progression from an idea, to submission, to writing the talk, to rehearsing, to logistics and to presenting. Along the way I cover dealing with nerves, communication principles and a mini guide about how to survive a conference as an attendee!
I share stories and anecdotes to bring the principles of communication into the process, and share solid ideas on how to land a great talk.
The book is available as a beautiful printed field-guide to be read, studied and carried with you to conferences (UK only). If digital is more your thing, then the book is also available as a beautiful PDF here.
There's also an Speaker's checklist further down the page - available in hi-res for subscribers to the Meeting Notes newsletter.
The book is an extension of my popular workshop of the same name.
In the book, amongst other topics, I cover:
- How to come up with ideas
- How to get your conference submission accepted - and how to be sure you're speaking to the right audience
- How to structure a talk
- The principles of communication - and how they apply at different stages
- How to never forget your talk
- How to deliver with confidence
- Dealing with nerves
- Logistics of conference speaking
- Dealing with Q&A - and haters
What I don't do (at least too much) is share tactical "presentation" ideas. Ideas such as "go big and go home" with your hands may work, but it's pointless if you have a terrible talk and haven't put in the hard work of rehearsing it.
Instead, I want to focus on purpose, audience, context, enthusiasm and the storytelling that is sorely needed at many industry conferences.
I called the book Zero To Keynote because I firmly believe that no matter how far along your conference speaking journey you are, you can make every talk "keynote worthy", whether you are delivering a scheduled keynote or not.
And by making your talk the best it can be - and delivering it with clarity, purpose and enthusiasm, it will stand out at conferences for all the right reasons.
The Zero To Keynote Conference Speaker Checklist
I've created a supporting checklist, free to download for subscribers to the Meeting Notes newsletter.
You can grab the PDF download for free here!
