How to prepare: checklist for great talks

To help celebrate the recent release of the paperback edition of Confessions of a Public Speaker, as well as it's 100th review on amazon.com, here's a checklist you can use to help make sure things go well at your next presentation.

Before the event

Questions to ask to prepare:

Who is the audience? Why are they coming?
Can organizer provide demographics?
Can you look at last year's programs? Were there reviews of the event on blogs?
What are other speakers speaking about?


Will this be a keynote lecture (more scripted) or small (more interactive)?
Create a list of questions audience will want answered in the talk
Prioritize the list and sketch out stories / ideas / points
Budget at least 10x time to prepare ( 1 hour talk will take roughly 10 hours of preparation)
Develop ten minutes of rough draft material
Practice the ten minutes. Do not procrastinate.
Revise material when it doesn't work, then practice again from beginning. Repeat as necessary. (See Chapter 5 of Confessions for a full description of how I prepare)
Do a test run in front of people who will give honest feedback (Or videotape and watch).
Practice with a clock with goal to end reliably with an extra 5 minutes.
Ask for emergency contact cell#, give organizer yours
Get directions to the venue, including office-park insanity, and within building insanity
If appropriate, post slides to web, include URL at end of talk

Leaving for the event

Get an hour of exercise that morning or night before.
Check laptop: do you have all cables? Is it working fine? Are slides on it? Battery charged?
Bring backup slides on flash drive / Extra-backup online somewhere / Print back-up of slides
Bring remote control: Check battery
Shower, shave, prune, scrub, brush, deodorize
Ensure you avoid all avoidable stress (get there early no matter what)

At the event

Register and let organizer know you've arrived (txt message if necessary)
Find your room and watch another speaker speak in it. Notice anything?
If time allows, mingle and meet people who might be in your audience
Return to room to catch (at least) tail end of last speaker before you – maximize time to set up.
Get laptop hooked up to projector immediately. Most problems occur here.
Find tech person, or call organizer – you'll need their help to get microphone set up, or to deal with any tech issues.
Test remote. Test any fancy videos or fancy anything.
Walk the stage. Get your body comfortable.
Make sure you have a glass of water or preferred beverage at the lectern.
Sit in the back row for a few seconds, and imagine yourself on stage.  Also check that the text on your slides is readable from back there.
Relax. You're prepared and all set. Nothing left to do. Nothing you do now will change anything. Either you prepared well or you didn't. Enjoy the ride.
If needed, distract yourself by going for a walk or other physical activity

After the event

If a speaker follows you in the room, get out of their way so they can get set up
Make yourself visible so people can find you to ask questions about your talk
Write questions from attendees on their business cards so you can answer in email later
Post slides if appropriate
Email people who gave you their cards, answering their questions
Thank the organizer and ask for any feedback (positive/negative)
If your talk was videotaped, ask for a copy so you can watch and improve.
Have a beer

If you're a frequent speaker, what else would you add? What might you remove? (Keep in mind, good checklists are short and smart)

Related posts:How to speak to a bored audience
Ignite: How speakers prepare
Q&A from webcast on public speaking
Lessons learned: radio interview
Why conferences have bad speakers