A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to speak to a trial lawyers’ bar association. Not having a lot of experience on the plaintiffs’ side of marketing, I decided the best approach would be to get some insight into what the organization was hoping to learn about marketing. Accordingly, I asked my contact if I could speak to several of the groups’ members to get a better idea of what their expectations were, and what specifically they would like me to address during my speech. I did and got some very good ideas prior to my appearance. Actually, that is a good approach to any workshop or seminar presentation.

John Jantsch over at Duct Tape Marketing has a post he calls "A Workshop Secret Weapon" in which he points out the advantages of this strategy. They include:

  • your presentation is more likely to be well received,
  • you will gain "some great insight in what you need to present," and
  • you will already have developed a connection with some of your audience, and can use part of the earlier conversations in your presentation.

So, prior to your next speaking engagement, take the opportunity to use this not so secret tactic to increase the impact of your presentation.