The suggestions below are meant to help you connect with the public entity pooling community in a way that will allow your story to hit home. Be sure to also take a look at Your Next Steps for Speaking for important logistics information about your session.
Successful AGRiP presentations are more content than entertainment, but strong engagement matters. Your primary responsibility is to deliver relevant, timely, appropriate content. But, you also have to entertain a room full of (busy and sometimes distracted) pooling professionals. The content and delivery of your presentation must be compelling and engaging. AGRiP loves to help its presenters identify relevant stories and examples you can weave into your presentation to connect with our audience.
Err on the side of being too advanced. We’d rather hear that your presentation was slightly over an attendee’s knowledge base than too basic for our audience. Pooling professionals are seasoned, smart people! We don’t want you to “dumb down” any of your content. We stand ready to assist you to make sure you hit the right level and tone of your presentation material.
Establish your knowledge base, without reviewing your resume, right from the start. Start strong and confidently with an industry-specific story or example. Personal history and unrelated introductions are generally less successful with our attendees.
Incorporate AGRiP Advisory Standards. Our best practices are industry-specific and meant to support public entity pools in the review and evaluation of their internal operational procedures. Our staff will help you identify relevant standards to include in your presentation. By incorporating best practices into your presentation, you help public entity pools better serve their members.
Be mindful of the branding that you use on your slides. Our members value subject expertise over anything remotely sales-oriented. Avoid using a large logo on every slide. Use your logo on your first and last slides. AGRiP may remove branding beyond first and last slides. AGRiP does not provide presentation templates.
Always use the microphone. Even if you think your voice projects well, room dynamics and background noise can be a problem for some attendees (not to mention hearing disabilities).
Repeat questions from the audience. There are two reasons for this: 1) so other audience members can hear the question, and 2) so if a presentation is recorded, those listening to an archived version can hear the question.
Tell a story. You’re presenting to share your point of view and expertise, but it’s important to connect your information in a way all attendees can appreciate. Pools love to learn from one-another. Tell a representative story or use an illustration from your pooling experience.
Be mindful of copyright and use attribution. Do not use content for which you do not have copyright permission or ownership. Provide appropriate attribution and credit.
Double check the A/V system. The quickest way to lose the audience (or your nerves on stage) is to encounter an A/V problem in front of the crowd. Meet the A/V team well in advance, test the microphone, run your presentation, and check your Internet connection. If there is a problem, it’s better not to dwell on it during the presentation. We provide all materials via a conference app, so even if you can’t get the A/V working, attendees still have your materials available to them.
Watch the clock. One of the most challenging elements of public speaking is time management. We hear less favorable comments about speakers who run over or under the allotted time. Hitting the timing mark takes practice, a stopwatch, and an honest and realistic assessment of how much you can cover during your presentation.