5 Speaking Tips I brought back from the last VMX

A week ago I was at VMX, one of the world’s largest veterinary conference. 

I actually attended several times over the last 8 years. 

After all, VMX takes place in Orlando, Florida... in January ! 

And when you work in the veterinary industry AND live in Canada - like me-, it is for sure THE place to be to kick off the year :)  

Joke apart - the main reason I go is to attend to lectures and learn new things. 

But I am also a speaker in my area of expertise. 

And while I am there, I also love to see how others are presenting ; and what are the techniques they use to better share their messages and ideas. 

This year, I came back with 5 new presentation tips.

Let me share with you what they are... and why I want to implement them in my upcoming lectures ! 

#1 Encourage attendees to take pictures. 

Not so long ago, when charts or graphs were presented during a lecture, the info they contain was pretty hard to capture. 

You could try to sketch them on a piece of paper - while at the same time listening to the speaker with one ear while he/she was explaining the figures... 

And on my end, I know it was not uncommon that, when I would go back to my notes, I’d look at what I had drawn... and would just think :” What in the world did I mean ?”. 

We can agree that our smartphones and tablets have completely changed the game here. 

The Ipad PRO I now carry around had changed my note-taking habits (see this post about it) ...  and thanks to its camera, I can now just raise it... and in one click, capture any figure that shows up on the big screen during a lecture. 

I can capture any slide the presenters share and immediately integrate it in the text I typed, even annotate it in a heartbeat. 

Simple. Efficient. Techy... 

And yet...

For a long time, many conferences did actually NOT allow the attendees to take pictures. 

This year though, I noticed a change at VMX. 

Every lecture actually started by the chairman mentioning that attendees could take pictures.

And as a speaker, I LOVE hearing this !

You see, when I prepare a presentation, I spend time and energy crafting each and every slide. 

Ultimately I would like each of them to be kind of... a masterpiece (truthfully !).

Powerful visual carrying an important and practical message : that is what I want to share with everyone sitting in one of my lectures. 

So when people grab their phone to take a picture, I find this... invigorating ! 

When you like to create, nothing makes you feel better than seeing with your own eyes people appreciating your craft. 

From now on then (and after checking with the organizers obviously), I will definitely start my presentations by encouraging the audience to take pictures !  

#2 QR codes 

Some may think the QR code technology is obsolete... well, I beg to differ after my trip to VMX ! 

As presenters, we often share online ressources with our attendees. 

We show a picture of an article or a blog... we copy-paste its link on our slides... 

Circling back to what I wrote earlier, we encourage people to take a picture... 

And we hope they will go navigate by themselves the World Wild (!) Web so they can access this amazing resource we provided them with. 

I did all of that in my previous lectures... 

I have no idea how many people actually looked at those resources I was sharing with them... but well, I thought it was the best I could do here...

Until I saw this. 

You recognize a QR code... and if you point your cell phone to it like if you were taking a picture (assuming you are reading this on a tablet or a computer), it will actually detect the link that is hidden into it. 

And the link will almost immediately open on your smartphone, leading you straight to the resource I wanted you to see !

I saw those showing up on the screen during a lecture I was attending at VMX.

I saw people around me pointing their phone to it... and like magic, the ressource link was immediately opening on their smartphone’s screen. 

They could immediately saved it in their favourites. 

And review it later if needed. 

That was one kind of magic ! 

Are more attendees actually going back to the resources and checking them thoroughly after the lecture ? 

Hard to say... but at least now, they would have a quick access to it. 

I really liked this QR code trick. 

It makes those online resources available to our attendees on their smartphone (= our number 1 reading device these days) in one click. 

Effortless. Fast. Efficient... Brilliant indeed ! 

So I know this is definitely something I will be using in my future lectures ! 

And if you want to know how to easily generate those QR code’s, check this link !

#3 Integrated Polls 

I always want my lectures to be interactive. 

It boosts the engagement of the audience, it makes every presentation unique... 

It makes me enjoy the lecturing experience even more actually ! 

In the past, to do so, I was using Turning Point, a software that was allowing me to poll the audience.  

However, to use this early version, I had to carry around a bag full of remotes... which means I was always up for an interesting experience at the airport, when going through security ! 

Thankfully it is now much easier... and you can definitely make good use of it as long as you have a smartphone (checked for everybody right ?) and a stable internet connection. 

The perfect app should integrate seamlessly with your presentation software, whether you use PowerPoint or Keynote. 

At VMX I saw many presenters using Poll Everywhere

They used it for multiple choice questions. 

They used it to generate word clouds from the audience’s suggestions. (And I found that really cool - I have a passion for word cloud, I just love crafting them actually). 

Next time I’ll lecture, I’ll build some of those into the presentations. 

I’ll make sure I have a strong internet connection... and if so, will definitely make good use of this tool to bring this interactivity I crave so much for to my lectures !

#4 The “Text Me Your Question” Trick  

I have actually seen this one a few years ago at VMX... but I am still admirative, so that’s why I mention it here ! 

A presentation typically ends with a Q&A... but I am sure you experienced it at least once : for MANY different reasons, those Q&A sessions can quickly get... clunky. 

Though, I’ve seen a presenter use something unique. 

What I call the “Text Me Your Question” trick. 

It goes like this :

• at the end of the presentation, you share a phone number on the final slide... 
• ... and you ask people to text their questions to it ! 
• As you receive the texts, you give the answers needed ! 

You can use this trick at the end... or even build up multiple Q&As within, one for each section of your presentation actually ! 

The sky is the limit here ! 

What I like about it is that it will allow everyone - even the most introverted - to send their questions in. 

Everyone gets a chance to ask their question...  which is pretty amazing I think ! 

And if you receive too many of them and you do not have enough time to go through them all during the Q&A ? 

Well, you still have the questions... so you can eventually answer them later on if needed ! 

While this is super-easy to set up, it is certainly not perfect... 

I am sure we can think of a lot of downsides (because after all, you are giving away your phone number when doing this usually).

I have seen other alternatives - like using a conference app - that could actually be better suited. 

But one must admit : this is a bold trick. 

And I really like it. 

Because that definitely makes your presentation quite unique !

I need to wrap my head around the best way to use it... but for sure, I will find a way to introduce this one into my lectures ! 

(And if you have any suggestions, obviously, am open to it !). 

#5 Get. Them. Moving

When you spend the day sitting in a lecture room, listening to one lecture after the other... it is hard to stay laser-focussed. 

Even if it is the best speakers there are that you are listening to. 

At a certain point, your attention might shift...

No real surprise here : that’s a typical consequence of passive listening. 

And to keep the audience engaged, some of the tips we previously mentioned can come in handy. 

But the most powerful of all ? 

Getting your audience moving !

Ask them to stand up. 

Ask them to stretch. 

Ask them to sing ! 

Asking them to move will definitely get the blood flow going... and their attention right where it should be ! 

I have seen a speaker this year asking the audience to stand up in the middle of the lecture and ask everyone to take a pledge ! 

Almost everyone did... and you could actually feel the level of engagement increasing ! 

When you think of it, that is a pretty simple trick. 

And that can definitely help you win big ! 

Not only does it help your audience re-focus. 

But it also makes your talk more memorable. 

And that is what you want, in order for your message to stick ! 

Conclusion

So you see, those are 5 simple tips I have seen used  during live presentations at VMX. 

The presenters were great... and seeing them use those techniques actually made their lecture even more memorable to me. 

My next step as a speaker now is to try to replicate those tips in my own presentations.... and made them my own (this is actually my favourite creative part, I am already on it). 

I will definitely keep you guys updated on how things will go. 

And if you have any other tip that can help make our scientific presentations memorable,  write them down in the comment section below. 

Because I’d love to hear about them obviously !