I?m just back from the 2012?GANZ Gestalt Conference in Melbourne where I had lots of time to reflect on my therapy work, as well as be exposed to the work and thinking of many other therapists in my field.
Attending conferences is an essential part of the ongoing training for all healthcare professionals. What was unique about this conference for me was I was presenting.
This was the first time I had presented at a conference (that?s me in the image above taking Q & A after my presentation), so I was also ?feeling mildy anxious in the lead up to the conference, to say the least.
However, in my usual style, I couldn?t keep my marketing hat off. ?I started to think about how presenting can help you to grow your healthcare business. I think there are numerous benefits of presenting to other healthcare professionals.
1. You can express your unique passion for your niche while educating and inspiring others
It certainly felt like quite a risk for me to present at this conference. This wasn?t some dry presentation of theory or methodology, but instead was a ?case conversation?. This meant I was sharing an actual case from my practice with the attendees and then facilitating a discussion about the case. It was pretty scary putting my work out there and having it examined by my peers, but I?m really glad I did it.
What the experience helped remind me is why I do this work and what I?m passionate about. The process of putting together a coherent and engaging presentation was challenging, but also helpful for my own professional development. Because I was able to access my passion for the area I work in, I made it a point to convey this to the audience. I also wanted to convey several important learning points to the attendees about the subject matter.
It?s a great feeling knowing I have educated and hopefully inspired others professionals working in my area. The ripple effect of this shouldn?t be discounted.
2. Other professionals will remember you because of your presentation
Because you have taken a risk and presented your work to other professionals, this also means it?s more likely you?ll be remembered by the attendees. Hopefully you?ve conveyed your passion, enthusiasm and enjoyment of your niche and this has also inspired those listening.
I still remember inspiring presentations at conferences from over 10 years ago. The power of an engaging presentation means that you can be front-of-mind the next time one of the attendees needs a referral for someone in your niche.
While this can?t be qualitatively proven, it?s just the nature of business that people refer to those that they know, like and trust and know are?competent.
I had many people come up to me after my presentation to thank me for it. These were people I had never met before, but they felt they could approach me and speak to me because they had attended the presentation. This continued even as I was at the airport getting ready to leave! As a result, I?ve now made many new connections with other therapy colleagues.
3. You can position yourself as an authority in your chosen area of interest
I?ve written many times about the power of positioning yourself as an authority in a specific area within your field. This can have long-term benefits for your clients, as well as your healthcare business.
Through your presentation, you are also solidifying yourself as someone who is an authority in a particular area. This can have a powerful ripple effect with you becoming known as the ?go-to? person in that area.
The very nature of presenting means that you?ve done extensive work, and possibly research, in the field you?re speaking about. You also have unique experiences that other can learn from.
4. Your presentation can continue to deliver ongoing benefits online after you finish
Did you know that after you presentation is over you can upload it to Slideshare?so others can access your slides and read about your presentation?
This a great way to have your presentation live on after it?s finished. It?s also an effective way to drive more traffic to your website and increase your authority and credibility.
If you use SlideShare, make sure you have an engaging description of the presentation and add your website URL so people know how to contact you. I recommend you add your business name and logo to the slides as well so they are identifiable. Unfortunately the conference I was at prohibited any branding, but this can always be added afterwards and before you upload your slides to SlideShare.
The other great thing is you can embed your slides in any website once they?re uploaded, like I?ve done below.
5. Presenting Tip: Avoid ?Death by PowerPoint?
One word on presenting. I am still amazed at the number of times I experienced ?death by PowerPoint? at this conference.
If you don?t know what that is, it?s very likely you?ve experienced it. ?Death by PowerPoint? is when you feel overwhelmed by a huge amount of bullet points and words on every powerpoint slide. The reality is people can?t read great expanses of text and listen to you at the same time. In the end you just lose your audience, which often leads to a dull and dry presentation.
I was inspired by Seth Godin?s article a while back called Really Bad Powerpoint?and 9 Steps to PowerPoint Magic.
I try to follow his rule of never, ever having more than 6 words on a page. Instead, use images to trigger an emotional reaction and then speak to the image.
You can see from my slides above how I mostly did this. It makes for a much more engaging PowerPoint and a very memorable presentation for the attendees.
What are the benefits you?ve experienced from presenting at conferences? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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