How To Deliver a Memorable Event Session

Speaking at events is a powerful way to build authority as a thought leader. I was excited when I got the chance to present on ‘HI & AI Content Co-Creation’ at the IAMCP EMEA Illuminate conference.

But soon after, doubts crept in.

Although this was not my first time speaking, I knew an excellent presentation required more than just writing skills and would push me outside of my ‘behind-the-keyboard’ comfort zone. It needed to be persuasive, thought-provoking and well-structured to keep the audience engaged.

I worried about talking too much, delivering the right content, and making it memorable. Following expert advice and my own logic, I prepared my slides and mentally rehearsed the speech. The audience said they loved it, but I knew I could do better.

So, for this newsletter, I’ll explore presentation best practices and provide my example of what I think I did well and what I could have done better.

I’ll focus on four elements that I believe are critical to a good presentation:

—The topic (the ‘big idea’)

—The concept (the structure & outline)

—The slides (or other supporting media)

—The speech (presenting skills)

The topic

Like with anything else, the foundation defines the ultimate success. For session presentations, that foundation must rely on one ‘big idea’ behind the speech.

Think of it as the main point of your presentation and the core message you want to convey towards the end of the session. So, start with ‘the end in mind.’

How do you define that presentation topic and ensure event organizers pay attention to your title? Find it at the intersection of these four segments:

• Event’s Core Theme or Specific Track

Tech conferences have an overall yearly theme and specific tracks, such as ‘cloud,’ ‘marketing,’ ‘and AI & Data.’ Find how your message fits in.

•  Event Audience

 Knowing the typical attendee profile(s) and who you’ll attract is critical. Tailor the session to that persona for better attendance.

•  Industry or Market Trend

People seek new information. What’s hot? What’s changed? What doesn’t work now and why? I love Vincent Pierri’s filters (public speaking coach):

—> Google Filter: If easily found online, omit it from your keynote.

—> Value Filter: Focus on ideas, adding immediate value to your audience.

•  Your Point of View (POV)

Many speakers just present knowledge. Boring. The best involve personal POV, practical applications, and unique opinions. Vincent’s additional filters apply here:

—> Controversy Filter: Highlight controversial ideas. Defend your unique POV.

—> Passion Filter: Cut what you’re not passionate about. Your energy drives impact.

—> How I defined the topic for my session 

1. Event’s theme & track: I chose one that fit into the event’s AI track

2. Audience: I tailored it to Microsoft partner business owners, executives, and marketing department leads

3. Trend: I picked the hot topic of AI taking over content creation

4. My POV (and passion): We shouldn’t leave the entire content creation process to bots, just because they can do it; we leave the thinking for us

The concept

We are talking about the main structure of your entire presentation.

What will you say in the intro? How do we move forward after that? What are proven frameworks you can follow?

Let’s quickly glance over several popular presentation frameworks:

1. Problem-Solution-Benefit

Classic story arc: introduce the problem, provide a solution, and showcase benefits. Great for company case studies or new approaches to pressing issues.

Check event rules on company spotlighting. Many prohibit selling, focusing on education instead.

2. Opportunity, Benefits, and Numbers (OBN)

Opportunity—Highlight what’s new, explain growing demand/trend

Benefits—Core advantages, address potential objections

Numbers—Support benefits with metrics, data, examples

3. What? So What? Now What?

Ideal for sharing experiences or lessons learned:

What: Attention-grabbing intro with striking stats/facts, visuals

So What: Implications, impact analysis, share your insights

Now What: Turn insights into actionable advice, open discussion, include a call to action

Like in all writing, templates and frameworks can help you get inspired and stay on point, especially if you’re not a writing professional. I like to create my own outlines and structures and incorporate these frameworks my way.

—> How I created the concept for my session

• Intro: my story of the first time I encountered AI writing tools

• The backstory: how AI writing tools exploded and how are people using it

• The problem: why is content created with AI problematic

• Game time: I inserted a fun element that involves audience interaction throughout the next segment

• How to approach it responsibly: My POV demonstrated through a 10-step writing process

• TL;DR: Main conclusions on one slide

The slides

Ever heard of the 10/20/30 rule? That is how legendary communicator Guy Kawasaki defined the ideal slide presentation structure:

• 10 slides

• 20 minutes

• 30-point font size

The first rule should help you stay concise, the second should keep your audience engaged, and the last one ensures you don’t overpopulate your slides with text.

That sounds great, but what if you have a 45-minute or longer session? Create them with these limits in mind:

—Less slides: For a 45-minute speech, avoid going over 20 slides.

—Less text: Use bullets to keep your text in the 30-50-word range per slide.

—More visuals: Most slides should be just images while you do the talking

—More creativity: Try avoiding corporate stock images; tap into emotions by choosing more creative visuals.

—Even more visuals: Use icons, graphs (in moderation), infographics, and short videos.

—White space: Keep at least 20% of your slide completely blank.

—> How I designed my slides

I used bullets, limited text, and many creative visuals, but overall, I think I had too many slides (+35).

The speech

Now, the fun part: presenting skills.

At Illuminate, I saw Guus Krabbenborg speak. He is a veteran with 25+ years of tech event experience. We nicknamed him ‘the Tony Robbins of Microsoft Dynamics' for his presentation style.

Guus’s session was fun and expressive, but he shocked us mid-talk with an image of someone peeing their pants. The crowd laughed and perked up. Guus understands what many business speakers forget—you must hold attention and read the audience’s nonverbal cues.

Public speaking is often cited as people’s biggest fear, surpassing financial ruin, sickness, flying, and even death. Even seasoned speakers get nervous on stage.

Walking to the train station after the event, Guus shared his trick for conquering initial fear: “Ask them the most difficult question right up front. That way, the pressure is not so much on you but on them,” said Guus.

Gold! Now, let’s say we managed to put stage fright behind us and focus on what else is important when you do a live speech:

Confidence—Speak of topics you know deeply. You’ll need fewer notes and less rehearsal.

Speaking lively—Support facts with emotions. Be expressive, and use gestures moderately. Move around, laugh, show surprise. Avoid being stiff or expressionless.

Interaction and fun—Divide your talk into segments. Ask audience questions after each. Engage them in the topic. Surprise them mid-session when attention wanes (like Guus’s wet pants picture).

—> How I managed speech

Uhm… I was clear in my message. That’s what the feedback was. I asked questions and tried to be interactive. But I was stiff, I forgot how to be fun, and I was looking at the slides way too much (to ensure I was not missing something important)

I was holding that mic like an ice cream cone on a hot summer day, when things melt too fast. Overall, I have a LOT of room for improvement in this segment.

So there you have it. My top tips and lessons learned.

Let me know if you are preparing a session anytime soon and if you found something you could implement.