I was on the big consulting side for years. We would get invited to speak at vendor conferences even if we were not sponsoring the event, because the vendor needed to fill up slots especially for the breakout sessions, and often as a relationship-building sweetener if the vendor wanted to get closer to us. I spoke at a couple and saw colleagues presenting on others. Believe me, preparation was minimal and last-minute, like a lot of things in big consulting world. I saw one senior global leader still preparing his keynote in the early morning he was due to give it. This was partly because we didn't have time because we were crazy busy, partly because the event for us was a bit like a short vacation from everyday work, especially if it was overseas. It was also because for us individually the speaking slot was low-stakes - talking to a room full of strangers and mostly junior folks from another region who you will never see again, compared to say giving a big sales presentation to a bunch of C-levels at one of our clients. It felt like at these vendor conference breakouts you could talk buzzwords and be vague and people would still take pictures of our slides, clap and come up afterwards to ask questions, and your vendor contact would still tell you how great you are. (This is not meant as an implied criticism of Joe and other serious speakers, I'm just pointing out at vendor conferences the standard to get in can be low especially if you have a big brand behind you).
James, thanks for bringing up the “other side” I was hesitating on mentioning. Most of the talks are phoned-in buzzword bingo. And that’s being generous. Thanks SO MUCH for bringing this up.
Sorry it was a bit of a rant. To be fair to the vendors, I remember one of them took speaking quality very seriously and had a dedicated coach and review process for presenters. Also, presentations by consultants - even when poorly prepared - still seemed to be received well by some of the audience (probably other consultants and partners), not so much because of anything very technically innovative but because of the frameworks, methodologies etc which consultants excel at.
Thank you for writing this, Joe, and for not sugarcoating it! It's an eye opener to some of the inner workings of these events...
I can only speculate and reference anecdotal data, but I think it's possible that women speakers are exposed to more exploitation. That is, when approached to speak for free, it can be more tempting to say yes to the idea of 'exposure', considering the ratio of F:M speakers.
I guess I've never read one of these. I assumed the audio mirrored the written content and I would just listen. Even today, I opened this post back up more as a writer looking to dissect the craft.
Joe, do you record the audio and then flesh out your ideas in the text? My sense is that is more of the "winging it" process.
Interesting post on the state of conferences and speaking. I have only participated from a standpoint with a vendor as part of the session for the free tickets to the event as compensation - then it is part embellished marketing. I usually go to conferences because of the content first, versus a single 30-45 minute presentation. Noticing well known speakers, is a good bonus, gives some authenticity to the conference. Then comes the anxiety of there being enough seats for that one particular 30-45 minute presentation that most want to see. But overall, I travel for the nature of the conference as a whole. And as well to make connections to other people from other organizations working similar projects / similar technologies. But as the years gone by, I have noticed it was harder to find those individual business connections, as most attendee's were consultants trying to get clients!
Don't mind the marketing/selling of wares and the prospect collection from the vendor booths in the exhibition centers. That is part of the game. It is expected in trade-off for your tchotchke stress ball and light up pen. ;) It's the increase of consultants trying to find prospects at the provided breakfasts and lunches, or while sitting waiting for a session to start up in an auditorium. The unbiased non-marketing discussions come from customer to customer discussions.
Exquisitely put. Independent events where i get to learn something is the only thing i do now. Also diversity and uniqueness of the geography is something that I take into consideration. It gets boring very soon
Thanks for your honesty Joe! Being on the road, far from my family (like now) always makes me wonder whether it worth is... I would add one more thing to the list: for me a non-profit working group works great (e.g. a DAMA chapter): we have ample to time to cover a topic, no rush, no travel required and the non-profit nature means that it is not about pushing something. Probably a subcategory below the meetup type events.
I was on the big consulting side for years. We would get invited to speak at vendor conferences even if we were not sponsoring the event, because the vendor needed to fill up slots especially for the breakout sessions, and often as a relationship-building sweetener if the vendor wanted to get closer to us. I spoke at a couple and saw colleagues presenting on others. Believe me, preparation was minimal and last-minute, like a lot of things in big consulting world. I saw one senior global leader still preparing his keynote in the early morning he was due to give it. This was partly because we didn't have time because we were crazy busy, partly because the event for us was a bit like a short vacation from everyday work, especially if it was overseas. It was also because for us individually the speaking slot was low-stakes - talking to a room full of strangers and mostly junior folks from another region who you will never see again, compared to say giving a big sales presentation to a bunch of C-levels at one of our clients. It felt like at these vendor conference breakouts you could talk buzzwords and be vague and people would still take pictures of our slides, clap and come up afterwards to ask questions, and your vendor contact would still tell you how great you are. (This is not meant as an implied criticism of Joe and other serious speakers, I'm just pointing out at vendor conferences the standard to get in can be low especially if you have a big brand behind you).
James, thanks for bringing up the “other side” I was hesitating on mentioning. Most of the talks are phoned-in buzzword bingo. And that’s being generous. Thanks SO MUCH for bringing this up.
Sorry it was a bit of a rant. To be fair to the vendors, I remember one of them took speaking quality very seriously and had a dedicated coach and review process for presenters. Also, presentations by consultants - even when poorly prepared - still seemed to be received well by some of the audience (probably other consultants and partners), not so much because of anything very technically innovative but because of the frameworks, methodologies etc which consultants excel at.
I appreciate the perspective.
Thank you for writing this, Joe, and for not sugarcoating it! It's an eye opener to some of the inner workings of these events...
I can only speculate and reference anecdotal data, but I think it's possible that women speakers are exposed to more exploitation. That is, when approached to speak for free, it can be more tempting to say yes to the idea of 'exposure', considering the ratio of F:M speakers.
Oh, I’ve heard and seen some horror stories with female speakers. Lots of gaslighting, underpayment, and harassment.
I guess I've never read one of these. I assumed the audio mirrored the written content and I would just listen. Even today, I opened this post back up more as a writer looking to dissect the craft.
Joe, do you record the audio and then flesh out your ideas in the text? My sense is that is more of the "winging it" process.
Either way - record first, write later. Or vice versa
Interesting post on the state of conferences and speaking. I have only participated from a standpoint with a vendor as part of the session for the free tickets to the event as compensation - then it is part embellished marketing. I usually go to conferences because of the content first, versus a single 30-45 minute presentation. Noticing well known speakers, is a good bonus, gives some authenticity to the conference. Then comes the anxiety of there being enough seats for that one particular 30-45 minute presentation that most want to see. But overall, I travel for the nature of the conference as a whole. And as well to make connections to other people from other organizations working similar projects / similar technologies. But as the years gone by, I have noticed it was harder to find those individual business connections, as most attendee's were consultants trying to get clients!
Interesting last sentence. I too notice that conferences can be just a bunch of vendors and consultants as the majority of attendees
Having actual, like, customers at the events would spoil the vacation for the consultants!
Don't mind the marketing/selling of wares and the prospect collection from the vendor booths in the exhibition centers. That is part of the game. It is expected in trade-off for your tchotchke stress ball and light up pen. ;) It's the increase of consultants trying to find prospects at the provided breakfasts and lunches, or while sitting waiting for a session to start up in an auditorium. The unbiased non-marketing discussions come from customer to customer discussions.
Exquisitely put. Independent events where i get to learn something is the only thing i do now. Also diversity and uniqueness of the geography is something that I take into consideration. It gets boring very soon
I’d love to make a trip to your area for conferences or events. It’s so foreign to me.
Thanks for your honesty Joe! Being on the road, far from my family (like now) always makes me wonder whether it worth is... I would add one more thing to the list: for me a non-profit working group works great (e.g. a DAMA chapter): we have ample to time to cover a topic, no rush, no travel required and the non-profit nature means that it is not about pushing something. Probably a subcategory below the meetup type events.