A Secret of SEJ Summit, or “Why We’re Not Your Typical SEO Conference” by @itsduhnise

10 SEO conferences. 7 cities. 2000+ attendees. 85 speakers. 93 presentations.

SEJ Summit was just a twinkle in our collective eyes 3 years ago. We’ve learned so much since.

We’re fortunate to enjoy consistently excellent ratings in attendee feedback surveys. Speakers ask to return every year. We’re able to attract talent from the industry’s leading companies such as Google, Microsoft, ESPN, and renowned speakers such as content strategist Ann Handley.

One of my primary responsibilities is working with speakers. I make sure their content is relevant for SEOs, includes current and proven tactics, and is interesting. We don’t want to waste the audience’s time or money.

One secret is an unusual requirement: every speaker must do a “dry run” of their presentation.

A couple weeks before, the speaker and I get on a call. While sharing a screen, the speaker gives their presentation as if there is an audience, complete with self-introduction and slides.

Afterwards, I give feedback on everything from timing, visuals, to coherency and effectiveness.

You see, we’ve found out the hard way that dry runs are the only reliable way to discover if the presentation is what it is supposed to be, and is as good as it needs to be.

I’m surprised more conferences don’t do it.

Here’s a few things I’ve caught:

• Graphic images (dead animals, risque illustrations)
• @#$%! Curse words
• Tipos Typos by the dozen
• Two speakers covering the exact same topic (reminds me of showing up at a party in the same outfit as someone else.)
• Excruciatingly boring presentations

Some speakers hate this requirement.

We’ve had to convince more than a few speakers why this was necessary.

“You know that I’ve spoken at X, Y, and Z conferences…?” Or, “Don’t worry about me, I’ve been a professional speaker for years. This is not my first time.” (I could almost feel a pat on my head).

Nonetheless, we persisted. Fast forward to today: I’ve done 90+ dry runs with speakers for every SEJ Summit. I still have my scribblings in Evernote from them all.

Here’s what 90 speaker “dry runs” have taught me:

#1: Always Do What’s Best for the Audience

In a single session, you have 3 agendas at play:

• The speaker, who may be interested in promoting a new product or service, or themselves.
• The conference organizers, who are interested in filling a topic requirement or making a sponsor happy.
• The audience, who is paying for the privilege to be there.

The audience’s interests should always win. And they’ll know if you compromised.

#2: Star Power Only Goes So Far

Having recognized industry experts is a draw. But banking on name recognition alone is risky. If the star’s content isn’t relevant, updated and interesting, their ‘fame’ won’t save your speaker… or your conference reputation.

#3 Practice Makes Perfect

The best orators of our time, from Winston Churchill to John F. Kennedy, had one thing in common: PRACTICE.

When I compared the dry runs versus the live sessions, the live sessions were almost without exception, better in every regard.

I like to think that this is partly because the dry runs are an effective vehicle for practice.

#4 Treat the “Little People” Well

Putting on a conference takes a village. We learned that speakers who were rude or ignored staff (staff who were just trying to schedule the dry runs or ask for presentation drafts when they were due) usually meant escalating speaker diva behavior later. To make matters worse, these folks tended to be subpar speakers as well.

When we saw this happening, we learned it was best to nip it in the bud early, and fired the speaker so we could start over with someone else.

#5 Feedback, It’s Your Friend

Show me a speaker who gets defensive and completely resists incorporating feedback, and I’ll show you a speaker who will likely get negative feedback from the most important judge: the audience.

There’s a reason public speaking is feared more than death. Speakers have their egos on the line. But no content is perfect, no speaker is perfect.

The speakers who fought the most against recommendations, tended to do more poorly in our survey results.

For SEJ Summit Chicago, we’ve incorporated all these learnings into what is shaping up to be our best conference yet.

If you see me there, please introduce yourself! I’d love to get YOUR feedback: we are always learning.

Please join us for a conference “by SEOs, for SEOs” on May 11. Early bird tickets end March 31.

Featured Image: DepositPhotos

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Author: Jenise Uehara Henrikson

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