As a CPA who has had the privilege of sitting on numerous advisory boards, scholarship committees, and speaker selection panels, I've had a unique vantage into what makes certain professionals stand out from the crowd. However, the selection proceedings often remain mysterious to those submitting proposals because each promoter handles it differently. Getting insight into this process can be the difference between rejection and taking the stage, so I want to increase transparency and share my takeaways.
Why? Our professional and personal development thrives when we hear diverse perspectives and fresh ideas. Education is most effective when we hear unique voices—especially women, people of color, LGBTQ+, the disabled, and others whose insights have traditionally been underrepresented in our field. Different backgrounds, specialties, personalities and approaches to the work we do are essential to our growth—and we can’t learn from these different ways of seeing if they can’t get their hands on a microphone. Crafting a compelling submission is about sharing your distinctive expertise and viewpoint in a way that resonates with decision-makers and, ultimately, your audience.
I'm sharing the lessons I’ve learned from being on the other side of the curtain, with the hope that these insights will empower more of you—especially those who might hesitate to put themselves forward—to step up and share their brilliance with our community.
1. Become known for a particular theme. Discover the message that you’re passionate about delivering, but make sure it’s broad enough that you can offer different perspectives, so you’re not presenting the same talk every time.
2. Hone your craft. Take public speaking courses (like Theatre of Public Speaking or Toastmasters), practice with colleagues, and share your progress on social media so that you begin to be associated with the stage.
3. Collect examples of yourself presenting—especially live. Ask someone to record you at an event where you'll be presenting (make sure to get permission from the event host first), and put it on YouTube or Vimeo, making it publicly viewable if the event permits that. Don't have any speaking gigs lined up? Build your own stage. Offer your chamber of commerce or city business education program, a local nonprofit, or any of your professional associations a ready-made presentation that they can easily slot into existing programming. Offer to present at no charge for your local coworking space and their small business entrepreneur members.
4. Make your recordings, webinars, and podcasts easy to find. A YouTube channel or a dedicated page on your website works well. This differs from a speaker reel, which everyone knows is professionally edited to include only your best moments.
5. Gather testimonials about your public speaking. Showcase feedback from platforms, conferences, or colleagues who have seen you present. These do not have to have come from large events; a professional association, Toastmasters club, or private group rehearsal sometimes elicits the most personalized responses.
6. Strike a balance between name recognition and oversaturation. I’ve been surprised at how often conference-runners and webinar presenters prioritize who the presenter is, and their positive or negative association with them. On the other hand, often I’ll hear committee members complain that “so-and-so” is already everywhere and everyone’s heard their spiel. While this is a hard line to walk, ideally, you want to be known, but not someone that audiences have already seen too much. This might influence your decision to apply to speak to audiences who have not yet experienced your insights.
7. Understand your audience. One of the most valuable lessons I learned from Misty Megia in her Theatre of Public Speaking program was that to be an excellent presenter, you must learn who your audience is before crafting the talk. The same goes for submissions: read reviews from past events, talk to your colleagues, and ask the producer to expand on who their attendees tend to be and their goals. Craft sessions and write descriptions that address their most significant pain points or areas they are most curious about.
8. Tailor your submissions to the conference’s theme. Don’t just copy and paste from another submission. Show the selection team that you understand what they are trying to accomplish and want to help them do it. Make this evident in your title, if possible.
9. Write session descriptions in your own voice. If you use AI to help, please edit them so that they sound like you, as an individual human being. Each AI tool has its own style, and they are obvious to reviewers; many of these are crossed off the list without being given consideration. If you’re not willing to take the time to make it personal, why would others want to take their time to evaluate it? And if it doesn't sound like a human wrote it, then what motivation do we have to watch it?
10. A speaker sheet or media kit isn’t required—but it helps. If they give you a space to share more information, having everything in one place makes it easy for organizers to evaluate and promote you. Heather Satterley, Director of Education and Media at Woodard, shares, “The best advice I can give potential speakers applying to present at Scaling New Heights is this: more is more! Clearly explain the specific takeaways your session will offer attendees, and tell us why your topic is relevant and compelling. Including a video of you speaking is essential so organizers can experience your presentation style firsthand and get to know you.”
11. Remember that real human beings are reading these. Please don’t submit 30 sessions on the same topic with slight variations in tone and language. If you are unsure about the vibe, just reach out and ask. Make sure everything about your submission aligns with the personal character you’d like to convey because… it will.
Part Two of this two-part series will run soon… with another ten tips to help the voice of the real you—that song that needs to be shared with the world—make it to the stage.