KO#5
Welcome to the 5th issue of the Knockout Your Sunday Scaries Newsletter, an every-other-week newsletter by me, Kristy Olinger, with a focus on workplace communication and self-development. I’m glad you’re here. Was this forwarded to you? Get yours: Subscribe here
Sunday, March 10, 2024
Hi there,
This weekend I attended the Thrive conference for the National Speakers Association learning from amazing experts how to improve my speaking business. Ironically I’d received a DM recently from an Instagram follower asking for tips about tips for attending conferences. What a timely question. Here are 3 things to do BEFORE a conference to make the most of the experience:
Read the pre-conference emails. Are they long? Yes. Are there many. Yes. But these emails include opportunities and information that will improve your experience. Most large conferences include an app that helps you know where to be when. It’s helpful if you download and confirm access before you’re there. There are also sometimes limited seat opportunities that you have to opt-in for. You’ll miss out if you don’t pay attention.
Research the speakers and participants. Don’t go overboard… but knowing who will be there can set you up for success in meeting people that you want to be aligned with and reconnecting with those already in your network. Often the conference makes the participant list available, but you can also ask people in your network if they are going or know anyone who is. For this conference, I was delighted to learn that our past podcast guest and Burnout expert Cait Donovan will be there and I’m excited to meet in person for the first time.
Practice your small talk (and your opposite of small talk 😀). The nature of these events is that you have the opportunity to meet a large number of people. If you want to make a memorable impression, you need to have your elevator pitch down cold and be prepared to engage in more interesting small talk. Some of the best conversation topics in a conference event are ‘third things’; not you, not me, something else. READ THIS BLOGPOST for more on improving your small talk and don’t forget to practice how to end a conversation.
Shout out to my podcast co-host Danielle McCombs who is joining me at this conference. She is an expert-level relationship builder and I can’t wait to learn from the best. ❤️
Hit reply and say ‘hi’ - wether you’re an OG subscriber or just stumbled across this, I would love to hear from you. What do YOU want from a newsletter like this? How can I help you banish your Sunday scaries? Let me know.
Content Round Up - In Case You Missed It
Even if you’re following me on social media, the algorithm may or may not put my post in your feed. Here is what has launched over the last 2 weeks, in case you missed it.
Take Control of Your Working Hours - PODCAST EPISODE
This episode is for you if you’re overwhelmed with meetings and spending nights and weekends catching up on work that you couldn’t get to during the day. Learn practical steps to take today to get your work hours under control.
Tone of Voice Makes All The Difference - VIDEO
This video gives a script to use when you are interrupted and shows how changing your tone of voice will change how assertive it is perceived.
Speaker Coach Feature in MS Teams - VIDEO
Speaker coach is a feature that will provide you with communication tips from your meetings. It gives your talk time, a count of filler words, and prompts on your rate of speaking.
Workshop: Communicate to Influence, Wednesday, March 20th, 5:15pm Eastern Time
We’ll cover foundational strategies for expanding influence through body language, vocal variety, managing nerves, and more.
This is a live workshop and is being offered at no cost to you. REGISTER HERE
Amplify You: A 12-month program by Susan M. Barber, Author of The Visibility Factor, created to help high performing leaders shift outdated limiting beliefs on what it takes to achieve career success. The truth is:
Working hard isn’t enough to be noticed
Bragging isn’t the only way to be heard
Staying in the comfort zone is holding you back.
It’s time to transform so you can achieve your desired level of career success! LEARN MORE or MEET WITH SUE
You made it to the end! Congrats & thanks. ❤️ Have a great two weeks.
Stay Curious,
Kristy
P.S. If you want more communication strategies but you would rather listen than read, try this Spotify playlist of the workplace communication episodes of The Opposite of Small Talk. The most popular episode in this series is #121. How to Sound More Interesting (and Confident).
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