Tag Archives: writing tips

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 7: Headshots

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, Writer's Platform, Writing Children's Books by

[Before we start, have you followed 10 new people yet?]

Smile for your close up!

Broadway-like lights surrounding mirror of a makeup table

Day Seven of the 31 Day Author Platform Challenge is upon us. We’ve looked at our home page and bio. Now it’s time for…Headshots! (I bet most of you are clenching. Relax. You look better than you think you do. And today’s filters will ensure it!)

My first question to you how recent is the headshot you have on your website and/or the ones you use for social media platforms?

If it’s more than 10 years old, no matter how good it is, it’s time for a change. You can keep and still post that pic, but today is the day you’re going to add a new one that will be your MAIN headshot.

Since I’m not a photographer, I feel it’s best to let some experts give you advice. Some links are below. Common advice across the board is:

  • Be yourself! Let your “youness” shine through. Readers want to know YOU, not a fake version—and they can tell! Your audience needs to know they can trust you.
  • Don’t wear any busy patterns, or excess make-up or jewelry, as they detract from your sweet face, which is what people want to see.
  • Lighting is more important than you think! (It’s really the shadows that can be unflattering).
  • I have a personal aversion to the stoic arm-crossed and other-hand-on-the-face pose. It’s unnatural. No one walks around like that. I beg you to keep your hands at your side, or be holding a book, pen, etc. Unless it’s candid or silly, please don’t be touching your face.
  • Hairstyles change so fast that a hip cut today can quickly date your pic even before your book comes out. Try to avoid anything overly trendy.
  • Odds are you don’t need to hire a pro; cell phones today do an amazing job and even have good editing tools and filters. But a pro will make you look AMAZING and could be worth every penny. Make sure you get a reliable referral, you get a certain number of chances to get a pose you like, that you own the rights, and do the courtesy of crediting them whenever the photo is used. I once had a photographer who came recommended and showed up with backgrounds and cool equipment. She said the top images would come edited, but at the end of the shoot all she gave me was a file with all the raw shots; none of them were edited, and they were all crap. I didn’t know until I got home and opened the file; no calls were returned from then on. So…make sure there is a clause for what happens when you’re unhappy with the final image(s).

Here are some links to more expert tips:

  • Penguin Random House has suggestions to research what other authors in your genre have done.
  • Scribe Media offers examples of good and bad headshots.
  • Site Arcade has even more examples as well as a discussion on backgrounds.
  • Pinterest shows an array of kidlit author examples.
  • Splento.com discusses different kinds of shots used for different purposes.
  • City Headshots specifically talks to actors but does a great job explaining bad headshots and how to do better.

I suggest you spend part of today trying it out on your own. Modern cell phones take amazing photos. Have a kid, neighbor, or friend help. Consider asking for their help on editing as others will see things you don’t.

If you still aren’t thrilled with the results, try again with different outfit, location, lighting, props, etc.

If after a third time it’s still not working, book an appointment with a professional. I bet your local SCBWI chapter will have some contacts or suggestions for you.

IF YOU HONESTLY DON’T NEED A NEW HEADSHOT then your task today is to clean up another website page, the way we cleaned up your home page on Day 5 (go back and look if you need a refresher).

IF YOU DON’T HAVE A WEBSITE AND YOUR HEADSHOT DOESN’T NEED RETAKING, create a cross-platform post that includes your headshot, describing the time you had it made. What was going thru your mind, who was there, what you’d change, etc. Ask other people to share their experiences. Use this as an opp to open up and engage!

Recap: If your headshot is older than 5 years, or if it looks dated or unprofessional, redo it. Today. If you don’t need a headshot, use yours as a conversation starter.

Smile for the camera, now!

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 8: #WritersLift Shout-outs

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, Writer's Platform, Writing Children's Books by

<NUDGE NUDGE Have you followed 10 new people yet?>

**Don’t make a jpg like this! Use real, clickable #s**

How about a break from all that work we’ve been doing? Oh, we still have a task at hand, but it’s not at the level of the others. And it’s still imperative you complete it! This task is about uplifting others. It will feel so good!

If you haven’t been a part of the #writerslift movement on Twitter, now is your time to join the party.

Think about critique partners, for example. Find the right ones and they are worth their weight in gold, amiright? These gems of fellow writers, who you trust to read your work-in-progress, provide constructive feedback and help you improve your craft. They can act as a sounding board for ideas, catch typos and plot holes, and offer fresh perspectives on your writing. They are not only helpful, but supportive and committed. Aren’t they worthy of celebrating?

If you don’t have CPs at the moment, think about people who have helped you in any way this week or month. There are plenty of people that are helpful! Maybe their mentor texts or inspiring feeds. I mean, there are fellow authors you’ve never met that you can appreciate and connect with, by tagging them with a flattering shout-out, #writerslift post.

Today, Day 8, we are showing fellow authors some (virtual) love.

We’ll do that by giving them a shout-out across all your social media outlets using the hashtag #writerslift. This task is another example of how an automation tool is handy. You only have to post once if you use a scheduler, and it’ll go out to all your outlets at once. (Unless you did like I did and somehow managed to have three different posts go out at the same time, in the middle of the night, even though I was SURE I set them to go out over the course of 10 days. I refuse to believe user error, but I digress.)

Publicly acknowledging people not only shows gratitude, but boosts their profiles and helps to establish them as respected members of the writing community. You know they’d do it for you! In fact, they probably already have.

Make it pretty with a Canva-type app, or make it a simple text post. Your call. While of course it’s honestly the thought that counts, this is one time I suggest a regular post vs creating a graphic. Why? As you can see in the .png I created above, there is no way to tag my CPs in the image, so I have to tag them each all over again in the post–and I have to add the #writerslift tag to the post anyway. WHY DO I MAKE THINGS SO HARD FOR MYSELF lol. Just make a simple post for this.

BTW it’s here that I figured out you can post directly to social media from Canva! Sheesh, all this time on Buffer… But I’m keeping Buffer since it lets me schedule in the future, and Canva makes me upgrade in order to do that, and pay $$ monthly or annually. Even though I can stay at that one site and it makes it super easy, I’m too cheap to do it. I’ll go one at a time on this one.

Some tips for creating feel-good #writerslift shout-outs:

  1. Be specific: Details, baby! Mention your critique partners or friends by their full name and highlight what they’ve done to help you. Did they catch a major plot hole? Publish a PB that inspires you to be a better writer? Support you when no one else thought you could do it? Make sure to give credit where credit is due.
  2. Be generous: Don’t be shy. Offering praise to someone who has helped you means A LOT to them, esp if you’re not the touchy-feely type. It can help build the group’s morale and strengthen the CP relationship. Knowing it had an impact on you can help encourage them to be helpful to others again in the future. And it will warm your own heart at the same time!
  3. Be authentic: Don’t write a generic post just for the sake of giving a shout-out. A list of names is great, but it’s virtual lip service. Write with sincerity and share genuine appreciation. If you can’t be specific to any one piece of feedback for whatever reason, it’s okay to list each person’s handle in one post and thank them for their support over the years or months. The important thing is you are, well, lifting them up in the #writerslift.

You DON’T have to go big or go home

The kidlit industry is FULL of kind-hearted, helpful people like you. Shout-outs like this keeps that supportive feeling alive. Simply saying thanks to one person can make you both feel good!

One great example of an AMAZING week-long show of author love in May, created and run by fellow PB author @SylviaiChen. It’s a (free) weeklong co-celebratory event with prizes that is everything our Day 8 is about: uplifting and recognizing our fellow writers and illustrators! She created her own hashtags and amazingly fun Canva graphics that she posts on Twitter and Insta, and has creatively come up with Like and RT incentives. What an effective and thoughtful way to give mass shout-outs! This goes above and beyond any shout-out Tweet I would have thought up.

Don’t worry, I don’t expect level that from you! She probably worked on that for months. You can take 11 mins 🙂

Recap: Send (several) posts thanking your crit partners and anyone who has helped make you a better writer, and use the #writerslift hashtag. Be specific with the appreciation if you can, and don’t tag too many people in one post.

Share the love!

PS I am thankful for you, cheering me on and helping keep me accountable this month!

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 16: Did You See That?

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, Writer's Platform by

[Hang on–have you followed 10 new people yet?]

Making moves, and movies

young woman in trendy outfit with notepad recording vlog
Photo by Anete Lusina
on Pexels.com

We’ve posted a bunch of things so far, from the comfort of our rooms or office (and probably PJs). Time to up the ante. Studies show videos get far more views and engagement than simple photo posts on social media. According to Forbes in late 2022, social video generates 1200% more shares than text and image content combined. And get this: viewers retain 95% of a watched video message compared to 10% of a text.

“Why the hay haven’t you been encouraging video all along?” you may ask, in a rather aggressive (and unappreciated, quite frankly) tone. Well, I’ll tell ya. We are authors. And almost by definition that means most of us are introverts. Or maybe extroverted introverts. Who else volunteers to lock themselves up in a proverbial cave most of the day to crank out words on a page that will be edited and rewritten 10,000 times? (That’d be us.) I get you. I get us. The very thought of me asking you to create a video may fill you with dread.

But hear me out.

The video doesn’t have to be of you! You don’t have to appear on camera! (some ideas below) You don’t even need sound! You DO need text, though. Studies show 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound–but 80% of videos WITH sound and/or text get much higher results. People need to know what they are watching, and why. (They also tend to watch in places they aren’t supposed to have their phones, so the volume is off. Captions are very helpful.) Tweets with video are said to get 10x the engagement than a static post!

It’s time to shine, cupcake

As you can see, to maximize the eyeballs on our content, to drive a higher number of RTs, to encourage engagement, to increase our author platform…we need to graduate to video. I have been an actress since the third grade (not to brag but yeah that was me playing the lead bunny in the school play). I am a ham, I seek out the camera in every instance — and yet, I am still dragging my feet on video when it comes to promoting my own work. It feels so personal, right?! I know I just have to rip off the bandaid and get creating. Or recording, as the case may be.

I know once we get started, it will be easier and easier. We just have to make and post that first one. Or that first five.

Instagram makes it super easy to make videos with text and “stickers.” Canva allows taking a template and adding animation which is ALMOST a video, but that won’t count for today. Find yourself an app or service you feel comfortable working with, like Vimeo, YouTube, Visme, ClipChamp, etc. (Please tell me which [free!] ones you like best! I like trying new stuff.)

I mean, don’t we want a 1200% increase in shares? Of course. If we are in control of that, why wouldn’t we go for it? Today we are.

The video can be 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds. Animoto reports Instagram videos that are around 26 seconds long receive the most comments. Don’t be thinking your vid has to be two minutes! (Who has time for that, really.)

Worried about how you’ll look on camera? I have a ton of getting-camera-ready tips on this post: https://bitsykemper.com/zoom/.

Some great tips on creating effective content (do you want to explain a new fact? do a tutorial?) is here from later.com, here from eclincher, and there’s a list of ideas from sproutsocial here.

Camera shy?

Let’s say you loathe the idea of being on camera. You can still use video to up your author platform. Here are some ideas of videos (with sound and text!) that will build your brand that DON’T need to have your smiling face.

  • Book Quotes: Use text overlays to display your own, your favorite, or popular book quotes. Zoom in and out while reading the quote. [Or be holding the book as you read, be standing in front of the printed quote that’s on a wall, etc.]
  • Show Your Bookshelves: Give an inside look at your bookshelves while explaining how they made you a better writer (or reader). Ask viewers to share their experiences. [Or be there Vanna-White-ing it.]
  • Create a Book Trailer: iMovie and other apps make this easier than ever. If you have picture books, talk to your illustrators first–they might have ideas and/or equipment.
  • Start a Live ‘Ask Me Anything’ Session: No need to have yourself on camera, just zoom in a whiteboard with those words as you talk over a short script “Time to ask me anything! Write a question in the comments…” [Or of course, you can have cam focused on your pretty face.]
  • Answer Those Anythings: Record yourself answering those Qs while writing on a whiteboard, flipping through pages, waking through the woods, whatever.
  • Recommend Books: Share fun book recommendations, including your own book(s).
My personal brainstorming space

Those are just a few ideas. I can’t wait to hear what you end up doing! Tell me all about it.

Writing Goals vs Writing Skills

Posted in Writer's Platform, Writing Children's Books by
5-ds-goal-setting-goals-poster-aliat

Every writer has a goal, whether it’s yearly, monthly, or “someday.” Goals are used as motivation to get stuff done. Resolutions are made, typically with broad intent.

A goal might be to get on the best seller list.

It might be smaller, like come up with x number of viable book ideas (challenges like Storystorm encourage picture book writers to come up with a 30 new ideas in 30 days).

Or get an agent, find a critique group, nab a pitch party.

Or, finish that darn book (NaNoWriMo is famous for encouraging writers to complete a novel in 30 days).

The problem with those kinds of goals, is that the skills needed to accomplish them are glossed over. Nowhere in the goal setting does it account for HOW it will get done.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to focus on the skills you need to accomplish your goals, instead of the goals themselves?

As performance coach Derek Schenck puts it, “The Good focus on a goal; the Great focus on a skill.”

Maybe, instead of having a goal to finish your book, you can focus on the skill of, say, self discipline. The skill you choose to focus on for the year or month could be limiting social media to x numbers of hours a day/week, or once in the morning after you’ve checked email, and once in the afternoon after lunch. Maybe the skill to focus on is saying no to interruptions, and reminding yourself you are worth alone time. Those skills free up time for you to write…which will help you finish your book.

Maybe, instead of the goal of finding a critique group, your focused skill could be on better communication and social interactions with fellow writers. You could focus on being the best type crit partner one could have–like having tact, kindness, offering direction/suggestions without rewriting, and knowing when to shush. Practice your people skills (introverts prefer online groups for this very reason–avoiding in person convos. But it needs to happen, and practice makes perfect–or at least better). Find ways to interact with people without expecting a return or gain. The better you get, the more you’ll view yourself as a valuable crit partner, and the more confident you’ll be in seeking others out. Get real good and a critique group might even come find you!

Instead of a goal of finding an agent, how about you (re)focus on your writing skills, getting them so fine and tight and absolutely irresistible that no agent could possibly say no? Same goes for getting a best seller. Sure, some of that might be luck and marketing–but it’s nothing without beautiful writing. Quality writing is something you can control. Fame is not.

Wanna nab a pitch party? Focus on research — what EXACTLY is being asked, how can I meet that, who are past winners, how did they format their pitch, who can I bounce revisions off of until I’m ready?

image from heidipozzo

To paraphrase the hilarious Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, to master the skills needed to reach your goals, the question isn’t so much “Who do you want to be?” so much as it’s “What are you doing to make it happen?”

His blunt questions are: What are you improving at? What are you learning and gaining? Instead of thinking about what you want to achieve…ask yourself, “What do I want to be good at that I’m not?” Then he challenges you to get working on it.

Goals are easy to formulate. But when you achieve them, you need new goals. When you don’t achieve them, you feel disappointed if not disillusioned. Repeat ad nauseum. You’re never done; you never close the loop.

Skills? They are harder, for sure.

But they last a lifetime.

Growth Along the Writing Journey

Posted in Writing Children's Books by

As a panelist on the WriteOnCon session “We Were All New Writers Once: Growth on the Journey,” I spent some time reflecting, of course, on my own writing journey.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Here’s the thing: I honestly never thought I’d be a writer.

My daughter disagrees. She says from what I’ve told her, at every turn I was a writer…from the boxes and boxes of saved handwritten letters (each one means I wrote to them first), to papers I claimed to have loved writing in school (including my dissertation), to comedy & theatre sketches, to the way I somehow always ended up writing at work whether it was news releases or ghostwritten technical papers or business plans. She even mentioned the mock Christmas newsletters I used to send out, like when I claimed she toured Europe in sold-out piano concertos (she was 7) and one son had unlocked the secret to the Dead Sea Scrolls (he was 5) and the other had been banned in the Midwest for his expert ninja skills (he was 3). [I guess I was always creative if nothing else.] Yes, I had stints as on-air and newspaper reporters too, but they came as a result of a corporate job where, to make a long story short, I ended up co-writing a syndicated newspaper column on a fluke.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Pexels.com

Or was it a fluke?

Did I unknowingly will it to happen? Have I always been a writer?

My daughter’s accusation, if you will, really caught me off guard. But OK. Maybe I really have always been a writer even if I didn’t realize it until this week. Maybe it’s that I never thought I’d be an author. But honestly, aren’t they really the same thing?

I realized I have always been drawn to — what…places? work?… — where writing plays a large role. What a great creative outlet! And you’re in control the whole time. Don’t like what you’ve written? Go back and fix it. Get feedback that what you’ve written isn’t right, or good? Well it’s not like math–right or wrong. It’s subjective. So you don’t have to like what I’ve written. I do! It’s the perfect loophole, lol.

Surely that “you can’t tell me it’s wrong” caveat gets tricky when it comes to being published. The other person HAS to like what you’re writing in order to publish it, unless you are self publishing. Even then, there are grammar rules, punctuation, etc. People have to like your writing in order to buy it. It’s not exactly a free-for-all. But as a writer, I am in control of everything! I write when I want. What I want. I certainly take what others say into consideration. I honor proper English and don’t go rogue on spelling or manuscript formatting or query protocol. I have several critique partners that I couldn’t live without. I definitely do my research, attend conferences, and listen to experts. I learn and adapt. I feel I improve a little every day. I don’t do it for anyone else, any more than someone who practices free shots in their driveway over and over does it for any one other than themselves. (Are they trying to impress the neighbors? Get an NBA contract? No. They just want to get better at free throws. They earn a sense of accomplishment, of work well done.)

My daughter had a point. Maybe my journey started before I even knew I was on board, and all that time I spent writing earlier in life helped land me where I am now.

And my journey isn’t over. Far from it.

Maybe your journey started years ago too. Maybe it’s starting right now. No matter when it began, your writing journey can go wherever you want it to! You are in control, my friend.

Your writing is yours. Only you can write what you write, from your perspective, with your voice, with your knowledge base. And so too is your writing journey. Only you can decide where and how to map it out. Only you decide how often you write, how often you edit, how seriously you take professional feedback and direction. It might be up to another person to say yes or no as far as a contract, but its up to you to get your work to the point where they simply can’t say no! Write once in a while? Great. Just don’t expect grand success if you’re not hammering away regularly. Even the best natural writers won’t succeed unless they–wait for it–SIT DOWN AND WRITE.

It takes time. Probably more time that you’re gonna want it to take. Other people will succeed before you. But that’s their journey, not yours. Keep at it. You might not have all the time in the world right now. No one does. It might be really hard to see how to get from point A to point B if you can’t even make it through the day. We’ve all been there! If you can only afford a few hours a week for now, that’s okay. Relish those few hours a week! Work smarter so those 20 minute a day can be even more productive than an open day where “let me just finish this last email” leads to three hours of wasted time. It’s your time, respect it. It doesn’t have to be strictly in front of your computer. Block off time on the calendar and temporarily cut off the internet. Eat lunch alone outside under a tree and speak your notes into your phone. Brainstorm while folding laundry. Find a pen-pal to swap ideas and manuscripts with (note: be upfront with what you are looking for: do you want ongoing positive reinforcement or true honest feedback?)(not that they are mutually exclusive!). Try to do one thing every day to move your path forward, even if it’s one tiny step…but don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day. Or three.

Your journey can only move forward if you’re in motion!

Mainly: take yourself seriously. Allow yourself that daily distraction-free time, even if nothing immediately usable comes of it. Nothing creative is wasted anyway. You’ll reuse it in some form, either by learning from it (finding out it’s not a direction you want the story to go, for example, is great progress!) or from the positivity you just allowed yourself to embrace.

Don’t forget the “journey” part of the writing journey means it’s a process, not a one-time event. The journey might be spotty and frustrating at times, but it will also be rewarding and wonderful. Stick with it, even if it’s just for fun. Not everything we write has to have the ultimate goal of being published. Some of our best writings never have to be read by anyone but ourselves. We can be proud of our work no matter where it sits. The important thing is that we’re writing–present tense.

Never thought you’d BE A WRITER?

You already are.

Photo by Eva Elijas on Pexels.com

Presentation Skills For Introverts, Part II: Content

Posted in presentation skills, Writer's Platform, Writing Children's Books by

What to Include in Your Presentation (and how to best include it)

person discussing while standing in front of a large screen in front of people inside dim-lighted room
image from unsplash.com

If you’ve read my post on Presentation Skills, you may recall that people care more about how someone talks to you more than what they say (a UCLA study shows an audience judges 93% of a presentation on the speaker’s nonverbals–the how of your presentation). If that just made you clench, go back and reread that post to set your mind at ease. Even the most introverted of introverts can still successfully present, and I show you how.

If you have a presentation coming up and are ready to start tackling content (the what of your talk), I’ve got some kick-butt tips for you. Obviously I can’t tell you what facts to include or graphics to omit because I have no idea what topic you’re speaking about. But there are certain things all effective presentations have, and I’ll list what I think are most important–especially in the writer’s world.

I’m mostly imagining you at a writers conference or an author/ school visit. But these tips fit almost every scenario.

I’m assuming–nay, begging–you have an actual presentation ala PowerPoint or Canvas vs speaking from notes the whole time. You’re cute and all but no one wants to stare at your mug the whole time. (And c’mon introverts, do you really want people staring at nothing but you the entire time?)

Hmm, maybe you want to read this what part first, before you focus on that how. Your call.

pink Star Here text
https://unsplash.com/@giabyte

The Classic Format:

I’m sure everyone has heard the standard old format “tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them.” Well honestly, it still works. It’s actually kind of magical. So I’m not going to spend time explaining that. Just know you don’t have to repeat yourself word for word or be formal about how exactly you outline, explain, and recap. It’s the best method to use, IMHO, so stick with it.

The Before You Start Part; Speaking Their Language:

You need to know your audience and cater the presentation to them, at their level. (Or should I say at the level they are, regardless of where you’d like them to be.) You wouldn’t create a presentation to teachers the same way you’d present to second graders. Choose graphics, words, phrases, and examples that speak their language. Think about how they will best respond to what you’re saying, and what techniques you think they are most likely to pay attention to (and therefore learn from).

The Before You Start Part; Thinking Visually:

think outside the box
image from Nikita Kachanovsky and unsplash
  1. Try to think visually. Where can you add a graphic, a photo, a colorful pie chart, do it. Audio clips, video clips.
  2. Think even more visually. Add show & tell items that you hold up or point to behind you. Any sort of prop. Books, stuffed animals, art work, flip charts.
  3. What if there was a part where you stopped and wrote on a whiteboard? What if you started drawing on it? Doing math?
  4. Can you introduce someone in the audience and have them stand up to wave hello?
  5. One note of caution: as mentioned in the Presentation Skills post I keep talking about, don’t pass anything around while you’re speaking. If people are looking at something in their hands, or distracted by the rumble of it getting passed around, it means they aren’t listening to you. Hold it up, then keep it up front and wait until you’re done to let people manhandle it. (And know it might get dirty, broken or stolen.)

Getting Down to Business; The Outline/Preview Part (Tell them what you’re gonna tell them):

teal, red, and purple LEGO plastic firecracker toy in focus photography
https://unsplash.com/@helloimnik

It’s great to start out with a bang. A funny story, anecdote, fact. No need to stress over this, though, especially if you’re not funny or if humor doesn’t some easily for you. Many people default to a quote that summarizes the overall topic or feeling of the workshop. Simply google your topic and “quote” or “fact” (“bee facts” “quotes about bees”) and something useful is bound to come up. See “The Now-That-It’s-Written Part; Your Live Intro,” towards the bottom for more details on how to kick things off; it includes how to start your intro as well as what else to include.

Getting Down to Business; The Meat (Tell them)

  1. For every point you make, back it up with examples and data. You don’t need to have first-hand knowledge of everything. But it should all be factual.
  2. Have smooth transitions from one point to the next. Make it clear it’s a new section.
  3. Along the way, ask questions! People like knowing you care about their feelings or opinions. Have people raise their hands by saying “Show of hands [then raise your own hand], how many people have…?” It keeps things interactive (and keeps people on their toes if they know they might be put on the spot. But don’t put any one person on the spot, keep it a group Q). Questions that people can answer YES to are great because it gets buy-in and keeps them invested in what’s going on.

Getting Down to Business; The Recap (Tell them what you’ve told them)

silver corded microphone in shallow focus photography
@kanereinholdtsen
  1. Remind them of all the main points you talked about, and bring at all home with a grand conclusion. “Now you know how to best prepare for your next presentation.”
  2. Leave them with a Call to Action. “I want everyone here today to give themselves a deadline to when they can start practicing their next presentation. I’ll give you 30 seconds to write it down.”

The Conclusion Part

  1. End with a bang. Another great place to have a quote, inspirational story, or joke. At a minimum, leave with a fun-but-relevant graphic on the screen that in large font includes your contact info, where you might be presenting in the near future, book titles/product info, and website. Keep it up until you walk out of the room.
  2. “Thank you for letting me be here today. I hope you learned more than you ever expected about presentations. My name is Bitsy Kemper. Thank you.” (Ideally there will be applause or at least some head nods.)
  3. “Any questions?”
green plant beside white desk
from @jdubs and unsplash

The After Part; Q&A

Yes, you should leave time for Q&A. Spend some time trying to predict what kinds of questions you’ll get so you can either a) go back and include that content in the presentation, or b) have answers ready so you’re not caught off guard.

You’ll still have people raising their hands afterwards, even if you don’t officially include a Q& section. You are the content expert and people will understandably want to pick your brain. Yeah, sure, there might be a few chomping at the bit to prove they know more than you, but keep your cool. Control the room.

white markee light
from @jontyson
  1. If questions were asked during the presentation that you are going to cover, do no answer the question. State “We will answer that in about two minutes.” Then move on.
  2. If questions were asked that you don’t cover, don’t answer them right then either. You are in control, remember. “I don’t cover that here, but let me write that down and we can go over it in Q&A after the talk.” Use a flipchart or whiteboard if avail so they know you are taking it seriously.
  3. Question that came out of left field? “That’s a great question but a little off topic for what we’re learning today. I can talk to you after for a little bit.” That’s it. Move right on to next slide, Q, or point.
  4. If someone challenges you or picks apart your facts/presentation, be gracious. They just want attention. You typically don’t have to challenge them back. “Thank you for your feedback. [pause] Anyone else with questions?” seems to be very effective. That lets them know they’ve been heard.
    • Have I mentioned “Control the room” enough? It’s your show. Not theirs. You have the mic. You get the last word. Just make sure it’s a kind one.

The Now-That-It’s-Written Part; Your Live Intro:

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  1. Kick off your talk by pandering to the audience. It works Every. Time. You know how rock stars shout out “Hello Sacramento!” and the local crowd goes wild? The crowd feels seen. Special. As if this concert is only for them and hasn’t been done exactly like this on tour all 147 times earlier this past year. Do the same thing. Unless you’re not in Sacramento. Start with “Hello, Cherry Avenue Second Grade!” or “Good morning, writers and illustrators!” They will know you are there–for them and only them.
  2. Next, slowly and carefully state your name (don’t assume everyone knows you!) as well as the name of the session/workshop/talk or topic. “I’m Bitsy Kemper and this is Presentation Skills Part II: Content.” This allows an early and fast exit to anyone that is in the wrong room.
    • Start your slide presentation after you say your name and after the title of the talk. Don’t have it up before you talk, or the second you start talking. You want people to get used to focusing in on YOU, not watching the screen.
  3. Give a sentence or two on why YOU are the content expert and why you are uniquely qualified to be giving this presentation. Toss in a fun fact if you’d like. “I’ve been presenting professionally for years. You may have seen me on CNN or on one of my regular TV news segments in Sacramento, Portland, Phoenix, or Albuquerque, heard me on national radio, read my syndicated newspaper column, or seen me in any of literally hundreds of media outlets across the country. Maybe you’ve driven by me on the freeway and didn’t even know it!”
  4. Dive right in with “Today you are going to learn…” (see the important reason why you don’t lead with “Today I am going to talk about…” in DON’T #1 here)

The Now-That-It’s-Written Part; Handouts

  1. PEOPLE LOVE HANDOUTS. Please do yourself a favor and create something, anything. The audience will not only love you extra for it, but they’ve got a tangible piece of you they can take with them. It’s the best marketing tool!
  2. As with visuals, don’t pass them out while or even before you’re talking. It’s a distraction; people look ahead or read instead of listen. Let them know you have handouts and will be distributing afterward. It helps ensure people stay until the end 🙂
  3. Don’t include proprietary info or anything that would prevent someone from coming to your session next time. Give them just enough to remember what you were saying and how great you were; not the whole presentation.
  4. Make SURE you have enough for everybody. This is ESPECIALLY important at schools. Don’t give away 60 bookmarks and leave 42 kids without. If you realize you’re shorthanded, don’t sweat it. Mail 102 to the school afterward. This goes for anything when it comes to kids: HAVE ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE. I learned the hard way. After a school visit a kid asked me for my autograph. I said sure, and grabbed the one piece of letterhead I had handy. Big mistake. Another kid came running over. “Can I have your autograph?” I didn’t have any other paper. I tore off a piece of scrap paper from my school-visit contract, the only other paper I had. The first kid gloated. A third kid came running over. I tore a scrap of paper even smaller. Fourth kid. No paper left. I asked if he had any paper or notebook that I could sign. He did not. First kid gloating even more. Kids that were dismissed from the assembly started running back in and lining up. I had no paper. At all. Kids wanted autographs. “It’s not fair so-and-so got one.” The teacher Was. Not. Pleased. Lesson learned.

I promised you kick-butt tips on creating the content of your presentation and hope I delivered.

Let me know if you learned anything. If you use them. If you have other tips.

Now stop reading and start preparing. You’ve got lots to do. And you’re gonna do great.

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