the dos and the don'ts

This past week our staff closed the library and attended one of the Ohio Library Council’s regional conferences; enjoyed catching up with colleagues and friends within the profession, grabbing freebies from vendor donors, and listening in on sessions given by peers within the profession.

It was good that I had received word about the OLC State Conference before attending this regional one because I feel as though I scrutinized the speakers more than I would have, I watched and took note of what I did and didn’t like about their presentations. 

Some things I want to keep in mind for my talk at the state conference:

• DO NOT read your presentation off of your Powerpoint
• Share examples of things that did/didn’t work for you/other libraries, but don’t focus on that solely
• Speak clearly, stopping for questions throughout
• Do not speed talk
• Stay hydrated
• Keep eye contact
• Keep the audience engaged by asking them questions, write your shared Q & A on a wipe-board if possible
• Have a sense of humor, don’t get flustered by questions you don’t have answers to—it’s ok to say, “I don’t have a good answer for that, I’d be more than happy to get your email and send you an answer to that after I dig one up for you!”
• Be modest about your successes, if you choose to speak of those—no one hates a smug know-it-all!
• If you have handouts KEEP THEM BRIEF, and make sure your contact information is on them, at least your name and email address
• Share links to your helpful sources/your websites, etc.