When someone invites me to be the lecturer at their conference, they usually get a list of questions from me first. Questions that help me prepare myself for the lecture and to create the unique experience for the audience.
At first, these questions cause panic and fear among the organizers, but they soon realize these questions can help them prepare themselves better for the organization of the conference.
When preparing for a conference, I always ask the organizer: Do you want my talk to be packed with technical details for pros, inspiring for rising stars, or bringing a fresh perspective for team leads, directors and owners?
One of the most common mistakes conference organizers make is not understanding the audience’s level of knowledge or understanding of the topic. In an effort to attract as many participants as possible, they often mix juniors with seniors or executives with operational staff. This leads to frustration on both sides:
- The speaker can’t properly tailor the message and level of detail to the audience
- The audience feels lost or uninterested
What’s the end result? The speaker becomes frustrated because their message doesn’t reach the audience effectively, and the audience walks away dissatisfied because either they didn’t understand the talk or didn’t hear anything new. When this happens, the overall conference experience suffers, and fewer people want to return the following year.
All because there wasn’t a clear understanding of the target audience and their level of knowledge.
Presentation levels
Here are some facts about presentation levels of knowledge and details:
- Level 100 (Basic): These presentations are aimed at an audience that doesn’t have much knowledge about the topic, doesn’t need prior knowledge, and simply wants to see if the topic is right for them or to learn something new. The talk should include clear examples from everyday life, avoid too many new terms and concepts, and offer just a basic overview of the subject, avoiding specifics. An exception might be if the topic is highly relevant and trending, but even then, it should be addressed in simple terms.
The audience consists of beginners or senior executives who only need an overview of the topic
- Level 200 (Intermediate): Presentations at this level may or may not require some prior knowledge. The audience should learn new details and concepts that build on previous knowledge, prompting them to ask more questions, engage in discussion, or simply learn more.
The audience consists of team leaders and professionals actively involved in the topic.
- Level 300 (Advanced): This presentation level covers a lot of details and examples that require the audience to be well-versed in the topic. It usually focuses on one specific segment or work detail, with plenty of specific terms and details, and the speaker needs to demonstrate how they solved a problem or approached a challenge, preferably in some new way. After the talk, the audience should know how to address the issue or challenge in a new way, and they should be able to ask many questions. Such presentations are often highly interactive, with lots of questions, and the speaker may not even finish their presentation as originally planned or within the allotted time.
The audience consists exclusively of professionals who deal with the described challenges on a daily basis
Now, beginner speakers may handle basic presentations well, but they sometimes overcomplicate things by introducing complex concepts in an attempt to “impress” the audience with their knowledge. In fact, beginner speakers often find it easier to deliver a Level 300 presentation than a Level 200 one, and they struggle even more with delivering a quality Level 100 presentation because they find it easier to dive into details than to decide what to leave out in order to explain the topic to a basic audience. For this reason, beginner speakers often perform best at Level 200 presentations.
On the other hand, the strength of experienced speakers lies in their ability to adapt the same content for both advanced and basic audiences, using examples and analogies suited to their level of knowledge. It’s a mistake to assume that advanced speakers can’t deliver a basic-level presentation or that they only want to give Level 300 talks, as a good speaker is always happy to tailor their knowledge to any audience.
But what’s the biggest issue?
Delivering a Level 100 talk to a Level 300 audience (or vice versa)! This can ruin the session for everyone.
Only truly experienced speakers can pull this off, and even then, it’s a challenge to satisfy all groups when the audience consists of people with different levels of prior knowledge.
Organizers often believe that speakers with advanced knowledge can’t deliver a good basic presentation. But great speakers can adjust to a lower level because of their deeper understanding of the material, and they can sometimes deliver a better Level 100 presentation than a speaker with only basic knowledge. Some top speakers are also able to deliver a Level 300 presentation to a Level 100 audience.
At the same time, organizers often wrongly assume that only Level 300 presentations will be useful for the audience, but the truth is that any presentation is valuable to the audience if it’s tailored to their level of knowledge.
What if organizers don’t know the audience’s level of knowledge?
Well, in that case either the conference’s future is doomed, or they should hire top-level speakers only, as they are the ones who can try to deliver the message in a way that is understandable by most or multiple audiences at the same time. Alternatively, they could prepare a brilliant presentation that will be enjoyable and memorable for everyone, often without much relevance to the actual conference topic, but at least the audience will leave the venue satisfied 🙂
In any case, it’s recommended that organizers clearly communicate the necessary levels of knowledge, both to the audience and the speakers, so that conference attendees receive content that matches their expectations and prior knowledge. Only then will the audience be satisfied and positively evaluate the quality of the conference content.
My approach
Want to know my approach and what I do? If the organizers can’t (or won’t!) tell the audience’s level of knowledge, I like to start my talk with a light joke and observe how the audience reacts. Based on the timing and type of laughter, I can detect their level of knowledge, whether they can hear and understand me, and how comfortable they feel about the topic. Then, I adjust the depth of my talk accordingly.
It took me years of practice and the joke preparation skills of a stand-up comedian (once, I waited six years to deliver a specific joke to the right audience at one particular conference), but so far, this approach works for me.
What works for you?
Take a look at other questions for conference organizers, which help me prepare myself for the audience.
Also, if you want me to help you organize your event or to hire some great speakers, do no hesitate to contact me 🙂