In our previous post you heard from two of our mentors, Amey Holden and George Doubinski. We have a mentor program at Nordic Summit 2024 and in this series of posts you as a new speaker will get tips from our mentors. Along with their answers to why they signed up as mentors and what was their first speaking engagement. You can find all our mentors listed on the Mentor Program page.
Ben den Blanken
Ben lives in The Netherlands and loves to spend quality time with his wife and 3 kids. He is an independent Power Platform Consultant and Microsoft Business Application MVP. He shares the knowledge he gains in his job on his blog and speaking at events. Any free time left he spends on gaming and Fantasy (American) Football. Let’s hear from Ben!
Why did you choose to become a mentor?
As a strong believer in the pay it forward concept I am always on the lookout on opportunities to help others succeed. Being a mentor to help someone go to a bigger stage as a speaker allows me to tap into my own personal journey in sharing my knowledge. Being a public speaker is one of the most rewarding things I get to do, but also the hardest as you are putting yourself out there. Having the right network to help you in your journey is essential for your growth and confidence.
Do you remember your first speaking engagement? Tell us about it!
My first public speaking gig was for my local Power Addicts user group. I practiced my session about Power Automate Desktop Flows a lot. So much that I could dream it. I was quite nervous before and during my session. I remember that I grabbed the standing desk firmly to keep my nerves under control and obviously because of those nerves I forgot a few steps in my story. However, there is one quote that I always tell new speakers: “Only you know if you forget a step in your talk, your audience does not!”. So, using that knowledge I simply continued when I realized and no-one noticed.
What’s your best advise to new speakers?
If you have the ambition to share your story on stage, I advice you to think about a story line. Make sure to outline this story line in your introduction and create a regular summary of where you are in that story during your talk. Your audience will give or take only remember 4 takeaways from your talk. Define the 4 takeaways you want your talk to have and emphasize these in your story and summaries.
Wilmer Alciver
Originally from Ecuador, now living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Blogger, speaker, Microsoft MVP. Big Juventus and Manchester United fan and also like to play video games when time allows. Let’s hear from Wilmer!
Why did you choose to become a mentor?
Because I really want to help people who share the same passion I have for Dynamics 365 CE and the Power Platform, and who dare to be a speaker at a larger scale event. Being a speaker for the first time can be a mixture of excitement and pride but also nerves and even a bit overwhelming, especially when you know you have the knowledge but you are not sure how to present it in a session for the community. That’s why I would love to be able to help new speakers make their first session go smoothly.
Do you remember your first speaking engagement? Tell us about it!
My first time as a speaker was a couple of years ago at an online event. I talked about how to build a PCF with drag and drop functionality to upload files from a Model driven App to SharePoint. I felt quite nervous as it was my first time speaking. but I was glad to have the opportunity to do it. My first time as a speaker at a on-site event was last year at the Iberian Summit, I’m not going to lie I felt much more nervous but the truth is that there is no comparison in a good way, at a on-site event you meet other people who also share the same passion as you for the Power Platform you get to know knew things and you have the opportunity to make new friends or see old friends.
What’s your best advise to new speakers?
My advice is actually threefold. First think several times about the subject you master best and how you see yourself doing a demo on it. Second, and this is something you will always apply in every session, craft the title and description of the session carefully, explaining the business problem or case study, what method you will use to solve it and what the attendees will learn at the end of the session. Third, practice the session as many times as necessary until you feel confident about how you want to deliver it.
Are you a new or unexperienced speaker and want a mentor supporting you in your Nordic Summit CFS process and more? Sign up at the Mentor Program page!
Photo by Thomas Bormans on Unsplash
