All of my talks fuse theory and practice. I don’t lecture and “talk at” attendees. Rather, I include real-world examples of organizations doing the very things that I advocate—as well as counterexamples of what not to do. I also try to find natural points during the talk to solicit audience responses and interaction while maintaining the flow of the talk.

An effective talk should inform and provoke, but it cannot be about everything under the sun.

Third, I customize the content of my talks based on my clients’ desires and the audience. For instance, let’s say that a prospective client desires a more “advanced” or very specific discussion on a particular topic rather than an overview. That’s fine. I’m more than happy to accommodate these requests.

Finally, an effective talk cannot be about everything under the sun, something I’ve seen many times as a conference attendee. By the same token, though, it also does need to focus exclusively on a single and provincial topic. In the past, some of my clients have wanted me to mix and match subjects. This is rarely a problem. After all, the subject matter in my books tends to be very complimentary.