Guest Speaker

Invited as a guest speaker?

I often get to speak with students, here are some practical tips for a successful guest speech at a school or college.

• Bring some gift like a pen or small notebook for the person receiving you, could be a student, staff or the head.

• Arrive early and talk to the staff to understand who you’re speaking to and what they expect.

• Assume the technology will be outdated. Bring your presentation on a USB drive, as a PDF, and on your own laptop.

• Don’t try to teach them everything. Instead, spark their interest with a single idea or story they can explore later.

• Share your own life experiences to connect with students. This works better than theory.

• Present the idea at all levels, easy to hard. You can’t reach every student equally.

• Politely take complex questions offline. Be prepared for common questions about placements and interviews.

• If there’s a tech problem, talk to the students instead of just waiting.

• You might be surrounded by students and miss breaks. Have a snack or drink handy.

• Clearly tell students how they can connect with you after the speech (e.g., LinkedIn, email)

• Some questions may be very obvious for you, but not for them. Handle them with grace.

• Bring your business card to connect with other guests. You may get a very little time to connect with them.

You’ve got this! :)