As Data Natives 2017 approaches, so too does our unconference. Attending an unconference means having all the normal rules turned upside down. Lacking standardized topics, the event’s content comes from attendees writing whatever they want to hear about on a whiteboard. Next, EVERYBODY participates in the discussion in some way. Housed alongside the normal conference, This is a great rapid-fire way to present your business, your brand, or your skills to more than 2000 attendees, but also be ready to make your best pitch. For a couple of solid tips on how to do just that, check out these suggestions below.
Brevity is better than bravado
People often make the mistake of increasing the volume of their pitch instead of increasing their knowledge of what they’re saying. No amount of enthusiasm will replace knowing your product, your brand, or your research.. The point of an unconference is to get a dose of realness instead of the routine cocktails and schmoozing of a typical networking session. Be concise with your words and substantive with your talking points and you will thrive.
Outline your ideas at the beginning of your pitch:
DO NOT wait too long to make your point. Listeners want to know almost immediately who you are, what you do and why they should care. A good pitch supports its claims with information and makes its case early on to bring context to whatever comes next. People won’t care about the details if they don’t know what their purpose is for.
Connect your company’s tech to positive results and examples
Open source pioneer Tim O’Reilly, among the first to popularize the unconference format, called it “the wiki of conferences,” based on the fact that it democratized the conference agenda, and added a chaotic component that forced out good discussions. When you aren’t deciding the subjects, you have to be able to connect whatever you want to say to the ideas decided on by the group, and do it fast. Remember, this is a participant-driven format, so you have to determine your level of participation.
State why your product or service is important
It sounds obvious, but sometimes people get so engulfed in their work or their ideas that they forget to mention what makes what they’re doing important in the first place. People care about ideas and things because of their positive and negative consequences. Consider what those are when you make your pitch and be sure to clarify them.
State the opportunities you see moving forward at the end
To keep people interested, it’s critical to end with a suggestion that there’s still more to be learned. The best way of encouraging that is to talk about what kinds of opportunities exist thanks to whatever your concept is.
A Final Insight
The democratizing effect of an unconference format deliberately disrupts normal conversation flows and demands smarter than usual responses. It also opens up spaces for the best ideas to rise to the top. If your startup has one of those ideas, be sure to register your startup for our unconference today.
Also, be sure to get your Data Natives ticket here.
