I’m Off to Speak at SES Chicago – Extra Bluster in Windy City

By hook or by crook I’ve always managed to avoid public speaking engagements. Whether it’s a case of getting lost in London during rush hour, or just being on the wrong side of the pond at any particular invite, my air of international blogger of mystery has remained fairly intact.

You see, I never thought that writing a business blog about a small sheet metal shop in the backend of nowhere would cause such a fuss. I neither expected nor particularly wanted to appear in newspapers or have to explain The Tinbasher as a business blogging case study to an all-knowing throng at SES Chicago on December 10th. But, such is the indirect effect of blogging.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s flattering and I’m extremely grateful to Jennifer Laycock, Editor-in-Chief at Search Engine Guide, for thinking me worthy of filling the spot, but I’m thinking they must’ve been short or something. 😉

But I can’t imagine it’ll be any tougher than the time I came from behind my drums to a room of 500 to sing “I Wanna Be Your Dog” only to see 200 still there by the time I’d finished. Nor will they avert their gaze and cover their faces when I get up to speak as used to happen during my English teacher training to a group of Muslim women in Blackburn. And unless you’ve given a best man’s speech in Budapest to a room consisting of 80% Hungarians and 20% English speakers with a translator who kept asking you what your punchlines meant, you aren’t worthy of speaking in public. Although, the English contingent did make fools of themselves when the bride’s father announced something in Hungarian and we all started clapping assuming it was a moving tribute to the bride and groom only to be told that he’d asked everybody if they could move the tables and chairs to clear the dance floor.

Anyway, I have to confess to feeling a tingle of excitement about this, as the Search Engine Strategy Conferences are big events that take place throughout the calendar across the globe. There are also plenty of sessions I’m looking forward to attending and people I’d like to rub shoulders with. With any luck I’ll come back chock-full of additional knowledge with a few new twitter buddies to boot.

So, if you have any presentation or speaking tips seeming I’m at the novice end of the speaking spectrum and it isn’t one of the key elements we’re taught during high school in the UK, I’m listening.

Although, telling me to change my accent isn’t going to fly.

Oh, and if you fancy a trip up to Chicago for the SES Conference I can get you 20% off the price of a pass if you’re interested.

Who says we don’t give value for money round here.