Truth Bombs from a First-Time In2Risk Speaker

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas yet! The International CPCU Society #in2risk22 conference just wrapped up, and what an amazing whirlwind experience it was all over again. So many beautiful connections made every year at this event, and so much is learned by everyone at the conference. This was a “new” In2Risk conference for me because this year, for the very first time, I arrived on the stage as a presenter. The excitement, the nervousness, the moments of being awestruck I experienced as I checked off one of my bucket list items was almost too much to handle. I am so glad I was there to take it all in. There is just nothing like experiencing this conference as a presenter, standing on the stage surrounded by greatness while also navigating the complexities of being a participant in the conference. I can definitively say my heart is completely full and energized as I traveled east back to the flatlands I call home.

For those who may not be “in the know” about what it takes to be a presenter at In2Risk, I’ve got a few life lessons I learned from this conference I’d like to share. These tips are shared from the heart of someone who truly wants to PUSH you to consider how YOU can be on a stage anywhere, anytime, in any conference event, because you are an insurance rockstar! Your experiences are worthwhile, your knowledge is deep, and I would encourage everyone to consider how you can do just what I did this year anytime! Listen up for the truth bombs this insurance rebel is about to drop on ya.

Tip 1- Getting Selected to Present

Some think this is the toughest challenge, arriving at a place where the committee and team says “yes” to your presentation. What I would encourage everyone to consider is to make your presentation as adaptable as possible to any circumstance. For instance, one presentation that I submitted for the conference wasn’t selected as a stand-alone session, but the Society reached out and asked me to evolve my session into a “CPCUx” style presentation. This, at first, seemed like a daunting task to consider, but I realized what an opportunity I had to hone my speaking skills in an environment where I would be under pressure. So, be adaptable, flexible, and know that your presentation, no matter what format it ends up being in at the conference, can be molded to the needs of the audience.

Additionally, when you submit your presentation, be as detailed as possible about your learning objectives, and what you want the audience to walk away with after the proverbial end of the session arrives. Audience interaction, audience engagement is key in the world of presentation today and relaying that information in a concise and clear manner is KEY to getting your hard work through the selection process.

Pick a topic that is OUT OF THE BOX. Insurance professionals have heard about a million times about cannabis and the commercial exposure. They don’t want to hear about that again. Also, challenge yourself to consider presenting on topics that are a bit outside of your comfort zone when you submit your presentation. It’s all “insurancy” and “professional developmenty” *yes those are actual words in my dictionary. My suggestion is to pick something that is going to resonate across lines and across the vast arena we serve in professional community and LEARN something new in the process!

Tip 2- Practice, but don’t OVERPRACTICE

There is something to be said for rehearsing what you might be presenting at In2Risk, but the power of spontaneity is one of your most powerful weapons. I’ll tell you a story about the panel presentation I was honored to be a part of this year. The team of us came up with an idea, came up with some learning objectives around that idea, came up with a few questions our moderator asked us, and literally designed our session to be full-on audience interaction moments where our audience got the opportunity to “Speak Up and Be Heard.” We didn’t practice our answers, as we didn’t want them to seem rehearsed. We just wanted PURE connection with our audience. The audience in this photo has no idea what is about to hit them, but guess what, they were amazing and performed beautifully on the fly!

That’s exactly what we wanted to happen in this session. My co-presenters and I went in there, on the fly, prepared only with the questions we KNEW which were going to be asked by our moderator, but we also challenged ourselves by allowing our audience to write down questions for our team, and we answered them on the fly. The simple fact of our presentation being more adlibbed and less practiced, allowed us to be ourselves, authentic, in the moment, and tell the stories that matter. The most powerful moments in that session were when we allowed the audience moments of pure interaction with the subject matter we were presenting. That resonates, and captures, the audience you are serving.

If that concept frightens you, don’t allow it to. YOU have expertise in so many vast areas of our industry, and when you start talking about that expertise to an audience in a way that relates to them, and tells the story you want to tell, you will find yourself almost overwhelmed by the gratitude you receive from the crowd. I’ll admit now I flew into San Francisco wondering if I was prepared for my session, but when the questions started, because I knew the subject, the stories were just there. WHY? Because the questions were great, boxed into the subject matter we wanted to speak to in our session, and we were all ready to share openly with the audience the stories that mattered.

Tip #3- Be Authentically You

And here comes the mountain I’m going to ask all of you to climb and the same mountain I continue to climb myself. Challenge yourself with things you NEVER thought you would do in development of a presentation, which means you are going to have to get outside of your comfortable little zone. What this also means is that you must confront the parts of you that aren’t that easy to confront. Your limitations and that old nemesis, imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is what it sounds like, that nagging voice inside of you that says, “I’m not good enough, I’m not smart enough, despite my credentials, despite my experience.” That voice often screams at us and keeps us from speaking the messages that we need to express out loud to our communities. 

Challenge that imposter and tell it to sit down and frankly, shut up. Be the best damn version of you that you can be. Challenge the perceptions you have constructed around yourself, and remember that YOU can speak, intelligently and passionately, especially to your CPCU family. You have an audience full of cheerleaders who want you to be successful in the In2Risk environment. In fact, you are surrounded by a community of people who admire and respect your dedication to continuous learning and development. YOU ARE AN INSURANCE ROCK STAR, so shine like the diamond you are.

Bring your best self to speaking at the conference. I’ll tell you that isn’t always easy, even though speakers who come to the conference make it seem as if it is. ALL of us have nerves, all of us are stressed, all of us feel those same butterflies you feel as you step in front of any audience. Grab ahold of those butterflies and use them as fuel for your fire. And TELL the story you need to tell, in the way that you need to tell it, authentically. Be real, not robotic with your audience. Tell the funny stories that get people laughing and engaged with you. Anyone who attended one of my sessions remembers my little self-talk story I told where I hype myself up before getting in front of an audience, and at In2Risk, that just happened to be in the bathroom before our session! My apologies again to anyone who heard me whispering “you can do this Heather,” in the stall!

Being authentic, it turns out, is a TOUGH thing to do. Especially in front of an audience which you feel pressure to “WOW.” It requires that you are personally vulnerable. It requires that you challenge again, that imposter who is going to tell you that you can’t do this. Being authentic requires that you open yourself up to the world, but guess what, when you figure that out, you’ll connect in ways with people you never imagined.

They say public speaking is a #1 fear of most people. That means that on the day of our death, most of us would rather be in the coffin than giving our own eulogy. Doesn’t that seem a little bleak? We all have the talents, we all have the skills, because we have stories that resonate with other people that reflect the authenticity that is uniquely us. My challenge to everyone is to step up and be that voice. How will anyone ever know your voice if you aren't sharing your voice in the room? And what if the words that you share are revolutionary, and change something that really needs to be changed? What if you missed out on the opportunity for some major shift to happen in the life of just one person at In2Risk because you were too afraid to speak up and worried about your voice betraying you? Don't look back on that moment in your life, as Anthony Trucks reminded us, and wonder about the person you could have been.

 #yougotthis 

And by gosh, have some fun while you are being authentically you! You better believe I'm already thinking about presentations to send in next year for #in2risk , because this was a fantastic experience for me. I can't wait until Washington, DC and I hope to see you on stage next year!