Conference speakers make assumptions every day about how their attendees comprehend, remember and apply the information they hear.

These assumptions, as well as their presentation decisions, are based on a mix of theories, trial and error, past experiences with their own teachers and professors, and instinct.
Yet are these theories, experiences and instinct serving the speaker and the participant well? Are the speakers’ assumptions accurate?

Let’s take a trip back to your junior high days. If you’re like me, immediately your palms begin to sweat. Your throat tightens. Your heart starts racing and your mouth gets dry as you remember those trying teen years. Imagine that today is that day! It’s the big day when you have to deliver your first speech. Your mind is racing. “Will I remember everything to say? Did I wear the right clothes? Will they laugh at me? Will they boo me?” You say to yourself, “Remember what Ms. Smith said. View your audience in their underwear and you won’t be as nervous.”