Ah, the Presentation Summit!

I've had the most exciting September... last week I shared about the top 10 essential speaking lessons from the STORY Gathering in Nashville - and I went straight from Nashville to Tampa. I was met with gorgeous beaches and weather. Not bad for a work trip. :)

But here's the deal: I wasn't sure I was going to like this conference.

Last spring, I got an email from this man named Rick Altman, the creator of this conference and CEO of Better Presenting. He said, "Hey, you should come to this conference I put on!"

Now, I had HEARD about this conference as a great conference for Power Point users and designers, but because I'm not a Power Point designer, I thought it wasn't for me.  Not only am I not a designer, I'm not a huge fan of Power Point. :) I recognize it is a powerful tool - and a tool that many, many of my clients use. But I really wasn't sure there'd be much for me at this conference.

But Rick said - HECK NO - it's for any presentation professional. Well, ok! 

So, off I went! I had no idea what to expect, except that a few people I had connected with online couldn't stop talking about how excited they were for it! Well, that's a good sign... 

And can I say?

I loved it.

It was FULL of insight, powerful tools that I need to be aware of for my clients and that might be useful for YOU, and AMAZING PEOPLE. So, win-win-win. And, it was the most fun I've ever had at a conference, ever.

So - here are 5 of the most important takeaways from The Presentation Summit:

Last week I had the great privilege of being a part of STORY Gathering 2017 - a gathering of creatives from a wide breadth of industries, brought together by one thing: story.

I attended last year - and it was two days jam-packed with inspiration. Powerful speakers, moving music, thoughtful breakouts - and so. many. amazing. people. I was jazzed! From there, I got to interview a few of those amazing people on my show, including Brad Montague, Jason Jaggard, and Harris III.

But this year they asked me to take part. So, off I went - to Nashville - and two full days of ideas, inspiration and connections. To make the most of this experience, I wanted to jot down the best of what I'm taking with me - and wanted to share with you, in case there holds some wisdom for you as well.