Customizing Your Presentations

Why Customization Is No Longer Optional for Speakers Who Want to Stand Out

Last week, we talked about understanding our audience’s pain points. This week, we will take the next step. If pain points are the heartbeat of audience connection, customization is the bridge that makes your audience feel like your message was created specifically for them.

Every memorable presenter customizes. The average presenter merely mentions the event name or flashes a logo on their slides. That is not customization. That is courtesy.

True customization is deeper. It is intentional. It is strategic. And it is the difference between an audience listening politely and an audience leaning forward, thinking, “This is for me!”

You Are Not Paid to Give a Speech

Make no mistake, you are paid to serve the audience. That perspective has guided me since the night before the 2001 World Championship of Public Speaking, when Mark Brown pulled me aside. He reminded me that I had the privilege of 2000 lives for seven minutes. That moment has shaped my preparation ever since.

Most speakers do not prepare thoroughly enough to customize effectively. Some do not even think about customizing. Yet meeting planners and audiences notice instantly when a presentation feels crafted for them.

In fact, the testimonials from a recent keynote all highlighted one thing. They said I customized everything. They noticed that I walked the halls, attended other sessions, interviewed people, and tied in stories from the very event they were attending. They noticed because so few speakers do it.

Customization Is Connection

Early in his international speaking career, Mark accepted an opening keynote assignment in the Middle East. At the end of the event, the meeting planner noted that he had customized his presentation to serve the audience, while the closing speaker delivered a generic back-pocket talk. Years later, attendees still remembered details from Mark’s customized message.

Why was Mark so memorable? Connection. Audiences know when you create content for them. They also know when you don’t.

Customization Is Not Complicated

One of the biggest misconceptions is that customizing requires rewriting your entire speech. It does not. Professionals rarely write new speeches for each audience. They customize, within a proven structure.

This is where the FRIPP speech model becomes a game-changer. When your keynote has a strong framework, customization becomes ‘plug-and-play.’ You can insert audience stories, quotes from speakers earlier in the event, photos, and fresh examples because you know exactly where they belong.

Here’s an example:
At a recent keynote in Las Vegas, I built several custom moments by:
• Interviewing attendees in the hallway to learn their dreams.
• Tying the previous day’s celebrity keynote quote directly into the point I was making.
• Using real photos from onsite conversations.
• Connecting specific audience members, like Travis and Jim, to the themes of the presentation.
• Honoring mentors and first timers.
• Responding to last-minute requests, like bringing the 30-and-under attendees onstage.

These moments did not require rewriting my entire keynote. They required curiosity, attention, and a structure that allowed me to insert adjustments without affecting the flow of my presentation.

Why Customization Creates Impact

Customization allows you to simultaneously:

1. Indicate genuine care.

2. Demonstrate preparation.

3. Signal respect for the audience.

4. Validate your audience’s identity and shared experience.

5. Prove your message is not canned.

6. Create an unforgettable emotional connection.

Earlier, I mentioned attendees Travis and Jim. During my presentation, I put a photo of Travis on the screen and shared his dream. He felt seen. I acknowledged Jim, an industry mentor, and several attendees took time to find and congratulate him. Later, I highlighted first-timers and younger professionals, and they felt valued.

Customization builds community in the room. It ties your message to your audience’s reality.

The Process Behind Customizing

If you want to customize well, here is my quick-start approach:

1. Interview at least ten people who will be in the audience.
   Ask the event planner to give them a heads-up…ideally two weeks before the event.

2. Ask better questions.
   Why me? Why this topic? What is top of mind? What are their current challenges?

3. Understand the organization’s culture.
   Who are the mentors? Who are the first timers? Who is retiring? Who is thriving?

4. Walk the halls.
   The best insights come from informal conversations.

5. Arrive a day early if possible.
   Interact with attendees. Like gold, they provide stories, examples, quotes, and validation.

6. Use their language.
   Use their terminology, acronyms, and buzzwords.

7. Insert custom content into a solid structure.
   The FRIPP model shines here. You know exactly where to place custom content.

Customization is not chaos. It is precision guided by preparation and structure.

The Bottom Line

If you want to be unforgettable, you must take customization seriously. Audiences feel it. Meeting planners appreciate it. And your impact multiplies.

Pain points help you understand your audience. Customization helps your audience feel understood.

If you want to master this process and build a keynote that is powerful, customizable, and valuable to event planners, join us for our Unforgettable Presentations workshop. We will guide you step by step through the FRIPP speech model and show you how to deliver a keynote that is both polished and deeply customized.

If you are going to take the time to prepare a presentation, make it unforgettable.

Check out our next workshop: Own the Stage, Jan15-17 in Vegas:

https://www.stagetimeuniversity.com/workshops/own-the-stage/