Dave Jackson, head of the podcasting track for the 2015 New Media Expo, has released his requirements for those who are interested in making a podcasting-related presentation at the conference.

Dave has broken these requirements down into several different sections. His first requirement is to know your audience:

It always starts with your target audience. We have people who have never recorded a podcast, and we have those who are approaching 10 years of podcasting. Your presentation very rarely will appeal to both sides of that fence. I would prefer a deeper dive on few subjects (with plenty of take always) then to go shallow on a larger number of topics.

Dave then reinforces that the podcasting track is about podcasting, and not things like streaming radio stations. Next, he would like your presentation to be focused. He’s not a fan of, as he puts it, “winging it:”

I see a lot of “Winging it” (especially with panels). In the case of panels it is like those group project in schools where everyone assumes the other people are going to do the work (and then nobody does). When I was on a panel with Daniel J. Lewis and Ray Ortega we met a number of times to first organize our content, and then determine who would deliver what. We timed ourselves so we had an idea if we had enough (or too much) content.

He also states in this section that he will work closely with presenters to make sure their content stays focused and on track but that he’s not going to “tell you” what to present. Also, if you presented at the last NMX, don’t bring the same presentation this time. Dave would like to see new things instead of repeat performances.

In the next section, Dave advises potential presenters to remember they’re talking to adults, and that their presentations have to be thought out and explained:

It’s not enough to say the Audio Technica 2100 is a great podcasting microphone. Adults need to know why. You tell a child that 2+2=4 and they say, “OK.” You say that to an adult and they will start asking questions. The Audio Technica 2100 microphone is a great podcasting microphone because it picks up less room noise than other microphones and it also works as a USB microphone and can be used with a mixer. That is an example of remembering the why.

And if you’re going to provide examples, be sure to bring either the actual facts behind them or anecdotal evidence to back them up:

I can tell you that, “Most podcasters don’t make it past episode 7.” This (for the most part) is true. However, if I’m saying this in a presentation I’m going to give my source (Todd Cochrane of the blubrry.com). Why? Trust me. Your audience is going to question anything that makes them go, “Really?” I once saw a speaker misquote a stat about podcast listeners and the hallway was buzzing before their speech was over.

If you’re talking about your own experience, then feel free to share. If you live what you’re talking about, it helps.

The list goes on to make some suggestions for the actual presentation itself:

If you are creating your slides minutes before starting your presentation, you surely haven’t spent time practicing this at home. If you’re editing (i.e. the perfectionist) that is understandable. Be careful with endless tweaking. By adding, “One more point” you may not leave any time for questions.

Finally, Dave would like to see presentations that have clear action items for their audiences:

I’m actually looking for multiple actions for the audience to take away from the conference. These are specific action items, tools, insights, and information. We all love it when we walk out of a presentation with action items on our mind and inspired to move ahead.

If you’re interested in presenting at the next New Media Expo, you’ve got until October 24th to submit your presentation. Dave states at the end of his post that the 24th is a hard deadline, so get going if you want to be considered! To get all of the details of what Dave’s looking for in potential presentations and to submit your own presentation, click the link at the top of this article.

Disclaimer: Dave Jackson is a contributing editor to Podcaster News.