First let's talk about how to write a description or abstract for a conference or event that gets you (or your boss) a prime speaking spot.

Then let's live-edit one together to take it from insipid to inspiring.

There are six parts to a stellar speech description. Those six attributes apply no matter the goal of your speech—whether you are seeking a breakout session to function as marketing for you or your company, or you're looking to further your own speaking career.

• First few sentences: Set the stage for the audience by being empathetic to the status quo, or the current state of things. “This is how things are,” you're stating.
• Second: State why the status quo doesn't have to be the status quo.
• Third: Pose the question: What if there's a new, different way of thinking about the problem?

  This is where you can also customize a description for the audience or industry. “What if <hair salons> like yours had a new opportunity?”

  And if you are part of the audience—if you're a writer speaking to other writers, for example—you also should create that affiliation by using “our” and “us” versus “you.”

  As in: “What if there's a different way for corn hole enthusiasts like us?” Or: “Could we rubber duck manufacturers rethink our strategy?”

• Fourth: State what your audience will get out of your talk. Tease the takeaways, the possibilities, the vision of the new reality.
• Fifth: Ask a rhetorical question that invites your audience to come to your session. Something like “Who's in?!” or “Who's ready to rethink HVAC marketing?” This is your call to action to get attendees fired up!
• Sixth: One of my favorite things to do is include a memorable phrase and unique word. It's an unexpected bit that sticks in the brain of the conference organizer because it's surprising. Let it mirror your own voice.

Now let's put that all together.

What follows first here is The Ugly First Draft of a keynote description we at MarketingProfs wrote for a talk on marketing training and education. The speech was to be based on our State of Marketing Training research report, and it was to be delivered at the MarketingProfs B2B Forum by my then-colleague Jen Smith and me.

The State of Marketing Training

Ann Handley, Jen Smith

Since 2002, Ann Handley's mission has been to help B2B marketers feel empowered, effective, and part of a community.

In 2021, Jen Smith at MarketingProfs was looking for data on B2B Marketing Training for an art icle. She found none. Because of her background in sales training, she googled “The State of B2B Sales Training.” She found lots. She thought, “In this time of GTM, ABM, and sales and marketing alignment, how can it be that organizations aren't investing the same effort in training their marketing teams?” A mission to share this ginormous gap in organizational thinking was born.

In this keynote, Ann and Jen will share:

• The (sometimes shocking) results of the first (and only of its kind as far as we can tell) State of B2B Marketing Training Report
• What marketers without organizational support can do to be more effective and grow
• What organizations can do to support their B2B marketing teams

It's bad, right?

Yes. It's bad. (I'm acknowledging that to give you permission to nod out loud on how hideous it is.)

What makes this TUFD speech description awful:

• The focus on the speakers, not the audience
• The focus on the research report, not what's in it for the audience
• Too much background on how the report came to be that has no relevance for the audience
• That uninspired title

Here's the rewrite, using our six-part framework.

The Future-Proofed Career: How You (and Your Team) Can Thrive in an Unpredictable World

Ann Handley, Jen Smith

If there's anything we've learned since 2020, it's that anything is possible. The unimaginable can happen. Unpredictable is the norm. And Marketing needs to be prepared for it.

But … say what? How? How can you be ready for anything in a world of Extreme Everything happening … and all at once?

The questions here at the MarketingProfs B2B Forum become:

How can you future-proof your career to adapt to almost anything?

How can we lead teams that are happy, fulfilled, and that are throwing a collective See Ya to the Great Resignation? (Not on your watch!)

It turns out that the secret to a future-proofed career and a happy, successful marketing team is one and the same.

In this debut talk based on brand-new proprietary research, MarketingProfs' own CCO Ann Handley and CMO Jen Smith will:

• Break down what B2B marketers need to do in 2022 (and beyond) to be more empowered and effective in their roles
• Share an inside look at what the most successful marketing leaders are doing to nurture marketers, grow capabilities, and counter the Great Resignation
• Offer true insights based on real research with marketing leaders in North America (not hunches or vibes)

Plus! There'll be lulz and trivia about modern marketers and marketing teams. (Will there be trivia prizes … ? Well, does MarketingProfs excel at bringing the fun? ☺)

Who's ready to hear the secrets of Marketing's success in crazy, unpredictable times? Join us!

The new version is about the audience. It tells them what they'll get out of the talk. And it promises a bit of fun while learning.

The “memorable phrase” in this talk, by the way, is the “lulz,” an informal way of saying for fun or laughs.

And the CTA (Who's ready …?) makes your speech a gotta-be-there!

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Massive thanks to Andrew Davis for his help with this section.