The best way to prepare for a speaking event, in our opinion, is to carefully prepare what you want to say under ideal circumstances, and then plan for variations. Have numerous examples available that you may or may not show. Have varying levels of detail available as well. If the audience turns out to be more sophisticated than expected, don’t bore them with content they already know. If they give you blank stares, be prepared to search out their areas of confusion and offer more detail.

If your audiences regularly contain certain groups or types of people, but you don’t know who will be present, or when, come prepared with examples or entire tracks that appeal to the likely variations. An example might be a trainer who works with teachers. At a conference he might encounter teachers at several grade levels and need visuals that address different needs and perspectives, depending on whom he is talking to at the moment.

A relational speaker, to prepare for such situations, typically has switchboards set up that feature relevant categories of information. Appropriate topics, then, are chosen on demand while interacting with audiences.