You can never speak about Tom Sligting without mentioning worlds like, memorable, energetic, humorous, and insightful. Tom Sligting, one of the first comedians in the Netherlands, has been a Comedian and Keynote Speaker for 26 years.
While providing businesses with tailor-made shows, Tom realised how rewarding it was to touch people with his humour and his content, and he has become well-loved for that. With all that public speaking experience he had acquired, Tom joined the Professional Speakers’ Association in the Netherlands where he has made many colleagues in the speaking fraternity.
While Tom says he did have people assisting him on his journey, some who gave him one-on-one sessions as to how he could improve certain aspects of his work, he firmly believes that it is also technique that helps you grow and that one has to be very open-minded if they wish to take their craft even further.
The past year has been challenging for everybody, and one of Tom’s biggest challenges was missing live performances, something that was his main income stream. As challenging and uncertain as it has been, Tom says this was a reflective time for him. And time that he used to regroup and to press the reset button, and that today he is positive, full of ideas, and now has a lot planned for the future.
With the year already in motion, so are Tom’s plans. Conferences (physical and virtual) will soon be back and that means more channels will open up for speakers. The online world has also presented wider opportunities and he finds it very exciting that he can operate both in the online and offline world and extend his business offering across both. This new ‘virtual’ door has not only been opened for him, but for everybody who is willing to enter it.
Tom advises all speakers to stand up when giving a speech online and to do this because your body language is different, and you also feel different when standing up. The second tip is to be as creative as you can get. Look at you want to say, what's the feeling you want to bring to your audience, and try to find as many exciting visuals and different angles to make it possible. Make sure you provide your audience with an unforgettable presentation.
Tom will be taking the virtual stage at this year’s Innovation In Speaking (Un)Conference from 9-11 April. Don’t miss his talk ‘How to turn your keynote into an online TV-show?’ Get your tickets here!