You’ve Been Invited to Speak to an Entrepreneurship Class – Now What?

One of the highlights of an entrepreneurship curriculum is the exposure students get to real life entrepreneurs. Good guest speakers can provide a wealth of expertise, experience, and authenticity to a classroom full of burgeoning business owners.

In DePaul’s recently-launched Social Impact Incubator Program, nearly the entirety of the six week boot camp’s curriculum was delivered through guests who are entrepreneurs themselves. Speakers were brought in to provide practical guidance and helpful “lessons learned” to teach future local, nascent entrepreneurs how to scale and grow their businesses.

Luckily, you don’t need to consider yourself a professional lecturer, a highly trained public speaker, or master communicator to inspire a group of current or aspiring entrepreneurs. Rather, the most successful guest speakers have a compelling story to share, told in their authentic voice.

If you’ve been invited to speak in front of a class, you have an excellent opportunity ahead of you. Below, I recount some tips and tricks I’ve been able to collect from the sidelines as a professor of entrepreneurship.

Know Your Audience

Students of entrepreneurship come in many forms with many distinct areas of interest, and it’s helpful to know where your intended audience's focus in entrepreneurship lies. That way, you can appropriately tailor your discussion to the group's needs and level of understanding.

For example, is the class majority international students? Have they all already founded their own business? Are they studying business, or something more specialized? Uncovering the answers to these questions ahead of time will allow you to you feel more comfortable in front of the group.

Speak Your Truth

While it’s important to know your audience, it’s not necessary to perfectly align what you have to say with what they’ve been taught in class. The best sessions are ones where speakers are honest and forthcoming about the things they care about, and their real-life approaches to business.

In fact, offering alternative perspectives will only make the discussion richer. Doing so allows students to think independently and will encourage more question-asking as they form their own opinions and conclusions.

Explain the “Why”

While many students will be interested in the discrete steps you took on your entrepreneurship journey (the “how”), it’s also important to touch on the “why.” There are many myths about achieving success as an entrepreneur, and when founders discuss the thought processes or reasoning behind their decision making, many of these myths burst wide open. By showing students that there is not a singular path to success, they are able to envision their own, regardless of their unique circumstances or perspectives.

Be Open About Your Failures

Culturally, we are wired to focus on the positive and omit our negative experiences when communicating with people we don’t know. However, most entrepreneurs report learning more from their mistakes than they do from their accomplishments.

Students are just as interested in hearing about your failures as they are in your successes. Being vulnerable about your struggles and your setbacks will only show students that it’s okay, and expected, to make similar mistakes. 

Provide Materials Before and/or After Your Visit

As mentioned, it’s important to take into consideration students’ level of experience before your guest appearance. However, your presence is also meant to be a learning opportunity, so don’t be afraid to hand out materials or aids to help them get up to speed.

For example: Certain specialized vocabulary may seem second nature to you, but many beginners don’t know what phrases like EBITDA or MVP mean. In this case, consider providing a list of the terms you will be using to the group beforehand. Often, students will not ask questions if they feel like you are speaking a different language.

Entrepreneurship students are always hungry for information, especially information that has been influential to your success. Consider providing a list of books, podcasts, or articles to read either before or after your visit.

Recognize Your Role

While you may live in a world where most of your network consists of other entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and executives, for many students, you may be the first they ever meet. What you do and say may forever change their understanding of entrepreneurship. Therefore, it’s crucial to recognize your potential to influence before stepping in front of a group of students. While it’s important to be honest about the darker sides of starting a business, be sure to accompany any moments of “truth-telling” with hope for their futures.

As an instructor, it is my job to orchestrate a sequence of guests that will benefit the class’s learning objectives, and provide the students with the appropriate context to efficiently contextualize the presentations. Ultimately, as a speaker, it’s your job to simply tell your story — while hopefully keeping these helpful tips in mind.