Last month I shared information about handouts, the various reasons why they might be—or not be—worth the effort, and some guidelines for creating them. As a reminder, there’s no speaker mandate that says you have to have a handout.

It’s just a reality that audiences are getting used to speakers sharing something with them beyond their “verbal expertise.” Before I start sharing this month’s information around the logistics of sharing/delivering handouts though, you can check out last month’s article here.

Let’s start by acknowledging that handouts are used to deliver supplemental information. They aren’t a replacement for the expertise you’re sharing from the stage. In general, there are four sharing-a-handout scenarios: before you speak, while you’re speaking, when you’re done speaking, and/or after you spoken.

Before: Sharing a handout before you start speaking offers an interesting advantage. It’s like when you’re handed a program on the way in to watch a play. It gives the people in your audience a way to keep track of what’s going on… without wasting valuable time explaining every detail of your time with them before diving into your content.

During: These handouts literally provide audiences with a way to follow the content you’re sharing from the stage. They can be mini versions of your PowerPoint with space alongside each slide for people to take notes. They can also be “fill in the blank” handouts where your audience fills in a blank based on what you’re sharing from the stage. During-handouts provide the confidence of knowing that as long as your talk syncs with the handout you’ve provided, you and your audience will be on the same page from the beginning to the end.

At the Conclusion: There are more than a few reasons for providing a handout when you’re done speaking. These handouts can be used to:

1. Summarize the main points and key takeaways of your talk. This way, you know people are walking away with enough information to decide if they want to continue the conversation with you.
2. Provide people with access to additional information, such as books to read, websites to visit, and/or other resource and reference materials that will empower them with more information and reasons to reach out to you.
3. Gather feedback about what the people in your audience liked, didn’t like, would like to know more or less about, etc. This handout is a goldmine for making sure your talk is resonating with your audiences.
4. Provide special “low” and possibly “no” cost offers to your audience.
5. Provide your contact information! This, in my opinion and most importantly, can and should be done in combination with all of the above. Without it, people won’t have a way to reach out to you! This doesn’t mean you have to share everything, just some combination of your phone number, email address, website links, and social media links.

After: Too many speakers forget this part. It does however, have to be considered before you take the stage. How do YOU want to keep in touch with your audience after the fact? Do you want them to join your email list? Follow you on social media? Attend a follow-up event? Whether you do it digitally or physically, you need to provide your audience with ways to share their contact information with you. So be proactive. Provide them with a way for them to give you permission to reach out to them.

That about covers the logistical part of the handout conversation. The good news is that they all work whether you’re speaking in person or digitally. It’s nice that people expect a handout these days too. Couple that reality with your desire to share your expertise beyond the stage, and you haven’t just created a handout, you’ve created another win-win scenario for both them and you!