Dreamforce is less than a week away. For our hundreds of Dreamforce presenters, it's crunch time! As a presenter, you may feel the nerves settle in as you begin each day with a nervous sweat. Have you completed your dry run? Have you slept with your speaker notes and practiced in front of the mirror? While all that is important, here are three tips to keep your session lively and engaging:

1. Work the room before you start

The key is to arrive early and personally greet the other early birds. Next, talk to them: Ask them why they chose to attend your session, what they know about the topic and how they handle the topic of your presentation in their organization. 

This simple step will give you a wealth of anecdotes and stories to use in your presentation. Slip them in and acknowledge that you were speaking with a woman in the back of the room who said X and another who said X. This step shows you care about your audience and are thoughtful in applying what you learned. 

2. Energize the audience

People will literally walk for miles before they get to your session. Don't let them sit down and snooze away your session. Find a spot about 20 to 30 minutes into your discussion to insert an energizer activity. Be prepared with a thoughtful question in mind that relates to your topic.

For example: If speaking about how to integrate employees from a recent acquisition, ask the audience to share with the person next to them "what words define your corporate culture." Or, if speaking about wowing your customers with great customer service, ask the audience to share with their neighbor an example of the best or worst customer service experience they ever had.

Once done, ask if someone would like to volunteer to share or repeat something they heard from their neighbor. All of this can take under two minutes and will enrich your session with stories and memorable moments. It also creates an energetic buzz in the room, facilitates networking among the attendees — and, most importantly, it will make your session memorable.

3. Stick around

Inevitably, people in the audience will want to ask more questions or simply introduce themselves. Try not to rush out immediately. Instead, give each person a minute of your time to talk, exchange cards and tell them you can follow up to discuss more. If people are so interested in speaking with you afterward, give them an opportunity to do so. 

Good luck and don't forget to smile at the audience!

Still haven't registered for Dreamforce '14? It's not too late! Click the button below.