My number one tip for a conference talk is to use the 5 minutes before your talk starts (but people are filing in) to start connecting to the audience. During

My number one tip for a conference talk is to use the 5 minutes before your talk starts (but people are filing in) to start connecting to the audience. During the talk itself there's high expectations. People may have paid a lot, travelled overnight, found a baby sitter to be there. But during the travel time and breaks the expectations are much lower. Use that time to your advantage. Tell a joke, an anecdote related to your topic, ask a good question of the audience. Start building that rapport before your slot even begins. This helps your audience warm up to you, and helps you slide more comfortably into your talk.