To Speak or Not to Speak?
by Carol Bowser

Should speaking be a part of your business plan, or marketing portfolio or personal brand?

I talk - a lot.  Sometimes to large audiences. Sometime to one or two individuals. Sometimes over webinars.  Sometimes I get paid to talk.  Sometimes, I joyfully drive long distances and incur expenses to talk for free.  As I said, I talk a lot, and I don't make a secret of it.  Speaking for me is a method to market, earn revenue and forward my brand.  If you are interested in making public speaking part of your repertoire, here is some food for thought.

First, I believe that everyone must, must, must be able to present themselves well in group settings, whether this is: a business meeting, job interview, homeowners' association meeting, networking event, paid speaking engagement or volunteer meeting.  How you present yourself speaks to your personal brand.  Even if you don't enjoy speaking in public settings, this does not mean that you cannot do it well.  I know many introverts who are magnificent communicators.

Second, be clear on why you are speaking.  Are you looking to become a "professional" (i.e. paid) speaker as part of your business plan?  Are you looking to increase your visibility professionally or personally? Are you doing it in support of a cause that you are passionate about? 

For my part, I use speaking as both an avenue to market my professional services and showcase my areas of expertise as well as a revenue source.

SIDEBAR- I never, ever, ever use the front of the room to overtly "sell".  Few things will alienate you from your audience more than subjecting them to a 30 minute sales presentation.  Instead, I offer to share my knowledge and insights so that the audience can leave empowered with new knowledge or tools.  As a result, I have developed a reputation of as a speaker who provides substantive content. 

So should you speak or not?  The answer to the question lays in what are you trying to achieve?  If you do decide to speak determine if it is for marketing (free or nominal pay) versus more substantial revenue generating.  If it is for marketing, be careful about selecting your audience.  It is fine to "work" for free if that "work" is designed to put you in front of your target market otherwise you are wasting your time.

There are thousands of professional groups who meet monthly and have speakers every month. THOUSANDS.  A quick search of "professional associations" can uncover a wealth of information.  You can also ask around the local business community what groups are active.  Go to the website and look for the speaker's chair or professional development chair.

Once you have a connection, you will need to show that you have something to offer.  Having a short bio and a brief description of your presentation including key learning objectives.  You will need to answer the "WIIFT" (What's In It for Them question) Remember, you are delivering something of value to the audience. 

Once in front of the room have fun.  Engage. At the close, seek feedback, then leverage the feedback in the form of testimonials.  Ask for referrals and ask that your name be passed on to other groups who might need a speaker.

Finally, get out there! There's no substitute for experience and at some point, you have to stop planning and just do.

Resources:

National Speaker's Association & their local affiliates. www.nsaspeaker.org The NSA provides resources on "platform skills" as well as resources on how to build a business speaking.  They have helpful hints on working with speaker's bureaus.

Toastmasters www.toastmasters.org  membership organization for individuals to develop speaking skills.

Speaker Net News www.speakernetnews.com  Weekly resource by and for professional speakers.

Guila Muir www.guilamuir.com fun trainer of presenters.

 

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