One of the top questions I get from entrepreneurs, experts and other professionals is “How do you go about actually getting paid for public speaking?” I turned to some of my well-respected colleagues who speak at various fee levels to get their best advice and have boiled it down to eight steps for you.
1. Speak for free.
Before you get to go pro at anything, you need to spend some time as an amateur. As Gene Marks, President of The Marks Group PC, advises, “Speak a lot for free. Reach out to your local rotary and Lion’s clubs, small chambers of commerce and networking groups. That way, you can hone your content and get lots of practice. Plus, as you get better, you can use these places as references for when you’re pitching paid gigs.”
It may seem difficult to find, but there are myriad events happening in just about every city every single day. As Scott Stratten, one of the most sought-after keynote speakers and President of UnMarketing Inc. puts it, “There is a huge difference between speaking and paid speaking. An infinite number of slots exist for free talks, not so much for paid talks.”
2. Hone your craft.
Speaking for free gets you warmed up, but if you are going to make the leap to getting paid, you need to take it seriously. Michael Port, the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Steal the Show and Co-Founder of HeroicPublicSpeaking.com, says, “Professional speaking is a craft like acting, directing, producing or writing. The only difference is that, as a professional speaker, you must master all of those disciplines.
“You are the writer, the director, the actor and the producer. You are creating and performing a one-person show. Just having expertise in a subject isn’t enough anymore. Audiences and meeting planners expect an extraordinary experience.
“No, they don’t expect you to sing or dance, but they do expect to be entertained while you educate and inspire them. Fortunately, we see more professional speakers taking the craft seriously. Studying, training, and rehearsing all in the pursuit of mastery.”
Ramon Ray, who has been a paid public speaker for about 20 years, travelling around the world and speaking to groups of dozens, hundreds and thousands of people, re-emphasizes how important this dedication is.
“You must be an amazing speaker,” says Ray. “There are many speakers, but to get paid and asked to come back again and again, you must be highly engaging, highly informative, connect with your audience and just be darn good.”
3. Create a value add.
As you hone your craft and work through your material, think about how you’re adding value to your audience. Phil Gerbyshak, a social selling and technology trainer with Philgerbyshak.com, suggests:
“As you transition from free speaker to for fee speaker, focus on what is the new ‘added value’ you have that you can now charge for. Perhaps you have a ‘formula’ or a ‘system’ or a ‘program.’ Give it a name, and be specific in who it benefits.”
4. Get your technology and marketing materials in order.
Before anyone will hire you, they want to know how you speak and what you speak about.
Catherine Morgan, a career transition expert and speaker, says, “Not only does having the right web presence as a speaker help you get found when an organization is searching for…