14 Skills For Getting Paid Speaking Jobs
From my course on professional speaking success
I have been a professional motivational and inspirational speaker for over fifty years. Now my interest rests in teaching people how to enter the profession. Few professions can be so emotionally and financially satisfying. Professional speakers, really get to make a difference.
I can promise you, that if you’re ready, willing, and able and you do everything that needs to get done this will be a successful Journey for you.
One of the most important things to keep in mind, is that becoming successful as a speaker is a step-by-step process.
If you are impatient, in a hurry, or you think it’s going to happen like magic, you’re incorrect. There are thousands of speaking jobs out there, and there are thousands of speakers who would like to get these gigs.
Most people lack the staying power to achieve success. However, if you dedicate even one-half hour per day to this process, you will do fine.
Where to Start
Let’s make believe that we’re at base camp on Mount Everest and you can look up and see Mount Everest from where you’re standing. that’s what being a high-end professional speaker is like in the beginning. you can see the result, but the process from getting here to there can be a long one, that requires skill. The best professional speakers make a great income doing this, and there are several specific ways this can be done.
The most commonly taken path to speaker impact and wealth are:
1. Corporations,
2. Associations,
3. Educational institutions like high schools and colleges,
4. Public forums where people pay a fee to attend (This is what Tony Robbins does);
5. Collaborative Summits where you bring many other speakers together;
6. Through monetized presentations on social media;
7. Through product sales.
You can take any of these approaches or do them all.
These 7 approaches are basically where you’re going to begin.
Now of course you’re going to need to have a subject to speak on and develop great skills from the platform. That’s a lot of what we’re going to be dealing with in the first few lessons.
There are Basic Elements of Professional Public Speaking
- The speaker or presenter.
- The message (inspirational, informational. motivational, or a combination of them all).
- The audience or receiver.
- The channel (When speaker communicates with their audience, they use many communication channels. These include the visual, nonverbal, and the auditory channel.
- Feedback. This can include the nonverbal reactions of the audience.
- Noise. A speaker should know about two types of noise: external noise and internal noise. External noise consists of poor acoustics in the auditorium, visual interference such as low light, sounds from laughter, temperature (too hot or too cold), poor ventilation, or many various types of obstacles between the speaker and the audience. Internal noise occurs when the speaker seems confused or conveys an unclear message about what they want to express.
- The place or situation. This may include conditions of the place, the arrangement of the platform, the lighting, the seats, the air conditioner, heat, the seats, the tables, etc. All of these details must be under control and often are not if the speaker does not know about all these and other important details.
- Environmental Trends and Impact: These are skills needed to be aware of the audience profiles & needs current business landscape, and best practices to drive effective platform skills and verbal and non-verbal communication. This includes the ability to research, translate, and synthesize environmental trends.
- Content Development: The capability to select, research, develop, and protect original and valid creative and innovative work. A demonstration of critical thinking, including integrating diverse skills and viewpoints, to deploy techniques needed to stay on the cutting edge of topic selection and development.
- economic,
- geographical trends
- technological,
- …and emerging capabilities to grow a business and effectively communicate current, relevant content.
10. Platform Mechanics: This may include the place or situation and the ability to stage or set up the environment. It may also include preparing the room, backdrop, or stage, using appropriate props, and using appropriate equipment, such as PowerPoint, for a successful performance or presentation.
11. Presentation Mastery: This includes the art and science of speaking and the use of persuasive and powerful communication to induce change through various platforms, including speech, podcasts, webinars, workshops, virtual presentations, and more. There is so much involved here, including the skills and knowledge of performing or presenting to effectively communicate with and engage the audience, whether in-person or virtual, including:
- word choice,
- structure,
- timing,
- voice inflection,
- movement,
- story-telling,
- …and interactivity.
12. Business Development: At the very minimum, this will require comprehensive marketing and sales skills. This may include techniques to create speaking engagements and expand the impact of messages through product sales. I know several very successful speakers who have hired assistants and virtual assistants or take on partners to handle the load. I’ve yet to meet any speaker who did all this alone.
13. Professionalism: A set of standards that a speaker is expected to adhere to, usually to appear serious, uniform, or respectful. What constitutes professionalism is hotly debated and varies from workplace to workplace and between cultures. In the speaking industry, professionalism is typically defined as a mix of:
- professional ethics
- integrity
- punctuality
- reliability
- organization skills
- emotional intelligence
- appropriate dress
- social intelligence
14. Strategic Thinking: Here, you will need the ability to develop and implement a robust strategy to effectively manage the business side of speaking activities, including:
- an understanding of how one gets started in the profession
- developing business models,
- risk mitigation,
- due diligence,
- technology roadmap,
- financial literacy and planning,
- managing the lifecycle of the business,
- adhering to laws and regulations,
Remember, to do this successfully will require skills in Strategic and Operational Business Management including:
- build a brand,
- develop marketing and sales funnels,
- conduct lead generation,
- build effective marketing collateral,
- leverage communication platforms including social media,
- implement the 4Ps (product, price, place, promotion),
- and effectively negotiate, and develop contracts.
….and plans to operate the business.
The Takeaway
So, how does one get started in the business of professional speaking? You just get started. Yes, this may all seem a bit overwhelming, but remember, it is all made up of systematic details. Like climbing Mt. Everest!
What often stops people is that they worry that they don’t have enough skills and experience.
This story is an excerpt from my course on becoming a professional speaker. Click below to learn more about this extremely low-cost — Self Guided Course
Here is a Medium story on this subject:
@mheidj
Here is a Medium story from my archives:
@LewisCoaches
Author: Lewis Harrison is a speaker and seminar leader. He is also a Manifestation Coach, professional futurist (forecaster), and business consultant at…
He is the Executive Director of the International Association of Healing Professionals an educational organization that offers programs around the world in Intentional Living. He is also an Independent Scholar, with a passion for knowledge, personal development, self-improvement, creativity, innovation, and problem-solving.
For a decade, Lewis was the host of a humor-based Q & A talk show on NPR (National Public Radio) affiliated WIOX FM in NY.
Please buy my not-for-profit team of interns lots of cups of coffee. DONATE to support our research and philanthropic projects
Make your donation by clicking below
Just tap the “Support The Project” button to the right of the page and help make the world a better place.
Subscribe to My daily newsletter at AskLewis.Substack.com” and get regular self-improvement and personal growth tips
✍ — Published by DR Rawson — The Possibilist at Dancing Elephants Press. Click here for submission guidelines.
