1/ Public speaking can be rewarding.
It's a combination of
- personal growth
- meeting people, esp other speakers (== ROI infinity)
- scoring leads
- building credibility / personal brand
Want to get more public speaking gigs? Instead of waiting harder, do this:
It's a combination of
- personal growth
- meeting people, esp other speakers (== ROI infinity)
- scoring leads
- building credibility / personal brand
Want to get more public speaking gigs? Instead of waiting harder, do this:
2/ Do good work and be public about your work - active on social (Twitter, LinkedIn, relevant communities), write about your work on blogs etc. Put yourself out there.
3/ Prepare 2-3 talk proposals to have read: attractive, click-baity titles with a description of what they'll learn, 3-5 bullets of key messages.
Have a high quality recording of a talk of yours. Don't have one? Do a talk to your friends and record it (needs to be high quality)
Have a high quality recording of a talk of yours. Don't have one? Do a talk to your friends and record it (needs to be high quality)
4/ Identify all the events you wanna speak at. Make a list.
Take note which events open a public call for speakers. A lot of them do. Apply. You can set Mention alerts for each time a conference mentions "call for speakers".
Take note which events open a public call for speakers. A lot of them do. Apply. You can set Mention alerts for each time a conference mentions "call for speakers".
5/ For events that don't do a call for speakers - don't pitch yourself cold - *very low* chance of success. Instead:
Identify the organizers. Start engaging with them on social (LinkedIn, Twitter), so you get yourself on their radar.
Identify the organizers. Start engaging with them on social (LinkedIn, Twitter), so you get yourself on their radar.
6/ Know that events book speakers 6-12 month in advance. You can't ask to speak at an event that takes place 2 months from now (if they have a last minute cancellation, might work).
7/ See who is speaking at an event you want to speak. Know anyone? If so, ask that person to put in a good word for you. Or look at their past lineups to identify people you know.
8/ You get more invitations to speak at events once you get on the stage, and you're good. Event organizers constantly exchange notes - e.g. I talk to fellow conference organizers like @oligardner @crestodina @morys @tonw etc semi-regularly about potential speakers.
9/ For my very first conference talk in the US, I asked my friend @bmassey to put in a good word for me first, and to be introduced. I spent 2 weeks crafting my talk, rehearsing it. I was rated #1 out of some 30-40 speakers. That immediately resulted in another 5 invitations.
/10 Being a good speaker doesn't get you on the stage, but before you get on one, get better! Read books on public speaking (Steal the Show by @michaelport, The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking by Dale Carnegie - a classic). Or join speaking incubators like @shinebootcamp
/11 Good luck!
