By Stephanie Lynch
When most people start thinking about speaking in front of hundreds, if not thousands of people, they often think of their worst nightmare. However, there are a handful of us out there that would love to speak in front of groups about a particular topic or issue.
If you have been wanting to share your advice for quite some time now, a great way to start is via corporate events.
These events are designed to talk to people who want to learn about what you have to say. While starting out may not pay much, you may find down the road that if you become good enough at it — it could lead to some great money, potentially leading to a full-time gig. So if you have been thinking about speaking and don’t know where to really start, here’s how you should get started:
#1 Start Online
The best place to start is the Internet. Try to find some blogs or even consider starting one up yourself. The key here is that you’re going to want to start building a following that appreciates your knowledge of the topic. Once people start finding about you, they will be more likely to attend your speaking event.
If you don’t know where to find these blogs or even start with building a website, there are countless ways to do so. For starters, creating a website today is easier than ever. Content management systems, such as WordPress, can make your website look like the professionals. Most web hosting companies will be more than happy to install this system for you. Once it’s installed, play around with the themes and learn how to post. If that sounds like something that is too challenging, you may want to become a contributor to a handful of popular websites on your topic. As long as you provide value, 99 percent of the owners out there will be happy to take you in.
#1A Creating a Website for Speaking
This one kind of goes with number one, but I will label it as “1A.” If you’re serious about speaking, it’s important that you create a page that explains what you can do.
Since most organizers or conferences are going to ask for a “resume,” this website that you build will be a great way to give them all the information that they need. On this website, be sure to include the following:
– Overview: Talk a bit about yourself.
– What topics can you talk about?
– Show some sample videos or speeches you had done in the past
– Have people brag about you
– If you’re going to charge, let them know how it’s done.
– And lastly, don’t forget the contact information. Make sure that they can contact you through various methods.
If you can’t build a website, consider investing money to have it done by someone else. This can potentially be a deal breaker for serious speaking gigs.
#2 Network
Ah, the word “network.” This is a word that we just can’t get away from when it comes to the corporate world. If you want to learn how to speak at events, it’s so important that you network with other professional speakers and event organizers. This can be done via social media outlets, blogs or better yet — in person at the events. Some of the best people that you can get to know are the actual professionals who run the events.
#3 Submit your Ideas
No matter what industry you’re in, there are going to be a handful of conferences every year throughout the world. If the conference is serious enough, they should have a website, and on this website, there should be a “speakers wanted” page. If they have something like this, be sure to take advantage. Like applying for a job, take your time and make sure that everything is perfect.
Speaking at corporate gigs and events will take time. You can’t expect to make tens of thousands the first time you do it. Since I can’t cram everything into one post, I wanted to leave you with these amazing books as well:
– Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkun
– Magic of Public Speaking by Andri Sedniev
– No Sweat Public Speaking by Fred E. Miller
Have you considered adding public speaking to your skill set?
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