ADVICE | Getting Paid to Speak

In their one-hour core conversation at SXSWi about breaking into the paid speaking business, Nick Morgan and Tim Sanders gave attendees priceless advice. (Had I heard this advice back in 2005, it would have saved me from learning those lessons the hard way — that is by doing it and at times, failing by doing it.)

Nick is a speaking coach for executives and consultant-types. His first book, “GIVE YOUR SPEECH, CHANGE THE WORLD” is a must-read for anyone who delivers presentations. Tim Sanders is coached by Nick and has carved out a lucrative career as an author and speaker. These two guys were both being sincerely helpful by sharing their no holds barred advice.

The first piece of advice from Nick & Tim is get a book published. Yep. A published book that’s found in Barnes & Noble nationwide is the ante for getting into the paid speaking game. (That’s how I started. I even used the book they recommended to write a book proposal.)

Second piece of advice is get a quality speaking demo produced, edited, and shared online. Part of a conference meeting planner's job is to eliminate risk when hiring a speaker. As in a meeting planner must feel confident and comfortable a paid speaker will deliver the goods. An easy way for them to get confident and comfortable is to see video of you on stage delivering a presentation. (My demo reel isn't slick, but it does help to show a meeting planner the substance of my presentations and my style.)

Third piece of advice is exude enthusiasm, passion, and charisma when delivering presentations. The difference between a travel-fees only speaker and a well-compensated speaker comes down to style. It’s a given that both of these speakers will have smart content. However, the ones who get well-compensated understand they must not only share knowledge, they must also inspire attendees to act upon the knowledge they just heard.

Nick and Tim shared lots more advice on breaking into the paid speaking business beyond what I shared. Samantha Bell gives a detailed summary of their SXSWi session. Read it, it’s worth your time. You can also read the tweets from the #blogmoney hashtag.

Comments

[Tim Sanders]

John,

thanks for sharing the love, brother. I was really happy that Chris Brogan gave me so much promotion for a good crowd of peeps. It was old school to do the whole session without any type of PA system.

Tim Sanders (www.TimSanders.com)

[dust!n]

Great info johnmoore.

I notice from Samantha's notes that Speakers Bureaus were mentioned. Is there any credence given to speaker's organizations like National Speaker's Association? I've had a few of their members try and persuade me to join.