There are ways to turn your skills for public speaking from a volunteer speaker to a paid public speaker. You can offer value to your audience not just through your knowledge and experience, but based on how you deliver that message, your branding, and how you connect with your audience. Here are the top ten tips on how to become a successful paid public speaker.
1. Address an issue
Everyone has a story to tell, and so should you! Why? Because an audience – any audience for that matter – wants to learn something or be inspired by someone who speaks to them.
In that case, you need to ask yourself how you’re solving a problem, and what problem they might have. When you develop content for your speech, you should always be thinking about how it can solve something or answer a question.
2. Share a story
Let’s face it: Your speech might not go so well, if you just talk to people about ways that they can improve their lives without sharing your own experiences and stories. In other words, you have to be relatable to them. Chances are, there might be somebody in the crowd that might share the same story and issue, and can relate to your cause.
“Think of a story from your life that has a good entertainment value but can also teach your audience something about your topic through a concrete example,” suggests Anna Williamson, a public speaker at Best Essay Services and OXEssays.
3. Be prepared with one-liners
In today’s audience, it’s likely that many members will be on their phones to tweet about the experience or even share something that they’re learning. This is great social media exposure and you should be helping your audience with this. Develop some one-liners in your speech. You can put them up on the screen when you get to that part and it makes it easier for the audience to share the message.
4. Make them laugh
Regardless of how depressing your topic is, you can still make your presence inspiring and witty. People are more likely to take in your lesson or story if they’re hooked. Maybe throw in a joke or two every once in a while, but do so appropriately, to avoid feeling forced or awkward.
5. Add visuals
While visuals can help you illustrate your presentation, your visual aid shouldn’t have to speak for you. As a paid speaker, you’re the one doing the talking, not the PowerPoint slides. Instead, the visual aid should be there for your audience to follow along.
Plus, the visual aids have to be professional and appealing. A black background and white font is great for allowing the text to stand out.
6. Have a website
This point should go without saying. You absolutely must have a website about your paid speaking. You don’t need to have a lot of content, but at a minimum you should have your headshot and bio, summaries of the keynotes you’ve done, testimonials for social proof, videos, and a contact form with details on booking you. If you have a lot of engagement, also include a speaking calendar, so that people can learn about more opportunities to see you.
7. Create a video
People love to watch videos. So, why not present a video covering one of your events? Although this is another example of a visual aid that shouldn’t speak for you, it’s still great to have with you, especially if it’s a well-produced promo video.
8. Testimonials are important
If people tell you after a talk that they absolutely loved it, you should invite them to write a testimonial about the event and send it to you. Since reviews are the best way that people can find out more about you and trust in your excellent speaking experience, testimonials will benefit you in a similar way. “You can even offer your book (or product) to audience members as a “thank you” for their testimonial. It can be really valuable to form good relationships with your clients who approach you about enjoying your talk,” said Fiona Ian, a career blogger at Assignment Writing Service and Revieweal.
9. End strongly
When the audience isn’t sure that you’re done or taking a pause, it can create a slow, awkward silence and quiet clapping. That’s why you shouldn’t end with a slide that simply says thank you; instead, come up with a strong and clear ending that will motivate every single audience member to stand up and clap for you. You also shouldn’t have a Q&A because it takes the excitement out of your finale. You can address questions one on one after the show.
10. Settle on a fee
Now that you have everything else sorted, you need to figure out your fee. Now, your fee isn’t just for the hour you spend on the stage speaking, but it’s for everything you got through to get to that point. It can be hard to quantify that, so look at market rates to get a starting point.
About the Guest Author
Katherine Rundell is a web writer and editor at Eliteassignmenthelp.com review and Academized Reviews. She has been writing about cybersecurity since the early days of the internet and now advises businesses on how to protect themselves in the increasingly complex cybersecurity landscape. Also, she is an educator at Top Custom Writing Services website.