Five Steps to Becoming a Professional Speaker

You want to be a speaker? If standing on stage in front of ten or ten thousand people is your dream, I am excited for you. I’ve always wanted to be a speaker, ever since at age three, I lined up my stuffed animals for another pep talk, I have been hooked. It’s not an easy road to begin with, but with persistence and focus, your dreams will become a reality.

Or maybe you are a speaker already and you can’t figure out how to “get going.” You are a master on stage but you are struggling to create sustainable momentum.

For a second, I want you to imagine you are a meeting organizer. There is a lot that goes into planning a successful event. There is the location, the timing, the date, of course. And then the food and theme, entertainment, and…the keynote speaker. The meeting planner or committee will receive  both the accolades and the complaints for everything that happens from the rubber chicken and the stuffy room to the fun band and—you guessed it—the masterful keynote speaker.

So, Before you start telling everyone about your new endeavor, I want you to get a few things in order, five to be specific. It isn’t much and with enthusiastic action and a little help, you will be on your way in no time.

• Three really good talks with at least 3 takeaways.

I’m going to call it EPOV: A strong “Expert Point of View” to bring to the world. This is your moment to stand forward and stand out among the long lines of speakers. It’s not enough to be motivational or inspirational. You aren’t a teacher or a trainer. You are an expert, ready to share strategies and processes that will make your audience’s goals more attainable.

Your talk can focus on just about anything, as long as it is useful to your audience.

• Five ways to travel the world and promote your business.
• How to use social media in the elementary classroom. Everything you need to know about gluten.

Just as important are the takeaways. Remember that meeting planner or organizer. They want to choose something that will benefit their community. It might be they have to connect your talk to continuing ed. Or, there has been a theme for the year or the event and they want to choose the right talk to pair with it. Your talk should give them something.

• Easy social media strategies to connect with parents.
• Unique fund raising ideas.
• Critical language to speak to millennials.

If you aren’t sure where to start, start with some research. What area do you want to speak to? Managers? Human Resource Departments? Law Enforcement and public servants? Entreprenuers? Mothers? Look at what they are facing right now, what they are interested in, and then start focusing in on what want to talk about.

• Speaking Images

Make the crucial investment in your future as a speaker with professional photos. No selfies. No friend-favors. These images are a downpayment for every aspect of your marketing as well as your future “gigs.” Strong professional photos are used in your speaker sheet, website, business cards, social media presence and any marketing associated with your talks by yourself and the person who hired you. Along with those traditional speaking images (the ones that make you look like you are running for president) make sure your personality shines through. If you are into working out, let that shine through. If your talk is funny, don’t forget to laugh and smile. Be memorable. And, as you speak, don’t forget to capture high-quality images of you speaking.

• A speaker sheet

The speaker sheet, the one-sheet, the media kit, is used to promote your speaker-ship with meeting planners and event organizers. Two very important “don’ts” as you tackle this vital marketing piece: 1) Don’t make it longer than one sheet and 2) Don’t do it yourself.

Your speaker sheet is an industry-standard marketing piece that holds your vital speaker information on two sides of a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. Make no mistake about it: it’s ugly, wordy and crowded. However, a good speaker sheet holds five pieces of information: your professional image, your contact information, featured talks and takeaways, and a bio.Find someone who specializes in speaker sheets to help you pull together the essential info with your unique branding.You may also include a highlight of some kind, perhaps workshops you do, a book you wrote or a fun thing you are known for and a list of organizations you have spoken for or a testimonial from a well-known individual.

• A speaker website

Let’s say a friend of yours did you a turn and passed on your name to someone planning an event. What do you think the first thing the meeting planner will do? They won’t call you. They won’t e-mail you. They will Google you. And, hopefully, right at the top of the page is your website, “yourname.com”

Choose your name as your domain name and purchase it from Go Daddy. Enlist a professional to set up a clean  speaker website simply with professional images, easily accessible videos, detailed descriptions of your talks and well written testimonials. Think of your speaker website as a storefront, and think about what you want prospective planners and organizers to see. Highlight your strengths through video, programs and books—anything that showcases your special brand of awesome.

• Speaking Video/ Youtube channel

Finally, and this might be the hardest thing for you, create speaking videos. Ask permission to film your work on stage at your next speaking engagement. Invest in a professional to video and edit your talk to showcase your stage presence and unique content. If you aren’t speaking yet, capture video of you presenting your points or describing your talk. Create a youtube channel to highlight your expertise and create videos that help your audience.  You want to be seen in action, with your incredible message to share with the world!

You are a speaker. I believe you. Now it’s time you believe in yourself. Create the time, make the investment and create the platform you deserve. Create the clarity and focus that will make it easy for meeting planners to choose you. Don’t get overwhelmed—you are almost there—five simple steps and it’s your curtain call! Your audience awaits.

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Liz Nead has been speaking on stages all over the country for the last ten years. A speaker, coach and television host, Liz Nead is an expert in Bringing Life Back to Everyday Life. Her passion, Nead Inspiration is impacting the lives of thousands with life coaching, magazine articles, public speaking and life improvement television. She directs and hosts an Emmy Nominated television show called Life Dare which aired on Fox five days a week. Life Dare is an “unscripted” show inviting people to learn from experts and take a “challenge” to bring the lesson to life.
She has authored several best selling books,  The 100 Day Journey, Curry Up, an ethnic cookbook, The 180 Life, and 20 Beautiful Women. Her work has been featured
ranked on Buzzfeed and reviewed by the Huffington Post. She blogs for Huffington Post and She Knows. Liz is a skilled story-teller and teacher, most recently climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and competing in the Iowa Strongman Games. Whether she is climbing a mountain, flipping 300 pound tires, producing an award winning television, or conducting experiences in her personal life, her audiences learns valuable lessons to build an influential life.

Her clients include the National Guard, the YWCA, University of Phoenix, Society for Human Resource Management, Principal Financial, the Oregon Women’s Conference. She also helps speakers from all over the world bring their message to the stage.Elizabeth has a BS in Political Science and an MPA, creating several popular CD’s, including Creating Inspired Vision and the Live Big Project.

In addition to speaking, Liz coaches entrepreneurs and business owners, helping them build their influence through speaking, technology and social media. If you are interested in working with Liz’s team, please reach out to her at liz@neadinspiration.com and check out the 100 Days of Business by clicking below, a low-investment, high impact program to establish your expertise and increase your influence and engagement.