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Speaking Engagements - Research Venues

Hi.  Winnie Griggs here, with the next installment in my posts about speaking engagements.  To read previous installments, see the links at the bottom of this post. 

Before we talk about research venues, let’s discuss the different types of talks you might be called on to present.  I categorize these in four groupings as follows:

Speaking Engagements - Understanding Expectations

Hi.  Winnie Griggs here, with the next installment in my posts about speaking engagements.  So far we've covered why book speaking engagements, dealing with butterflies  selecting a topic, creating a speaker resume, finding speaking venues and pitching your program.  Today we’re going to talk about understanding and meeting expectations.

Understanding the expectations surrounding you and your presentation is a key factor in pulling off a successful speaking engagement.  There are two kinds of expectations you need to understand and manage - facilitator expectations and audience expectations. 

Let’s look at them one at a time

Speaking Engagements - Pitching Your Program

Hi.  Winnie Griggs here, with the next installment in my posts about speaking engagements.  So far we've covered why book speaking engagements, dealing with butterflies, selecting a topic, creating a speaker resume and finding speaking venues.  Today we’re going to talk about how to actually pitch your talk. 

Once you have selected your topic, have your resume together and have located possible speaking opportunities, how do you let folks know you’re ready and willing?

Well, first you need to make certain you can effectively convey what it is you’re offering.  You do this in two steps:

Speaking Engagements - Finding Speaking Venues

Hi.  Winnie Griggs here, with the next installment in my posts about speaking engagements.  So far we've covered why book speaking engagements, dealing with butterflies  selecting a topic and creating a speaker resume.  Today we’re going to talk about finding speaking opportunities. 

Whether you just want to build up your confidence or build up your resume, you can start by seeking out opportunities in your own back yard.  Local organizations are always looking for speakers.  

Speaking Engagements - Creating A Speaker Resume

Hi.  Winnie Griggs here again with the next installment in my posts about speaking engagements.  So far we've covered why book speaking engagements, dealing with butterflies and selecting a topic.  Today we’re going to talk about creating your speaker’s resume.

Why is that necessary?  Well a speaker resume is a great tool for growing your opportunities to secure better speaking engagements.   And coordinators for conferences and workshops, who often get flooded with applications and proposals, will use this document to evaluate the potential speakers against each others and against their particular needs.  This may be the ONLY tool they use to decide whether to issue you an invitation or not.

Speaking Engagements - Selecting A Topic

Hi.  Winnie Griggs here again with the next installment on my posts about speaking engagements.  So far we've covered why you might want to book speaking engagements and dealing with those butterflies.  Today we're going to focus on selecting a topic, in other words, what do you talk about.

For those just testing the waters of speaking engagements, I would suggest you take stock of your personal skills and interests, and choose something you feel comfortable discussing.

Speaking Engagements - Butterflies Anyone?

Hi,

Winnie Griggs here again, back with the next post on speaking engagements.  As promised in my last post, today I’m going to talk about working through the fear.

 In my last post I mentioned that fear of public speaking is very real and very prevalent.   Mark Twain said it best, "There are two types of speakers: those that are nervous and those that are liars".  While that may be a bit of an exaggeration, it’s probably not too far off the mark.

 

Speaking Engagements - Why Bother?

Hi.  Winnie Griggs here.

Over the next several months I’m going to be posting about speaking engagements - why seek them out, how to get booked, what to speak about, etc.  Since my personal experience with this subject is in speaking to groups of writers, that’s going to be my main focus.  However, much of this will translate to other type speaking engagements as well.

Speaking Engagements ~ The Little Engine that Could

Greetings from contemporary fiction author, Deborah Vogts. We all know the story of the little engine who didn't think he could make it up the giant hill. That's sometimes how I felt this past year when I considered everything involved in marketing my debut book release with Zondervan.

This month I want to visit with you about speaking engagements. Do you tremble at the thought of having to speak to a group of people? If so, you're not alone. But if you can overcome your fear of doing so, speaking engagements are a wonderful way to win new readers and spread the word about your books.

Platform Girl - How to Get Your Endorsements

 

  Kathi Lipp here -sharing all the not-so-secret tips to building your platform through speaking. 

 

This article is taken from my booklet 5 Simple Steps to Kick Start Your Speaking Career.

 The very first thing you need to do as a speaker is get a list of references together. You need to prove you’ve got some street cred. No one wants to hire a speaker that no one else will endorse. Event planners need to know that you have spoken before and that you didn’t pass out while doing it.

 

These endorsements will be used over and over again—on your website, promotional postcards, speaker packets and on other speaker websites that you will eventually become a part of.

 

If you are just getting started in speaking, you may be wondering who will endorse you.

 

Step #1

 

This is the time to start getting creative.

 

1. Brainstorm the times you have been in front of a group.

 

If you are pursuing a career in public speaking, chances are you have done some presentations, somewhere.

 

Maybe it was teaching a Bible study at church, or a talk you did for coworkers. Have you ever worked with a youth group, or been in a Toastmasters group? Those are all people who have heard you speak and can write an endorsement for you.

 

2. Offer to speak to a group, free of charge.

 

Many of my clients have started out by speaking for a group for free, just to get their foot in the door and to get their first endorsements rolling

 

 

 

in. Look for civic groups, mothers or MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers) groups. Most of these would welcome the chance for you to speak on a topic that is tailored to their audience.

 

Let them know that you will be happy to do the presentation for no charge as long as the leader of that group would write you a recommendation (if they felt that you were recommendation-worthy!) It is a win-win—they get a fabulous speaker that they may not otherwise be able to afford, and you get that oh-so-valuable endorsement.

 

 

3. Make it easy for the event planner

 

Experience has shown me that it is very hard for people to write recommendations. It is not that the event planner didn’t love you—quite the opposite. She knows that she is not able to express her feelings well enough to do you justice. Everything she writes sounds dull and flat to her ear.

 

 

I strongly encourage you to give her an example of a great endorsement—that way she will know what you are looking for, but can write the endorsement in her own words to best reflect you.

 

If there are key words that reflect who you are, let her know that those are areas that you would love for her to highlight if she felt comfortable. Again, you are not writing the endorsement for her (everyone can see

through those kind of endorsements…) but giving her a framework to work within that will make the task easier for her and more useable for you.