It’s around 7 years since my first paid speaking gig and during that time lots of people have asked how I’ve done it. So, here’s some highlights:
🆓Do some free stuff. Not the “Exceptional Leaders in Current Fashionable Topic” conference where someone has DM’d you the “AMAZING opportunity” to take the stage at a place you’ve never heard of in front of an audience who may be fictious. No. Do the gig for the charity you care about in return for some good photos (see below where I donated my time to Smart Works Reading many moons ago).
💭Think creatively. At a networking event, a friend said she’d love me to speak at her local WI. The experience led to a ‘tour’ of WI groups where I gave a paid talk to 70 different groups of interesting people at interesting locations. It helped me finesse my delivery and taught me a thing or two about stage presence, working with audiences and connected me with some brilliant women of all ages and backgrounds.
💗Build relationships. A recent paid gig came off the back of a four-year conversation on social mobility and sharing of respective experiences. The client in question has to be extremely careful about the external speakers it brings in, and trust them not to share details. The important thing from my perspective was getting a gig was not the end goal, it was a nice outcome from a positive relationship built on shared values and trust.
🎁Give a platform to others. The Challenging University Podcast I started a few years ago was created to showcase the stories of people who either built successful careers via a non-graduate route or who help people who couldn’t access (or didn’t want to go to) uni to connect with rewarding career opportunities. It was through this that a guest introduced me to my agent Harry Gibson at RIVA Media who has helped me elevate my speaking work.
🧠Talk about what you know. Even when you’re not speaking on stage. My mum once said to me “You should speak and write about our family!”. I don’t know that they way I do it is exactly what she would have hoped for (😬) but she was right. If you follow me, you will see a golden thread of social mobility and storytelling through my books, website, stand-up, podcasts…everything really!
🤔Be curious. The most powerful question to ask a prospective client is “What do you want your team to get out of this?”. If the client is interested in you – you’d better be bloody interested in them!
💪Be flexible. Not everyone has the perfect conditions / stage / budget. Work out where you have wiggle room. Offer suggestions based on what the client has to work with and what you know can work.
☀️Be optimistic. You won’t win them all and that’s ok! The gig you didn’t get this time may come back in a year’s time. Or the same client will offer you a different one. Or refer you to someone they know.
Got tips? Share them below 👇 And if you’re looking for a speaker – drop me a line via the contact form or via [email protected]
