Lots of people have been to a less than stellar presentation and thought to themselves, “I can definitely do better.” If you’ve had that experience, then you’re probably right. What many people don’t realize is that there are a ton of opportunities to get paid to speak. Many of those opportunities are fulfilled by people who aren’t the best presenters by any means. They’re just people who know how to find the right opportunities and seize them.
These presentation tips will help you start filling your bank account using your public speaking prowess.
Start From Your Website
This step might seem obvious, but it’s kind of amazing how many people fail to take it. If you’re looking for public speaking gigs, then you have to let people know you’re in the market. The fastest and easiest way to do that? Your digital business card AKA your website. No matter what industry you’re in, make sure to designate an obvious and accessible place on your site that makes clear you’re available for public speaking opportunities.
Look for Events and Conferences in Your Industry
No matter the niche you’re looking to present to, there are undoubtedly industry events and conferences that are relevant to the message you’re aiming to convey. Seek those out. Look up local industry groups in your city, search for events on social media, and get on as many mailing lists as are pertinent so that you can stay on the pulse of what’s coming up. When you attend these events, you’ll get an invaluable opportunity to network. You’ll get to scope out the types of presentations that are already happening in your field. This could lead to the chance to share your message and get paid to speak!
Target and Reach Out to Event Organizers
If you have some speaking experience under your belt and a way to share it (like in the form of a demo reel) then don’t hesitate to reach out to the organizers of the aforementioned events. A quick Google search will typically give you their contact information. Then all you have to do is shoot them a brief email expressing your interest in the upcoming event and your willingness to speak. At the very least, this way you’re on their radar so even if they don’t take you on for that event, they can consider you for the next.
Be Willing to Speak for Free
Sometimes you have to give in order to get. If you don’t have any public speaking experience or a demo reel, then you should do a few speaking engagements for free. Most people aren’t going to enlist you to speak without the opportunity to see how you do it. Once you get a few free engagements under your belt, though, the opportunities to get paid to speak will increase.
Work it Into Conversations
Very few people will assume you’re in the market to present. You need to pepper it into conversations wherever and whenever you can. Let people know you’ve been focused on looking for public speaking opportunities. You never know who’s looking for a speaker or who knows someone who’s looking. Be sure to plant those seeds as often as possible.
Build Your Following
It’s never been easier to build a following of people interested in your passions and expertise. Between seemingly endless social media channels and limitless blogging opportunities, all you have to do is start putting out content consistently. This doesn’t need to be as overwhelming as it sounds, either. A blog post can be short and sweet, sharing just one of your favorite nuggets of information. The key here is to be consistent with it. In fact, if you produce high-quality content consistently, you’ll already be ahead of the 81% of individuals and businesses that fail to do that. Simply put, to build a following, people need to come to expect you to put out content with regularity. If they can’t, they’ll follow someone who will.
