Speakers Get Clear And Specific About Your Topic – Become The Expert
Ensure a successful speaking business with this professional speaking recipe. The following are 3 key ingredients emerging speakers need to cultivate:
1. Deepen your expertise. Is your topic too broad, such as leadership or health? Do you speak on 12 different topics? If yes, you will not be perceived as an expert. Stand out as an expert by narrowly defining your topic such as “change management” or “preventing diabetes”. Meeting planners look for speakers who are experts in their subject matter or niche. You will likely be sought after and chosen after you narrow your subject matter.
2. Become known in your field or industry. Meeting planners/organizers who hire you want to be able to fill seats at their events. Therefore, the more “known” you are, the more likely the seats at the event will be filled. How do you become known? Have you written a book? Do you write articles for your particular industry blogs or magazines? Mark Schaefer, author of the book, Known, is a resource for tactics on becoming known.
3. Develop superior stage skills. Last, but not least, hone your presentation skills. Become an expert in your field or industry. Acquire specific knowledge or expertise. Then craft your content and deliver it so that your audience in engaged and entertained. This will get your message heard. As a result you will get hired as a speaker and referred, over and over.
So what will you decide to stop or prune from your current work or life that is distracting and non-productive? What things will you focus on that are generative, creative and more productive to reach your speaking goals? Give this some thought and give this a try for a year. I will venture to say that by the end of this new year, you will have gained traction, launched into your trajectory, and hit your targets.