CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP AUGUST 9, 2021
START YOUR OWN PUBLIC SPEAKING CAREER (PT.2)
- Start with a Topic/Area of Expertise that Has a Specific and Defined Market.
Okay, there is a LOT in that statement. Let’s break it down. A (1) specific topic/area of expertise with a (2) specific and (3) defined market.
You need to have all three, or you will spend a lot of time creating something that no one wants. The easiest way to come up with a good topic is to think about specific problems that the people in your audience might have and make your topic a way to solve them. The key here is to not try to create a topic that is helpful to EVERYONE.
Pick a niche.
It is much easier to find a niche when you have a specific audience in mind. When I first started The Leader’s Institute ®, this really hit home with me.
I got a call from an engineering company in Houston who wanted help organizing what they called “Short-List Meetings.” At the time, I had no idea what a Short-List Meeting was, so I asked a bunch of questions.
Turns out that when a company wants to fund a construction project, they will send out requests for proposals for the project. A committee will often sift through the proposals and eliminate many companies that don’t qualify. The committee will then create a “Short List” of companies that passed the first set of criteria.
At this point, the committee will then invite the Short-List Candidates to give a presentation. In some cases, this presentation is the final step to earn the job. In other cases, it is an additional weeding-out process. By the time I finished coaching this engineering firm, I knew the industry and the problem pretty well. So, I created a presentation class called “Getting Past the Short List,” and I promoted it throughout the engineering and construction industry.
Because it was such a niche within that industry, I had almost no competition. I conducted dozens of these speeches each year for about six years and made a tidy nest egg in the process.
- Once You Have a Great Topic, Write About It.
“But, Doug, you don’t understand. I’m a good speaker. I’m not a writer.”
It always makes me laugh when I hear someone say this. If you actually think this, you are probably neither. (By the way, the better you get at one, the better you will get at the other as well.)
Whether you are giving a speech or writing a blog post, you are communicating with a specific audience. The methods may be slightly different, but not as much as you might think.
