CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – JULY 25, 2021
Starting A Speaking Career From Scratch (Pt.1)
What do you do?
That is always the first question people ask me when they meet me at events, or meetings, or dinners, or wherever. I tell them I am a speaker and coach.
How did you get into that?
That is always the second question they ask me. Since I cannot give the full answer I want to give, I usually just say I was doing some political speechwriting in Atlanta, and wanted to give my own talks. Those that are interested will ask more. Those that are not will find someone else to ask the same first questions they asked me.
But if you want to be a speaker in some field, here are the first steps I recommend to get started today. Since we may never meet in person, here is the exact first things I did to launch my speaking career. And four years later, I am still doing it. So I guess they worked for me. I hope they will work for you, too.
Step 1: Start with one topic. The single best way to get started is by choosing one topic you could do a 60 minute training on today. The more focused your topic, the better. For example, my first topic was “How to pitch yourself in the first minute of an interview.” But, I could have been even more detailed with something like, “How to pitch yourself as a third year law student applying for a job in city politics.” That was what I did after law school, so knew how the hiring process worked and would have been qualified. Notice, this is different than “I do a training about being a good interviewer.” That would be too broad. Get as specific as possible and you will have an easier time telling others what you do and finding people to hire you.
Step 2: Make a one-pager. When you reach out to companies and organizations, they will all ask you what your training is about. Since everyone you will be contacting is busy, make it easy for them to understand who you are and what you offer. The most efficient and visually pleasing way to do this is bycreating a one pager on your topic, organized in the following way:
- Place the word(s) you want your training to be associated with (i.e. leadership, public speaking, dating) as the very first word(s) of your one pager. Do not start with your name. No one knows who you are yet. Capture the reader’s attention by leading with the topic.
- In no more than two paragraphs, write a description of the training. If your training covers more than one or two key points, use bullets to make the reading experience pleasant.
- Include one testimonial that shows the value of your training for someone else you have worked with in the past. No one is a better salesperson for your work than someone you have previously helped achieved results. Showcase those results here.
- Create your credibility stack. Towards the bottom of your one pager, include logos or the names of companies or organizations that you’ve worked with on the topic you’re proposing.
- Include contact information and rates (if you’re training rates with vary. You can indicate that your prices will vary and they can contact you for a quote).
