Surviving As A Public Speaker, Now That Public Speaking Is Dead
Friday, November 6th, 2009I recently published a new report which sums up my view of the last 2 years of the public speaking business by concluding that “Public Speaking (*as you know it) Is Dead!”
If you would like a free copy of the report, you’ll find a link to it in the resource box at the end of this article
This report contains my opinions, but the facts support and top speakers agree with what I have concluded.
Well-known speaker and author, Jim Cathart, CPAE, a Past President of the National Speakers Association, recently commented that:”Scott Dennison has nailed it. The problem in our business is that it’s not there anymore. The needs are still there and our skills are still valuable, but the ways in which people buy our services has permanently moved. It’s time to go where the buying is happening.”
So what can public speakers do to survive in 2010 and beyond if the old model of public speaking is dead? Here are three tips that will help you.
1) Understand that the new rules apply to every speaker. We’re no longer living in a world when speakers could just present their message, collect a high fee and go home. Since the meetings that require a speaker have been reduced, we all need to have a different approach.
However the audiences who are used to attending meetings and conventions are still hungry for information on your area of expertise. They want to access your specific knowledge and are seeking content from you - so give it to them. What this means in short is that you need to think like a publisher or content provider, not just a speaker.
2) Seek to find out what the audience loved about you and about your information. Then build relationships with only those individuals who are passionate about your topic.
Because of the Internet, you audience is not limited to those who would or could travel to the convention or meeting where you were presenting your information. Access to your work is now available to people all over the world with the only barrier being that persons access to the Internet. If your material fills a need your content can be distributed everywhere on earth.
Provide content for your users in multi-media formats for them to consume. When you offer your information in video, audio and text based formats you meet the needs of everyone and do it in a way that allows them access in the learning style which they most prefer.
It is not uncommon to see a presentation that was recorded in video, later made available as an audio CD, as a book, offered in a series of articles or blog posts and many other forms of distribution. While that may seem like a lot of work it’s actually quite easy and very profitable to do so.
Forget about thinking that tens of thousands of fans are needed for speakers to make an outstanding living. These days if you have just 1000 people who you’ve built a strong relationships with, and who want to learn from you, that they invest only $100 per month, you’ll immediately decide that THERE IS life after the old model of public speaking has died.
Public speaking mentor, Scott A. Dennison is discussing the future of the public speaking business and offering you his FREE report Public Speaking (*as you know it) IS DEAD along with some powerful, free Public Speaking Tips when you visit his site. You are welcome to reprint this article - but get your own unique content version here.
