You want to become a professional speaker but you don't know what steps to take to break into the industry.
Firstly, you have to know what it takes to become a pro. Also, you must take into account all the possible sacrifices you have to make to be successful in the speaking industry.
Aside from the ability to speak in public, professional speakers need to have exceptional people skills. Speakers should communicate well with people on and off the stage. In order to get clients, you need to be able to network and market effectively. Aspiring professional speakers will eventually realize that in order to survive in this venture, one must have great marketing skills. Improving one's public speaking ability is just half of the equation and most of the hard work is in the business aspect of the profession.
You must be passionate about helping others with your message. Speaking is a process of getting an idea or message across. Doing it professionally simply means that you should have a message, so valuable, that people will be willing to pay you to deliver it to them. Therefore, as professional speaker, it is essential to have a great topic or message and it really helps to have the burning desire to help people by sharing something significant to you.
Basically, speakers are paid to motivate, enlighten, inspire, or share valuable information. So before taking a step further, you must decide on what topics or themes to create speeches on. It always helps to have topics you are most knowledgeable and passionate about but you should make certain of your ability to market the topic. Learn to compromise between passion, expertise, and commercial value.
Having a topic in mind will give you motivation and drive. Let this fuel your ambition to become a successful professional speaker.
Next thing you can do is join speaker's organizations. These organizations are great sources of information. They can help you improve your skills and they are also great sources to gain public speaking experience. Some can even provide connections you can use to jump start your career. National Speakers Association (NSA), Toastmasters International, and American Training & Seminar Association are just some of the reputable organizations you can join.
Now armed with a message and brilliant speaking skills, you are more than ready to get booked and deliver a killer speech. It is time to do the hard work, marketing yourself and your message.
With your message, you can now effectively determine your target audience or niche. Endorse yourself to that niche. Network and promote shamelessly. Get out there and spread the word.
You can offer free speeches at first just to make you publicly visible. Implement selling techniques and create marketing materials. Having a website is also a great way to market your speaking services.
