Once you have answered the six questions everyone should ask before booking a professional speaker, it’s time to contact a speaker bureau with your request.
What is a speaker bureau?
A speaker bureau is a company that maintains a database of professional speakers with a wide array of expertise and who speak on many topics. A speaker bureau acts as a liaison between you and the speakers you’re interested in booking. The bureau contacts speakers on your behalf, finds out their availabilities and fees, helps with logistics and negotiates contracts. Generally there is no extra cost to you for booking a speaker through a speaker bureau, as any bureau fees are charged to the speaker as a commission.
Selecting a speaker bureau
There are many speaker bureaus out there and it can be difficult to know how to choose the right one for you. You may want to work with a local speaker bureau whose staff may best understand the specific needs of your community. Or you may want to go with a national bureau that has wider access to speakers and resources. The decision is yours to make.
Founded in 1997, Inspiring Speakers Bureau is home to some of the world’s best motivational speakers. We maintain an international database with the most up-to-date information about our professional speakers and their presentation topics. Our goal is to put your needs first and to help you select the speakers who best match the style and substance of your event. Whether the purpose of your conference or event is to entertain, inspire or inform, our professional speakers are committed to uplifting your organization.
No matter the type of speaker you’re looking for, we will design a proposal package that is tailor-made to your event program. Because we present more than one speaker option for your consideration, you always get to choose the most ideal candidate from a relevant short list. Plus, once you have selected and booked a speaker, we assign you a personal event coordinator to ensure that your event – and the rest of the process – goes smoothly.
But enough about us! There’s more you should know.
Selecting a speaker
If you have a specific speaker in mind, be sure to let your speaker bureau know. Even if the speaker is not on your bureau’s roster, the bureau will likely be able to provide you with more information on his or her fees and current presentation topics, as well as help you make booking arrangements. Plus, if the speaker you’re interested in is unavailable, the bureau will certainly be able to recommend other speakers who have similar messages or areas of expertise, and who may even better suit your event and its objectives.
Once a speaker bureau has presented you with a list of speaker candidates, it’s important that you do more research on each potential speaker to see if he or she meets your needs. Most bureaus will provide you with all the information they can about the speakers you’re interested in, from promotional brochures and videos to referrals from other clients.
At Inspiring Speakers Bureau, you can learn more about all of our speakers right on our website. In addition to our list of featured speakers, we have a drop-down menu that lists our entire roster of speakers alphabetically by last name. Here you can locate the speakers we’ve recommended or that you are interested in and visit their profile pages to learn more about them. You’ll find information on their areas of expertise and fees, as well as links to their websites, video clips of their presentations, and testimonials and recommendations.
It’s extremely important that you do your research to ensure you’re booking the right speaker for your event. A good speaker bureau will take the guesswork and confusion out of selecting a speaker and help you make truly informed decisions.
Check back tomorrow for more information on selecting a speaker. Till next time!
In the world of professional speaking, self-promotion is mandatory. Especially when you’re just starting out.
Sure you may have a moving message to share or important knowledge to impart, but that’s not enough. It doesn’t matter how moving or important your ideas are if there’s nobody there to hear them! That’s why self-promotion is the key to spreading your message and the key to your success.
To build a career as a professional speaker you must be more than just a speaker. You must be your own agent, your own marketing professional and your own public relations firm. You must build a platform for self-promotion.
This is the first in a series of posts about how to get out there and promote yourself. There are a few promotional pieces that every professional speaker should have. We’ve talked a bit about social media already – the importance of having a website and blog, creating compelling content and promoting yourself on Twitter. But there’s an even more basic place to start: building a speaker summary or a “one-sheet” as it is sometimes called.
A speaker summary is a bit like a résumé. It’s a short, well-written document that informs potential clients who you are, what your background is and what you speak about. It succinctly summarizes what you have to say and why it is important – and why people should book you to speak at their event.
And it’s incredibly important that you have one.
If you are represented by a speaker bureau, they will want a speaker summary to send to their clients and to post on their website. A speaker summary can also serve as an “About” page on your professional website or your blog. If the organizers of a conference or event you have spoken at are asked by other event organizers for speaker referrals, they can forward along your speaker summary to anyone who is interested.
Your summary should include:
• A flattering photograph of you. The picture should be current and in colour. It doesn’t matter if you think you looked your best in the 1980s – your potential clients want to know what you look like today. If you haven’t done so already, you may want to consider getting professional headshots.
• A couple of paragraphs outlining your areas of expertise and the topics and themes you present on, as well as a bit about your background. Explain who you are, where you come from, your education and work experience, as well as any life-changing experiences you may have had. Be sure to keep it short and to include only things that are relevant.
• A list of some of the most recent speaking engagements you’ve had.
• Any references or testimonials from your previous speaking engagements.
• Links to your social media networks. List your website address and blog address, as well as links to your professional Facebook page and Twitter account. If you have YouTube videos of presentations you’ve given, include links to them as well.
• Your fees – but only if they are set fees that you never waver from. If your fees are negotiable, there’s no need to mention them. You can save that discussion for when a potential client actually contacts you.
• Your contact information, including your telephone number and email address.
You speaker summary should be short and to the point – try to keep it to one or two pages. Before you start distributing it to speaker bureaus or clients, ask a friend or colleague to proofread it. There’s nothing more annoying – and unprofessional – than receiving a promotional piece with errors and typos on it.
To date the Inspiring Speakers Blog has mainly been geared toward emerging and professional speakers looking to improve their speaking skills and build up their speaking business.
Today I’d like to welcome all those who are looking for information on how to find, select and book professional speakers. From now on we will also be addressing your concerns, from how to select the right speaker for your event and understanding speaking fees to what to include in your speaker contract and how to prepare a room for a speaking event.
If you are planning an event and are considering booking a professional speaker, working with a speaker bureau is truly the best way to discover your options. Speaker bureaus are dedicated to helping event planners find and book the most relevant, entertaining and inspiring speakers for their particular event.
There are a number of questions you should ask yourself before you contact a speaker bureau. These questions will help you narrow your focus – and the answers will help a speaker bureau determine the right speaker for you and your event.
Question 1: What is the objective of your event?
Every event has its own unique goals and purposes. What type of event are you holding? Is it a conference or an annual industry meeting? Is it a presentation for a high school or university, or a leadership conference? Why are you bringing people together? What message do you want the audience to take away with them? And what do you want to accomplish by having a speaker at your event? Pinpointing your event’s objectives will give your speaker bureau an initial direction to take in their search for a speaker for you and your event.
Question 2: Does your event have a theme?
Most speakers have areas of expertise and themes that they focus their talks around. Do you want a speaker who will present specific information related to your field of work or do you want a speaker with a more general motivational message? Are you looking to educate your audience or to entertain them? Or both?
Question 3: Who is your audience?
Who will be attending your event? Are they professionals or students? Are they people looking for information on a specific topic or people looking for more general motivation? What sort of speaker – and what topics – would most interest and inspire them? Are there speaker names who they recognize and who would encourage them to attend? Or are there speakers who they may have seen speak before and would like to hear again?
Question 4: What is the format of the event?
Are you looking for a keynote speaker to open, close or headline your conference? Or are you looking for someone to run a half-day workshop on improving a specific skill? Perhaps what you really need is an emcee to host an event or award ceremony – or a speaker who can entertain your audience during a sit-down dinner. Knowing exactly what it is you want your speaker to do will greatly help a speaker bureau narrow down your speaker choices.
Question 5: What is your budget?
The amount of money you are willing to spend may influence the types and calibre of speakers available to you. Keep in mind that speakers from out of town will cost more than local speakers due to travel expenses and accommodation. What would you like to spend? And what is the most you are willing to spend?
Question 6: When is your event?
It is important to begin searching for a speaker as early as possible – the sooner the better, in fact. Speakers often book events as far as a year in advance. Do you have a date already set for your event? Or do you have the flexibility to find the right speaker and work your event around their schedule?
The right speaker can truly make or break an event. So it’s important to know the answers to these important questions before you contact a speaker bureau. By analyzing your event’s objectives, theme, audience, format and budget, you’re sure to select the perfect speaker and make your event one worth remembering.
I’m going to assume that after reading last week’s Social Media Monday post titled “Twitter 101” that you all ran off and signed up for your very own Twitter accounts.
Today let’s talk about how you, as a professional speaker, can make the most of Twitter. Here are three tips for making the most of your Twitter account.
Tip No. 1: Extend your reach.
If you want to make waves on Twitter, you need to have followers. The more people you have following you, the more people you have reading your tweets. And the more people you have reading your tweets, the higher the chances that your tweets – and therefore your ideas and your messages – will be shared.
Get the word out that you have a Twitter account. Add links to your Twitter feed on your website, your blog, and your Facebook and LinkedIn pages – and to any other social media accounts you might have. Don’t forget to add your Twitter handle to your email signature, too. You can also set up your social media accounts so that when you update one, the others are automatically updated as well. For instance, if you post a message on Twitter you can arrange to have it appear on your Facebook wall simultaneously – and vice versa. By synching your social media accounts, you can be sure that your message is being heard by someone, somewhere, at all times.
Now that your current contacts are covered, it’s time to find new followers. One of the best ways to do so is to retweet interesting posts by people, organizations or blogs you follow. For example, last week we tweeted about an interesting post on the Ethos3 blog and tagged @Ethos3 in the tweet to let them know we were sharing it. As a result, @Ethos3 tweeted a thank you to us for following and sharing their blog. That day we found ourselves with seven new Twitter followers – most likely who found us through @Ethos3’s tweet. Gaining new followers certainly wasn’t our intention, but it was a side-effect that we’re grateful for.
Tip No. 2: Promote yourself.
Twitter is not meant to be a tool for self-promotion. It’s meant to be a method of sharing knowledge and spreading information. So if you are tweeting about yourself, be careful not to over-do it.
If you have an upcoming speaking event, feel free to let your followers know about it – even if it’s an event that’s not open to the public. People are naturally curious and like to know what the people they’re following are up to, whether they’re invited to participate or not.
And feel free to tweet about the other work you do, too. But only if it’s something new or something relevant. If you’ve written a new blog post, go ahead and share it. If you were profiled on the news, on a blog or on a TV program, tag the program or website, and tweet your thanks for being included. If you do use Twitter for self-promotion in these ways, do so modestly and with humility. Nobody likes a braggart.
Tip No. 3: Use Twitter in your presentations.
There are so many great ways to use Twitter as a presentation tool. For starters, be sure to include links to your Twitter feed on any handouts you may have for your presentation. Your audience is a great place to look for new Twitter followers.
As we suggested in last week’s post on audience engagement, you can ask your audience to tweet while you talk. Make sure to set up a hashtag related to your subject matter the day before your presentation, and then share it with your audience at the beginning of your presentation. This way they can tweet their insights and ask any questions about your presentation as it is occurring, and the tweets will all be collected in one spot. And at the end of your presentation, be sure to ask the audience to send any feedback or criticisms via Twitter.
For more ideas on how to use Twitter in your presentations, check out the guest post “7 Ways to Use Twitter to Engage Your Audience” by Olivia Mitchell on the blog Edgehopper. She has also written an eBook titled “How to Present With Twitter and Other Backchannels” which you can download for free here.
If you have any suggestions about how best to take advantage of Twitter as a professional speaker, share them here or on the Inspiring Speakers Facebook page. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter at @InspireSpeakers.
The TED 2012 Full Spectrum conference was held last week in Long Beach, California. It was a weeklong celebration of the art of public speaking and featured inspiring talks on everything from science to social injustice and from climate change to creativity.
Since we’ve been talking about audience engagement this week, I thought I would share with you Sebastian Wernicke’s TED presentation, titled “Choose Your Own TEDTalk.” For his talk, Wernicke provided the audience with two cards, one with a letter “A” on it and one with a letter “B” on it. He would stop at moments throughout his presentation and give the audience the opportunity to choose what direction the talk should proceed – just like in a choose-your-own-adventure novel.
For example, at one point he asked the audience if he should tell a story from the perspective of Edward Packard, the inventor of choose-your-own-adventure stories, or if he should tell it from the perspective of his own daughters. The majority of the audience lifted the card representing his daughters, and so the talk proceeded in that direction. You can read about the entire presentation on the TED Blog here.
Wernicke’s presentation is a true example of how to find new ways of incorporating and encouraging audience participation and interaction. Pretty inspiring, don’t you think?
For one more example of audience interaction, have a look at this demonstration by American singer and conductor Bobby McFerrin at a 2009 World Science Festival event titled “Notes & Neurons: In Search of the Common Chorus.” By encouraging the audience to participate and sing along with him, McFerrin proves that the human brain is wired to understand and employ the pentatonic scale.
By actually having them prove his point for him, McFerrin has created a level of learning and engagement the audience is not soon to forget.
So how do you incorporate audience participation in your speeches? Share your tips with us here and on the Inspiring Speakers Facebook page today. Have a great weekend!
So you’ve given your speech, you’ve answered the audience’s questions, you’ve made your concluding remarks and – phew! –you’ve breathed a sigh of relief because your presentation is over and it’s time to relax.
Not so fast! I hate to break it to you, but you’re not quite done yet. You still need to get some feedback.
You can learn a lot about your presentation – and your presentation skills – by asking the audience for some constructive criticism. And one of the easiest ways to do so is by distributing comment cards or feedback forms to the audience.
Some prefer to distribute them at the end of the presentation, as handouts can often be distracting to the audience. Others prefer to distribute them before the presentation, so that audience members can take notes as the talk progresses. It’s a matter of personal preference, really.
What sort of questions should you include on your feedback form?
Ask questions about content: Was the material interesting? Was it easy to understand? Was there one part in particular that stood out for them? What would they have liked to hear more about? What would they have liked to hear less about? Did they come away learning something new?
And ask questions about your presentation skills: Did you speak loud enough? Clear enough? How was the pace – too slow, too fast or just right? Was there enough audience interaction?
Be sure to also include a section for general comments. And don’t be too concerned if most of the answers you receive are unspecific or trite. In many cases, audience members are in a rush and don’t have time to fully analyze your presentation, or they may shy away from giving criticism, especially negative criticism. But no matter how many generic or irrelevant comments you receive, you’re sure to receive a few insightful, valuable and constructive criticisms as well. These are the ones that matter, as these are the ones that will help you improve your presentation.
Another good idea is to ask your audience for feedback directly. Take the time to chat with a few audience members after your presentation, and don’t be afraid to ask them for their opinions. Be calm and non-threatening, and make sure your questions are open-ended. You want them to really think about what they got out of your presentation and to give honest and objective feedback.
Once it’s all said and done, gather your audience’s criticisms and gather your thoughts and make the most of them by crafting a new and improved talk. I promise both you and your presentation will be better for it.
And for information on making the most of your audience’s feedback, check out Tim Sanders’ teleseminar recording “Creating Fresh Content From Your Audience’s Knowledge, Stories and Questions.” (Scroll down to the seventh seminar on the page.) In it he explains how to “use your talks, blogs, tweets and other vehicles to uncover what your audiences and target market know and want to know.”
How do you get feedback about your presentations? Share your tips with us on the Inspiring Speakers Facebook page today!
Becoming a successful professional speaker is heavily dependent on how well you market yourself. As you grow your new business, the majority of your time should be spent on marketing efforts. It is of course very important that you have selected the right market to target your services towards, and that you have a highly polished presentation style. Yet the main distinguishing characteristic separating truly successful speakers from those who only achieve modest success is their self-promotional marketing ability.
Once you have identified and begun targeting your services to your ideal market, it may be necessary to build visibility by offering free presentations. It is important that you tailor your program to a tightly focused set of topics and themes so that you can begin gaining credibility within your chosen niche. The overarching goal at this early stage is to position yourself as an expert in very specific subject areas.
Speak For Free
In the beginning, an effective strategy for gaining exposure is speaking for free. The eventual goal is to build up a solid file of testimonial letters that you can later use for your marketing efforts. From that point forward, you will be able to contact organizations that are relevant in your field and show them testimonials from known competitors within their industry. Your testimonials will help build perceived value and prestige, and will contribute to your ‘expert status’ positioning.
Create And Sell Products
Most speakers sustain themselves (at least in part) by selling products that they have created. These can be sold at presentations that they give, through publications their products may appear in, and on the internet. Products that you create can range from CDs of your presentations, informational booklets, as well as writing and publishing a book. Many speakers are also now developing digital products that are made available through their website. An important fact to keep in mind is that although a book may not generate large amounts of revenue in and of itself, the added credibility and ‘expert status’ value that it brings to a speaker is of tremendous worth in terms of self promotion.
Setting Your Fees
While you are still becoming established, you won’t be able to charge high fees. Look for other speakers with similar areas of expertise and experience levels and set your fee structure accordingly. Remember that it’s much better to charge less than you are worth and have a meeting or event planner feel that they hired you for a bargain, than to be perceived as charging too much. Although you shouldn’t let meeting planners talk you down in price, it is important that you always strive to give added value to your presentations. Whether that means offering a sampling of your products or giving a discount on future guaranteed bookings, it is essential that your clients come away feeling that you have gone the extra mile to provide a high quality service. When should you raise your fees? Wait until such time that you have more work than you can handle, or it is clearly evident that your offerings are in high demand. Then and only then should you consider increasing your fee.
Speakers Bureaus
Working with a speakers bureau can greatly increase your annual bookings, as well as your income. However, until you have raised your profile and gained experience and a good reputation, most speakers bureaus will pass on representing you. Many successful speakers advise waiting at least six to eight years before soliciting a bureau for representation. In the meantime, build up your clientele portfolio, create your products, refine your website, and continue developing your ‘expert status’ and you’ll be well on your way to success as a thriving professional speaker.
We have a special guest post today courtesy of Frank Simmons Jr., a nationally known speaker, trainer, coach, mentor, author and motivator.
By Frank Simmons Jr.
Have you ever wondered what you could do to improve on your speaking talent? Have you ever thought or felt that your presentation could be better or have more impact? Today, as I think about what it takes to be FRANKceptional on the speaking platform, I am reminded of three things that I believe are important for every speaker and aspiring speaker to catapult them into speaking greatness. I believe that these three things will take your speaking to a different level. Are these the only things? NO. Will they help? Yes! Let’s jump in.
The first thing is the first impression that you make with your APPEARANCE. That’s right, appearance. Appearance has the ability to affect our mood and the mood of those attending our presentations. Now, when I talk about appearance, I am talking about the complete package – from head to toe. Of course, you want to dress appropriately for the event. But there are also times when you must elevate your appearance to a level that others aspire to as well. What does your hair look like? Is it well groomed or unkempt? Your outfit should be crisp and fresh. Your makeup should be flawless. The nails on your fingers and toes should be groomed. Lotion is your friend. Are your colours complementing you or hurting you? Your shoes should be shined and clean.
Do you get the picture? Your appearance can have a significant impact on your presentation.
The second thing is your ATTITUDE. How your attitude is perceived can make or break the reception of your speech. Do we have bad days? Yes. Do things go wrong? Yes. Do we have challenges? Yes. But, my question to you is this: Does the audience care? I don’t think they do.
Your audience came to hear a great speech. They came to be informed and enlightened. So, regardless of how you feel internally, your audience should never have to experience negative vibes from the presenter. Your attitude should be positive, encouraging, motivational – or whatever it needs to be for a positive outcome for your audience. Give them a great show and deal with your internal issues when you leave the venue.
The third thing to help you have a powerful presentation is your ATTENDANCE. I am not talking about the number of people in the room or how many people show up. I am talking about YOU showing up. In order for you to have the greatest impact on your audience, you must be present in the room. You must be aware of your surroundings. You must be tuned in to what is happening right now. You have to be in the room with them. A great presenter cannot afford to be in the room but somewhere else at the same time. The audience deserves your presence. They deserve your undivided attention to them and their needs. Your attendance enhances your connection with the audience – and your connection with your audience is what makes a presentation great.
I could say more, but let’s save some for the next time. Appearance, attitude and attendance can help you step up your speaking game to FRANKxtraordinary levels. That’s a FRANK Thought! What’s yours?
Yesterday we established that asking and answering questions is one of the best ways of engaging with your audience.
When it comes to question and answer sessions, my advice – as usual – is practise makes perfect. There’s nothing worse than having an audience member ask you a question that flusters you or throws you for a loop. So it’s important to be prepared. Today we’ll give you some important tips on how best to handle Q&A sessions.
Tip No. 1: As you’re preparing and reviewing your presentation, make a list of all the questions you think could possibly arise from your talk. Then, go through each question and map out your answers. By planning ahead and anticipating the questions you will most likely be asked, you lessen the likelihood of surprise.
Tip No. 2: It’s important to let your audience know how and when they should ask questions. Be sure to let them know whether you’re happy to answer questions throughout your talk or if you would prefer that they hold their questions till the end of the presentation.
Tip No. 3: Prepare some questions to get the ball rolling. Sometimes audience members are shy or nervous – or they legitimately do not have any questions. A good way to get some questions flowing is to bring them up yourself. For example, you might say: “One of the questions I’m most frequently asked is…”
Tip No. 4: Don’t forget to moderate. When somebody asks a question, it is important that you repeat it out loud, so that the rest of the audience can hear what’s been asked of you. If you didn’t hear the question properly yourself – or if you don’t understand what the person is asking – feel free to ask him or her to repeat or rephrase the question. This also gives you more time to process the question and think about your answer.
Another instance where you may want to moderate is if somebody asks a question that stumps you. If you do not know the answer to a question, be honest about it. One option is to tell the person who has asked the question that you don’t know the answer, but that you’ll find out and get back to him after the presentation. But another option – one that will further the interactivity of your presentation – is to open up the question to the audience and moderate the ensuing discussion.
Tip No. 5: Be succinct. If you have anticipated your questions well, you should have a series of well-rehearsed answers. Be sure to keep your answers brief and to the point. No one likes a rambler.
Tip No. 6: If you opt to hold a Q&A session at the end of your presentation, be sure to still have a summary to your talk. There’s nothing worse than a presentation that just dwindles off into awkward silence at the end of a question period. Once it’s clear that there are no more audience questions, jump right into your conclusion and end on a strong note.
Tip No. 7: Learn from your mistakes. If you are asked a question that flummoxes or stumps you, make sure to remember it. Then go home, think about the question and figure out how best to answer it – and remember your answer for next time. If it comes up once, it’s sure to come up again.
We’ve already talked about how to make a good first impression on your audience and how to not distract your audience while you’re speaking. So what’s next when it comes to speaker-audience interactions?
Audience engagement!
Keeping an audience’s attention is more difficult than ever in our fast-paced digital world. Today’s audiences require a lot of stimulation. So one of the best ways to really connect with your audience – and to keep their focus on you and your message – is to engage them through audience participation and interaction.
The simplest way of getting your audience to participate and interact is to have them ask questions. But make sure they know how – and when – you want them to do it. If it’s OK for them to ask you questions throughout your presentation, let them know right away. The sooner the better! Otherwise they may be too nervous (or too polite) to interrupt you. If you’d prefer they save their questions till the end of the presentation, that’s fine too. But you may want to provide them with pens and paper so they can jot their questions down as they think of them.
Allowing questions is important, but sometimes your audience just won’t bite. So why not turn things around and ask them some questions instead. You can start simple by making sure they understand the concepts you’re speaking about. For example, if you’re talking about bullying, ask the audience how they would define a bully. You can have them raise their hands to answer the question, or have them just shout out the characteristics or traits they think belong to bullies.
If you’re telling a story or sharing a personal anecdote, you may want to ask audience members to share an experience where a similar thing happened to them. For example, you could ask them to share an experience of being bullied in the workplace. Talking about shared experiences is a guaranteed way of creating an immediate connection with your audience.
It’s inevitable: While you’re speaking you’re bound to hear the tapping of laptop keyboards or see the glow of smartphone screens while people text and check messages. Don’t despair. Take advantage of your audience’s technical prowess by asking them to tweet while you talk. Provide them with a Twitter hashtag related to your subject matter and encourage them to tweet their questions and insights. Sure you’ll still hear them typing and texting, but you’ll at least know they’re talking about you! By the end of your presentation you’ll have a whole Twitter feed of related material that you can share and respond to. Plus, you’ll have a slew of new Twitter users to follow and connect with.
There are many more ways of encouraging audience participation and interaction. Depending on the size of the group and the amount of time you have, you may want to have them take part in small-group discussions or even physical activities. The options are really endless.
Do you have any tips on how to encourage audience interaction? Share them here or on our Facebook page.
And be sure to check out our teleseminar resources, too. We have a great one by best-selling author Cliff Atkinson titled “Is Twitter a Presenter’s Nightmare or a Dream Come True?” (scroll down to the sixth teleseminar on the page) where he discusses how Twitter is revolutionizing how audiences interact during presentations.
Some other good teleseminars you should consider having a look at are:
