Since I’ve been asked…in emails, DMs and texts, the following question (or something rather close to it):
I wondering about speaking. How can I get more? Should I get an agent?
and here are my brief thoughts on this topic, starting with three’ish questions:
- What’s your end-goal from ‘more’ speaking? Business development? Fame? Income?
- What are planning to speak about? Lots of topics is not a good answer. What’s your expertise? How are you sharing your expertise now?
- Who is your ideal audience to get in front of? Who needs to hear from you?
My “speaking” career started in 2002 as a network-building endeavor. As a member of a professional development committee of a legal association tasked to put on programming relevant to the membership, orchestrating panels with people I wanted to meet (and moderating said panels), was a great way to (i) network for my next role; as well as (ii) raising my profile in the industry; and (iii) developing my public speaking skills. Hence, question number 1 above: What’s your end-goal from ‘more’ speaking?
My speaking topics (much like my motivations to “speak”) have evolved…from almost exclusively focused on the career concerns within the legal profession, then onto matters of interest to women executives / business owners /entrepreneurs to startup stuff to today, where I look down to see my feet firmly planted on the network-building soapbox. The evolution of my speaking topics is evident (if you dig down into the dusty corners of the internet) – as I’ve written blogs, contributed to publications, pitched stories, been quoted etc. etc. etc. What’s your answer to question number 2?
As for question number 3…standing in front of 25 diplomatic spouses looks a little different than 500 employees of an iconic beer company. Both are speaking opportunities. Where do you see yourself spreading your gospel? Spend some time thinking about question 3.
As for answers, here you go:
- Get clear on your goal from more speaking.
- Be specific on what your topic is and who needs to hear it.
- Start creating your own opportunities.
Plus resources – to work on your signature talk and/or hone your speaking skills:
If you’re looking to morph your career from the cocoon of accomplishment where you stand today, into [insert your vision/desire/ambition/BHAG here], that’s the sweet spot where I’m focusing my 1:1 transformational coaching time.
Now, back to the regularly scheduled ???? from my inbox:
Every day, we make decisions. These require effort, and there’s probably a finite amount of energy available for these focused choices.
- Digital shortcuts and cognitive load (Seth’s Blog)
- A mindbending trip that summons the forgotten women of surrealism (Aeon)
- 10 lessons from my pal Joya Dass
- Who wants to be an entrepreneur? A new Canadian fund is buying companies for aspiring CEOs (The Logic)
- Managing the Future of Work: Joseph Fuller on the Q Factor podcast (HBR)
- On flight patterns and normalizing change (Leaving Well, with Naomi Hathaway)
- We need to talk about Fiji (The Realists)
- Female entrepreneurs need better support (The Guardian)
- Learn from the very best, startup founders….How To Catch An Angel Investor on October 17 with my friends at Awakenhub. And not just saying “learn from the very best”…investor Mary McKenna is first ever dual-winner of UK Business Angel of the Year and EU Female Angel of the Year.
- Halcyon is on an mission to accelerate the impact-driven future of business. Learn more about their upcoming programs (and apply by October 20).
