The Speaker’s Edge

The Ultimate Go-To Guide for Locating and Landing Lots of Speaking Gigs

Maven House Press, 2016

15 min read

10 take-aways

Audio & text

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Follow these techniques to build your career as a public speaker and win coveted, regular engagements.

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Even professional speakers who can charm any room with their brilliance may have difficulty securing their next engagements. Many people who give great speeches simply haven’t a clue how to go about finding gigs. When they meet fully booked public speakers, they can’t wait to ask, “How did you do it?” Showcasing expert and professional speaker Ken Lizotte provides in-depth information about the techniques busy professional speakers use to gain engagements. He offers a cornucopia of ideas that speakers can use to market themselves. Like many guidebook authors, he writes in a clear, conversational tone that’s easy to follow and he provides useful tips and charts. He can be a bit facile, as when he tells aspiring speakers to write books and articles without telling them how to get it done or get published. getAbstract suggests this guidebook to practiced speakers who know how to win over audiences, but need help lining up gigs.

Summary

How to Find Audiences and Secure Gigs

Speakers might wish there were a magic formula for finding engagements, but the only magic is to try some time-tested tactics and strategies, and see what works for you in winning new gigs.

To get started, consider the methods that other speakers use to boost their engagement calendar. For example, Andy Saks, author of The Presentation Playbook, showcases his public speaking in videos he customizes for specific groups. In contrast, Ruby Newell-Legner, a certified speaking professional and president of the National Speakers Association, never uses videos to promote herself. “Videos don’t work for me,” she explains. You’ll have to test different methods to find the ones that work for you.

A survey that asked public speakers what techniques they use to line up engagements identified these tactics, in order of reported effectiveness: “Referrals and networking, publishing, employing a speaker marketing rep, Internet presence, contacting event planners directly, social media” and “formal proposals.” Writing books and articles or getting published in leading journals often leads to speaking gigs, but “media interviews, ...

About the Author

Ken Lizotte, the “chief imaginative officer” (CIO) of Emerson Consulting Group, is also the author of The Expert’s Edge and six other books. A public speaker, he works with executives on publicity, book promotion, speaking engagement management and social media campaigns.

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B. N. 2 years ago

Useful tips & charts

Ken Lizotte