A Lesson in Presenting from the Platform

Here's a good video to watch of Sarah Palin speaking from the stage and some constructive criticism on how her delivery could be better.

Improve Your Speaking Skills at Toastmasters

People are always asking me how to improve their speaking skills. "How did you get so much energy in your speaking?" "You're so funny when you need to be without overdoing it...How did you learn to use humor in your speeches?" "You look so natural in front of an audience...How did you become so comfortable in front of people?"

These are the top three questions I'm asked about speaking. And, I have the same answer for all three of them. Join Toastmasters. Find a club in your area "today" and go visit. Don't plan to visit with the intent to join though. Just visit with the intention to evaluate. I'll tell you why in a moment.....

First, let me explain what Toastmasters is and what it is not. Toastmasters IS a club-like atmosphere where, on average, 10-30 people meet each week or ever other week. There are more than 100 clubs in my state alone and they are all over the world. Toastmasters if your practice forum to enhance your public speaking and leadership skills.

Each meeting has a set format where there are speeches prepared by pre-assigned members. Meaning, you as a guest will not walk in the door and be asked to give a 10-minute talk, so don't worry. Most clubs have 2 or 3 prepared speeches per meeting and they last usually 5-10 minutes each.

Following the speeches, other members of the club are assigned to formally evaluate each speech. They'll typically give lots of kudos and then just one or two things to work on the next time. Evaluations are designed to be very encouraging for the speaker, not ram them into the ground with embarrassment.

The third component of every Toastmasters meeting is Table Topics. This section is designed to assure that each member of the club has an opportunity to speak in front of the group at each meeting. During Table Topics, the "Table Topics Master" (another preassigned member) spends a few minutes before the meeting to come up with a question to ask each Table Topics participant. The Table Topics participant must respond to the question for between 1 and 2 minutes.

Some clubs DO call their visitors up to the front of the room to participate in Table Topics but feel rest assured that you are in no obligation to participate. Just relax and enjoy the show if you're more comfortable.

As you can imagine, this weekly practice of speaking within a supportive group can be the most important step you take toward beginning your career as a speaker. There are many speakers within National Speakers Association who were obviously not part of Toastmasters prior, and their lack of speaking skills makes that proof positive.

Don't skimp on your speaking practice. Whether you are just starting out or are a seasoned professional speaker already, I strongly urge that you join Toastmasters and attend every meeting for the first year. I was a member for 10 years and served as a district officer for three years. There's no single training you can get for yourself that provides more of a launching pad for your skills as a speaker than Toastmasters. Visit Toastmasters.org to find a club in your area immediately!

Already a Toastmasters member or were in the past? Add your comment and tell others how Toastmasters has helped your speaking career.

How Much Should I Charge for My Speaking Fees?

This is the number one question I get about the speaking business..."How much should I charge?" Most speakers are so desperate to get in front of the group, they're very willing to under charge for their time and effort. Then you hear of crazy speaking fees like Neil Gaiman's $45,000 speaking fee to speak at a library of all things.

So, where do you fit in to the professional speaker pricing chain?

There are a few questions you need to ask yourself when coming up with pricing:

• What is your daily value? If I was to hire you for a full day to come teach me what you know, what would you charge? Most service professionals value their days somewhere around $2500 if that gives you any bench mark to work with.
• How much time will it really take you to perform this speaking gig? If you get called to fly to India, for example, to do a 3-hour workshop, you're still going to be away from your family and out of the country for the better part of a week. So, would you quote for 3-hours? No. You would quote at least half-time for travel days and all expenses paid of course.
• What do I hope to get out of this speaking gig? If speaking is purely a lead generator for you, then free appearances are more acceptable, especially if the gig is local and/or if the organizer is a non-profit organization. If you sell product from the stage, there are actually many ways the money question could go and is deserving of another blog post. Let's just say once you get good at selling from the stage, you can demand payment up front for the speaking gig and then offer to pay back the payment in commissions to the host. More on that later.

Putting all three of these together, it's suddenly not so crazy to think how Bill Clinton can command $80,000 or more per speaking gig and why Neil's fee doesn't seem quite so large either when you consider his schedule. New speakers, however, have to prove their value. Start low to get the gigs and raise your rates as your message becomes of higher value and your name becomes more well-known. Writing a book will help too and check out this post if you're curious why every speaker should write a book.

To sum it up, what you charge for your speaking is all about the value you bring to your audience. Increase your value and you'll increase your audience sizes and the amount of payment you can command.

Professional Speaking is a Business

I've helped a lot of people get into the speaking business and watch them become internationally known. But, I always have to hold back on the advice I give publicly and in written form for fear of divulging too many industry secrets or offending someone by saying something in the wrong way. With the Speaker Seeker, I have no limitation! And, that is exactly what new speaker wann-be's need is a place to go that doesn't hold back.

If you're just getting started in speaking, reply to only of my posts, subscribe to this feed, do whatever you have to do to connect with me, so that you can stay up-t0-date with everything I'm going to share with you here.

They say in real estate that the 3 most important things to success are location, location, location. In the professional speaking industry, that answer would be people, people, people. You have simply got to know the right people to make a big dent in this industry. And, I'm going to introduce you to the right people you need to know and follow and study and even hire.

Yes, to make it as a speaker, you are going to have to pull some money out of your pocket. It IS a business after all. Well, then again, it doesn't have to be a business. You could just be a hobby speaker and that would be fine. There's nothing wrong with that.

More on that topic later.

For now, let this be the first official blog post by the speaker seeker and stay tuned for more!