Boost Your Speaking Career with Business Strategy and Expertise

I had a great time at this event hosted by Dorie Clark! And now, based on what I learned, I have a new Keynote Speaker section on my webpage if you'd like to learn what I'm talking about these days. Here's my pitch: "Across civic organizations, nonprofits, government, and universities, people are working to address complex societal challenges such as health, environment, energy, economic opportunity, national security, and emerging technologies. At the same time, artificial intelligence is transforming how information is produced and shared for policymaker and public decision-making. Yet policymaker and public decisions are not driven by information alone. They are shaped by how scientific and technical expertise, personal stories, or information about community realities come together in real-world decision environments. Through keynote talks that combine big ideas with practical frameworks, Dr. Deborah Stine helps audiences understand how policymakers and public decisions are made and how community members, professionals, and organizations can help inform and influence decisions about the societal issues they care about." I hope everyone sees the importance of this message in challenging times. Go here to learn more! And I hope to be on a stage near you in the near future! https://lnkd.in/gndJWZAU.

Four great speaking insights, this time from Dorie Clark #1 Your fee is a positioning signal, not just a price. - this is key for many things, not just speaking. Her #2 pairs nicely with #1. If your topic is on demand it will command a higher fee. See below for more on 2,3,4.

Amen Dorie Clark So true. You don’t get more gigs by being better at speaking but by solving better problems. You actually have to have better ideas and the speaking part means you’re better at communicating them in a way that people remember. Cait Donovan right???

You want the stage. You just don't want to ask for it. That's the problem. There are speakers commanding serious fees, filling serious rooms …and they still pitch. Not out of necessity. Out of strategy. Because one stage rarely stays one stage. It turns into two. Then three. Then a steady stream of invites from the room you just spoke it. That’s the game. Not chasing gigs. Building a flywheel of presentation requests. Fame's rare air. Breathe it if you can. The top 1-2% of speakers don’t have to ask. For the rest of us? Build the damn pipeline. Here’s how: 1️⃣ Kill the myth "If I'm good enough, they'll find me." Maybe. Eventually. After years of waiting. Or you send 10 thoughtful pitches this month and land 2 stages. Your call. The speakers getting paid well? They’re sending emails. Following up. Building relationships with organisers. They're not sitting back and letting their reputation do the heavy lifting. 2️⃣ Treat speaking like a pipeline A calendar doesn’t fill itself. A list doesn’t update itself. A simple system: ✓ List your target events ✓ Track the organisers behind those events ✓ Follow up (twice) ✓ Nurture the relationship before you need it. Booked speakers aren’t luckier. They’re more organised. 3️⃣ Do the outreach → LinkedIn DMs - use them Find the event organiser. Pitch a topic that fits their audience. Not an idea. A talk you’ve done that’s landed. Most outreach gets ignored because it sounds the same. You need to craft something pattern-interrupting. “Hi [Name], my presentation [Title] became the best-rated talk at [X Conference]. Your audience might love it too. Interested? Just send me a 👍🏻” This script has a 24% positive reply rate, 4x the industry average. Why? Because it’s short, specific, and easy to respond to. → Google Alerts - set them today ➤ "Call for speakers" + your industry ➤ "Conference" + your niche + the year ➤ Your topic + "keynote speaker" Early applications win. → Your speaker portfolio - keep it smooth When organisers visit your page, they decide in seconds Make them say yes quickly. ✓ Clear, specific topic (not "leadership, innovation, and growth") ✓ Short, punchy bio ✓ High-quality photos ✓ 1–2 solid stage authority clips (you’re dropping gold from the stage) ✓ Testimonials from real people ✓ Past stages (even small ones count) 4️⃣ Paid gigs require positioning Paid keynotes require proof. Proof requires stages. Stages require pitching. See how that works? Skipping the outreach phase because you're "waiting for paid gigs" means skipping the thing that makes paid gigs possible. Speaking careers are built with intention. Strategic, sustained, slightly-repetitive intention. Pitch the stage. Build the pipeline. Send the email. The stage was never going to find you. Go find it!

I went through all of the speaker applications submitted for the 2026 Speaker Movement conference and found some themes with respect to what worked really well vs what I would highly recommend folks avoid. For the next 1-2 weeks, I’ll be sharing all these insights so you can increase your conversion rates next time you pitch yourself to an opportunity! PITCH TIP 1: Intentional Outreach 👇🏽 This is a pattern I noticed before reviewing any of the applications that came in. It actually had to do with the initial point of contact through the call for speakers I published on social media. The common theme I noticed was that the vast majority of folks who wanted to apply, replied to my post with some version of “Interested!”. On paper, there’s nothing wrong with this. It shows they’re interested and gives me the opportunity to reach out and send them the application with next steps. But here’s where there’s room for improvement… Even if the call for speakers literally tells you to type “INTERESTED” in the comments, you’re missing out on the potential to stand out from every other person commenting the exact same thing. The folks that said more, stood out. There were 1 or 2 folks in particular who took the time to craft a response that literally left me WAITING for their application to come in. Every day, I would check my inbox to see if they had completed the form. Their message wasn’t anything ground breaking. But it was intentional. Some folks expressed their excitement. Some celebrated the project I am working on. Some folks talked a little about their speaking topics and how they’d hope to support the event and attendees. Those that got specific with what they could bring to the event experience, stuck with me. One of the things I recommend all my clients is to intentionally build relationships with event hosts wherever you can. Those relationships help build rapport where they now have an opportunity to get to know you, consume your content and see you in action, and trust you more than they would a perfect stranger. Which all increases the chances of not just them accepting your pitch, but inviting you out of the blue to begin with. But I get it, sometimes the speaker application deadline doesn’t give you much time to build those relationships. And that’s why today’s pitch tip is so important. Even without an existing relationship, there’s numerous ways to build trust through the pitching process. Let’s continue the conversation in the comments! What’s something you’ve said to an event host—either in the comments section or separately in the DMs/email—that went a long way in getting you that YES?

Another pattern I saw come up a lot when I was vetting speaker applications for the Speaker Movement Conference was around the description of each talk. PITCH TIP 3: Give Context Some talk descriptions were brief, perhaps one sentence long at most. The challenge I had in these cases was being able to truly gauge whether the talk was a good fit or not for the event. A title can hook you in and sound very interesting, but at the end of the day, there’s no way of knowing what the talk will explore by the title alone. Take me for example. If I were to pitch one of my talks—A Speaker Brand That Attracts Gigs—the person reviewing my application could have a variety of assumptions (or questions!) on what this session is all about depending on their own experiences with this topic. They might assume this session is about leading with “public speaker” as your title and identity every time you enter a room or attend an event. Maybe they’ll assume it has to do with building a brand online—on social media, through your website, and a podcast. Or perhaps they’ll assume it has to do with building a strong brand from the stage in order to attract even more opportunities. All of those assumptions are perfectly valid because I did not give enough context through a description. And in all honesty, we could decide to tailor the conversation to fit one of those angles if that’s what the host needs. But what happens more often than not, is that we don’t get to that point of the conversation because another speaker was clear from the start and the event host decided to go with them instead. This is why giving context can go such a long way in increasing the chances of your application being approved. If I instead include a description that explains how using social media as your stage psychologically attracts speaking gigs to you, and add a couple key takeaways, the host will know exactly what it is that I bring to the event as a speaker. By including a clear description, you can ensure your talk is clearly understood so that it (a) fits the event theme and audience, (b) showcases your unique angle/perspective, (c) does not overlap with existing talks. Making you the shoe-in for the speaker line-up. Let’s continue the conversation in the comments, shall we? Drop one of your speaker talk titles + description and I’ll give one area that could use some clarity. Let’s get you one step closer to booking your next speaking gig!!

Last week, I asked my Facebook friends if anyone was a speaker/trainer or wanted to become a speaker. I was gauging interest in a DFW-area collab event for folks just starting out who need to get video and photo content and maybe have some branding work done. Overwhelmingly, people began to comment things like "I have to give a keynote next week and I have no idea what to say!" or "I feel like my presentations are so flat" and "I really just want to improve my speaking and communication skills." And that led to this week's Tuesday Ten! I used to be a terrible communicator. Incomplete thoughts. Rambling. Unfocused ideas. The problem wasn’t that I lacked expertise or that I didn’t have something to say. The problem was that I had strong ideas that people never fully heard because I didn’t get to the real point fast enough. After years of hearing my mom say, “Would you please just finish a sentence!”, I never imagined I would one day stand before audiences speaking, teaching, and presenting, and certainly never imagined I would be paid to do it. I couldn’t keep this list at 10, so this week’s Tuesday Eleven is for the leader (or anyone!) who wants to stand confidently before others and leave an impact when they speak. Whether it’s a formal keynote, a casual networking conversation, brief remarks at an event, or delivering a presentation, these ten practices will help you speak well. 1. Start with why. And I don’t mean Simon Sinek’s book. Before you say a word, be clear about the reason you are about to speak. For big presentations, people often start with slides, but you need to start with purpose. Are you informing, influencing, inspiring, or introducing an idea or concept? Even if you’re just walking around a networking event connecting with others, what’s your why? Are you building a list of potential partners? Do you have a goal of meeting five new people? Purpose should shape what you say and how you say it, so before you say a word, get clear on the why. 2. Prepare your points. Strong communicators don’t wing things. Even the sharpest of speakers has a clear idea of what they want people to leave with and what they have to say to reach that goal. You don’t have to script every word (I do, but not every strong speaker does), but you do need to know the key ideas you want to communicate. Whether it’s for a professional presentation, a small group talk at church, or a casual networking conversation, prepare three to four key points.  3. Speak to your audience, not at them. 4. Speak with your audience, not just to them.  5. Say less.  6. Change the state.  7. Appeal to emotion.  8. Show and tell.  9. Master your energy. 10. Start strong. 11. BONUS: Finish stronger.  I'll link the blog in the comments! You can get the full list and the downloadable bundle that includes a printable mini-poster and a practice builder to help you prep for your next talk or presentation! Which tip resonates most with you?

Every year, I send an email that helps me book speaking gigs. It's not my speaking reel or testimonials. It's my "marketers' concerns" research. Here's what I do: • Survey my email list about their biggest challenges • Interview recent clients about what keeps them up at night • Analyze feedback from my conference talks • Finally, I compile a list of what marketers are worried about RIGHT NOW Then I send this research to every conference organizer I know. Their response? "Thank you for doing this research for us." But here's the real magic -- I ask them which topics they think their audience cares about most. I get incredible feedback that shapes my speaking topics for the entire year. Last year, my email led to: • 3 newly refined speaking topics for the year • Referrals from organizers to other events • 2 booked conference speaking gigs This systematic approach to nurturing relationships isn't about selling conference organizers on my speaking. It's about helping them solve their biggest problem (crafting a compelling agenda) AND helping me to refine my speaking topics. As a happy side effect, I get speaking gigs.

For years, I've followed Dorie Clark and been part of her Recognized Expert Community, so I felt so fortunate to finally meet her in person (in nice, warm Miami!) at her first 2-day workshop focused on the business of professional speaking. My goal for 2026 is to move from speaking at workshops, which I've done for many years, to more major keynotes to get my message across: focusing on "Skills-Stories-Spaces" which I think is particularly important given the decline in confidence in scientists based on Pew Research Data (see the link in the comments if you'd like to know more about my talk and that data). The challenge for me has been understanding the business of keynote speaking, and I, along with 15 others, got a clearer view of how the speaking industry actually works from both Dorie and my fellow participants. We also had two great guest speakers, Amy Gray and Sara Ross, who provided their insights. Here are my key takeaways from the workshop: 1. Speaking Is Not a Talk Business. It’s a Problem-Solving Business. Event organizers rarely buy a speech. They buy a solution to a problem their audience has. 2. The Speaking Market Is Flooded With Free Speakers One uncomfortable reality surfaced repeatedly: The pandemic created a tsunami of people entering the speaking market. Many are willing to speak for free or extremely low fees. That makes it harder to command paid engagements. 3. The Highest-Paid Speakers Are Not Generalists A common mistake: presenting oneself as able to speak on many topics. Event organizers interpret that as: “jack of all trades, master of none.” 4. Four speaker trends highlighted for 2026: a. Visibility (social media and content) is the new currency of speaking. Speakers who consistently produce content demonstrating expertise are easier for organizers—and increasingly AI search tools—to discover. b. Barter (early opportunities exchanged for exposure or video) as opposed to financial compensation. c. Self-representation is the norm (more speakers bypass bureaus today than in the past) d. Obsession + mastery (deep niche expertise) is the key to success for your message. 5. Pricing Signals Status Speaker fees are not just compensation—they communicate positioning. Typical progression is: Beginning speakers: $1K–$2K Established speakers: $5K Growth tiers: $7.5K → $10K → $15K → $25K+ If you're not sure what fee is appropriate for you, ask ChatGPT. I did and found the answer it came up with is the same as what experts in the field previously told me. Also, keep in mind that women are often offered fees lower than those of men. So also ask ChatGPT what a man would be paid for the same talk, and make sure you ask for that number! All in all, I found the workshop a great use of my time now that I'm ready to move to the marketing my keynote talk that I have spent the past few months working on with Carol Cox. What are your thoughts? Do you agree with all the items above? Let me know!

Love these tips from Juan Bendana on how to accelerate your speaking career. It sums up in a few strategies: 1. Be amazing on stage. Your stage delivery is your number one marketing tool. 2. Be easy to work with. Over deliver to your client and to everyone you work with. 3. This is a sales business first. Even when you are super successful, you still need to send out the emails and pick up the phone. From Juan: I just booked by 50th keynote for 2026. Here’s what I’m doing differently: 1. Daily keynote delivery. 2. Be kind to the A/V team. 3. Obsessed about the art. 4. Yes to the meet ’n’ greet. 5. Focus on having a good time. 6. Built real expertise on my topic. 7. Showed up early and stayed late. 8. Stopped caring about the money. 9. Trained like a professional athlete. 10. Saw audience members as friends. 11. Try something new in every speech. 12. Said hi to attendees in the morning. 13. Captured professional photo/ video. 14. Invested serious $$$ into my assets. 15. Loved every single person in the room. 16. Let go of comparison to other speakers. 17. Treated every event like the Super Bowl. 18. Responded to requests in under 5 minutes. 19. Built real relationships with different speakers. 20. Went above and beyond (event promo, interviews) 21. Didn’t change my topics just because it was trending (AI) 22. Stopped sending emails, started making the speech better. I hear so many aspiring speakers say: “I’d love to travel and make an impact!” “I’d love to make an income doing what I love!” “I’d love to have freedom over my time!” Very few are will to go ALL-IN on what it takes to be successful. To all the speakers gearing up for our busy season: Go change some lives. For those who aspire to get into this work: Keep going. Send the emails. Work on your assets. Obsess about your keynote. Eventually, the hard work will pay off. Happy conference season everyone!