After I had mentioned this point a few times, the host, David Newman, asked, “Avish, can you give us a few ways people can get better?”

Great question, and I answered it on the call. Here is a quick summary of 4 ways you can get better and better as a speaker:

1. Dig Deep – Your greatest asset as a speaker is your unique point of view. In order to make that as strong as possible, you should spend serious time digging deeper into your own head and getting clear on what that point of view is. One great technique is to write your own 50-page autobiography. Do that, and you will dig real deep into your own head.
2. Get Help – Hire a coach, take a class, attend a seminar, etc. An outside perspective can seriously cut your learning curve. One caveat though: you still have to speak. So just reading a book or listening to a speaker is not enough. You must put in the speaking reps to practice and apply what you learn.
3. Start Over – Do you have a speech or program outline that really works? Good for you. Now throw it away and write a new presentation on the same topic that doesn’t use any of the old material. And make it better than the old one. Hard? You betcha (more on that in a second). But by avoiding falling back on “what works,” you open the door to some great new material. The final presentation you end up doing for a client may end up with a lot of old material, but the only way to generate the new stuff is to temporarily throw it away.
4. Set Incredibly Difficult Goals – As speakers, we sometimes play the “I wish” game. “I wish I could make my dry topic funnier.” “I wish there was a way to make this more interactive.” “I wish I could find a way of using props.” Then we discard those “I wishes” because they seem to hard or impossible. Don’t discard them! Even if they seem impossible or difficult now, hold on to those goals. Because someday you just might figure out how to achieve them, and when you do, you will have taken your speech to the next level. Remember: all speakers struggle with those limitations. If you can push past them by doing what’s hard, you can create a clear distinction between you and your competition.

There are other ways you can get better too. But the key is that you do something. Because at the end of the day, you and your presentation are the product. And nothing is going to make your marketing life easier than having an amazing, knock it out of the park home run,” level presentation.

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Want to learn how to get paid speaking gigs in the next 90 days? Then download the free e-book, “Six Figure Speaker Secrets – Learn the 7 Steps to Getting Paid Speaking Gigs in 90 Days or Less!” now! When you download it, you’ll also get the bonus MP3, How to Make Real Money In the Next 30 Days Giving Free Speeches!” Click here to download your free public speaking ebook now!

So you’ve probably figured out that I am big fan of networking when it comes to building your speaking business.

However, there’s a lot more to relationship building than just getting leads. With the right approach, you can get a lot more out of your networking efforts than just prospects.

Here are a few:

1. Awesome Experiences. Take a look at this picture:

   Yes, that’s me, my best friend Mike, and Geddy Lee and Alex Leifson. Geddy and Alex are members of RUSH, my favorite band of all time. This past weekend, I got to meet them in person! It was amazing – one of those “bucket list” moments I never thought would come to pass. That came about because Mike met a program director of a local radio station through work and got to know him over the years. The day of the concert, the program director called Mike up and said, “how would you like to meet rush?” Boom! Networking.

2. Advice. I have a large number of contacts who have never referred me a lead but who have given me a tremendous amount of insight and advice into my business. Many of them are successful speakers and business people who charge thousands of dollars for consulting services but are more than willing to take my call and give me feedback, just because we have gotten to know each other.
3. Friends. I have built some great friendships through what started out as “traditional networking.” When all is said and done, those friendships are worth more than any lead.
4. Perspective. When your whole world is people in your industry (clients, prospects, and colleagues), your view tends to get a bit myopic. By networking and building relationships with a wide variety of people, you open your mind to perspectives you would have otherwise missed. This can be tremendously beneficial both professionally and personally.

These are just a few, “non-lead generating” benefits of networking. There are more.

They key is that you keep an open mind, think in terms of giving first, getting second, and realize that the real benefits from relationship building come after you have built an actual relationship.

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Want to learn how to get paid speaking gigs in the next 90 days? Then download the free e-book, “Six Figure Speaker Secrets – Learn the 7 Steps to Getting Paid Speaking Gigs in 90 Days or Less!” now! When you download it, you’ll also get the bonus MP3, How to Make Real Money In the Next 30 Days Giving Free Speeches!” Click here to download your free public speaking ebook now!

Marketing for Speakers Who Hate Marketing.

If you missed it, you can check out the replay here:

Teleseminar Replay

(The link to the MP3 is on the top right)

We covered a TON of great info on there that should definitely help you grow your speaking business – especially if you don’t like sales and marketing.

On that page is also a link some great bonus downloads as well. Check it out now, because it won’t be up forever!

“the only way you secure more engagements is to be selected as the best option for a group’s meeting.”

That may sound overly simplistic, but think about it for a moment.

You only get picked because the decision maker(s) thinks you are the best option.

So the logical question is, what are you doing to be the best option?

Are you the best speaker? Do you have the best credentials? The best marketing materials? The best relationships?

Of course, it doesn’t matter what you think makes you the best option. It comes down to what the buyer thinks. So it’s important to get in their head and think about what do they consider to be the best option.

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most powerful. Read Scott’s article and then spend some time thinking about what you are really doing to make sure that your ideal clients consider you the “best option” for their meeting.

Here’s the post:

The Key to Booking More Speeches

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Want to learn how to get paid speaking gigs in the next 90 days? Then download the free e-book, “Six Figure Speaker Secrets – Learn the 7 Steps to Getting Paid Speaking Gigs in 90 Days or Less!” now! When you download it, you’ll also get the bonus MP3, How to Make Real Money In the Next 30 Days Giving Free Speeches!” Click here to download your free public speaking ebook now!

David Newman, of Do It! Marketing will be interviewing me as I share ideas you can use to build a speaking business even when you hate marketing.

Here is the full write-up:

Marketing for Speakers Who Hate Marketing!

Face it – many speakers aren’t great at sales and marketing. You probably got in the business to speak, not sell and market. Unfortunately, a speaker who can’t or won’t market will end up speaking to no one (unless you count your spouse or your dog). 

And you risk pursuing marketing strategies and tactics that don’t work, aren’t aligned, and that you hate doing. The end result is that you may eventually give up and leave the business.

When you hate sales and marketing, the key is to get clear, get focused, and get amazing.

Join us (for free!) as David Newman interviews me for this valuable, fun and content-rich call where you will discover:

• Why “being really good” may be your biggest problem
• Why it’s OK to ignore everything everyone says you “have to” do…
• The right balance between “figuring it out” and “jumping in”
• The pros and cons of niching – and what really matters about identifying your market
• How to use your strengths, background, and style to differentiate yourself in the market
• The importance of efficiency and consistency in your marketing
• The role of “creating emotion” in your marketing AND presentation
• The 3 categories of leads you should be generating for a healthy business – and tactics for each
• How measuring the wrong things may be setting you up for failure (and what to really measure instead)
• The two most critical elements to long-term success in the speaking business

Who’s it for?

Reserve Your Spot!

For more information, and to reserve your spot now, visit:

Free Teleseminar: “Marketing for Speakers Who Hate Marketing”

They opened their program by saying the most important thing you bring to the table as a speaker is your opinion.

It sounded odd at first, but as I thought about it I realized how true that was.

Your opinion – your strong Point of View – is a critical, if not the most critical – element of your speaker marketing package. Here are 3 reasons why:

1. Facts are Free – If your program is data, facts, and straight information, then you are giving your audience what they can get for free by searching on Google. Your opinion and interpretation of the facts and data – what you think those facts mean for your audience, industry, and world – are what clients pay for.
2. Branding – Your opinion is what makes you, you. How you express your point of view is what lets people know who you are as  speaker. That’s what makes you special and differentiates you from other speakers.
3. Tribe Building – My biggest takeaway from the event was a single sentence: “Use social media to build a following based on your opinion.” Suddenly, social media made sense. It’s not about posting quotes and links, it’s about espousing your point of view in a clear way, and seeing who jumps on board. Then you build a following of people who believe in you, and by extension will hire you, refer you, buy your products, and spread your message.

The first step in using your opinions and point of view in your speaking business is figure out what it is.

What do you believe? What is your view on business, people, the world, etc?

The second step is to start expressing your point of view. You can do this in your presentations, social media, your writing, etc.

The key here is to realize that not everyone will agree with you. Some will come out of the woodwork to disagree with you. Some will vehemently disagree with you. Don’t shrink from this! Realize that the more some people disagree with you, the more others will be on your side.

If you have spent most of your speaking career trying to make everyone happy and not say anything that might gain you some disapproval, then this will be hard.

But it will be well worth. The more you can identify and express your unique point of view, the more successful you will become.

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Want to learn how to get paid speaking gigs in the next 90 days? Then download the free e-book, “Six Figure Speaker Secrets – Learn the 7 Steps to Getting Paid Speaking Gigs in 90 Days or Less!” now! When you download it, you’ll also get the bonus MP3, How to Make Real Money In the Next 30 Days Giving Free Speeches!” Click here to download your free public speaking ebook now!

The first was where he chose to stand, which I have discussed in another post.

The second is that his presentation had no clear structure. As a result, the speech felt long and rambling.

Proper speech structure is an often-overlooked component of presentation creation. This is a shame, because it is a critical element.

Here are three simple things you can do to make sure you have a clear structure that the audience can easily follow:

1. Let them know the point up front – Why are you talking about what you are talking about? If you have an opinion, make it clear. If you want the audience to take some action, let them know. Don’t make the audience guess what your point is. Be clear about it, and let them know near the start of your talk.
2. Make your transitions clear – If your presentation has, as most do, multiple points, make it clear when you move from point to point. You can get elegant later, after you have master the basics. At first, be blatant. Explicitly wrap up one point and then say, “my next point is…” Audiences like to know where in the journey they are.
3. Have a clear ending – In this talk, the speaker just kind of…stopped. It felt like he finished his last point, had nothing else to say, so just ended. Again, in the beginning, I suggest you be blatant about your endings. Recap with a brief summary: “So that is why I believe [restate your point].” Then restate your points. Then end with a final word or call to action.

As you get more experience, your structure might get a little more subtle and creative. However, you are generally far better off having a clear and overt structure than one that is so slick it loses the audience.

The worst thing, of course is to have no structure at all. Use the three simple steps above to make sure you have a solid structure your audience can easily follow!

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Want to learn how to get paid speaking gigs in the next 90 days? Then download the free e-book, “Six Figure Speaker Secrets – Learn the 7 Steps to Getting Paid Speaking Gigs in 90 Days or Less!” now! When you download it, you’ll also get the bonus MP3, How to Make Real Money In the Next 30 Days Giving Free Speeches!” Click here to download your free public speaking ebook now!

The most egregious of these small things is that he stood directly in front of the projector for his entire presentation!

Yup. He put his notes on top of the projector and stood right there in front of it. While it was on.

To be fair, he wasn’t using the projector. It was just projecting the name of the event. However, this still created to annoying problems:

1. Light and Shadow – The entire time he spoke, we could see the light on his body. Depending on how he moved, there would be various levels of light and shadow on the screen behind him. This was very annoying and distracting.
2. Distance – The room was set up with theater style seating with an aisle down the middle. The projector was just about even with the front row. This meant that by standing directly in front of it, he was basically on top of the people who sat front and center. It also meant that people sitting in the front few rows near the outer edges (like me) had to turn their heads at an uncomfortable angle for the entire presentation.

Had he simply turned off the projector and taken a step or two back, it would have made a huge difference. The audience would have been less distracted and more comfortable.

However, there is a bigger, more strategic issue here. To avoid problems like this, remember to simply take a moment to put yourself in the audience’s shoes.

The reason you are able to speak is because there is an audience that wants to hear what you have to say (or a decision maker who ants their audience to hear what you have to say).

When you don’t bother to think about them – what do they need to hear, what will engage them, how comfortable will this room setup be for them – you do them, and by extension your presentation, a disservice.

You don’t need to go crazy with over-analysis.  Just remember periodically as you are preparing, and especially when you make a decision on stage and room setup, to think about your audience and ask yourself, “what will work out the best for them?”

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Want to learn how to get paid speaking gigs in the next 90 days? Then download the free e-book, “Six Figure Speaker Secrets – Learn the 7 Steps to Getting Paid Speaking Gigs in 90 Days or Less!” now! When you download it, you’ll also get the bonus MP3, How to Make Real Money In the Next 30 Days Giving Free Speeches!” Click here to download your free public speaking ebook now!

One important bit of advice I gave them was the following:

When you start to feel nervous, remind yourself to play bigger, not smaller.

When public speaking anxiety kicks in, the natural response is to play smaller. You get more quiet. Confidence fades from your voice. Your pull back your gestures, movements, and facial expressions.

There are two problems with this:

1. People can tell your nervous – In general, an audience won’t know your nervous until you let them know it. When you start playing smaller, they start to get a sense of your nerves.
2. You feel more nervous – Sad as it is, nerves create a bit of a downward spiral. You feel nervous, so you play smaller. Playing smaller then makes you feel more nervous, so you play even smaller. And so on.

To combat this, I suggest that you play bigger. When you start to feel nervous, pick one thing and turn the volume up:

1. Be a little louder
2. Move more (deliberately, not like a fidgety scared person)
3. Make bigger facial expressions
4. Be more expressive with your emotions

Of course there is a danger of going overboard, but for most people that won’t be a problem. I’ve found that quite often a speaker will think they’re going to an extreme (with regards to movement, volume, etc) but in fact, to the audience, they are quite restrained.

This may be hard at first (which is why I only want you to pick one). But commit to it and give it a try.

Not only will it turn your public speaking anxiety into a trigger to speak better (you’ll be turning nerves into “nervous energy”) but you’ll actually start to have more fun and feel more comfortable, as you progress.

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Do you suffer from Public Speaking Anxiety? Does the thought of getting up in front of a group or people fill you with dread (or even mild discomfort)? If so, then this book can help! Click here to read all about it and get your copy on Amazon now!!

In this format, a moderator (in this case, Gina Carr) asks questions on Twitter using a specific hashtag (#nsachat) and others can follow along and participate.

This chat focused on speaker demo videos (a critical element in a speaker’s marketing toolbox). Featured on this Tweetchat was Ed Primeau of Primeau Productions. Ed has produced demo videos for some of the biggest names in the speaking business

A wide range of topic were covered:

• Do you need permission forms?
• Using 2 cameras vs. 1
• What editing software to use
• How to set up “interview” shots
• Using “montage shots”

To read the entire chat, visit: http://storify.com/NSAChat/nsachat-great-speaker-videos.

If nothing else, the best line from the chat was:

“Your demo video should make your phone ring. If it doesn’t, you need a new demo video.”

How’s your demo video working for you? 

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Want to learn how to get paid speaking gigs in the next 90 days? Then download the free e-book, “Six Figure Speaker Secrets – Learn the 7 Steps to Getting Paid Speaking Gigs in 90 Days or Less!” now! When you download it, you’ll also get the bonus MP3, How to Make Real Money In the Next 30 Days Giving Free Speeches!” Click here to download your free public speaking ebook now!