General Archives - Speaker Sponsor: Recent Episodes
Julie Austin - Speaker Sponsorship
The Cambridge Dictionary defines transformational as “a complete change in appearance or character of something or someone, so that thing or person is improved.”
Becoming a transformational speaker typically involves a combination of personal development, public speaking skills, and networking. Here are some steps you can take to pursue a career as a transformational speaker:
Define Your Message
Clarify the transformational message you want to share with your audience. Reflect on your own experiences, challenges, and growth journey. Identify the key insights and lessons that you believe can inspire and empower others to transform their lives.
Develop Expertise
Gain in-depth knowledge and expertise in the area you want to focus on as a transformation speaker. This might involve continuous learning, attending workshops, reading books, and staying up-to-date with the latest trends and research.
Improve Your Public Speaking Skills
Effective communication is essential for any speaker. Work on improving your public speaking skills, such as articulation, body language, voice modulation, and storytelling. Join a public speaking club like Toastmasters to practice and receive feedback.
Create Compelling Content
Craft engaging and impactful presentations or talks that resonate with your target audience. Your content should be informative, inspirational, and actionable, providing practical steps for personal transformation.
Start Speaking at Small Events
Begin speaking at local events, community gatherings, or workshops to gain experience and build your speaking portfolio. This will also help you refine your message and delivery based on audience feedback.
Leverage Online Platforms
Utilize social media, blogs, podcasts, and YouTube to share your insights and reach a broader audience. Consistently create valuable content to establish yourself as a thought leader in your niche.
Network and Collaborate
Attend conferences, seminars, and networking events to connect with other speakers, event organizers, and industry professionals. Collaborating with established speakers or thought leaders can help you expand your reach.
Seek Speaking Opportunities
Actively seek speaking opportunities at larger events, conferences, and corporate functions. Reach out to event organizers and showcase your expertise, highlighting the value you can bring to their audience.
Collect Testimonials and Refine Your Brand
As you gain experience and speak at various events, collect testimonials and feedback from attendees. Use this feedback to refine your brand and continuously improve your presentations.
Stay Committed and Persistent
Building a career as a transformation speaker takes time and persistence. Stay committed to your message, keep refining your skills, and be open to learning and adapting along the way.
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So far, 2024 is getting off to a great start for the speaking industry. Every year several companies put out a yearly speaking industry forecast. If you’ve been working as a speaker for any length of time you probably already have a good gauge at how things are going. However, trends do still exist and change according to the economy and other disruptive issues.
Speaking industry forecastObviously Covid disrupted the meeting and event industry like nothing we’ve seen in a long time. But according to meeting and event professionals we are back on track to at least tie with pre-pandemic levels of face-to-face meetings. According to Knowland’s Hospitality Group and Business Performance Index we’re at close to 90%. During the pandemic many industry professionals left the business. But the good news is that more are staying and entering now. And their optimism for the future is high.
According to the American Express survey, 84% are optimistic about the future of the meeting and event industry. 81% expect their meetings to have a face-to-face component and 63% expect them to be totally face-to-face. Face-to-face meetings offer more opportunities for team building and collaboration.
Meeting and event spendingMeeting spending in general is expected to increase 4.2% in North America. Unfortunately, inflation is putting a damper on things and most don’t think the extra budget money is keeping up with inflation. Therefore they are looking into ways to cut costs across the board.
Maximizing sponsorshipWith budgets being cut and inflation on the rise, more interactive sponsorship is being sought out. There have always been free speaking opportunities but during tough times you tend to get more of those. Speakers who have their own sponsors have tons of opportunities to make money by taking those free jobs and having their sponsors pay the bill. It increases the number of jobs out there and decreases the competition.
Diversity and sustainabilityAlmost a third of planners said they would try choosing diverse suppliers if they could. 70% said sustainability was very important to their organization. A majority want to incorporate it into meetings and events where they can.
Business and leisure travelAnother upcoming trend I happen to like is the blending of business and leisure travel and the opportunity to explore outside of the conference venue. This trend is expected to continue. Hopefully this will attract more attendees who might not think of traveling for business.
AI for meetings and eventsAI is helping meeting and event planners better customize the event experience. It can analyze attendee demographics, track engagement, and monitor social media. This helps provide valuable insights to make better decisions. Strategies can be altered to maximize success and time-consuming tasks can be streamlined.
Experiential meetingsAnother trend that will continue from last year is more experiential events. This includes interactive technology and immersive environments through sensory elements. As a speaker, how can you add more of this to what you offer?
Hybrid meetingsThe majority of planners expect to have more face-to-face meetings, but they are still keeping hybrid on the table to attract more national and international attendees.
Almost half of planners expect to see more internal meetings and local meetings as being on the rise. As a speaker, I’ve seen this too. A lot of those meetings are still in offsite locations. I’ve noticed this too. Planners can also save money on speakers by booking ones who live close to the conference venue.
Speaking industry forecast 2024These are some of the trends that meeting and event planners will be implementing as part of the speaking industry forecast for 2024. How can you help improve the experience for them as a speaker?
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AAE Speakers Bureau recently took a 2023 survey of around 500 meeting planners and professional speakers and found that almost a quarter of the planners have more money to spend on keynote speakers. That leaves 75% who don’t. And 53.1% of the speakers have said they have had to raise their speaking fee. The report said that the average fee for a keynote is $15,551. And the average total budget for speakers is $26,583.
Meeting planners expect added value from speakers these days, such as a meet and greet with attendees, social media promotion, a book signing, and a meet and greet with executives. This should all factor into what you charge as your speaking fee. But how do you know when you should raise your speaker fee?
When should you raise your speaker fee?So many factors go into a speaker fee. And the truth is that there are really no rules about what yours should be. But there are some guidelines.
New speakersIf you’re just starting out as a speaker you can’t expect to get paid very much, if at all. Most speakers start out speaking for free. The only reason I never spoke for free was that I had my own sponsors. I taught other speakers how to make a living as a speaker from sponsorships. It cuts out all competition. Especially if you’re a new speaker. You can’t compete against seasoned professionals for regular speaking jobs, but with sponsorship, you have no competition. You get your own sponsors and create your own paid speaking jobs.
A good rule of thumb is that new beginning speakers can expect to charge between $500 and $2500 per speech. Again, if you have sponsors like I did when I first started out, you can charge as much as you think you can get. My very first speaking job was $2500 because I had several local sponsors and I put on my own event. If you can’t get someone to hire you as a speaker you can always become your own boss and hire yourself to speak. When the speaking industry is down this is a great option to still be able to make a living as a speaker. I used this method all through Covid to create my own virtual content for the sponsors I have in my portfolio.
Established speakersOk, so now you’ve been speaking for a while and you’ve been charging anywhere from $500 to $2500 and you’re pretty booked at that rate. By now you should also have at least one book on the market in your chosen topic in which you are an expert. If you’re marketing yourself you probably also have a decent following and are becoming well known in the industry. There’s no timeline about when that would happen. I’ve known very established speakers who spoke for free and low fee for a decade before they raised their rates. But it usually doesn’t take that long to get to that point. Go at your own pace. When you get to the established speaker level you will know it.
Established speakers should start to raise their speaker fee when they are too busy at the lower level fee to keep up with it. There are only so many days in the year and speaking every day of the year is not practical and will wear you out quickly. Speaking takes a lot out of you. Travel takes a lot out of you. And there is a sacrifice to be made in your personal life when you’re on the road so many days out of the year. You need the rest in between and you also need to have time to write more books and customize speeches for higher-paying clients.
Established speakers are able to charge between $2500 and $10,000 per speech. You’ve earned the right to boost your fee. Like every level, you don’t want to jump up in fees too quickly or you may find yourself struggling for work.
Influencer speakersOnce you’ve written multiple books and have tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of followers you move up to the influencer level of speakers. You probably also have a strong media presence. These speakers typically are able to charge around $10,000 – $20,000 per speech. Much more is expected of you as you move up to this level. My first big speech in this range was for 1,000 attendees for an engineering summit for Procter and Gamble. I was asked to take a lengthy internal research survey and find solutions for the issues they needed to find answers for. This was my first look at the difference between an established speaker and an influencer. You have to be prepared to up your game a lot at this point if you want to play in the influencer sandbox.
An influencer speaker is a known expert in their field. They don’t usually have an all you can eat buffet menu of speeches on 20 different topics. When a meeting planner thinks of your topic your name should be at the top of their list. This is also when you should start to differentiate yourself from other experts in your field. What’s in your background of experience that makes you different from all of your competitors? Hone in with laser focus on what makes you special, unique and different. What is your niche within your industry?
Celebrity speakersCelebrity speakers are usually in the $20,000 range and over. If you are a celebrity in another field, such as a famous athlete or actor, you can skip the other steps. You are mostly being hired for your name draw. That doesn’t mean you haven’t paid your dues. Just the opposite. You’ve paid your dues in another industry and have earned the right to stand on a stage for big bucks.
A celebrity speaker is also a speaker who has been around for many years and paid their dues on the stage as a speaker. By this point you probably have multiple books and at least tens of thousands of followers. You are at least well-known in the speaking industry and probably by the general public as well.
Seth Dechtman of The Keynote Curators has a good guideline for working with celebrity speakers.
No rulesAgain, there are no hard and fast rules for when you should raise your speaker fee. Being a professional speaker is a full-time job and there’s no contest for your own personal timeline.
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As we’ve come out of the post-pandemic meeting industry it’s nice to be out and speaking in person for the past year. But what does the 2023 meeting industry forecast hold as we go forward?
Meeting industry forecast 2023According to the 12th annual Global Meetings & Events Forecast, meeting professionals expect there to be more in person meetings. They also expect budgets to increase. But that also means they plan to do more with less, thanks to high inflation.
Planners dealing with rising costs and tight budgets are becoming more creative when it comes to finding budget-friendly options. According to Conventions South “this includes hosting fewer meetings, shortening meeting times, using less expensive venues and food options, choosing destinations close to their members, and negotiating everything.”
The cost of hotels and food is impacting the bottom line for meeting planners and they are finding ways to work around that.
Optimistic about the meeting industry77% of respondents feel that the meeting industry will be strong in 2023. 67% think the number of in-person meetings and events will return to pre-pandemic levels in a year or two. I’m surprised that number is so low actually. From what I’ve seen most people are anxious to get out and network again. Airports have always been crowded lately as I’ve started traveling again for speaking work and for pleasure.
Face to face meetingsThe good news is that most meeting and event planners expect 87% of meetings to have an in-person element. And virtual fatigue is a real thing. I, for one, am glad to hear that virtual is fading out. Part of the reason I like being a speaker is for the face to face, one on one with the audience. You can never get that same feeling from a virtual event no matter how well you do it. You can’t break bread over a virtual event or get instant feedback from an audience. Apparently, I’m not the only one that feels that way.
Meeting sizeCovid is no longer a concern for most people. So meeting size is continuing to increase. Over 70% of events last year had attendance at or above 80% of 2019 levels. Two thirds of meeting professionals don’t expect the number of meetings to decrease.
Using industry speakersOne thing I’ve been seeing more of is that meeting planners are using more industry related speakers instead of general outside ones. I’ve asked if that is because of budget or if that’s what the attendees want and most of the time I hear that it’s what attendees want. There’s not much we can do as speakers to change that. Hopefully it’s a trend and will change, as things tend to do in this industry.
Overall the news is good. At least it’s way better than the past few years and there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
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I’ve been working as a speaker for the past 11 years and have encountered a lot of different situations. But there is always a first time for everything. I’m posting this as a precautionary tale in case it ever happens to you in your speaker contract issues. A few weeks ago I left for a...
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A Speaker Sponsor member recently asked why we send out opportunities for free speaking jobs. There are several reasons for that: Should you speak for free? You’re a beginner When you’re just starting out as a speaker you may want to speak for free to get the practice. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it...
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Every year American Express puts together a global meetings and events forecast. This year over 550 meeting and event specialists from 5 continents and 33 countries took part in the study. The great news for speakers is that there is optimism across the board that the meeting and event industry is still in a growth...
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It will eventually happen to everyone…losing someone you love. And then you may be asked to deliver the hardest speech you’ll ever give… a eulogy speech. Eulogy speeches are all different depending on the situation and which friends and family members happen to be there. I just gave my first one for a very long-time...
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The speaking industry in 2018 showed an increase in the number of meetings that would require speakers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently posted that between 2016-2026 the meeting and event industry would grow an average of 11%. The fastest growth in meetings and events is in the 101-500 attendee range. More bureau statistics show...
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I found out that you can get more speaking jobs by helping other speakers. Last week I got a call from a meeting planner regarding a keynote for their next conference. I spoke on the topics they were looking for and was available for the date of the event. She set up a time for...
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Every performer knows the show must go on, no matter what. I learned very early on as an actor how to perform through pain. How to push the pain to the back of my mind to give the audience what they came to see. I was on my way to do a TV show in...
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According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy and Giving USA, philanthropy in America for 2017 hit a record high and continues to break records. “Powered by a booming stock market and a strong economy, charitable giving by American individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations to U.S. charities surged to an estimated $410.02 billion in 2017, according to...
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All writers have run into writer’s block at one time or another. According to Wikipedia, writer’s block is “a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work, or experiences a creative slowdown. The condition ranges in difficulty from coming up with original ideas to being unable to produce...
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You walk off stage to thunderous applause and pat yourself on the back. You nailed it. The audience was with you and they loved you. But did they really? How do you know if the audience liked your speech? One of the first speeches I gave felt like this. Until I got my feedback. “She...
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