|

Author:
L. Charles Fernandez

If you’re a natural talker, you should know that talk isn’t cheap—when it comes to the speaking circuit. In fact, you can actually earn more than $100,000 by delivering motivational speeches. Professional speakers are in high demand these days, thanks to the myriad of speaking opportunities available at schools, charitable functions, and professional workshops. Community organizations, religious institutions, and other groups are constantly on the lookout for speakers for their fundraising banquets, educational sessions, and other events.

There is no standard educational requirement for professional speakers. After all, the late Peter Jennings, an acclaimed television news anchor and sought-after speaker, never finished college. However, generally speaking, the more education you have, the better, since educational achievement enhances your credibility as a speaker. For instance, if you have a PhD in bioethics, you’ll be in greater demand for speeches on stem cell research. However, even if you just have a standard bachelor of arts degree, you can still establish a career as a professional speaker.

The most important qualification for becoming a professional speaker is the ability to deliver an entertaining, engaging speech in a dynamic fashion. You also need to be able to show that you’re an expert in the subject matter—whether it’s politics or the dangers of drug abuse. You can begin by delivering speeches in your local community—an experience which can lead to speaking invitations in other cities. It’s wise if you join Toastmasters, so that you can gain experience and learn from the experiences of other speakers.

Once you have established yourself as a credible speaker, you can then sign on with a speakers’ bureau, a company which can publicize your qualifications and your accomplishments, secure speaking engagements for you, and make travel arrangements for your presentations.

L. Charles Fernandez is the creator of the Six Figure Jobs Blog, a guide to finding six figure jobs in unlikely fields.

| Article Keywords: Professional Speaker

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Professional Speaker... Free vs. Fee Speakers When is it cheaper to hire a professional than it is to hire free speakers? The answer that many meeting planners would instantly offer is, never. The other day, I had an eye-opening conversation with the executive director of an association based in the eastern part of North America. If you answered the opening question the same way, hopefully, this will open your eyes. The executive director said to me, “Ed, I discovered it was cheaper to hire you to speak for two days at my meeting than pay the travel and lodging expenses of the four free speakers that I was thinking of using.” For a couple years now I have been conducting multi-day for single-fee programs, and still, his comment was truly an eye-opener for me. In an effort to be accurate, I should share some additional details with you. First, the meeting venue is Maui, Hawaii and some of the free speakers would fly from eastern North America. Second, I offer multi-day programs eliminating the need for additional speakers. Deliver Value vs. Fill the Void Do the people responsible for particular meetings want to offer usable take-home value for the meeting attendees or do they simply want to fill a void? In my article titled, The Conference Conundrum, I detailed several of the issues that sometimes create a fearful situation for volunteer association leaders in which they just want to both be “safe” and organize a meeting “on the cheap” rather than to address the attendee and member value issue. Last spring, a meeting planner hired me to present at her national fall meeting. Since I live in the Greater Los Angeles area, she suggested that I might want to attend her coming Western Regional meeting that was to be held in Los Angeles. I took her up on the offer and arrived early enough to hear the keynote...