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Author:
Bette Daoust, Ph.D.

How do you find groups that are in need of speakers
(at no charge)?

Finding groups that use speakers is not difficult. I find that most organized service groups use speakers for their regular meetings. I am a member of Rotary and have been for nearly fifteen years. In that period of time, the clubs use a speaker almost every week of the year. There are thousands of Rotary clubs all over the world. The most important thing to remember, especially for Rotary, is that the topic must be of interest to the members and that you cannot sell your services to the group. Many a good speakers have not been recommended to other clubs as they tried to sell attendance to their speeches or training sessions.

I find that other groups such as Lions, Kiwanis, churches, PTAs, etc., all want to hear good talks and they do not want to be sold a bill of goods. You need to remember that your goal is to get your name known, not to sell. If one group likes your speech, they may give you referrals to other groups that would like to hear what you have to say. Another great place to offer a talk is at the Chamber of Commerce. Almost every town in North America has a Chamber. You will need to find out the protocols for putting on a talk, but most are open to new ideas and fresh topics. More often than not, you will find out about groups through your own networking efforts.

Even though some groups are easy to get on the speakers list, others will make it more difficult. They will want to know more about who you are, why you want to talk to the group and how the topic fits for their members.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people’s attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the “Networking Queen”. Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com

| 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... Planning Your Next Event: Can All Speakers Talk? Article: Although it was flattering to receive an invitation to speak on his specialist subject, David Johnson had never presented to a large audience before. He was nervous, not only about the reception his ideas would receive but also about his under-developed presentation skills. The invitation provided him with no help on either topic and asked only for a written version of the talk on disk in advance of the event. Some seminars are simply a list of guest speakers following one another onto the stage to describe their experiences or to stimulate controversy with a new theory. Other events will invite a single guest speaker to add authority to the subject matter and to give the audience a change of face and a change of pace. In order to get the best possible performance from your speakers, they need to be cosseted, spoiled and micro-managed. Those with a top reputation in their field will be expensive and in high demand so make your booking really far in advance; twelve months is not uncommon. You may get lucky with a late cancellation but don't put money on it! Treat your speakers like the honored guests that they are. Take care of their travel arrangements, accommodation and rehearsal with enormous attention to detail. Brief them thoroughly about the event, listen carefully to their needs, act quickly and appropriately to solve problems and collect feedback from the audience specifically for them. When using a series of speakers talking on a specific subject, it helps if the audience is not exposed to excessive repetition. Take care to produce a brief for each speaker that considers the subject from different angles and check that they are not straying too far from their given viewpoint as they...