In part two of this seven part series on “How to Speak Life & Create Wealth™” let me share with you, how to build a Speakers Roadmap.
What do you want to get out of pursuing a speaking career? Is it getting a message out that you want to share with the world? Do you feel like you can speak better than the person who is up on the stage? Or do you just have the gift of gab and want to capitalize on it by increasing your revenue stream through public speaking?
The Speakers Roadmap
Whatever your motivation, and even if it’s not found amongst the questions up above, you need a plan or what I like to call “The Speakers Roadmap©.” Let me share with you why this “Speakers Roadmap is essential to your rapid and sustained success. Anyone with a voice or the ability to utter a word, is a speaker, but when you speak for impact and taking action, it increases your ability to bring value to a meeting planner’s business relationship with their clients. I have worked with meeting planners in different countries & all over the United States and one non-negotiable remains constant. As a speaker, can you deliver on the meeting planner’s objectives for the event? No amount of props or smoke and mirrors will save you if the objectives for the event are not accomplished.
Meeting Planner Relationships
The first order of business before sending contracts for signatures or trying to determine the room set-up is to have a conversation with the meeting planner. The goal is to determine what I like to call, Person-Job-Fit. If you are asked to speak on bio-genetic testing, but you have zero medical background, then this may be the point that you bow out gracefully, however, if it’s a topic you have vast experience with and feel very comfortable discussing during the meeting, then it’s time to move on to the next phase of the booking.
The Checklist Stage
The checklist stage or going through the meeting planners objectives, and your own for the event. For example, (a) Main outcome, (b) pre-event requirements, (c) blending of company initiatives, challenges, etc. into your talk, (d) financial investment required by speaker, (e) length of talk, and (f) any post-event needs.
While these six checklist items are not exhaustive and will vary based upon the event, they all point to a clear Speakers Roadmap to facilitate a successful event. If you are thinking about venturing into the realm of public speaking or already speak regularly, use these checklist items to gain clarity and add value to your next speaking opportunity. You and the meeting planner will be glad that you did!
Point of Clarity Quote:
A good plan is a like a roadmap: It Shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there.
-H. Stanley Judd
