Speakers Gold

01/30/2023

Move the Needle
Some professional speakers (only a few), want to soothe audiences; to offer them some ‘Pablum’ platitudes. To keep them happy.
That’s not what an organization or the audiences really need, though. It doesn’t move the needle. I recall one event I attended where I felt inspired by a positive message. Until I left the auditorium and faced a wicked rainstorm outside. P**f!
I think I speak for many organizations and audiences when I say that what gives me lasting inspiration over and over again is to be challenged. When you suggest that I can take on and master something new, that I can change my unbeneficial beliefs and become a much larger version of me, that’s empowering. That level of inspiration can outlast any bad weather.
Do a deep dive on the organization you’re either pitching to or booked to address. What are their strengths? What do you think their current challenges are? What does the organization want from you? As you speak to organizers, listen to what they say. Listen even more deeply to what’s left unsaid.
You can’t challenge your audience unless you also challenge yourself. This means you’re required to walk your talk, to be direct and honest and to touch the hearts and minds of those in the audience.
Tall order. But you can do it.
You weren’t paid big bucks to soothe the organization. You were hired to move the needle. And to get invited back next year!

09/19/2022

2023 for conferences is looking good. 🤓🎤

09/17/2022

Years ago, I moved from Toronto to Nova Scotia in order to write a book and ended up starting the Canadian Association for Professional Speakers, Atlantic Branch.

Here’s what can happen when you get in touch with yourself, wade through grief, face your mistakes and rearrange everything. Because that’s what happened in the time I spent away...

After 3 years, I returned to Toronto. Before I left, my friend persuaded me to visit Brier Island - a mystical place that goes back hundreds of years. My friend and I were fogged in, so I opened a book in the library and read about a Davis woman. I realized she was almost certainly related to my Davis cousins.

I wrote an article about Brier Island for the Halifax Herald and returned to Toronto. I was in a Toronto movie theatre, when I had a bolt-of-lightning insight which was ‘I will write a book about Margaret Davis.

And I thought, ‘How?’. The publishing industry was in the pits. A book proposal was a ton of work with no promise of publication.

With no outreach on my part, I received a publisher’s proposal looking for short Canadian History stories.

I submitted a quick proposal which they accepted.

I started writing when I was told the book couldn’t be fictional. I was left with about 2 pages of facts (and those were not totally accurate). Now what?

I discovered that my Davis cousins had written a very thorough history book about the Davis family starting with the American revolution.

Thanks to the info from their book, I wrote my book, it was published. Soon the publisher went out of business and my book is no longer in circulation.

Lost cause? Not at all… a few years later, film-maker Carter Thurber submitted a short film on Margaret Davis to the Atlantic film festival, which hundreds of attendees saw. Soon after that, a group of students were asked to name a Brier Island ferry which they called ‘Margaret’s Journey’. I couldn’t have orchestrated any of this.

It just happened.

As you go bravely into this new and yet unknown speakers market, spend time emptying your mind without trying to orchestrate.

Release your resistance and see what happens.

09/16/2022

A few years back, I was addressing the 🇨🇦 Canadian Association of Professional Speakers members in Saskatchewan.

The night before my session, I kept reviewing my notes until finally I realized that I know my topic inside out. How about focusing on what I was planning to wear? I shifted my focus. ✨

And the next morning, I shifted again and ended up throwing out my script and creating an audit for speakers. Probing questions that made them rethink their current strategy for getting high end speaking gigs.

💬 Questions such as:
How much do you charge for your keynote?
How much would you like to charge?
How to mend the gap?
From 1-50, how would you rate your speech?
What do you currently have to offer and how can you strengthen your offer?
How many gigs do you want this coming year? How can you expand your outreach plan?
How strong are the testimonials you get? If not strong, how can you strengthen them.
Look a year ahead, where do you want to be?
What’s your plan to get there?
What’s your greatest strength as a speaker?
What’s your biggest deficit and how can you compensate for that?
Answering these questions for yourself will be helpful in determining your fees.

You may be better than you think! 🤓

09/15/2022

In the wild world of paid professional speaking, there’s a lot weighing on how you determine your fees 🤔

We had a recent query about a phenomenal speaker with a high demand topic 💬

The event organizer was excited about booking this speaker.

Until I quoted the fee. And that was the end of the call…the meeting planner simply didn’t have the budget.

What the company gained by not spending, they lost in company morale.

So how DO you determine your fees? 💸

Here are some measuring tools 🛠

➡️ How long you’ve been in the speaking profession
➡️ How strong are your testimonials?
➡️ How coherent is your website (including great graphics of course!)?
➡️ What do your colleagues and clients say about you?
➡️ The strength of your social media presence (especially Linked In)
➡️ How many bureaus represent you?
➡️ What your colleagues say about you
➡️ How long you’ve been in business?

And most importantly, the strength and relevance of your message.

Simple, right? You hit all the above and you can command an excellent fee.

09/14/2022

A few years back, when I was leading seminars, I’d choose someone in the audience, get them to stand and then I’d say this, “Margaret, I have some chilling news…. there is a distinct possibility that a tornado will level this building. However, I’m behind a barrier so I will be safe.

You, though, may not get out alive. If so, what message do you want me to give those you love?
You have three minutes to tell me what matters most.”

I wanted Margaret to think about what was in her heart and what her values are.

I can ‘Margaret’ took an entire minute to consider that message. And then the REAL message came out; something along the lines of: “I want my family to know that I love and believe in them.

I want them to find their own path in life and know that no matter what path they choose, I applaud them.”

My goal was to get away from the theoretical, the academic, the Latin-based words that inform the brain but rarely shake hands with the heart.

When it comes to paid professional speaking, if you don’t reach the heart; if you don’t offer hope to the audience, I have a question for you...

Why are you there? 🤔

09/14/2022

What will September 2022 bring? ✨

My take:

The Fall will be flooded with speaking requests and also with speaker responses. Expectations will be high since planners have a lot of speakers to choose from.

The speaking industry has always been a buyer’s market

The U. S. will have (as per usual) the most active market and pay the highest fees. The big surprise will be emerging countries with a healthy budget to pay speakers and who want access to North American business wisdom.

Know your true worth; don’t accept offers that are not worthy of you.
Leave the small stuff for the beginning speakers, they need to get their feet wet.

You don’t.

The Association market used to be a great market for speakers starting out but now most Associations are sponsored.

Avoid them for now. Again, know your worth.

You’re one of a kind, after all! 🤍

09/12/2022

It happens from time to time. In this case, the speaker who had to withdraw from the engagement (just two weeks ahead of the gig) that we had been working on for months 😥

He, I and the meeting planners involved went into to panic mode.
Not helpful! 🚨

Then we all hunkered down to provide a solution that created as little disruption as possible.

I recommended six potential speakers aligned with the organization’s needs and values. In the end, they sourced their own speaker 🎤

Should you need to cancel a gig for whatever reason, inform the bureau immediately. The bureau is responsible for supply a replacement. If you’re not upfront about potential problems, the potential reputational damage to bureau, speaker and the organization can be lasting.

09/01/2022

09/24/2021

Here's a real giant in the world of professional speaking!

09/10/2021

One of the world's top writers; a courageous woman and a true visionary.

09/10/2021

09/04/2021

At Speakers Gold bureau, we provide top professional speakers and industry leaders to address corporate conferences and deliver keynote speeches to audiences around the world.
For more details visit website:
https://speakersgold.com/

09/01/2021

Nicholas Boothman, one of the world's top speakers on making connections. Check him out at https://speakersgold.com/speakers/nicholas-boothman/