Tag Archives: public speaking

How To Get Paid To Speak Live

October 30, 2024 The Silo Leave a comment

TED talks, YouTube rants and Mr. Peanut, the mascot for Planters Peanuts, are all signs of just how highly valued the art of oratory is today.

“Yep, even Mr. Peanut (voiced by Robert Downey Jr.) has been seen in Planters ads over the past couple of years giving TED-style presentations; people are spending top dollar to attend a well-presented speech with useful information from an inspired perspective, and the best speakers may be regarded fairly as today’s rock stars,” says expert speaker coach Jane Atkinson, author of “The Wealthy Speaker 2.0”.

“The ability to command a fee is a sign that you’ve made it as a speaker. However, as with rock stars, it’s a long way to the top if you’re just starting. But if you have something to offer then you can reach that fee status, and there’s a reliable path to follow.”

The three phases to becoming a paid speaker.

• Ready. “Picking a lane” in your topic is the first step to becoming not only a paid speaker, but a wealthy one, too. Ask yourself the questions, “What topic do I want to be known for five years from now?” and “Will someone pay me for that information?” When looking to hire a speaker to deliver a keynote speech for a conference, who will be picked from a pool of experts – a jack of all trades or someone who hits the center of the bull’s-eye on a topic? When picking a lane, consider delving into topics including leadership, engagement, corporate culture or communication. This is the phase in which you’ll want to really develop your bona fides, including your material and establishing the goal of how you’d like to help your audience.

• Aim. Here is the marketing phase that cannot be underappreciated. It includes aspects like your website and what you do to drive traffic there, which may include a well-written blog with relevant content, and media exposure. However, the most important way to market yourself is to do a truly excellent job with your actual speech. A good speech for a speaker is like a great pastry for a baker – a quality product speaks volumes itself. There is no better form of marketing than a great speech. Therefore, if you think your speech could use help, take care of it right away. No amount of marketing dollars, no fancy Facebook page and no ultra-cool website can overcome a mediocre presentation. However, when you market yourself, you’ll want to include a number of materials, including your brand, promise statement, photos, a bio illustrating credibility, testimonials and more.

• Fire. Now, you need to identify your target market and determine the best method to reach them. You need to roll out your product and continue to build momentum. Be ready to fire your message to your target market via a public relations campaign strategy. There are multiple ways of effectively getting good attention from the media, but don’t believe all attention is good attention. Carefully consider your press releases. Atkinson says the mistake most speakers make is sending out a press release that does not answer the question: “So what?” They don’t tie it to anything relevant into which the press can sink their teeth. Another way to “fire” is to identify your ideal customer, also called the The Attraction Method, as detailed in the book, “Attracting Perfect Customers: The Power of Strategic Synchronicity” by Stacy Hall and Jan Brogniez.

“If you feel as though you have something to offer audiences via oral presentations, then you probably do,” Atkinson says. “These days, so much content can be had for free online, but that doesn’t take the place of a live experiential presentation. A presentation that is ‘epic’ will remain in your memory for years. The ability to present your content live, and make the presentation worthwhile and relevant, means you can earn a reliable stream of revenue based on what you’re good at.” For the Silo, Jane Atkinson.

Props and good lighting can add dramatic effects like this lecture at Hogwarts.

Supplemental- Top 10 Highest Paid Public Speakers in the World

Culture

How You Feel About Money Affects Your Wealth

April 2, 2020 The Silo Leave a comment

Although we live in the richest and most advanced society the world has ever known, many of us say we need more money in order to be happy, notes best-selling business book author Doug Vermeeren.

“Even some of those in the top percentile of earners often feel like they don’t have enough money,” says Vermeeren, (www.DouglasVermeeren.com), an international speaker who consults with celebrities, business executives and professional athletes.

“The math is simple: More money does not equal more happiness. It’s our attitude toward money, not the amount, that influences our happiness the most.”

Happiness researchers Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, professors at the Harvard Business School, recently published research indicating that it’s not money that makes people happy, nor the things people buy with it. Rather, it’s the experiences one has that ultimately account for happiness.

“How you experience your money on a day-to-day basis is what matters,” Vermeeren says. “If the software running in your brain is constantly reinforcing the message, ‘it’s not enough,’ then that is likely how you will see yourself and experience your life – as ‘not enough.’ ”

The world’s richest city- is it Tokyo or Dubai? The top ranking seems up for grabs and changes from year to year.

Harvard's Happiness researcher (we're not making this stuff up) Elizabeth Dunn — Harvard’s Happiness researcher Elizabeth Dunn

Vermeeren reviews the three fallacies of abundance as it relates to happiness:

• We are all entitled to a certain amount of wealth: The feeling that we deserve or are owed a certain amount of wealth will always make us unhappy with whatever we have. While we are entitled to certain human rights, those do not include a winning lottery ticket. In reality, we are not owed any amount of abundance and, in fact, should count ourselves lucky if we’re able to meet our basic needs; many in the world are not. More of us, however, would be happier simply appreciating what we have.

• The result of our labors is money: Money is a means to an end, not an end in itself. This can be a challenge to keep in mind since so much of our lives are spent in the pursuit of money. We work and go to school to support ourselves and our families. We see things we want, and we know we need more money for them. Study after study shows, however, that what really makes us happy is what we do and who we do it with, and not how much money we spend.

• We’ll be happiest when we finally reach our goal: We are happiest when we are progressing toward a goal. When we lose sight of our goal, veer off the path toward our goal, and even achieve our goal, we’re less happy. Rather than setting one goal and deciding you will be happy when you meet it, you’ll be most happy if you continually set goals and relish your journey toward them.

Doug Vermeeren is an internationally renowned public speaker, author, movie producer and director. His life coaching strategies help those from all walks of life, with clients including business executives, celebrities, professional athletes and more. Throughout the last decade, Vermeeren has conducted extensive first hand research into the lives of more than 400 of the world’s top contemporary achievers, making him a sought-after commentator on news outlets including ABC, FOX, CNN and more. He has written three titles contributing to Guerilla Marketing, the best-selling business series in publishing, which is included reading in the Harvard Business School.

His documentaries include the award-winning film, The Opus, which has been published by Random House as a book in 23 countries. Vermeeren’s latest film, The Gratitude Experiment , has received critical acclaim. For the Silo, Ginny Grimsley.

Culture

Small Talk Vineyards on how to Master the art of “Small Talk”

September 25, 2014 The Silo Leave a comment

Anyone who’s been caught at a wedding reception or a cocktail party discussing recent changes in the weather knows that these situations can quickly go from bad to worse and that making small talk isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Conversations with strangers can sometimes be stilted and uncomfortable, often resulting in a mad dash for the door as soon as is socially acceptable, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

“Small talk is an art,” says Small Talk Vineyards Owner, Hank Hunse. “It isn’t a skill that people are born with, but it can be mastered. Small talk is the starting point of all relationships and whether you are at a friend’s wine tasting party or a networking event it is an important starting point for everyone.”

Small Talk Vineyards, located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, knows all about the art of good conversation and the winery’s staff have become experts at small talk.

“A big part of our business is engaging our visitors in conversation,” said Hunse. “With hundreds of people visiting the winery each season, we have had to learn how to keep our guests engaged in conversation while ensuring they feel comfortable.”

To help us conquer our jitters of awkward meetings and functions, Small Talk Vineyards has compiled a list of five tips to mastering the art of small talk:

Remember Names

Introductions tend pass in a blur. Names are forgotten just as quickly as the hors d’oeuvres disappear, but make an effort to slow down and stay present. Repeat the person’s name in your head a few times and if you forget a name, discreetly ask a third party for help. Remembering someone’s name goes a long way and they are more likely to approach you at future gatherings.

Establish Eye Contact

This may sound like a no-brainer, but in uncomfortable situations people tend to avoid eye contact. Casual eye contact and a warm, friendly smile demonstrate your interest and desire to communicate. Eye contact for five to ten seconds indicates curiosity and is generally considered friendly. Make an effort to keep your body language open and relaxed – you’ll send out confident and friendly signals that will draw people to you

Discuss the Setting

Finding a topic of discussion after introductions is the hardest part of small talk. By commenting on the location of the event — how long the line is for drinks or floral arrangements — you are creating common ground. For example, if we sense that someone is uncomfortable during a wine tasting, we often comment on the bright paint colours that decorate the winery to find common ground.

Have Fun!

It’s important to remember that you aren’t alone. There are others in the room feeling just as uncomfortable as you, so stop hiding behind your glass of wine and enjoy yourself! Allow yourself to be curious and ask questions, you never know who you might meet.

Make a Clean Escape

When your conversation starts to draw to a close, take the opportunity to make a natural exit. Using phrases such as “I need to grab another drink” or “I need to say hello to a friend who just arrived” allows you to make a clean exit. Make sure to end the conversation with something like: “I’ve enjoyed talking to you, and I hope to talk to you again.” This keeps the lines of communication open for another meeting.

To learn more about Small Talk Vineyards please visit www.smalltalkvineyards.com. Follow Small Talk on Twitter @SmallTalkWines and like it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/smalltalkwinery

About Small Talk Vineyards:

Small Talk Vineyards is an innovative, boutique, small-production VQA winery located in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The estate vineyard is family run and has been in operation since 1955. Small Talk’s labels are about attending dinner parties and engaging in conversation, the front label in the “Speech Bubble” is what we say out loud during these gatherings and the back label, the “thought bubble” expresses what we’re thinking. Small Talk Vineyards features bold, fresh VQA wines that expose the dramatic gap between what you say … and what you really think!

Culture

Douglas Coupland Player One

July 21, 2011 The Silo Leave a comment

As the world teeters on the brink of disaster, four people converge in a Toronto Airport cocktail lounge. As oil prices suddenly approach $300 a barrel, power cuts out, planes stop taking off and cell phone signals die—a self imposed apocalypse sets into motion. As you read, four people come to terms with the situation, and more importantly, each other. Karen, the 40 year old receptionist at a psychiatric clinic who has flown to Toronto to meet a man she met on the Internet; Rick, the recovering alcoholic bartender who eagerly awaits the arrival of an obviously transparent self-help guru; Luke, a pastor, recently turned felon, who has run off with $20 000 from his church renovation fund; and Rachel, a beautiful, young autistic woman with the intention to find a man to be the father of her child.

“Cocktails and laughter—and what will come after?” asks the haunting voice of Player One after the self-narrated character introductions and before the announcement of the skyrocketing gas prices that quickly envelop the world in complete chaos. The novel follows a simple format: each character narrates their version of the same events, over a five hour period, followed by Player One’s omniscient and sometimes mocking narration. The identity of Player One remains a mystery up until the end of the novel where resolution is provided and final comments are made.

Player One is the first fiction selection for the CBC Massey Lecture series. Presented in a series of five, one hour, real-time lectures, Coupland explores what people do, talk about and think about as the world sits on the brink of total disaster. For anyone who has read Coupland, this novel addresses many familiar themes and ideas. Mild drama and in-depth dialogue where topics from humanity to sexuality fill the text of this lecture turned novel.

This book, simple in structure, but at times complicated in meaning, provides the reader with a scary dystopian view of what will become of us when a daily staple in most of our lives becomes virtually unavailable. The dialogue can drag on at times and the characters can be a little predictable and melodramatic, but this novel is more about what it leaves you with when you put it down. What would happen if gas became unaffordable? How small would our world actually get? Douglas Coupland will infect your mind with these questions long after you put down the book and forget about the meddling and self-loathing characters.

As Player One haunts the pages of this book, the ideas and inferences you read will haunt your mind every time you indulge in a modern day convenience, such as filling a vehicle up with gas, making this book a worthy read. For the Silo, Sarah Purdy.

Supplemental:

iTunes link: Massey Lecture with Douglas Coupland

TED talks, YouTube rants and Mr. Peanut, the mascot for Planters Peanuts, are all signs of just how highly valued the art of oratory is today.

The three phases to becoming a paid speaker.

Canada's 'biggest little blogspace'