You have a message and you know that by sharing it, you will save others from wasting time, save them money, bring them better health or whatever your area of expertise is. While talking to people one on one is incredibly rewarding because of the connections of the heart that you make, you want to serve more people. You know you will need to become a speaker and get gigs speaking in front of larger audiences.
How do you get speaking engagements? Start by clarifying and getting good at delivering your message. Once you are semi-confident (there is always a little bravery required) you will need to prepare for speaking success. Get a speaker’s kit together.
A speaker’s kit will consist of a speaker’s sheet, a speaker’s reel, references, if you have them, a business card and a nice presentation folder. You will want to have at least three physical speaker’s kits on you in case you meet someone to pass it along to in your day to day. You will also want to have an electronic copy ready to go with a click of the SEND button.
A speaker’s sheet is the bare minimum, yet if you really want to stand out and book speaking engagements that others cannot get, you will want a speaker’s reel, or a video of your most profound soundbites along with testimonials, pictures, music and more. Decision makers want to see you in action. You may get word of mouth recommendations because someone likes you, yet when the powers at large can see how dynamic you are, that you are professional and experienced, you automatically go to the top of the pile for consideration.
Most speaker’s reels are expensive because they are done rather inefficiently most of the time. You book several engagements and pay to have it videotaped. You comb through hours of footage to find clips that look good, sound good and have good advice. You give it to an editor and you go back and forth about what it should look like as the cost gets higher and higher.
Could you imagine doing that in Hollywood to make a movie? Let’s just grab a bunch of footage and see what we can put together that will look like a film? NO WAY! You’d never see another movie because the cost would be staggering and the product, probably not so good.
They storyboard the movie first. They have a clear idea on what every scene will look like before they start filming and editing.
It only makes sense that by storyboarding your speaker’s reel before the project, you will be able to save time, money AND have a much better video that you really like and are proud to share.
If you need help storyboarding, I can help. My 5 years of producing a television show, Home Grown Music, which aired on Fox 29, allowed me to get really, really good at this gift I was born with. BTW, when you learn to storyboard, you can also storyboard your life!
