So, you are here because you want to be a speaker and want some tips on how to get started. 

In this article, I’ll present several tips to help guide you through the process of becoming a speaker.

Before you get started

Clearly articulate in a prioritized list why you want to be a speaker. 

Maybe you want to be a speaker because you feel that you have technical information to share.

Perhaps, you have an important motivational message which you want to convey to others. 

Maybe you want to be a speaker to help you sell a book or other products.  

Perhaps, you want to be a speaker because you want to make some extra money.

Similarly, specify in a prioritized list the audiences you are trying to reach out to.

Your strategy for securing a speaking engagement will be different depending on which items appear at the top of your list. 

For a beginner speaker, the easy parts of speaking will be preparing your talk and delivering it, and logistics like preparing for travel, billing and getting paid.

The real challenging part is securing the speaking engagement.

I’ve seen several new speakers look for an agent to represent them. Unless you are a celebrity this really isn’t going to happen!!!

Speakers’ bureaus do not want to hear from you. They say that they will find you if/when they need you. One speakers’ bureau charges $500 to review your marketing package. They also warn that this does not put you on their speakers’ list.  

It merely provides you with comments on improving your package. 

That is why SpeakerHub (and similar services) may be of support to you. You are welcome to describe yourself and potential clients may call you. 

Perhaps, the more helpful offering is that you have a list of potential speaking opportunities that you can apply for. 

In the beginning, speakers will probably do better actively looking for opportunities rather than waiting to be found.

In addition to visiting SpeakerHub regularly think about other potential clients and contact them.  If you have technical information to share contact technical societies which might be interested in your information and find out how to apply to be a speaker. There are a variety of different types of sessions at conferences and conventions. 

Unfortunately, the terminology used to describe these sessions varies between conferences, so be sure to understand how the organizations you are applying to define the various session types. 

Generally speaking, there are large sessions, generally in a ballroom to which many if not all of the conference attendees are expected to attend.

These are sometimes called keynote or plenary sessions. These sessions are normally addressed by experienced speakers, distinguished members of a profession and organization officers. They would tend to pay more than many other session types. 

There are concurrent sessions which typically run for one to two hours.

Sometimes there are multiple mini-sessions within the allocated time. Sometimes there are panel discussions. Sometimes there are workshops or symposia, panel discussions, and debates. 

There are also poster sessions in which a speaker is assigned an 8-foot by 4-foot poster board upon which they can display their poster. During an assigned time the poster presenter stands by their board, prepared to discuss the poster with visitors.  

Some societies may pay you to speak (more likely for keynote or plenary speakers or pre-convention or post-convention workshops), more likely you will receive free or reduced registration fees or will be expected to pay the normal registration fee if you are selected to speak. 

Some more sales oriented conferences may actually charge you to speak or require that you purchase a table in their exhibit hall. This process can be relatively slow.  

You may need to apply 6 months, a year, or more before the conference. 

As a beginner, you will probably be presenting a concurrent session or a poster, which means there will be several sessions going on at the same time. Participants will decide which sessions to attend. Thus, you need to have a very inviting session title and abstract (or brief description) of 50 words or 100 words (the conference will tell you the length) which convinces attendees to come to your session as opposed to all of the others. 

You will probably also need to present a more detailed paper which tells the selection committee what you will be presenting. 

The conference program committee will let you know their decision on whether or not to accept your proposal a few months (typically) after the deadline for receiving proposals.  Some conferences also want to review your visuals before the conference.

Preparing to present a poster

Think about a major highway with restricted entrance and exit ramps. What would you display if you wanted to get a driver or passenger’s attention? 

You probably would display some text in large letters as well as some pictures. You would then hope the motorist would be interested in obtaining more information when they returned home or to the office.  

A poster session at a convention hall is much like a major highway. People are walking by dozens if not hundreds of posters.

They will stop and look at the most interesting ones.  The purpose of the poster is to get the visitor to stop and chat with the presenter.  

Unfortunately, many poster presenters do not seem to think about this.  Instead, they use small print and essentially post magazine or journal articles on the poster board hoping that visitors will stop and read.

Sometimes they do if the topic is of particular interest, but many will keep on walking.  Maximize your poster’s effectiveness by remembering less content is sometimes more valuable for you. 

There are a variety of ways to format your poster.

You may print on individual 8.5 by 11 or A4 pieces of paper and tack each page on the board. While this is considered the old style, it is the most economical to print. It is also easy to transport.  It does take longer to post and remove than the other methods.  Some people will say it is less effective for presentations.

I have been told by numerous people that they like the separate pages, because the structure helps to organize the materials.

I sometimes place ribbon between each column to guide the visitor to go down each column rather than across the charts. I include lots of photos on my posters. I recommend bringing a box of push pins with you rather than depending upon the conference to supply them. To make the poster more attractive I also use different color pins for each column. 

The more common format for printing posters today is to print on one 4-foot by 8-foot sheet of paper. The advantages are that the poster can be posted quickly and one can post a large graphic. The disadvantages are that the poster is expensive to print, and very bulky to carry in a large 4-foot long tube. Additionally, it takes more effort to organize the poster in a meaningful way. 

The newest form for printing the poster is cloth. Cloth looks nice and is certainly easier to carry than a tube. The disadvantages are that printing is very expensive and the cloth may need to be ironed.

At the poster session be alert, available to talk with visitors, etc. Just think about going shopping at a department store. Which sales person are you most likely to engage with… the one who is talking with a colleague, reading a magazine, or eager to greet you. 

Concurrent sessions

As a new speaker, if you are not scheduled for a poster session, you are most likely to be scheduled for a concurrent session.  

This means that there will be sessions occurring at the same time in multiple rooms and you are competing for an audience.  

Having a catchy title and interesting session description/abstract may help you to attract an audience.

Don’t try to show everything on slides and don’t try to say everything about your work either. Present enough information to interest your audience. They can always ask you for more detailed information (or better yet invite you to speak to their organization.)

While some conferences have pre-registration for individual sessions, more likely you will not be able to predict how many people will be in your session until a few minutes after it begins (because people do arrive late).

You should find out about the room capacity in advance and prepare accordingly.  

Let’s be real though, if you are in a huge room you most likely will not fill it.  Audience members often like to sit in the back row, whereas speakers would like to have everyone up front.  

One “trick of the trade” is to bring a roll of inexpensive tape and lots of signs saying “Reserved” on them.

When you arrive simply run the roll of tape along the aisle seats and attach one of the “Reserved” signs to the tape at the beginning of each row.  I’ve found that audience members will then go to the front of the room.  If asked who the seats are reserved for, the obvious answer is “late-comers.”

Feedback

As a new speaker, you may want lots of feedback from audience members. On the other hand, you don’t want to spend too much time collecting it.  

I distribute a business card with the wording “Please summarize this session in one word” printed on it. It doesn’t take too much time to write one word. I have people drop the cards in a container as they exit the room.

Once I collect the cards, I make them into a Word Cloud to get a visual picture of the feedback, and frequently publish it on my website.

Handouts 

You may wish to give audience members something useful or interesting with your name and contact information printed on it so that they will remember you.

Be creative here, and try to think of something that won’t end up in the trash, recycle bin or buried in a filing cabinet. 

Speaking outside of the conference circuit

Joining an organization such as Toastmasters or speaking for local organizations and clubs may provide you with experience in marketing and delivering your message.

Typically, these organizations pay with a free meal and perhaps free publicity (which may result in your getting more invitations to speak for free, to buy advertising, or if you are really lucky to get paid to speak.)

These organizations may also provide you with the opportunity to sell your product or service after the program.  

Alternative formats

Some organizations may find an alternative format to the traditional lecture to be interesting.  Others may not.  

I, personally, have decided to offer TV game show style programs in lieu of the traditional lecture.  Some clients have found this format to be very interesting.  

The game show style programs have become my most popular format, but they are not for everyone.

If you are thinking about using an alternative format, you will need to decide what the advantages, risks, and disadvantages are and make an appropriate decision.  

Selling yourself and your program

As there are more people wanting to speak than speaker slots available, in all of your marketing materials that you send to potential clients be thinking about why should they hire you over:

• a member of their own organization;
• a celebrity;
• a more experienced speaker;
• another new speaker such as yourself or
• someone like me!

While you would not want to mention this explicitly, you need to articulate this in everything to show or say.  

Dr. Shapiro would like to thank Dr. Margarita Posada Cossuto for helpful comments.

About the Author:
Dr. Ronald G. Shapiro earned his doctoral degree in psychology with a specialization in designing products, solutions, and services so that they will be easy for people to use. He is also an experienced educator, manager, leader and consultant having worked in large companies and small companies, offering training programs designed to show people more about how they think so that they can be safer, more productive, better designers and better communicators.