DISQUS

I am someone who wants to know you--particularly if you are a fun, hard-driven achiever who is determined to lead an intellectually productive life.

I want to offer encouragement to anyone reading this who wants to be a paid, professional speaker. I have the good fortune to be a keynote speaker--mostly at big events for women philanthropists or women in leadership. Speaking at these events is a lot of fun for me, but mostly because I believe I have something important to say.

For me, the path to becoming a paid professional speaker started with writing articles that were featured in print publications. I am sure that, as Chris stated, publishing in a blog could have a similar affect. By expressing my unique point of view in an entertaining manner, I caught the attention of meeting planners who assumed I would be a good speaker.

My next step down the path involved my inner game. My head game, actually. I had to self-define as a professional speaker--someone worthy of being paid. This shouldn't be hard for anybody who has great content to deliver, a point of view and good presentation skills, but sometimes it is. Sometimes we get caught up in a belief that we should simply be flattered to have been asked to speak and grateful to have an audience. I say, yes, feel flattered; be grateful, and expect to be paid.

Once I started charging for my speaking, I made it my practice to always charge the same amount to my clients. I refer to this as "fee integrity." Others will disagree, but I think it is important. You, yourself may justify charging differing fees to different clients, but you can't really expect your clients to understand this. And the first thing a potential client is going to ask another event organizer is, "How much did she charge?"

Over time I have raised my speaking fees to what most would consider sizable. I have used this practice to do so. When asked to quote my fee, I close my eyes, breathe deeply, multiply by three and say the number. Be bold. Ask to be paid what you want to be worth. Then work hard to prepare a fabulous presentation and deliver the goods! My own experience is that the more my clients pay me, the better they love me. That may sound obnoxious and cheeky, but I want you to know this. After all, I am trying to offer you encouragement.

The thing you must remember is that, actually, professional speaking is a lot of work. Even for someone like Chris Brogan and Kay Ballard, who are alike in the fact that we have never seen a microphone we didn't love. Professional speaking involves travel and that involves airports and hotel rooms and every sort of imaginable inconvenience. Professional speaking also involves ancillary obligations like dinners with board members, receptions in your honor, etc. Much of the time you will probably enjoy these event but you will not be compensated beyond your speaking fees for participating.

One more thing: I agree that uncompensated speaking at select conferences is worthwhile in that it can sometimes be leveraged into paid speaking gigs. However, if you aspire to be a paid professional speaker, I think you should have a policy regarding the amount of unpaid speaking you are willing to do and be very selective in regard to the conferences you speak at pro bono.

Good luck to each of you regardless of where you find yourself on the path. I look forward to seeing you on stage!

Kay Ballard

A post graduate course in the art and purpose of controversy.