Surviving As A Public Speaker, Now That Public Speaking Is Dead

I recently published a new report which sums up my view of the last 2 years of the public speaking business by concluding that “Public Speaking (*as you know it) Is Dead!”

If you would like a free copy of the report, you’ll find a link to it in the resource box at the end of this article

This report contains my opinions, but the facts support and top speakers agree with what I have concluded.

I recently received a comment from well-known speaker and author, Jim Cathart, CPAE and Past President of the National Speakers Association, who said this: “Scott Dennison has nailed it. The problem in our business is that it’s not there anymore. The needs are still there and our skills are still valuable, but the ways in which people buy our services has permanently moved. It’s time to go where the buying is happening.”

So what is this all about and if the old way of doing things in the speaking business is dead – what can you, as a public speaker do to survive? Here are my top three tips for public speaking success in 2010 and beyond.

1) Since we’ve moved from a time when speakers delivered their message in meetings and conventions and commanded high fees to do so, to one where meetings that require a speaker are reduced, we all have to respect and adapt to the new rules.

However the audiences who are used to attending meetings and conventions are still hungry for information on your area of expertise. They want to access your specific knowledge and are seeking content from you – so give it to them. What this means in short is that you need to think like a publisher or content provider, not just a speaker.

2) Seek to find out what the audience loved about you and about your information. Then build relationships with only those individuals who are passionate about your topic.

When you can fill a need in someone’s life with your content (information), it does not matter where in the world they live. It only matters that they have access to you through the Internet. The days when your access to audiences was limited to those who would or could travel to hear you speak in person are over.

Provide content for your users in multi-media formats for them to consume. When you offer your information in video, audio and text based formats you meet the needs of everyone and do it in a way that allows them access in the learning style which they most prefer.

It’s become quite common to take a presentation that was originally recorded in video that later becomes available as audio CDs, transcribed into a book, converted and distributed as articles or even blog posts. While repurposing your video may seem difficult and require a lot of work its very easy and quite profitable to do.

Forget about thinking that tens of thousands of fans are needed for speakers to make an outstanding living. These days if you have just 1000 people who you’ve built a strong relationships with, and who want to learn from you, that they invest only $100 per month, you’ll immediately decide that THERE IS life after the old model of public speaking has died.

Speaker’s marketing whiz, Scott A. Dennison is discussing the future of the public speaking business and offering you his FREE report Public Speaking (*as you know it) IS DEAD along with his most popular Public Speaking Tips when you visit his site.