How to Become a Professional Speaker
If you want to become a professional speaker there are several
avenues you can take.
1. You can simply claim you're a pro and start soliciting paid speaking
engagements. Although I'm all for taking action, I don't recommend this as the
best way to start. You can really shoot yourself in the foot by saying the wrong
thing to a meeting planner who will then tell all his/her meeting planner
friends that you don't know what you're doing.
2. You could join as a guest member of a chapter of the National Speakers
Association. Most chapters allow guests to attend their meetings while preparing
to qualify for acceptance into the National organization. This is highly
recommended, but a very slow way to get up to speed.
3. Get professional speaking training. There are not that many places to get
credible pro speaking training. Many of the people that would be qualified to
teach you don't offer the service. You also have to watch out for people
teaching this skill who never had a significant speaking career themselves.
There are also out and out ripoffs who could teach you if they wanted to but
they prefer to get your money and then give you zero or very little help.
We highly recommend training. You just have to be darn careful who you deal
with.
Check out or powerful professional speaking ebook and by the time you read a few
pages you'll know we know what we're talking about.
