How To Get Asked to Speak on Stage
I often get asked how to get asked to speak on stage. You may see me flying around the world (in the “old” days) speaking on large stages and imagine the fun, the glamour and the fees involved!
What you have to understand is that I didn’t wake up one day to a bunch of phone calls asking me to speak in Canada and Dubai and Australia and Poland etc. And I’ll get to that in a minute. But it is important to understand the Power of Positioning.
The Power of Positioning
Because I have done a fair amount of paid speaking around the world, I am perfectly positioned to get more. But that’s like anything, isn’t it? If you want an extension built, you are probably going to use a builder who has successfully done a lot of extensions. If you want to wow your delegates at a conference, you are probably going to look for speakers who have a track record of delivering.
And it’s not just about being able to say you have done it (whether that is extensions or talks!). You need the evidence. So you need to get your work up online and accessible to everyone. You’d be well advised to also get people talking about it – in the form of testimonials.
If people can see what you do, and see what other people think about what you do – well then you never need to “sell yourself”. It’s the Power of Positioning in action.
How Do You Start?
As I said already, I didn’t just wake up one morning to lots of invites to speak. It didn’t “just happen”. It took planning, hard work, and investment. Like anything worth doing.
I fell into public speaking training. I went to an event where a very accomplished speaker was strutting his stuff on stage, and I was mesmerised. He seemed to be speaking just to me. I was unhappy with my life and I didn’t know what I wanted to do – until I signed up for his public speaking course. Then I was hooked.
I knew I wanted to help other people like me, who were living someone else’s dream. I wanted to help them to wake up and start living their own dreams, their own purpose. I knew the only way I could reach enough people was to talk about it – on stage and to camera.
And so I had to get over myself.
I had to learn how to put together and deliver a powerful keynote speech, and have the confidence to deliver it. I wasn’t that good at the beginning. No-one is on day one, right? But with practice and dedication I got better.
I then had to step out of my comfort zone again. Because the only way to get to speak on a stage – before anyone knows who you are – is to either put on your own event, or ASK to speak at someone else’s. So that’s what I did. I asked if I could go on stage for my mentor. I kept asking – even when I was told to stop asking.
Ask for Opportunities and Take Them!
And eventually, I got the opportunity. And I was ….. not bad. He saw something in me, and put me on stage more times. Because of THAT positioning, other speakers at his events saw me speak and they asked me to speak on THEIR stages. And initially, I didn’t get paid for doing it. Sometimes I had to cover my own expenses, and that was fine. I felt I was worth investing in. It led to more opportunities (and let’s face it, if you make it easy for people to help you, and it also benefits them, then they are more likely to help you!)
And by doing THAT, I got to know the promoters, and they started suggesting me as a speaker. And so it went on. That first bit of positioning led to the first opportunity, which led to more and more. And I put on my own events of course, including successfully applying to be a TEDx organiser.
I organised the TEDx AinleyTopWomen event in December 2019. And that, of course, is massive positioning for what I do now – the Live Love Laugh LIVES. These are days when women who want to be speakers, who want to be positioned as an expert in their field and who want to get their message out to the world, come together and have a “TEDx Like” experience.
The whole TEDx thing is a wonderful experience, and ALL of the AinleyTopWomen speakers, got their talks loaded onto the TEDx site – which is a massive achievement. Their positioning as official TEDx speakers has and will continue to help them get speaking gigs, give them instant credibility and ultimately help them to grow their businesses or their movement.
How To Get Positioned as a Speaker
But the LiveLoveLaughLIVE days have a bit more to them. You not only get to stand up and speak you also get:-
- Personal mentoring by me, to craft and deliver not just any old keynote but a WOW factor keynote
- It is all professionally filmed and loaded up to YouTube with a copy for you to use on your channels
- I interview each speaker, again professionally recorded and edited, to highlight their expertise
- Each speech is transcribed and edited and published on Amazon – so far all have been a bestseller.
These days are the launch of many a speakers’ speaking journey. They perfectly position you as an expert and a speaker.
So, the first thing you need to do when you want to be asked to speak on stage is to ask to speak on stage! You also need to have something worthwhile to speak about, and you better know how to deliver that. Because, if you do it right, that FIRST opportunity, that FIRST bit of positioning, will lead to many more opportunities. And that’s where the Sensational Speaker Positioning System comes in.
What To Do Next
If that is someone you want, and you would like to hear more about the opportunity to speak on stage, get in touch. The next event is fully booked but there are spaces on the September event (well there are right now, at the time of writing). Email me on cheryl@cheryl-chapman.com