Are you interested in becoming a keynote speaker?

Do you love the idea of talking in front of large audiences and getting paid to do it?

Have you been contemplating the idea about what its like to be one and are now considering diving in?

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to become a professional keynote speaker so you can launch a successful career getting paid to speak.

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The role of a keynote speaker

Before we get into what is involved to do this job, you must first understand the difference between a keynote, guest, and motivational speaker:

A keynote speaker is someone who is considered to be the main attraction or headliner for the event. He or she will set the tone and establish the theme for the function.
A guest speaker is someone who would most likely speak after the keynote.
A motivational speaker is someone who specifically comes in to inspire the audience. That being said, a motivational speaker can also be a keynote speaker depending on the type of event this is.

The reasons this matters is because if you want to establish yourself as a keynote speaker, it means that you will eventually need to establish yourself as a trusted authority which we will get into further along in this article.

Step 1 – Know your purpose

Why do you want to be a keynote speaker?

What about this excites you?

A good speaker is someone who is authentic, genuine, passionate, and mission driven.

You need to actually love doing this and for the right reasons.

If you are only looking for a paycheck, rest assured there are simpler ways of making this type of money.

Or, if you are looking to be “the man/woman” and you are seeking validation or to feel significant, please check your ego at the door.

If you are sincere about your desires to do this, then make sure you have a clear purpose as to “why” because people will be attracted to you for these reasons.

Also, there is a tough road ahead (which you are about to find out) and without a good “why?”, you will most likely give up.

Step 2 – Practice your public speaking skills

It should go without saying that you should be able to get up on stage and speak with confidence.

Before someone will pay you to get on their stage, you will need to have honed your skills as a speaker which includes:

Timing
Projecting
Enunciation
Being concise
Articulating key points
Becoming a good storyteller

And the best way to do this is by:

A. Recording yourself

Every time you speak you should be recording yourself so you can see what you are doing.

Yes, it’s painful to watch and it will feel odd or strange seeing yourself.

But one of the best ways to improve is to continuously watch yourself, take notes, and adjust accordingly.

B. Watch other speakers

Spend as much time going out to other events and watch how the speakers do their thing.

Take notes about what you like and don’t like.

And most importantly, pay attention to how the audience responds to the speaker.

Watch TED Talks and pay close attention to the way the speakers give their speeches.

C. Get real world experience

Go out there and just start talking even if its for free because you need to start gaining momentum.

You need to get into the habit of getting up in front of people and talking so you can overcome your stage fright and work on these skills.

Practice public speaking any chance you get, be it in front of a mirror or in front of a small audience. Friends and family can be your first listeners.

When you’re just starting out, you need experience. Accept every invitation you receive, even if the event is not the best one. The more you speak in public, the better you will get.

Every speaking event you take part in adds up when it comes to learning proper body language, audience management and presentation skills.

Moreover, you can join a group such as Toastmasters, where you will have the chance to give short talks and improve your communications skills.

If you are not familiar with them, they are an organization that is dedicated to helping young speakers get their start.

Keep in mind that the goal of practicing your skills until you master them is so that you:

Build confidence
Can speak with a natural flow
Develop your likability and stage presence

Do not move on to the next steps until you have this one down.

D. Get feedback

Be open to criticism and gathering as much feedback as you can.
If you have a bruised ego, good!

You need to kill that thing as soon as possible so it wont affect you.

Getting honest and constructive feedback will help you get better faster.

Don’t be afraid to ask for constructive opinions after your talk and find out from your listeners what you could have done better.

The quicker you accept that you suck, the sooner you can get better.

Step 3 – Choose your niche

What topic or industry will you be focusing on?

What problem are you solving?

Which audience are you serving?

The worst decision you can make is by trying to be everything to everyone or being too general.

When companies and organizations hire a keynote speaker, they are generally looking for someone who is specific to their niche.

For example, some speakers focus on innovation, marketing, business, or inspirational.

Being focused on a niche is beneficial because you will:

Have less competition
Have more visibility
Have more loyalty
Get better word of mouth marketing
Become really good at that one thing
Have better relationships with your clients

Yes choosing a niche can feel a bit stressful because you might worry that its the wrong one.

You might have to go through a process of trial and error.

But in the long run, once you pick it, things will get much easier because companies and organizations will want to choose you over the generalist.

Step 4 – Build your brand

Building your brand is tightly connected to choosing your niche.

In fact, you can’t build your brand until you choose your niche.

This is why step 3 is so important.

You need to position yourself in your industry so that you are remember as the person that does “this thing”.

Just look at any major brand and they are all easily remembered for their one thing.

So the question you have to ask yourself is:

How do I want people to see me?
How do I want to be remembered?

The four ways a speaker can do this is by:

A. Crafting a powerful message

Did you overcome a major obstacle or deal with adversity?

Did you achieve something that few can do?

Having a powerful message is one way you can build your brand.

B. Solving a problem

Did you come up with solution that can change the world or your industry?

Did you find new ways to improve your business or organization.

If you are known for innovation or being a problem solver, you can build your brand this way.

C. Tell a fantastic story

Do you have some new perspective or insights from something amazing in your life?

Did you experience something radical that would keep people on the edge of their seats?

If you have a fantastic story to tell, then this is another way to build your brand.

D. Having a unique perspective

Lets face it, most of everything that needs to be covered has been said.

But your perspective is what can make it different.

In today’s Internet driven society, we are now what is called “synthesizers”.

Meaning, you take the information that is out there and put a unique spin on it.

All art and music is rehashed into something unique and remarkable.

One way to be remarkable is by thinking about something that doesn’t exist that you would like for it to exist.

If something already exists, find a way to make it better. Or, Look around and see what everyone else is doing. Then, do the opposite.

Step 5 – Work on your presentations

Speaking in public is the first basic skill you will need to work on to get the ball rolling.

The next step is working on your presentation skills.

Not only should you get comfortable with presenting slides, but you have to remember that a great keynote speaker is also an entertainer.

You are going to have thousands of people watching you.

Therefore there does have to be some showmanship if you don’t want people to get bored.

You are going to need to work on the visual components of your speech so that the audience is not just looking at you the entire time.

Step 6 – Establish yourself as an authority

Event organizers only look for the best people to speak at their conferences.

They are looking for individuals who are established experts in their field that are trustworthy.

In order for you to be invited to give a keynote speech, you need to be recognized as an authority in your industry or niche.

The three fastest ways to do this are by:

Publishing a book
Launching a YouTube channel
Podcasting

You need to do what is called in the industry “Building your platform”.

If you look at any social media influencer, that is what they are doing.

They are using Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. to build their platform and establish themselves as an authority.

Once again, this is why choosing a niche is so important because you need to focus on one thing and be known for that.

Step 7 – Sales & Marketing

Believe it or not, this is the hardest part.

Some might assume getting over their fear of public speaking is the hard part, but its not.

The game of becoming a keynote speaker is 20% skill and 80% sales and marketing.

Once you decide to venture down this path, you are officially an entrepreneur who is running their own business.

This means that you must be the driving force behind your business because no one else is going to do it for you.

You have to manage product development (your presentation), marketing (website, social media, etc), sales (getting booked), and customer service (managing your bookings).

Here is a basic checklist of what you will need for an organization to consider you:

Website
Headshot
Biography
Speaking videos
Testimonials
Outline of the talks you give

Here are some ways you can promote yourself and get some bookings:

TEDx – Do a local TEDx talk in your area so you can gain some exposure.
YouTube Videos – Launch a channel and start producing great content around your niche.
Content marketing – Start a blog and start publishing regular content and promote the content via paid advertising on Outbrain, LinkedIn, or Google Display Network.
Guest post – See if there are people in your industry that will allow you to publish content on their site.
Network – Go to events and start networking with people in your industry.
Direct sales – Build a database of potential clients you would like to work with and start doing direct sales.
LinkedIn – Publish good content on LinkedIn and network with people so that they engage with your content.
Speakers bureaus – Once you have gotten some momentum and have booked some gigs, then you can contact some speakers bureaus.

Note: If you decide to publish a book, then you should be going out there and promoting it on podcasts and blogs. So book publishing and promoting is really one of the best ways to launch your keynote speaking career.

Summary

Here is a brief summary of what was covered:

Step 1 – Know your purpose and have a clear reason as to why you want to become a keynote speaker
Step 2 – Practice your public speaking skills and work on your timing, projection, enunciation, being concise, articulating key points, becoming a good storyteller, and building your confidence
Step 3 – Choose your niche so that you can focus on one thing making it easier for you to stand out
Step 4 – Build your brand and position yourself in your industry so that people remember what you are about
Step 5 – Work on your presentation skills and make sure that you have a visual component to match for vocal skills.
Step 6 – Establish yourself as an authority so that you become a trusted expert that people look to for answers.
Step 7 – Manage your sales & marketing so you can book some gigs!

If you need help on becoming a professional and paid keynote speaker, feel free to contact us.