How to Be a 10x Better Speaker with 20 Benefits

Last week, one conference attendee told me my presentation at Agile Tour Toulouse was perfect.

It was very kind, but I didn’t believe her.

In five years, I have spoken at almost 100 conferences and joined a similar number of community and company events. Thanks to the many discussions I had with event organizers, I think I now understand how to be a more valuable speaker.

No speaker is perfect. To prove this, I commit to be a 10x better speaker. Half of this commitment concerns the performance of my talks. I will write about that another time. This blog post is about everything I do before and after my performance.

Note: In 2015, I can offer more than I did at earlier conferences because I have always focused on workshops and book writing. From now on, I will focus more on my role as a public speaker at events.

When you invite me to speak at your conference, community event, or company event in 2015, this is what I intend to offer you:

1) I will help you promote your event

I have a popular blog with many readers, a weekly newsletter with 8,000 subscribers, and many followers on social networks. When you invite me, I will gladly promote your event for free on all of these.

2) I will record a 30-second promo video

If you want, I can record a small video that will entice people to register for your event. You can edit it and publish the result on your website and social channels, and I will happily assist with the promotion.

3) I am available for a pre-conference interview

You might be interested in organizing a video interview, a podcast, or a written interview. When the effort is less than 30 minutes, I will make sure to be available, and you can use the result in any way you see fit.

4) I can promote your discounted tickets

When you have a discount code for me, I will be happy to share the discount with the readers of my blog, my mailing list, and my social network streams.

5) I offer a 50% speaking discount for your sponsors

When you offer me as a speaker to your sponsors for an in-company session, at half the regular fee, you get them to share in my travel and accommodation expenses. This will lower the total fee that I charge to you.

6) I try to find additional sponsors for you

I can ask some companies that I know to be a sponsor of your event. In return, I will do an in-company performance at a 50% discount before or after your event. I cannot promise any results, but it’s worth trying. 🙂

7) I will bring some free copies of my books

I usually give away several free copies of my book, sometimes during a Q&A session, sometimes to random participants who are watching the Twitter stream. No matter how I do this, I like to keep it unpredictable. 🙂

8) I can offer you heavily discounted books

If you want copies of my latest book for your volunteers, or to give away as prizes, I can give you a great discount. You can even make money by reselling the books at the regular price. And I will be happy to sign them all!

9) I can offer you heavily discounted kudo cards

At some events, participants are motivated to write kudo cards for speakers, organizers, or fellow attendees. For a moderate shipping fee, I can send you a box of colorful kudo cards that can help your attendees be happy.

10) I usually allow video recordings

For any talk that is not a first-time presentation, I allow you to capture me on video and make it available on your website and social channels. And yes, I will share it with my readers too!

11) I offer you a custom version of my slide deck

Most of my performance is usually standard and well-rehearsed. However, I like making small modifications. After my talk, I will give you the custom slide deck with your logo on the title page.

12) I aim to be an active participant at your event

Depending on the available time and my commitments to other events, I do my best to attend some other sessions, and to share my experiences on the social networks.

13) I will offer a summary of my hallway conversations

I like having conversations with participants in the hallways, asking them why they attended and what they have learned. If relevant, I will share with you the most interesting things I picked up.

14) I am available for dinner with speakers or organizers

Before or after your event, I will do my best to be available for one dinner with organizers, speakers, or participants. However, this may depend on my available time and travel schedule.

15) I will publish your feedback on my website

When you share with me the evaluation or average ratings of my performance by your attendees, I gladly share these results on my website, with a permanent link to your event.

16) I will offer you my feedback after the event

As an experienced speaker, conference attendee and event organizer myself, I will be happy to share with you afterwards any feedback that could make your next event even better!

17) I offer fair, consistent, region-dependent pricing

My fees depend on the expected duration of my performance and on the average price level per country. Here is a table with my standard fees:

region <2 hours <4 hours applies to…
top 10 countries by GDP (PPP) EUR 3000 EUR 4500 Luxembourg, Singapore, Norway, Switzerland, etc…
top 25 countries by GDP (PPP) EUR 2500 EUR 3750 Netherlands, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, etc…
top 50 countries by GDP (PPP) EUR 2000 EUR 3000 Spain, Poland, Estonia, New Zealand, Russia, etc…
top 100 countries by GDP (PPP) EUR 1500 EUR 2250 Brazil, China, Turkey, Argentina, Romania, etc…
all other countries by GDP (PPP) EUR 1000 EUR 1500 India, Vietnam, Bosnia, Guatemala, etc…

 

18) I offer to speak for free in exchange for book reviews

In an earlier blog post, I offered to speak for free at events when organizers help me get more Amazon reviews for my new book. I will put your event on a backlog with other requests for free appearances.

19) I can offer you other inspiring speakers

When you invite me to your event, I can offer you one or two additional speakers with complementary presentations. I know some interesting speakers who will lower their fee when they join me.

20) I am fair, honest, open, and transparent

In everything I do, I have never harmed an event organizer. (Well, not that I’m aware of!) You can expect me to practice what I preach, lead by example, and be valuable to you to the best of my abilities.

image: (c) 2008 Demi-Brooke, Creative Commons 2.0


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