todd moore ⋅ Terre Haute, IN U.S. Army, Specialist ⋅ 4 years served

Start a youtube channel and if you have decent content you may start making some money and receive offers. It really depends on your message, and you have to be self-aware about your abilities.

Cynthia Tomei ⋅ Geneva, IL Valley Industrial Association ⋅ 10 years experience

Hi John,

Network! Network! Network! Connect with local Chambers of Commerce, Rotaries, Lions Clubs, Veterans Organizations and start to meet people that look for speakers. It may also be helpful to have a demo video you can circulate to such groups or those you can add value to. If you are published in anyway, circulate that appropriately too. In the beginning, you may have to greatly discount your fee or barter so that you get your name out there.

Good Luck,
Cindy Tomei

FRANCIS TEPEDINO, ESQ. ⋅ San Diego, CA THE CONDOR GROUP ⋅ 30 years experience

My experience tells me that to be good, you have to be a bit of a self assured "Ham".

Try to get some professional training. There are a number of training companies around the country: (expensive).

Join the Toastmasters Club: (inexpensive), . That is a great place to start, and there are groups in many cities. Many companies also have an affiliated Toast Masters club.

Watch some good/great religious Pastors and try to mimic some of their style.

Some Community Colleges also have inexpensive Public Speaking training programs.

Get a voice recorder and practice talking about almost anything just to hear your delivery cadence, and voice inflection. Watch out for monotone, boring cadence, dry presentations.

I did public speaking, (training seminars), around the country for major corporations for some 30 years on a specific topic : "Contract Law". I always inserted many jokes and funny stories: otherwise who wants to listen to a Lawyer talk about Contracts and Contract problems? The audiences loved it and their companies paid handsomely for the seminars which I presented.

Good luck.

Drew Schildwächter ⋅ Wilmington, NC Salesforce ⋅ 8 years experience

John: John has a good point about why people pay for a speaker. In order to prove that you have something to provide you will need some evidence. I have a few friends who have given leadership seminars and the like; they got started by recording some speeches (which do not necessarily even require an audience) and using those recordings as their bona fides with prospective new venues and audiences.

For example, a buddy recorded himself giving a leadership talk at home and used that to get a gig speaking to the local chamber of commerce (which he also recorded). Depending upon your niche, you will find that other things might prove your expertise (a blog or a body of published written work for example), but you will likely need to prove yourself somehow in order to get a foot in the door, so to speak.

Once you have a little bit of a repertoire as a speaker, there are agencies who hire speakers on a regular basis and engage them to present certain topics.

Best,
Drew

John Green ⋅ Cary, NC Information Technology ⋅ 40 years experience

Hi John -

People pay speakers based on a unique knowledge of a particular subject area, with demonstrated proficiency. For example, a head basketball coach who has won many championships is recognized as someone who can lead and motivate.

To achieve interest in their presentation, people who are motivational speakers often hire a marketing firm like CleverCreative or J. Walter Thompson to design an engaging brand awareness for your schtick, including web site, promo materials, and marketing strategy.

Hope this helps.
JG