Ted Ryce: How To Become A Successful Public Speaker Part 2 I’m back with a part 2 of how to become a successful speaker. Alan had some follow up questions so of course I obliged! Hey Ted,   Thanks for getting back to me. That is an awesome idea! So the questions I have include:   What skills do you need to work on daily to become a great public speaker? Do you have any courses or books you recommend?   How do you land your first public speaking gig? What should you charge, how do you charge as you get better?  How do you calculate speaking prices?   How do you prepare for a talk?    How can you create a public speaking conference or workshop with other speakers who can compliment your services and value you offer? How do you sell a conference to get a good turnout at your event?   How do you make yourself memorable to the audience you are speaking to? How do you convert public speaking audiences to your programs or services?    These are some of the questions I had off the top of my head with respect to become a speaker. I look forward to the podcast on this. Will you let me know when it will be released? I am looking to start speaking soon for free as leverage to promote my business and add value.    Keep up the great work!!   Thank You!   Question: What skills do you need to work on daily to become a great public speaker? Do you have any courses or books you recommend? Answer: I’ve already talked about Thomas Plummer’s Public Speaking Course, Toastmasters, and Improv Acting Classes. You should do a Google search for public speaking seminars in your area as well. Dale Carnegie has courses all around the country. I’ve also heard great things about Michael Port’s speaking seminar. Here are some resources to get you started: - You may not have heard of Roger but he’s helped the who’s who of celebrities. I watched the Tony Robbins Netflix documentary I Am Not Your Guru and he was doing the vocal warm ups found in this CD. - by Garr Reynolds - by Garr Reynolds - Nancy Duarte’s Ted Talk:   Question: How do you land your first public speaking gig? What should you charge, how do you charge as you get better?  How do you calculate speaking prices? Answer: I’ve done a few seminars and talks before but I’ll tell you how I landed my first speaking gig since I’ve been serious about speaking. I interviewed Aaron Marino of I Am Alpha M and after the talk I said I liked his message and thought he was a good guy. We continued talking and he told me about StyleCon and asked me to speak at it. The way I landed my first keynote was a bit different. I connected with a person who had been listening to my podcast. We ended up talking and I offered her some assistance on a problem she had. I never expected anything back. Then she said there was an event that she was a part of and they needed a speaker. She had been listening to the podcast and remembered that I wanted to do more public speaking. She connected me with the event planner and we spoke on the phone…and boom! I had my first paid keynote speech! Question: How do you prepare for a talk?  Answer: Great question! First, I ask the event planner a LOT of questions about the attendees and what their ideal outcome would be from my talk. Then, Gisele and I work to create a flow of the talk and she helps design a slide show to supplement the presentation. (A quick note about slides…the slides should augment your presentation. But it’s about you and the way to communicate with the audience. NOT the slides!) After we have the rough draft, I run through the talk over and over refining the flow of the talk as well as the slide presentation. I practice one or two times a day EVERY day leading up to my talk. And I do what it takes to be prepared. Practice, practice, practice! That’s the key! Lastly, I memorize the flow of the talk but I don’t memorize the talk. If you’re trying to remember the exact words then it will take you out of flow. And your audience can feel that. At the end of the day, it’s about creating an authentic connection. Not regurgitating content. I do my best to tell stories and entertain while delivering the best information I have. Question: How can you create a public speaking conference or workshop with other speakers who can compliment your services and value you offer? How do you sell a conference to get a good turnout at your event? That’s outside of my experience so far. I recommend that you connect with other speakers and on put something together locally. Promote it on social media and through your content beforehand to see if anyone is interested. Question: How do you make yourself memorable to the audience you are speaking to? How do you convert public speaking audiences to your programs or services?  The answer to your first question is to strive to master the art of public speaking. Be a student of the art and read all the books and articles you can. And attend all the seminars and courses you can. Most importantly: get out there and speak! The answer to your seconds question is a little different. I know what you’re asking but I want to tell you this. You cannot “convert” anyone. Marketing is becoming less and less effective. I know you didn’t mean it like that but I wanted to say it out loud. People are smart and you can’t convert them or change their mind. THEY change their minds based on what you have to offer. What you CAN do is to deliver the best information you have in the most powerful way possible. After that, you offer the opportunity to work with you. Ask them to come and see you at the back of the room if they’d like to talk more. Then you offer what you have. And the best “sales” advice I’ve ever received is from Zig Ziglar in his Secrets of Closing the Sale. You can listen to it for free on Youtube: Conclusion At the end of the day, becoming a successful public speaker is like anything else. It requires drive, discipline, developing the skills, time and hard work! I hope this serves you well and puts you on the right path towards speaking success!