So, why do they pay Speakers to Speak?

Ask just about any student who has had Puffer for Public Speaking what the number one rule is and you should hear -- Know the Audience.

Knowing the audience is really at the heart of a short discussion that http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifShttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifcott Berkun conducts in his book CONFESSIONS OF A PUBLIC SPEAKER (O'REILLY - 2009. The author discusses public speaking and particularly professional speaking from a story perspective that I found highly effective. He weaves a great many lessons into the personal and other examples he has developed. It is a rich read, especially for someone who has been doing a bit of public speaking. And, if you are one of those people, you will wonder about someday being paid to speak. The chapter title is "$30,000 and hour." But - read the book before you get too excited.

I like this idea that Berkun shared from page 33: "Even for private fu8nctions -- say, Google or Ferrari throws an annual event for their employees -- how much would it be worth to have a speaker who can make their staff a little smarter, better or more motivated when returning to work? Maybe it it's not worth $30,000 or even $5,000, but there is some economic value to what good speakers on the right topics do for people. it depends on how valuable the people in the room are to whoever is footing the bill. Even if it's just for entertainment, or for reminding the audience members of important things they've forgotten, a good speaker is worth something."

A speaker who understands that a major part of the job of speaking is knowing the audience and how to reach that audience is going to be worth money but even more importantly is going to be a speaker who is going to make a difference for those taking the time and making the effort to listen.

I was going to stop there but for what Scott Berkun might call a "gold coin" opportunity let me share with you what he says some speakers will making for an hour talk back in 2009: (page 32 & 33) Bill Clinton $150,000+; Katie Couric $100,000+; Malcolm Gladwell $80,000; Rachel Ray - $50,000. He had more examples but you might want to get his book to see the rest.

Be careful of undermining your presentation

Ragan Communication is a communication training and communication resource firm that offers a great deal of information on all matter of communication challenges. In their feed this morning there was a post about four crucial mistakes for corporate speech presentations by Angela Definis of Definis Communications. I think you will want to go to the link for the full discussion but her four major areas were:
1 -- Not appearing prepared to speak
2 -- Not keeping listeners' needs in mind (my favorite)
3 -- Not keeping with conventional etiquette
4 -- Not using a "speaker" tone (my least favorite)

Despite how I might feel about any of those blunders, she has extensive experience in coaching presentations and her summary is well written. It would be worth the read.

In all my Coker College communication courses I am afraid I preach Know Your Audience, which is why Number 2 is my favorite. Knowing your audience does not mean saying only what they want to hear -- it means knowing how to put your message into a frame they will understand. Often speakers use their personal perspective and ignore the audience perspective. When that happens it makes the entire presentation not worth the effort, expense and energy.