How to win speaking gigs
The way to win speaking gigs requires dropping the notion of “gigs.” Similarly, the way to write a popular blog is to drop the notion of “popular.” The way to create a beloved podcast is to drop the notion of “beloved.”
When we have a glorified aim — get paid, get in front of a lot of people — we start by asking, “What do they want to see?” If we’re lucky, we then back track to the real question we should start with: “What am I uniquely capable of doing?” (Perhaps better said than following “passion” is pursuing “energy.” What seems to give you energy rather than drain you of it?)
Likewise, when we aim for “gigs” or other glorified statuses or states of the work, we become less willing to do the less glamorous stuff. For instance, to get consistent talks, you need a well-honed speech. To get a well-honed speech, you need to get on stages a lot. It feels like a paradox — a chicken and egg issue. How do you get a job that requires X years’ experience without someone giving you a job?
Simple.
You need someone to give you A job. Not THE job. A job. Then parlay that into the next opportunity, and the next, and the next. Progress starts out feeling like a flat line, then a straight line up-and-to-the-right, then finally a curve shooting exponentially in a positive direction. Because the work you did years ago helps your results compound today. Again, this takes years.
Fortunately. in today’s world, so often we don’t need someone else to give us permission. We can take our collective fate into our own hands.
If the goal is to speak more, we can swallow our pride (for longer than is sexy to admit) and give free talks to companies or local community groups — those are everywhere, and everyone wants free speakers.
Still nothing? Move back a step to try and sit on panels.
Still nothing? Move back a step to producing lots of content to develop a reputation, having lots of coffee meetings, and participating as an attendee at lots of events. It all starts with being an active part of the community to earn the trust and reputation of a leader.
We know the path we need to take — to speak more, to write better, to create a podcast. So often, what holds us back is that we’re just not willing to walk that path because it sounds like it’ll take awhile.
Because, well … it will.
But if that’s the truth, then we’d better start now.
The way to win speaking gigs is the way to march ourselves towards any positive progress in any creative niche: drop the glamorous part and figure out the unattractive things that simply must be done. There are hundreds of ways to get that flywheel spinning. They just don’t sound sexy, because creative, meaningful work rarely is … until it is.