Whenever someone tells me that their speaking goal is to be a well-paid motivational speaker, I cringe.

Outside the fact that inspiring speakers are a dime a dozen, there’s another problem:

Inspiration is everywhere these days. You can get it for free on Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube. Heck, my cough drops have inspirational quotes on them.

On today’s show, we’ll discuss why it’s more important to be an expert who speaks than a motivational speaker who inspires. We’ll explore:

The most important decision you’ll ever make as a speaker is choosing your speaking topic.

You’ll be know for this topic, and you must LOVE it because you’ll be speaking on it for years to come.

Choosing your speech topic is one of the most rewarding and most difficult decisions you’ll ever make as a speaker.

On today’s show, I’ll take you through a process to discover your most valuable speaking topic including:

• Why choosing a speech topic is the most important decision you’ll ever make as a speaker
• The process for discovering your most valuable speaking topic
• The question you must ask yourself if you want to make money speaking

1. Speak for Impact - Group Program
2. The Rebel Speaker Facebook Group

The most important decision you’ll ever make as a speaker is choosing your speaking topic.

You’ll be know for this topic, and you must LOVE it because you’ll be speaking on it for years to come.

Choosing your speech topic is one of the most rewarding and most difficult decisions you’ll ever make as a speaker.

On today’s show, I’ll take you through a process to discover your most valuable speaking topic including:

Seth Godin once wrote “The only reason ever to give a speech is to create change.”

I agree with him 100%. However, most speakers try to change the whole world in just 20-minutes when what is most meaningful to any audience is a small change that really produces the desired result.

A small change puts the audience on the path to a larger change and that small change gets you known as a speaker for the results that you produce.

On today’s show, we’ll get super specific in defining the result that you can produce for you audience that gets you known for what you can do as a speaker. You’ll find out:

• Why grand sweeping changes are hard to accomplish in a 20, 45 or 60 minute speech
• The three possible results a short speech can produce
• How to choose a specific result that can be accomplished in the time that you have and still leave the audience wanting more

1. Speak for Impact
2. Why You Should Put Your Product In Exactly the Right Hands by Tara Gentile
3. Amy Cuddy’s TEDx Talk
4. Two Paths to Revenue in Your Speaking Business (TRSP 13)
5. The Rebel Speaker Facebook Group

Seth Godin once wrote “The only reason ever to give a speech is to create change.”

I agree with him 100%. However, most speakers try to change the whole world in just 20-minutes when what is most meaningful to any audience is a small change that really produces the desired result.

A small change puts the audience on the path to a larger change and that small change gets you known as a speaker for the results that you produce.

On today’s show, we’ll get super specific in defining the result that you can produce for you audience that gets you known for what you can do as a speaker. You’ll find out:

Do you have a plan for how to make money with your speaking?

Or are you hoping that someone will hear you speak and want to hire you right out of the gate? Or that someone will hear you speaking and give you your big break as a paid professional speaker?

If you don’t have a plan for generating revenue, then you need to make one, big time

On today’s show, we’ll discuss the two paths to revenue for speaking and how to craft a speech for each path:

• Understand the two paths to creating revenue with your speaking
• Why a client attracting speech is NOT about selling from the stage
• Know the difference between a “what” speech and a “how” speech
• The difference between creating a speech that attracts clients versus getting paid speaking gigs

1. Stop Dreaming About Landing Speaking Gigs and Do This Instead (TRSP 10)
2. The Rebel Speaker Facebook Group

Do you have a plan for how to make money with your speaking?

Or are you hoping that someone will hear you speak and want to hire you right out of the gate? Or that someone will hear you speaking and give you your big break as a paid professional speaker?

If you don’t have a plan for generating revenue, then you need to make one, big time

On today’s show, we’ll discuss the two paths to revenue for speaking and how to craft a speech for each path:

You’ve heard this public speaking advice before:

“Share your soul-stirring story.”

But is that that piece of advice costing your revenue, clients, and speaking gigs? Yes, yes it is.

The reports about how much your audience cares about your story have been greatly exaggerated.

On today’s show, we’ll discuss how to tell your story in a way that matters to the most important people in the room - your audience:

• Why telling your story is hurting your speaking business
• The difference between a “hey, look at me” story vs. a “hey, look at you story”
• How to share your story in a way that is meaningful to your audience
• Why you need to give your audience a tool based on your story

1. The Rebel Speaker Facebook Group

You’ve heard this public speaking advice before:

“Share your soul-stirring story.”

But is that that piece of advice costing your revenue, clients, and speaking gigs? Yes, yes it is.

The reports about how much your audience cares about your story have been greatly exaggerated.

On today’s show, we’ll discuss how to tell your story in a way that matters to the most important people in the room - your audience:

We are 16 days away from 2016. I’ve been deep into my 2016 planning for about a month now.

And one thing I know for sure as a speaker: If you don’t have a plan to speak for 2016, you won’t be speaking at all.

How do make a speaking plan that sets you up for success in 2016?

You’re in luck! On today’s show, we’ll cover my four part process for planning to succeed, including:

• Why you need to look backwards at the-year-that-was before you start planning for the year-to-be?
• How to figure out the numbers behind what you want to happen in your speaking business
• A process to identify where you want to speak in 2016 and beyond
• How to make contact with the organizations where you want to speak (hint: it’s not about cold calling or cold emailing)
• My process for building relationships with organizations where I want to speak

1. The Rebel Speaker Facebook Group
2. How Do You Choose Your Speaker by Meetings & Conventions
3. Speak for Impact to make sure you’ve got a talk that sells