If you're a good speaker who isn't getting booked at the rate or fee you think you deserve, this episode is going to be uncomfortable in the right way.
The problem, in most cases, isn't your speaking. It's your positioning. And more specifically, it's the fact that most speakers build their positioning around what they want to say rather than what the market actually needs to hear.
In this episode, John works through six positioning mistakes that keep credible, capable speakers invisible -- with real client stories and examples that make each one land where it needs to.
Join us for the live speaker positioning event: https://present-influence.kit.com/products/a-position-of-authority-event It's a 'pay what you want' event, so pay a little, pay a lot, whatever you think good positioning guidance is worth.
What's covered:
The topic trap—why building your talk around your own expertise and interests, rather than your buyer's specific problem, is the fastest route to an empty pipeline. Including a story about a speaker whose health and productivity topic created a liability rather than a solution.
Information vs transformation -- why packing your keynote with everything you know is the reason you're not getting rebookings or workshop enquiries. The talk that impresses is not always the talk that converts.
The speak-on-anything problem -- both the unfocused speaker who hasn't chosen a lane, and the ego-driven speaker who believes intelligence alone equals credibility. With a real example from John's time at The Speaker Lab, and a look at what happened when Courtney Harding (episode 254) chased a hot topic without a clear problem to solve.
The corporate bottom-line test—particularly for speakers building a career in the UK and Europe, where the association circuit doesn't exist in the same way it does in the US. If you want to be well-paid, corporate is where you need to be -- and your topic must connect directly to making or saving money. Cross-references the episode with Jackson Ogunyemi on education speaking, and a forthcoming episode with Claire Young on the UK education speaker market.
Nice-to-have vs must-book -- why some topics will always sit in the soft column no matter how well you frame them, and what creates genuine urgency in a booking decision.
The person is positioning—ethos, logos, and pathos applied to the speaker's positioning. Why two speakers can deliver identical content and create entirely different results, why your ethos cannot be copied even when your content is, and what Maria Franzoni revealed about content theft on episode 256 of this show.
Referenced episodes:
Episode 254 -- Hot Market, Cold Inbox: Why Your Speaking Calendar Isn't Matching Your Credibility (Courtny Harding)
Episode 256 -- How Professional Speakers Get Hired: The Bookability Formula (Maria Franzoni)
Jackson Ogunyemi episode -- education speaking and why it rarely pays enough to build a career on
Coming soon -- Claire Young on the UK education speaker booking market
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FAQs
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What is speaker positioning, and why does it matter for getting booked?
Speaker positioning is how you define and communicate the specific value you deliver to a specific buyer with a specific problem. It goes beyond having a topic—it determines whether a buyer sees you as a must-book speaker or a nice-to-have. Most speakers who struggle to get booked consistently, or who aren't commanding the fees they want, have a positioning problem rather than a speaking problem. In this episode, speaking coach John Ball explains why positioning built around what a speaker wants to say, rather than what the market needs to hear, is the most common reason credible speakers stay invisible.
What is the difference between a topic and a positioning for a speaker?
A topic is a subject area —such as leadership, communication, resilience, or AI. A positioning is a specific claim about who you serve, what problem you solve, and why you are the credible choice to solve it. John Ball describes the topic as raw material and positioning as what you build from it that makes a buyer say yes. Speakers who position themselves around a topic category rather than a specific buyer problem are easy to overlook and difficult to justify to stakeholders.
What mistakes do speakers make when trying to break into the corporate market?
The most common mistakes speakers make when breaking into corporate include: building their talk around their own interests rather than a problem the business already knows it has, delivering information-heavy keynotes rather than creating genuine transformation, speaking on too many topics without a clear specialisation, and failing to connect their subject to the company's bottom line. Corporate buyers need to justify every fee to stakeholders, which means a speaker's topic must connect directly to making money, saving money, or reducing risk. John Ball covers all of these mistakes with real client examples in this episode.
Why do some speakers get lots of enquiries while others with equal talent don't?
Speakers who attract consistent enquiries are typically positioned at the intersection of a specific, urgent problem, a credible, differentiated solution, and demonstrable evidence that their work delivers results. John Ball describes this as the difference between a nice-to-have speaker and a must-book speaker. Topics that address immediate, high-stakes business pain points -- such as AI adoption, organisational communication failures, or leadership under pressure -- create urgency in the buyer that drives action. Softer topics, however well framed, tend to be deferred or cut when budgets tighten.
What are ethos, logos and pathos, and how do they apply to speaker positioning?
Ethos, logos, and pathos are the three modes of persuasion identified by Aristotle. In the context of speaker positioning, logos refers to the intellectual substance of a speaker's content—their frameworks, research, and arguments. Pathos refers to the emotional resonance they create—their delivery, humour, and ability to move an audience. Ethos refers to their credibility and earned authority to speak on a subject—their track record, lived experience, and body of work. John Ball argues that ethos is the most powerful and least copyable element of a speaker's positioning, and that speakers who rely solely on logos—listing credentials and frameworks—leave the most important part of their positioning invisible.
Can other speakers copy your talk and damage your positioning?
Content theft is more common in the speaking industry than most people acknowledge. Talks get transcribed, frameworks get lifted, and stories get repurposed by other speakers. However, John Ball argues that what makes a talk genuinely powerful -- the speaker's ethos, their lived experience, and their earned authority -- cannot be copied. Two speakers can deliver identical content and create entirely different results because audiences respond to the person carrying the ideas, not just the ideas themselves. Speaker agent Maria Franzoni addressed this directly on episode 256 of Professional Speaking: Known. Booked. Paid.
Is corporate speaking the only viable route for well-paid speakers in the UK and Europe?
For speakers building a career in the UK and Europe, corporate speaking is the most reliable route to sustainable, well-paid work. The association speaking circuit that sustains many American speakers does not exist in the same form in the UK and Europe, and associations that do exist largely do not pay competitive fees. Education speaking can be rewarding but rarely pays enough to build a primary income on -- explored in depth in the episode with Jackson Ogunyemi. Faith speaking does not pay at meaningful levels except for established public figures. After-dinner speaking, conference speaking, and stand-up comedy can be lucrative but require distinct skill sets. A forthcoming episode with Claire Young, who runs a UK education speaker booking agency, will explore the education market in more detail.
Ready to do the actual work on your positioning? John is running a live event -- A Position of Authority: Why Most Speakers Are Invisible (And What To Do About It) -- where we go beyond the theory and build a position that is specific, credible, and unmistakably yours.
Registration link: https://present-influence.kit.com/products/a-position-of-authority-why-most-speak
Visit https://strategic-speaker.scoreapp.com to take the 2-minute Strategic Speaking Business Audit and find out what's blocking you from getting more bookings, re-bookings, referrals and bigger fees. There's a special surprise gift for everyone who completes the quiz.
Want to get coached for free on the show? Fill in the form https://forms.gle/mo4xYkEiCjqtz9yP6, and if we think your challenge could help others, we'll invite you on.
For speaking enquiries or to connect with me, you can email [email protected] or find me on LinkedIn
You can find all our clips, episodes and more on the Present Influence YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PresentInfluence
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