Orlaith Carmody explains why professional speakers should be paid for their work

There is a big event running soon for a specific section of the business community with lots of talks and workshops. The branding and marketing approach from the organisers is first class, and it is generating a lot of interest.

I hope it does really well for them, and substantially rewards the entrepreneurial risk involved in getting it underway.

As a professional speaker, I will not be on the line-up.

They called me to ask me to be there, and I had a lovely conversation with them. They seem to be really nice people. But then it appeared that they would not be paying the speakers. They said it was going to be run along the lines of the Web Summit, where the speakers would be glad to be there.

So I said, “Let me understand you correctly. This is a fully commercial operation. You are paying for the hire of the hall, you are paying the AV guy, you are paying your web designer, you are paying for radio advertising, you are paying the sandwich maker. But you expect the speakers to do their work for free? Why is that?”

The organisers couldn’t really explain why. They simply thought that speakers would want to be there, on the platform, because this was going to be such a good event.

And they are partially right. Many people are so keen to get on a platform – and so flattered to be asked, let’s face it – that they will give their time for free.

But they are not professional speakers, intent on giving great ideas and motivation to their audience. They are people who are selling something, or representing something, or advertising something.

It is in their interest to use a public platform to spread their message. But the chances are they are all about this message, and not about the audience.

I have just looked now at the website – well designed and expensive – of the particular event I am referring to and, yes, it is as I thought. Everyone on the confirmed and unpaid line-up of speakers is selling something – a cause, an idea or a product.

They will be heavily advertised and promoted in the run up to the event, which is a bit of a reward, and maybe the audience will be really interested in their products and services, and go out afterwards and buy them. And I have no issue with that. Business is business.

But for you, as a potential attendee, paying good money to go to this event, there is no guarantee that any of the speakers will actually be any good, or make any difference to your life, or give you any kind of insight you can take home and apply to your own business.

Because you will not be listening to professional speakers, and that is not what they are there to do. Which, of course, may make you question the value of attending the event in the first place.

But some of them, no doubt, will have some prior experience, and will know to put the audience first. You will probably enjoy them.

More of them are likely to bash right on touting their wares, without any regard at all for your interest levels. You may find yourself making your shopping list in your head as they speak, or slipping out the back if you are near the door.

I often speak at, or Chair, events unpaid – very happy to give my time and expertise to a charity, a worthwhile cause, or a project I truly believe in. I set aside time each month for these events, because I believe strongly in give-back.

But I will not turn up, for free, when it is a commercial event, because I am a professional speaker. I have really good material, developed over many years, which I love to share, and I which I know has made a big difference to audiences all over the world. Do I deserve to be paid for it? I think so.

My talks are all about you. Your needs, your journey, your efforts to do better business, your efforts to acquire the skills you need to take you forward. I hope I give value. I constantly strive to do so.

My advice to you, if you want to be a professional speaker, is to develop brilliant material, value it highly, and then always put the audience first.

Guest Blog post from Kevin Kelly.

1. Are you doing what you love?

Flow transcends all – in simple language if you are doing what you love, you still will be able to perform eloquently even when experiencing excruciating pain.
Just for a minute imagine lying on a floor in a hotel in Madinah, Saudi Arabia barely able to move. Within minutes the conference organiser approaches and kindly gives the chance of opting out of your one day engagement. How would you respond?
My response was immediate and for many irrational – “No, I will be fine when I start the keynote – flow will kick in and the pain will subside.” The conference organiser looked at me with a mixture of disbelief and relief! And then proceeded to get one of the team to rush to the pharmacy! Twenty minutes later sitting in the one comfortable position I found, I addressed the audience. I stayed there for the day receiving a 4.69/5 and top speaker ranking for the week ahead of Professors from Cranfield, Insead and Harvard Business School. Where did this confidence to deliver come from in such trying circumstances? 25 years of journeying through the light and dark of the speaking profession! And on one previous occasion where every joule of energy had been drained out of me, I was able to deliver what was described as the CEO of a Multinational the most energetic pitch over the phone he had ever experienced. Moments after leaving down the phone I was in the Doctors Surgery and diagnosed with Swine Flu!
Remember passion precedes performance and indeed persistence.

2. Are you making incorrect assumptions?

In the early 90’s when I was lecturing on Marketing and International Marketing; I always remember this travelling sales rep telling me over dinner – “Never Assume because it makes an ASS of U and ME.” Yep it is fairly sad stuff but very relevant.
So as I reflect on 2015 my greatest opportunity came from keeping a close on eye on what some of my colleagues were doing on Facebook – a social media vehicle I have described on more than 100 occasions as an unmitigated waste of time for the speaking profession. Yet….it was the source of my greatest marketing victory. Business can come from the most unexpected of sources and as you build your speaking business you must be aware of this.
One assumption that many potential speakers share is I haven’t got the budget to design that world class website, develop that compelling video advert etc. That couldn’t be further from the truth – marketing collateral from printing books to designing sites to developing edgy campaigns can be done on a shoestring – well BELOW the budget of anyone reading this blog.

3. Have you the stomach for the fight?

Is there anything more annoying than sending emails and receiving no feedback? At the end of the year; I spoke to two Speaker Bureaus who thanked me for my 5/6 informative reach outs throughout the year and vowed to book me in 2016. None of these had ever replied to any email I have ever sent…. but they were reading them! It reminded me of a five figure keynote I received in 2011 – it was from an Agent who had never booked me – we had an ongoing silent relationship with 5/6 reach outs a year for TEN YEARS! If you want to be a speaker you have to have the stomach for this challenge!

Kevin Kelly is an internationally acclaimed speaker and Best Selling Author. On Feb 19th, he is organising the first ever Speaker Summit in Croke Park. Speakers include World Memory Champion and Sunday Times Best Seller, David Thomas, David Newman US Speaker Marketing Guru, Patrick McKeown who has just secured a six figure advance for his new book on breathing through your nose and many more – see www.speakeracademy.ie for more details. The Summit recently featured on the Sunday Business Show