Tuesday, September 29, 2009

You Say You Want to Become a Professional Speaker... Then What?

Mike Hyatt shares much of what he learned from Ken Davis at the Professional Communicators Summit in Nashville, Tennessee.

There is a tremendous amount of information, distilled into a handful of paragraphs and lots of conversation topics. Use what is good for you and file the rest for future reference.

http://michaelhyatt.com/2009/09/so-you-want-to-be-a-professional-speaker.html#IDComment36489586

As someone who does a fair amount of speaking myself, I was confident I could benefit personally form the Summit. However, I also thought I could use this information with many of the authors I publish as the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers. I was right on both counts.

The conference is sponsored by Ken Davis. In case you are not familiar with Ken, he is a very popular Christian speaker and comedian. He has had a significant, wide-reaching career. He is also a student of speaking and, especially, the business of speaking. He has distilled everything he has learned in 30 years of professional speaking and used it to take hundreds of other speakers to the next level.

Over the course of three days, we learned four things:

1. How to discover our assets as a speaker. We took an inventory of our talents and gifts. We looked at our status and platform. We reviewed our own proprietary information and expertise. We even considered how we could convert our weaknesses into strengths. This was hugely eye-opening. I discovered that I had much more to work with than I originally thought.
2. How to design our products. Our “product” is all about how we package and sell our assets. We began with the question, “What product am I really promoting, selling, or delivering to your buyers? We then discussed four kinds of products:
* A presentation at someone else’s event
* Our own events, like seminars or conferences
* Resources, like books, DVDs, CDs, etc.
* Services, like consulting, coaching, counseling, etc.
3. How to market our products. We discussed what marketing is and four steps to building a perception about our products. It was especially helpful to learn about the kinds of things that damage perception. We also discussed what meeting planners are looking for, how to develop effective promotional materials, and the pluses and minuses of speakers bureaus and booking agents.
4. How to determine our value. Frankly, this was one of the most helpful segments. We discussed why we should charge for our services, how much we should charge, and an extremely helpful pricing concept called “high bar/low bar.” Ken even role-played a fee negotiation with one of the other instructors that demonstrated how natural this conversation can be and to do it in a way that is comfortable for both parties.

Ken was not the only instructor at the event. He had a team of dynamic communicators. I was also privileged to lead a session on “How Professional Speakers Can Get Published.” I will also be speaking at this next event.

If you have been thinking about “going pro” by either starting a speaking career or taking your existing career to the next level, this is the conference for you. This is the only conference of this type that I am aware of. It is both motivational and practical. You will leave pumped up about the possibilities for your career, with concrete tools that you can put to work immediately.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Will You Still Love Him?

I preached, Sunday on the subject of September 11th. It is a bittersweet topic as I am a New Yorker by birth and even though I have lived away for decades, like so many others, I never left in my heart.

My Scripture was from Jeremiah...

Jeremiah 29: 11-13
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.


...and my point was that even though the worst thing seemed to happen September 11th...

even though the world caved in on so many...

even though Taliban made indiscriminate war against innocent men, women and children...

even though America was hurt very badly...

even though the towers in your life sometimes collapse

and things seem to turn against you at every turn.

Even though you hurt so much you think it will surely kill you and hope that happens soon...

Will You Still Love Jesus Christ?

I cry every time I see the film of the towers coming down.

I cry when I hear the voice mail recordings of those poor souls who had a chance to call home and say I love you and be happy.

My tears would make a river but even so, I still love Him. I serve only Him. The intention of my life is to be worthy of being His child.

Will You Still Love Him????

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Today When I Got Home...


Today when I got home, there was a box from Barbour Books on the front porch waiting for me.

Inside the box was the First Printing of the book to which I contributed ten devotions.

The Great Adventure - a daily devotional journal
http://www.barbourbooks.com/product/...aspx?Tab=Books

...was released and shipped on Friday.

It came out much nicer than I expected and I expected a lot!

It sort of feels like a new member of the family. You never get used to the first time you handle a new published work. I hope I never get over the thrill.

...End Of Shameless Self Promotion...

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