Keynote speech, Romania

I am a very weird marketing professional.

Instead of going deep and becoming the “SEO guy” or the “Facebook ads guy,” I’ve followed my curiosity and explored the edges of marketing and strategy for decades. My curiosity set the path for my career.

For example, I saw how influence was shifting from agencies, TV networks, and editors to creators. Influence was being democratized. Curiosity led me to write the first book on influence marketing in 2012 before anybody was even calling it that.

Then I wondered, if anybody can create content and have influence, what’s the strategy when there is too much content? That became a book called The Content Code and, of course, a new speech to go with it.

My curiosity led me to the next logical question: “Is there a way to harness the power of content to help individuals build their personal brand?” That led to a two-year research project (the answer is YES), and a new book KNOWN, the bestselling book on personal branding.

And so on. I’ve written seminal books on brand communities, new marketing realities, and how humans win in an AI marketing world … just because I wanted to learn about these things and help others navigate this new world.

The end result is that I can probably speak deeply about more aspects of marketing than any person alive, not because I’m particularly smart, but because I’ve spent so many years going down marketing rabbit holes to write these books and determine what’s coming next.

Sometimes it’s difficult to explain to a client how all this fits together. What is the best way to pick the right speech topic for an audience? I have so many ways to go.

So, I developed a cool way to visualize my most current keynote speaking topics, and I thought I would share it with you:

Each circle represents a speech based on a popular, forward-looking book:

• KNOWN (personal branding)
• Belonging to the Brand (brand community)
• Marketing Rebellion (New marketing realities)
• Audacious and How AI Changes Your Customers (AI marketing strategy)

This gives the meeting planner the option to also bulk purchase books related to the speech for an attendee gift.

These four speeches can stand alone or be combined to address specific customer priorities, such as:

• Brand Marketing
• Modern Leadership
• Future of Marketing
• Marketing Success in the AI World

Every speech reflects my emphasis on the unified idea that the most human company wins.

The breadth of my work opens many possibilities. I recently gave a two-hour speech in the Philippines combining all four of these ideas! I spent a day at McKinsey in New York City giving in-depth talks on five different subjects. I’ve even been the opening and closing keynote speaker at the same event!

I’ve never seen anybody visualize speeches quite this way … it’s rare to have four different keynote speeches ready to go, right? I think the next step is to make this an interactive graphic on my website.

So I thought I would share this visualization idea with you … and hope that it might spark an inspiration to hire me for your next event. Let’s not waste my marketing geekiness. I can put it to work for you and craft a memorable, sizzling speech that fits perfectly at your next event.

Need a keynote speaker? Mark Schaefer is the most trusted voice in marketing. Your conference guests will buzz about his insights long after your event! Mark is the author of some of the world’s bestselling marketing books, a college educator, and an advisor to many of the world’s largest brands. Contact Mark to have him bring a fun, meaningful, and memorable presentation to your company event or conference.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

The post A technique to visualize your keynote speeches appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

I was leading a coaching call the other day, helping a client craft their first keynote speech. I explained to him that there are many ways to deliver an effective talk and I thought this would make an interesting insight to provide to you today.

I’ve been on the professional speaking circuit for more than a decade and I’ve observed some of the best in the business. I’ve seen six different ways people can prepare and present a keynote speech.

It’s important to understand these different styles and how they might work for you …

What is a keynote speech?

First, let’s step back and describe how a “keynote speech” differs from other types of talks.

• The keynote speech normally sets the tone at the opening of an event or brings the event to an inspirational close.
• Greater importance is placed on the keynote speech because of the fame or accomplishments of the speaker. Typically the keynote speaker is promoted as a highlight of the event.
• Normally the keynote speaker is paid because of their status in the industry.

If you want to have a career as a speaker, your goal would be to become established and experienced enough to be known as a keynote speaker.

Let’s get into the six speaking options:

1. Extemporaneous

This involves little or no preparation. It ranges from a stream of consciousness to preparing a few notes right before the speaker is ready to go onstage. Often, this is described as “I’m just going to have a conversation with you right now.”

I have rarely seen anybody pull this off well. In fact, if I made a list of the Top Five WORST speeches I have ever seen, they are all somebody trying to wing their way through a speech with little or no preparation.

ADVANTAGE: No preparation time, total flexibility.

DISADVANTAGE: High risk that you come across as unprepared, and unprofessional. You might run under or over the allotted time of the speech if you’re just rambling. It can hurt your reputation if you fall flat because most organizers do NOT expect a keynote speech to be a conversation. They are hiring you to uniquely educate and inspire their audience.

2. Notes on the stage

Some professional speakers literally bring written notes up on a stage with them and refer to them throughout the talk.

I have seen a newbie speaker actually read their speech at a marketing conference. Another variation is “notes as a security blanket.” An example of this would be the famous author/podcaster/pundit Malcolm Gladwell. Malcolm will normally have a script in his hand as he gives his speech. He might lightly refer to it to make sure he is on track for his audience, but his speech is still rehearsed.

I might use this style for a one-time, casual presentation to a college class, but I’ve never used it for a professional keynote speech.

ADVANTAGE: Helps you get through the nerves and assures you are hitting every point. This might work in the case where every word is important, like in a national security crisis.

DISADVANTAGE: You’re probably NOT in a national security crisis and reading any part of your speech is a bad look. I have no problem with somebody referring to an outline, but reading a speech is narration, not public speaking. In general, don’t do it.

3. The story shuffle

Very experienced speakers know which stories ignite emotions in their audience. One technique is to keep a notecard deck of your best stories and then weave them into an appropriate speech for an audience.

A famous person who uses this technique is former U.S. President Bill Clinton, one of the highest-paid speakers in the world. On the way to a speech, he will think about his audience, pull out favorite stories from a deck of notated cards, and assemble them into a narrative for an audience.

I’ve also heard people call this method of assembling a keynote speech from various pieces as a “Frankenstein,” as in, “I had to put a speech together in a hurry, so I frankensteined it!”

ADVANTAGE: Very low preparation time. Takes advantage of previous content. Assures good audience response because you know what works.

DISADVANTAGE: You have to be an extraordinarily experienced and confident speaker to pull this off with a broad range of available stories. There is a risk that you come across as disconnected if the stories aren’t perfectly tuned to the theme of the event. Celebrities can get away with that because they are … celebrities!

4. Single purpose

This might be the most common style for brand-new speakers. They craft and rehearse a single-purpose speech, meant for one event.

For example, a friend of mine lamented that he created a highly-specific talk for Content Marketing World but found that it’s so narrowly focused he can’t use it again.

This is appropriate for high-stakes audiences when you have something to prove. An example of this would be a TED talk or an audience of high-potential clients.

ADVANTAGE: If you’re just starting out, a single-purpose speech lets you experiment and build your confidence because it’s likely to be very specific and effective. You’re putting everything you have into one moment. It allows you to be highly-specific and connected to the audience.

DISADVANTAGE: A rule of thumb is that it takes about 20 hours of preparation to create one hour of new content. Then, you have to add the rehearsal time … maybe another five or six more hours? So this is highly inefficient. It’s a lot of effort but the pay-off might be worth it depending on the circumstances.

5. The performance

One time I spoke at an event and followed former NBA great Magic Johnson. Magic is out giving his speech several times a week. The same speech. Word-for-word. He knows exactly when the crowd will laugh or gasp.

Magic has given this keynote speech so many times that it’s simply a memorized performance. And everybody knows it, but it’s OK because it’s mesmerizing just to SEE Magic Johnson!

ADVANTAGE: No preparation, no stress. You know it works. This style works when seeing a celebrity is more important than the message of the speech.

DISADVANTAGE: If you’re a celebrity-level speaker, there is probably no downside. If you’re a working-class speaker like me, there is a risk of being irrelevant if you keep telling the same stories in the same speech year after year. You’re inflexible. This helped kill the career of a friend of mine who gave the same speech for years and then found that it was irrelevant during the pandemic.

6. The Legacy Keynote Speech

This is a hybrid style used by almost every successful professional speaker I know.

In this style, you have a number of different “performances” to call on. For lack of a better word, I will call them legacy speeches. These are your showcase themes.

A masterful example of this is Ann Handley. Ann obsesses over her well-crafted and entertaining speeches. She rehearses every line and blocks every movement like a stage performance (which it is). Even her outfits are meant to captivate.

But Ann never gives the same keynote speech twice because she picks the right performance from her portfolio and artfully tailors it to the specific audience.

This is also the speaking strategy I use. As an example, I have several tried-and-true legacy speeches ready to go on:

• The power and promise of personal branding
• The future of marketing
• The most human company wins
• How to be relentlessly relevant

These speeches are battle-tested and can deliver a guaranteed knock-out performance.

But, like Ann, I never give the same keynote speech twice.

In the hybrid model, I alter my most popular speeches to include details that connect to an audience in a timely and intimate way. I might include:

• Comments about my personal connection to the event, profession, or place
• A link to something in the news that is relevant to the conference
• Pulling in a story from a different speech
• Specific case studies and stories relevant to the issues of the audience/industry

I have even been known to stop in the middle of a speech and connect to something going on with the audience. Earlier this year, I left the stage because somebody needed a hug. That was a first!

ADVANTAGE: You maximize impact/relevance and minimize work by customizing established speeches. Since these talks are well-rehearsed, crafted in detail, and tailored to an audience, this style will make a high  impact.

DISADVANTAGE: Creating a powerful legacy speech is a grueling and demanding process. Writing, refining, and rehearsing a legacy performance might take weeks of work. But it is well worth it if you’re creating a performance that you can customize and monetize for years to come.

The ultimate keynote speech

Obviously, I’m a fan of the hybrid legacy speech. There are some significant advantages:

1. Since you’re repeating a legacy speech, you’re more likely to have a video recording to show event organizers who might want to hire you
2. You can show feedback and ratings from previous speeches.
3. A distinctive speech can turbo-charge your personal brand
4. A well-crafted speech can lead to other monetization efforts like consulting and book sales.
5. You come across as confident because you’ve done this well-rehearsed speech before
6. It’s more fun because by changing an established speech, it’s never boring to you or the audience
7. You can hit your mark on the keynote speech timing ( 30 minutes, 45, etc.) because you’re so well-rehearsed

Finally, technically speaking, there is a seventh way you could deliver a keynote speech. You could do it virtually, but that’s a story for another day.

I hope this helps. I’ve done a lot of work over the years helping people nurture their speaking careers and craft blockbuster speeches. You can always reach out to me here if you need my help.

Mark Schaefer is the executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. He is the author of some of the world’s bestselling digital marketing books and is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world. Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram. Discover his $RISE creator community.

Illustration courtesy of Unsplash.com

The post The six possible ways to deliver your keynote speech appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

As the world turned weird in 2020 (and then got progressively weirder), I supported my friends and customers by pivoting to virtual keynote speeches. I’ve given more than 200 online speeches since the pandemic started so I guess I’m a veteran now!

I’ve learned some important lessons — especially from my mistakes — and I thought I’d pass them on to you since I’ve never written about this before.

Although live conferences are coming back, virtual keynote speeches are still an important part of the mix for associations and businesses that want to provide a variety of educational experiences and access to global speakers.

Five lessons for you today:

1. The technology matters … to a point

Like most of my fellow speakers, moving to virtual keynote speeches meant upgrading my technology. I bought new professional lighting, a better camera, and a back-up power supply among other devices. I already had a good microphone. All of these were essential purchases.

I did not invest in the whole broadcast studio scene like some people, and I think this was a good decision. At first, I had studio FOMO, but honestly, the little graphic tricks and different camera angles did not make a material difference to my business. I haven’t heard one story about a speaker being hired simply because they had a better home studio.

It still gets down to:

• Great reputation
• Reasonable price
• Great content

As the pandemic wore on, I think quality expectations actually slackened. Perhaps it was Zoom weariness, but when I was speaking at virtual conferences, I began seeing speakers doing talks from their hotel room or a vacation spot … even in tee shirts. And it was perfectly OK.

People seemed to recognize that the imperfection of virtual keynote speeches added to the authenticity and charm.

2. Stick to the program

Last year I did a virtual talk for a massive global audience, sponsored by an Australian company. I decided to move my usual broadcast location from my office to my living room to provide a nice background —  a fireplace and stone walls. So I moved all my equipment to the living room.

It’s important to know that my office is located in a separate building, in the woods, up a hill, about 200 yards from my home! So this was a major effort.

In the middle of my live talk, I experienced a complete power failure. My talk went “poof.” This would not be a problem from my office because I have a backup power supply. So I had to run back up the hill, in the rain, to continue my talk 10 minutes later with terrible room lighting. I refer to this experience as my “wet dog talk” because I was soaked.

The customer was understanding and the talk was still a success, but I should never have varied from my routine.

The one time I was not prepared for an outage was the one time I had an outage. Stick to the plan!

3. Accountability shifts for virtual keynote speeches

For a person from the outside looking in, it might seem like virtual keynote speeches are easy. No travel!  You can wear your pajama bottoms!

But here’s what they’re missing. At a live event, somebody else is responsible for your sound, your audio-visual quality, the stage, and the lighting.

For virtual keynote speeches, all this responsibility is on me. I can’t tell you how many times I had to check and double-check whether my videos would run on Microsoft Teams version 3.6 or whatever the platform of the day was! There is some strange new risk for every talk.

I was always MUCH more nervous giving a virtual speech because everything had to work just right in my office. There was no AV team to the rescue.

4. Use the platform to your advantage

When I give a live speech, I connect with the audience in a magical way. People often say they feel like I’m talking right to them. I feed off that energy!

Suddenly, I was spending most of my time sitting alone talking to a little green light on my computer. It was depressing.

Then I reframed the situation. There are actually benefits I could bring to virtual keynote speeches … certain creative advantages. I had to shed my onstage “blocking” and find new ways to generate energy from a static, sitting position.

For example, I learned that I could …

• Show people things close up that you can’t do on a stage
• Have a series of props nearby on my desk
• Have a lot more flexibility to use my computer as an AV dashboard without interrupting the flow of a talk
• Use facial expressions to add humor and human connection

I even found a way to display slides more compellingly since people viewed them close-up on a screen instead of in a big room. In the end, I still prefer being on stage, but I’ve learned to squeeze every creative advantage out of the online performance!

5. Make a list

Here’s where I run into problems — When I overlook something simple like uploading a video or forgetting to push the record button.

That’s why anybody delivering virtual keynote speeches needs a detailed checklist so nothing is overlooked. Little things like:

• Do you know the name of the person introducing you? It’s nice to thank them by name.
• Check your internet speed the day of the event.
• What is your back-up plan if there is construction noise outside your office or another emergency on the day of the event?
• Do you know what presentation platform the host is using? Do you have experience with it? Any special considerations like uploading videos?
• Am I responsible for recording the presentation?
• Am I sure I have the time zone right? Double check it anyway!
• Who are the event sponsors? Could I say something kind about them?
• Are there any people who might not understand me because English is not their native language? Can I accommodate that?
• Any other disabilities or special needs?
• Can I use the virtual format creatively to perform a more relevant and entertaining talk for this audience?
• Is every noise-making device turned off or muted?
• Do I have a text channel set up with the event in case there is a technical problem in the middle of the event?
• Is the temperature in the room comfortable for me to be sitting in one place for an hour or more?
• Do I have drinking water nearby?
• Is there a Q&A time? Will somebody be monitoring the chat? (I can’t watch the chat and concentrate on my talk at the same time!)

At this point, I’m prepared for almost anything. Although I did have a weird episode last week when an ant crawled across the camera lens in the middle of a speech! Maybe add ant traps to your list!

I hope you’ve enjoyed these ideas. Did I miss anything that has been helpful to you? Let me know in the comment section and let the world know your ideas!

Mark Schaefer is the executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. He is the author of some of the world’s bestselling digital marketing books and is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world. Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

Follow Mark on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram. Discover his $RISE creator community.

The post Five Incredibly Useful Lessons From 200 Virtual Keynote Speeches appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

If you’re interested in becoming a keynote speaker, you’ll need a highlight reel to pique the interest of event organizers. I’ve just come out with a new video and I wanted to tell you the story of this journey and pull out a few key ideas you can use to create a keynote speaker reel for yourself.

First, to understand what I’m about to discuss, you would benefit from seeing my new speaker reel! Here it is.

Now … that is one fancy video, right?

But this is my THIRD speaker video over a 10-year speaking career — and I can assure you that my first one was not so glamorous (here it is!)

However, all of my videos contained the same key elements. In fact, every great speaker video has some common qualities. So even if you’re just starting out, you can begin to plan for the creation of your own speaking video, with a few key steps.

Key elements of a keynote speaker reel

The three big cost elements to a speaking video are

• the raw video
• the script
• the editing

Here are simple steps you can take to start your path to a keynote speaker reel in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

1) Start collecting video NOW.

In my video, I have snippets from 10 different events! It took me two years to accumulate those shots. So every time you speak — especially if you’re speaking for free — ask for the video or the opportunity for a friend to collect some quality video for you. Having a lot of high-quality video options will save you time and money down the line.

This is not as easy as it might seem. The lighting at many events may be poor. A videographer might not be able to get near the stage. So keep collecting as much as you can and put it in a file folder for your future keynote speaker reel.

2) Start envisioning a script.

Every great speaker video has these common elements:

• Explains who you are
• Describes why you’re an expert in something
• Samples of a talk that show your style
• Testimonials

So to save time and money, have all of these elements ready for a video editor. Think carefully about what you want to be known for … what problem do you solve?

3) Spend on an editor.

Unless you are a professional video editor, I recommend outsourcing this step.

For my first two videos, I just used local freelance videographers. If you have all of the elements I’ve talked about here ready to go, you can probably have a very good video produced for under $2,000. In fact, my first video from around 2013 probably cost me less that $1,000 because I had everything ready to go.

It was time for me to upgrade, so I spent a lot more than that for the new video, but I’m at a point in my career where I can justify that expense. 90 percent of the budget for this video was still spent on the actual editing.

The customer is the marketer

There is one element of this video that was unique. Did you notice the video testimonies? This was important to me because my book Marketing Rebellion was all about the idea that the customer is the marketer. So getting real human voices in there was modeling this idea.

The videos were simply filmed over Skype and I liked that simple and raw quality. Adds to the authenticity I think.

Video impact

I’ve posted my new video on LinkedIn and Facebook and it’s already resulted in a few new speaking inquiries. I think it was just a reminder to people that I’m out there and ready to rumble! I don’t do a lot of self-promotion but even this little bit seemed to provide a little jolt!

If the new video is interesting to you, I’d love to hear how I might help you with your next event, conference, sales meeting, or company workshop.

Of course you can connect with me directly (I always love to hear from you). We’d love to work with you!

Thank you for your ongoing support of my work!

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world. Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

The post The new keynote speaker reel: An inside story appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

Some time in 2016, my lines crossed. I began making more money as a keynote speaker than I did as a marketing strategy consultant. (I have 20 sources of income but those two are the most important!)

The pull to host me as a keynote speaker has continued to climb over the years so I am becoming more serious about focusing on this as a major part of my business. It’s also caused me to sharpen my pencil and take a look at the economics being a keynote speaker.

If you’ve ever thought about becoming a professional speaker this is probably vital information for you, so let’s dive into this today.

The keynote speaker

First, what do I mean by “keynote” speaker?

A keynote speaker’s main purpose is to set the tone for the theme of an event. Selecting a keynote speaker who is well-known for his or her expertise in a field, or who has wide name recognition due to other accomplishments, raises enthusiasm among prospective attendees for an event.

The high-profile keynote speaking professional may lead off a conference or end it with a bang. Normally for a multi-day event there will be a keynote speaker for each day, and sometimes even a morning and evening keynote.

A keynote speaker has a starring role in the event, so there is a ton of pressure to deliver and make the organizers look like heroes.

As a keynote speaker, that is my goal. Total professionalism. Exceeding expectations. Creating positive buzz. Make my customers heroes.

It might seem like a glamorous life — show up to give a speech and collect the paycheck. But it’s a lot more involved than that. Here’s a peak behind the scenes:

Content development

A rule of thumb is that it takes about 20 hours of work to develop one hour of new content … not including practice! So if you ask me to create an entirely new speech, you will be receiving 20 hours of my effort at a minimum. A “standard” keynote speech (like Marketing Rebellion) took more than 80 hours of work since I do all my own slide graphics too.

This is why it is usually not feasible to ask somebody to create an entirely new speech for an event!

Some speakers wing it and furiously scramble to develop a talk the day before an event. I can’t do that. My talks are polished performances, so I have a set of four or five blockbuster talks that I can then tailor for an event. The speeches tend to morph and grow as I gain experience with the material, but the original talk takes an incredible amount of work.

So the first part of becoming a keynote speaker is developing the content — a minimum of 20 hours. And then comes the …

Customization

I never give the same speech twice. I research the organization, the industry, and the audience, and tailor my presentation to their specific issues and business language.

I’ll add localized examples, case studies, and event photos. I’ve even worked in mentions of the sponsors in some cases.

So, I’m not just pulling a speech out of my back pocket for my customers. I am giving three major speeches this week and all of them are customized for the individual events.

Including pre-calls with the organizers, customization may take another 2-3 hours of work per speech. I did one for the American Bar Association this summer that was easily six hours of custom work.

Practice

Before any talk, I know my material cold. I don’t read from slides. I don’t talk from notes or a script. I get up and tell a flowing story with humor and impact. And if it is supposed to last 45 minutes, it will last 45 minutes. Exactly. That does not just happen by chance.

I spend many hours standing alone in front of my computer screen practicing my delivery, my timing, and tweaking the content. I rehearse so much I am sick of myself.

For a new keynote speech, I’ll probably practice it 10-12 times before the first talk. I’m like an actor getting ready for a starring role. As I grow comfortable with the speech and deliver it every week I won’t need to rehearse so much. But I’m always adding and perfecting new elements.

Event support

Most organizations expect me to help promote their event and I’m happy to do this through tweets, posts, maybe even a guest blog post or interview. Sometimes I attend a client dinner, do a book signing, or help in other ways to add value and delight my customer. I don’t charge any more for this support. I average at least one hour of promotional support per speech.

Keynote speaker travel considerations

Travel is a HUGE factor in the economics of being a keynote speaker. I’m not talking about expense — that is typically covered by the organizers. But the TIME it takes to get to a location can be a killer because while you’re traveling, you can’t be doing something else that makes money.

The distance and flight schedule is an important consideration. This is why international events are a challenge. I always try to organize at least three events in the region of the world before I commit to an international speech. My average door-to-door travel time for a U.S. keynote engagement is 10 hours, roundtrip. That has to be factored into your speaking fee.

Business expenses for keynote speaker

There are certain uniques expenses to this profession that also add to the cost and economics of being a professional speaker. Having a great website is a must. Creating an effective “reel” of speaking highlights is a must — and not cheap! Managing the booking, transportation, billing, and often book sales takes a high administrative toll.

So when you establish a speaking fee, you have to factor in all these types of expenses.

Captured content

This is a subtle yet important aspect of public speaking — with the ease and expectation of sharing content all over the social channels, the value of your original material declines bit by bit. The value of my talk goes down every time it is posted on YouTube or Slideshare because the presentation is no longer a rare commodity — it’s out there for the world to see. That’s why many top speakers refuse to be recorded. I usually cooperate with the needs of event organizers but every time I do, it slowly nicks away at the value of the talk.

So let’s add up the economic costs of creating and delivering a new, one-hour keynote presentation:

• Content development – between 20-80 hours depending on the talk
• Customization and research – 2-3 hours
• Practice – 10-12 hours
• Event support – 3 hours
• Travel – 10 hours
• Other costs like tech, admin, speaker representation
• Actual presentation time – 1 hour

So you can see … it’s not just a speech. It’s a business machine!

I enjoy being a keynote speaker because I can deliver a ton of value in a short amount of time. And all the work is worth it. It can be a very profitable profession and so rewarding when you receive feedback like this:

Yup. Pretty cool. I love what I do and if this is what you want to do someday too, I hope this article has helped.

If you want to become a keynote speaker some day, here are some other resources that can help:

• How to give your first speech and knock it out of the park
• How to write your first speech
• How to moderate a panel discussion
• Four new presentation techniques you can use right now

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant.  The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world. Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

Illustration from the Spark.me conference in Montenegro, 2018

The post The economics of becoming a keynote speaker appeared first on Schaefer Marketing Solutions: We Help Businesses {grow}.

By Mark W. Schaefer

In my career as a keynote speaker, I know that something can (and will) go wrong, and I like to think I’m prepared for anything. But after eight years as a keynote speaker, I came up against a crisis that turned into one of my most successful presentations ever. I wanted to share some lessons from a speaking disaster.

If you’ve ever seen one of my talks, you know I work hard to make it a very entertaining performance as well as something that is educational and inspirational. A big part of the entertainment value comes from my carefully-crafted visuals. I use photos to punctuate, animations to add sizzle, and graphics to teach and explain.

Slides also serve as course markers for my talk … it’s hard to stand in front of a crowd and tell a story for an hour without a few prompts along the way.

All those best-laid plans came to a crashing halt when the audio visual people could not get the visuals to project from my computer — or any computer — at a recent talk before several hundred sophisticated marketers in Boston.

It was time for my talk to start. The room was packed, hushed, and ready. The spotlight was on me. Three AV people were looking at each other in panic. I gently told them that it was time for them to get off the stage … I would handle it.

I pushed down my fear and disappointment and announced I would be doing a new speech that day — “Mark Schaefer … Unplugged.” It was just me, telling stories on the stage for an hour.

The reaction to my talk was quite unexpected. Some of the tweets:

“Amazing. Best talk of the event. Maybe best talk I have ever seen.”

“You just gave us a lesson in what it means to be human and vulnerable.”

“Everybody’s talking about your speech. People are buzzing about what you did today!”

Arguably, this disaster was the most successful talk of my career.

I’ve thought a lot about what went on that day. What did I learn from this experience that I can carry forward? What I can pass on to you?

Here are five lessons I learned from my biggest speaking disaster.

1. The value of preparation

When I develop a major speech, I rehearse it like an actor would rehearse for a play. By the time I hit the stage, it is smooth, it is ready, it is great.

I’m convinced that this intense preparation saved me in this situation. If I had “whipped it up” the night before the talk I would have had no guideposts to get me through the talk.

The slides did not own me. I owned the slides. And when I didn’t have slides to rely on, my story was still ready.

2. Don’t panic.

Honestly, this would have been worse if I had time to think about it. But this hit me right at “show time” so my instinct took over.

The biggest challenge was that I had to adjust the timing and pace of the slide-free story on the fly. Instead of letting a powerful graphic make an impact, I had to describe the feeling to my audience. Instead of allowing an animation to tell a story, I had to act it out.

As I spoke, my mind raced ahead, trying to anticipate what was supposed to be next, and how I would overcome the fact that the entire visual element of my story had evaporated.

The key was staying calm. There was nothing I could do about the situation. I just had figure it out step by step as my story unfolded.

3. Don’t whine

One participant told me that he thought the talk was impactful because I didn’t dwell on the fact that I was screwed. I announced that I had a problem at the beginning and then moved on. So, something to remember.

4. Being an underdog

Dozens of people came up to me over the next two days thanking me for the talk and for demonstrating grace under pressure. Many of them said they would have collapsed under similar circumstances. One friend said he would have assumed the fetal position in the middle of the stage and cried.

In a strange way, people could connect with my situation in a very strong and emotional way. I think people were holding their breath to see what would happen — would I crack? I was the underdog and perhaps they were silently cheering me through the thing.

I don’t know how you can re-create that emotional connection — or if you would even want to — but it worked in the moment, on that day.

5. Confidence

When I help people get into the speaking business, I encourage them to take every event they can get because the more you do it, the more problems you overcome, and this builds confidence.

I am already a confident speaker. I don’t get nervous any more, precisely because I’ve done this so many times and faced so many problems before. The years of preparation forged a level of confidence that allowed me to know that this would be OK. If this had happened five years ago … who knows?

My point is, if you are developing a speaking career. Get out there and do it, do it, do it, so when it is time for YOUR disaster on the big stage, you too will have the best speech of your life.

Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant. The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world. Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.

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