Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com October 12, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 23 T ED talks, YouTube rants and Mr. Peanut, the mascot for Planters Peanuts, are all signs of just how highly valued the art of oratory is today. Yes, even Mr. Peanut can be seen in Planters ads giving TED-style presentations; people spend top dollar to attend a well-presented speech with useful information from an inspired perspective. The ability to command a fee is a sign that you've made it as a speaker. While it's a long way to the top if you're just starting, if you have something to offer, you can reach that fee status, and there's a reliable path to follow. Here are the three phases to becoming a paid speaker. • Ready. "Picking a lane" in your topic is the first step to becoming not only a paid speaker, but a wealthy one. What topic do you want to be known for five years from now? Will someone pay you for that information? Who gets chosen as a conference keynote speaker -- a jack of all trades or someone who hits the center of the bull's-eye on a topic? When picking a lane, consider topics such as leadership, engagement, corporate culture or communication. You'll want to really develop your bona fides, including your material and establishing the goal of how you'd like to help your audience. • Aim. This marketing phase cannot be underappreciated. It includes aspects like your website and what you do to drive traffic there, which may include a well-written blog with relevant content, and media exposure. However, the most important way to market yourself is to do a truly excellent job with your actual speech. A quality product speaks volumes itself. Therefore, if you think your speech could use help, take care of it right away. No amount of marketing dollars, no fancy Facebook page and no ultra-cool website can overcome a mediocre presentation. However, when you market yourself, you'll want to include a number of materials, including your brand, promise statement, photos, a bio illustrating credibility, testimonials and more. • Fire. You must now identify your target market and determine the best method to reach them. You need to roll out your product and continue to build momentum. Be ready to fire your message to your target market via a public relations campaign strategy. There are multiple ways of effectively getting good media attention, but don't believe all attention is good attention. Carefully consider your press releases. The mistake most speakers make is sending out a press release that does not answer the question: "So what?" They don't tie it to anything relevant to the press. Another way to "fire" is to identify your ideal customer, also called the The Attraction Method, as detailed in the book, "Attracting Perfect Customers: The Power of Strategic Synchronicity" by Stacy Hall and Jan Brogniez. If you feel as though you have something to offer audiences via oral presentations, then you probably do. Free online content doesn't take the place of a live experiential presentation. The ability to present your content live, and make the presentation worthwhile and relevant, means you can earn a reliable stream of revenue based on what you're good at. n Jane Atkinson is a speaker coach and author of "The Wealthy Speaker 2.0" and "The Epic Keynote" (speakerlauncher.com). As a former speaker's agent, she has represented business speakers, celebrities and best-selling authors. By David P. Kowal David P. Kowal is president of Kowal Communications Inc. of Northborough. He can be reached at kowal@kowal.com. 10 Things I Know About... Want to become a paid speaker? KNOW HOW 10. Develop a crisis management team. Include top management, your public relations manager, corporate counsel and technical experts. 9. Legal is essential, but … Don't let your counsel decide what gets communicated. Failure to communicate quickly and truthfully deepens the crisis. 8. Team should know its roles. Choose a team leader, a media spokesperson, backup spokesperson and an on-site coordinator, and include their addresses, online and phone information in the plan. 7. Develop a procedure. Include a list of audiences to receive information and in what order. Employees first; neighbors to company property; then community leaders and regulatory agencies, followed by media and customers. 6. Act quickly. In the first hours after a crisis is discovered, gather information. Honest, open dissemination of information will defuse the crisis; avoiding the media will prolong it. 5. Respect media deadlines. If your company makes the news and you refuse to comment – or if you are too slow to comment – the news coming from others is likely to be unfavorable. 4. Use three key messages. Repeat them often. Team members should develop a list of potential questions and their appropriate answers, anticipating responses. 3. Update workers regularly. To allay unease and minimize rumors, employees should be updated regularly by e-mail and, if feasible, meetings where they can ask questions. 2. Consider logistics. Determine where press briefings will be held, in an area that can accommodate print, online and broadcast press. Create a war room with necessary information and equipment, and TV and radios to track broadcasts. 1. Use a system for your sites. All facilities should receive up-to-date information. Test and update your crisis plan annually. The public relations manager and key executives should keep copies. Debrief after the crisis. n A fter accepting a new job or getting a promotion, you find yourself in the manager's seat. But before you pop that family photo atop your desk or locate the corporate washroom, spend some time reflecting on myths and missteps that could be out there to trip you up as a new manager. Here are three things to be aware of as you get used to your new role: Managers are not in charge. It's common, writes Harvard Business School Professor Linda Hill in a report cited in an article at WSJ.com, for new managers to think they have authority. What ends up happening, she says, is that managers are surprised by how constrained they feel. "They are enmeshed in a web of relationships, not only with subordinates, but also with bosses, peers, and others inside and outside the organization … The resulting daily routine is pressured, hectic and fragmented." What prevents frustration, Hill writes, is to recognize the need to negotiate through interdependencies. Transition to coach. Where great work breeds promotions and promotions can breed managers, managers are no longer star employees, but rather, coaches, says Lindsey Pollack in an article by Laura Vanderkam at FastCompany.com. "Your job is now to manage through other people's successes," said Pollak, and can be problematic if managers "keep trying to do their old jobs and be a manager at the same time." Managing other people's successes is really the new mindset, she said. Pollack notes new managers will likely have to seek out information on coaching, with many companies not helping them figure it out. Foster communication, said Victor Lipman in an article at Forbes.com. Not only will it incubate ideas, but people will be engaged if you create an environment where they feel free to speak their minds. "The tone you set at the outset will be crucial to how your employees relate," Lipman said. n 101: NEW MANAGERS >> BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal BY JANE ATKINSON Special to the Worcester Business Journal Here are the first three things you'll need to do Crisis communication $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

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