Is The Public Speaking Dead?

For the last two decades I have been a public speaker. I have seen a lot of changes and most prominently I have seen many new speakers arrive on the scene with the intention to create a massive business sharing their expertise. More often than not they fail.

This makes me ask: Is public speaking as a business dead or dying?

As I have carefully considered this question and looked at the complete landscape of what is really going on in this highly saturated industry of speaking, coaching, mentoring and personal development in general I have an answer to this question:

The old way of building this business is dying.

While those who understand the nuances of today’s marketplace are not only thriving but building incredible 7 & 8 figure businesses.

If I were summarize a few of the differences between the dying and thriving it would be as simple as this:

The dying are relying on an old model of the speaking business. In other words they are focusing on creating signature speeches, speaking for a fee and doing as many speeches as they possibly can. The thriving understand that building a brand is important and real authentic connection with the audience trumps signature speeches every time.

The dying are always on the hunt for the next event to get in front of an audience. The thriving understand the platforms available to them to create audiences around them and their content. They understand that once they find their vibe they earn their tribe.

The dying take out ads and do posts on social media focused on telling about themselves and their many accomplishments, constantly inviting you to events or buy products and promoting their latest greatest whatever it is. The thriving understand that today’s market place is value content and relationship driven. The more you give away the more likely you are to attract people who want to learn more.

The dying also don’t understand the important of building relationships with the power players in the business and that reputation helps create brand. The thriving understand that relationships with high level experts is available to them and they understand how to create synergy with people that matter. The dying don’t have a game plan and they often fly by the seat of their pants, taking whatever speaking gigs come their way.

The thriving understand that a business strategy is essential to success in the Speaking Business and saying no to events that don’t serve your bran is one of the best things you can do. Anyways, there are a few thoughts for now.

Original Post: Doug Vermeeren