Public Speaking Jobs That Put You in the Driver’s Seat

Some people absolutely hate public speaking. The very thought of it makes them tremble with fear. Others, however, love getting in front of a group and saying a few words (or many words!). These people even find it exhilarating! If the thought of speaking in public, and potentially getting paid to do so, appeals to you, then read on…

"Professional Speaker" is not the most common job title in the world. Introduce yourself to someone by saying, "Hi, my name is Pat and I’m a professional speaker," and there’s a 50% chance that they’ll respond with a blank stare. However speaking as a profession is becoming more and more popular, and not only are more people entering the profession but also more public speaking jobs becoming available.

If you want to be a professional speaker (or think you might want to), then you have two primary options:

1) Find a job that requires you to speak as one of your primary job functions.
2) Be a bit entrepreneurial and start you own professional speaking practice and find public speaking jobs on your own.

At first glance, option #1 seems like a better way to go. You can get paid to speak and not have to deal with a lot of the headaches that go along with running your own business. That may seem nice, but it’s not what I would recommend. Why not? Here are three reasons:

1) You have to speak on whatever the company wants or needs you to speak on, not necessarily what you are interested in or passionate about.
2) Even if your job involves a lot of speaking, there will still be quite a bit of non-speaking tasks you will be responsible for that are a pain.
3) You may have to speak at times, to groups, and in venues that you absolutely hate and that de-energize you (it doesn’t matter though – if your boss wants you to speak there, you’re speaking there).

The second option, starting your own speaking business, does take a little bite more work. However, that work is rewarded with a lot of great benefits. When you run your own business, you are in the driver’s seat:

1) You get to choose what you speak on and what techniques, stories, exercises, etc. you use to convey your material. No one else tells you how to do what you love to do.
2) You can pick and choose when, where, and to whom you speak. Sure, there will be times when you take on less than ideal gigs, but only by your choice. You get to decide if those gigs are in your long term best interest, not your boss.
3) You control your long term income potential. If you want to make more money, raise your fees, market more, and take on more gigs. If you want to make a little less but have more free time, pull back a bit. You have little control over these things when you work for an employer.
4) You can repackage your content in a variety of forms. A great way to make extra money and reach more people is to turn your speech into a book. Then you can turn it into an audio. And a DVD training course. And a group coaching session. And a public seminar. And so on and so on. When you are in business for yourself, it’s all your content and you can do with it what you will. If you work for someone else, they own the content. They can package it up and sell it, but you can’t.

I don’t want to paint a fake, rainbow filled vision of the future. Speaking, like any other business, takes time and hard work to get going and become something truly successful. However, if you are willing to put in that time and effort, the long term rewards far outweigh the short term benefits of speaking as a job for someone else. If you like to speak and want to start earning a living doing it, then I recommend you start your own speaking practice. It’s fun, exciting, and can be very, very lucrative!

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Avish Parashar is the co-owner and operator of SpeakingExpert.com, a site designed to show speakers of every level how to speak better, make more money, and have more fun. Want to learn more about finding public speaking jobs and starting a speaking business? Then get your copy of the free e-book, "6 Figure Speaker Secrets! Learn the 7 Steps to Getting Paid Speaking Gigs in 90 Days or Less," now!