Speaking Engagements: One tool in the PR professional’s tool belt

Christopher KimballCom476 PR Campaigns

10-minute tactic assignment

What is a speaking engagement?

A speaking engagement is defined as any planned event in which an individual or group of people educate a public on a specific topic.

~Co-Communicationswww.c0-

communications.com

Benefits of performing speaking engagements

•Through interpersonal communication, a speaker can establish trust in relationships. Verbal and nonverbal interpersonal communication can help gauge a person’s trustworthiness.

~Miguel Cavazos, Livestrong

• Interpersonal communication can minimize “noise” that is typically found when a person is trying to transmit a message to a receiver.

~Mark McCloskey, Tell It Often—Tell It Well

•Speaking engagements provide a vehicle to directly target publics that are interested in your business, product, or idea. This communication tool is a great way to generate new clients.

~Carolyn Elefant, Nolo’s Legal Marketing Blog

•Speaking engagements not only have the ability to be cost-effective, but can bring in additional profits to a person or an organization. In 2012, Bill Clinton earned $13.4 million in speaking fees.

~Robert Yoon, Bill Clinton has most lucrative year on speech circuit

•Speaking engagements are an excellent way to build personal/professional brand. You can establish your credibility and expertise, and in the social media age, many audience members will tweet and blog about their experience.

~Deb Ng, The Benefits of Speaking at Conferences

•Public relations professionals are constantly looking for ways to initiate two-way communication with their publics. Speaking engagements are one of the best ways to know what your friends, fans, and community are thinking.

~Deb Ng, The Benefits of Speaking at Conferences

Speaking Engagement “Best Practices”

•A good speech consists of research, knowing your objectives, and taking the right approach.

•Writing a speech takes expertise. It consists of understanding your objectives, knowing your audience, and tailoring the speech to fit your audience. Speech writers charge fees from $1,000 to $10,000 or more.

•Coaching helps the speaker rehearse & polish the delivery. Tone, volume, gestures and rate-of-delivery are all important areas of a speech to be touched upon by a speaking coach.

•Though PR practitioners may not give many formal speeches to large audiences, they do give a number of presentations to their employers and clients. They also need to understand how to develop content and properly deliver to an audience.

~Dennis L. Wilcox & Glen T. Cameron, PR Strategies & Tactics 9th Ed

•Never treat your audience as if they are not educated on the subject. When engaging an audience, you don’t need to spell things out for them, rather just give them tips and best practices.

•Keep your audience awake! Speak clearly, succinctly, and be conscious of energy level.

~Chris Brogan, Tune Up Your Personal Message

•Watch the masters. Look at what has made public speakers in the past successful and imitate it.

•People trust people when you look them in the eyes, so look at your audience when you are speaking to them.

~Editors of Publications International, Ltd., 18 Public Speaking Tips

Examples of successful speaking engagements

Steve Job’s introduces iPhone at MacWorld ,2007

MLK’s “I Have A Dream” speech, 1963

President Bush’s addresses Congress following 9/11 attacks in NYC, 2011

Examples of speaking engagement disasters

Tiger Woods confesses to cheating, 2010

Mitt Romney makes 47% comment during Presidential race, 2012

Ozzie Guillen praises Fidel Castro, 2012

My favorite speaking engagement of all-time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sfNROmn7bc

Conclusion and Q&A