Is The Public Speaking Dead?

Is public speaking as a business dead?

by Douglas Vermeeren 10X Your Speaking Business

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.

End Rant.

Secrets of Story Telling for Speakers – 10X Your Speaking Business with Douglas Vermeeren

Secrets of Storytelling for Speakers

According to Douglas Vermeeren Storytelling is one of the most important skills a speaker can develop. Storytelling is the most important part of connection and engagement. It makes you real and relatable. It is what allows people to see your authenticity. Storytelling is also considered one of the most powerful skills you can have when selling form the stage. The power of storytelling cannot be underestimated. I love storytelling. (Can you tell?)

One of the reasons I love story telling is I love stories. I love hearing them, writing them and watching them. I love them so much that’s actually what I studied in school. (Yes, that’s true I didn’t go to school to actually become a speaker. Doug Vermeeren went to become a filmmaker and my studies focused on screenwriting. You’ve seen some of my work already in The Opus, The Gratitude Experiment and my latest movie The Treasure Map. I’ve written many other non-personal development stories including award winning comic books, tv pilots and other movies. Betcha didn’t know that about me.)

Anyways, I believe in the importance of storytelling. And it’s a powerful tool that every speaker needs. I believe in it so much that I have prepare a special session that will give you some immediate tools to build powerful stories in your presentations. Much of this information I have learned from some of the most powerful storytellers in Hollywood in my film classes.

Most speakers don’t know this stuff — but it will make your stories more powerful, more engaging and eliminate a lot of stuff that makes most stories boring.

Here are some quick tips:

1. Remember that every story needs a clear beginning, middle and end.
2. Eliminate needless details and distractions that take people away from the clear storyline.
3. Find a moral or point to the story before starting. (Sometimes called a theme.) If you don’t know it before you start your listeners will never find it.
4. A story isn’t jsut telling what happened, it’s returning to what happened. If you relive it vividly in your mind and become emotionally attached your audience will find it easier to connect too.
5. Every story should have a turning point. In other words a major moment of decision that takes the protagonist from the distress to victory. It must be decision not something lucky that just happens. (We don’t cheer when mother nature or chance saves the day.)

That’s enough for now. Getting ready to offer a special session on story telling PM me if you want to know more. http://www.DouglasVermeeren.com

Are You Building Your Speaking Business Correctly?

Are you building your speaking business correctly?
By Douglas Vermeeren 10X Your Speaking Business

Over the last 2 decades Douglas Vermeeren have had a chance to seriously observe hundreds of speakers emerging in todays marketplace. Some of them have been quite successful and other seemed to struggle along or quickly became stagnant ed in their career. The vast majority fall into the second category.

The majority of speakers struggle to build their businesses and find more opportunities to speak. As a result they also seem to be on the brink of financial struggle all the time.

As most speakers claim to teach and share tools that are supposed to improve your situation I would say that this failure of their own constitutes a massive failure.

The failing however upon close examination isn’t always connected to their content or their ability to deliver it from the stage. Many of these failing speakers are excellent speakers and have great content.

The challenge comes down to how they’ve structured (or technically not structured) their speaking business. They lack the elements to make their speaking business work.

And there isn’t really anywhere for them to learn this. I have been involved in most of the professional associations for speakers and it’s not there. It’s basically broke speakers teaching other speakers how to do the same.

It is for this reason that Doug Vermeeren created 10X Your Speaking Business. While this article isn’t about me I should tell you why I’m qualified to create such a program:

FINANCIAL SUCCESS
In my first 6 months as a speaker I create a 7 figure business and have never looked back.

RELATIONSHIP POWER
I have joint ventured and created projects where some of the top speakers in the business have supported me. I am the producer of 3 of the top 10 personal development movies of all time. (With support from Bob Proctor, Jack Canfield, John Demartini, Mark Victor Hansen, Joe Vitale, Marci Shimoff, Marie Diamond, John Gray, Bob Doyle, Morris Goodman, Mary Morrissey and many other top thought leaders.)

PRODUCT SALES
I know the formula for creating products, workshops and trainings that sell.

INTERNATIONAL SPEAKING GIGS
I have spoken to audiences all around the world. I was even awarded the distinction of youngest Visiting professor at the Wu Zhai University in China. I regularly speak today on nearly every continent on the globe. (The only ones I’ve missed are really bizarre – like who wants to speak in Antarctica?)

MY STUDENTS ARE SUCCESSFUL
Those that have used my tools have exponentially grown their speaking business. I have students that range from beginning speakers all the way to well known celebrities. I have taught (and still teach) Olympians, movie starts, top musicians, business leaders and my favourite speakers with a brilliant message.

If you are ready to get your speaking business figured out correctly I look forward to having a conversation with you. Here’s a link for some free resources to get you started http://www.DouglasVermeeren.com

Feel free to reach out to me to connect doug@douglasvermeeren.com

 

Les Brown & Douglas Vermeeren in London

Les Brown & Douglas Vermeeren coming to London! By Toni Charmaine

Les Brown is know around the world as the king of motivation, the motivational master and an all around powerhouse! Douglas Vermeeren is known as the Speaking Business Multiplier and arguably the most powerful speaker trainer around. Thy will be together on stage in London, UK this November to present an incredible never before seen program.
Now we understand that normally these kinds of events are sold to the public on a campaign of over hyped promises, cliched pizzazz words and bold declarations of your new life to come. (Perhaps the overuse of these strategies has made so few of them effective in todays marketplace.) Maybe you will even see that kind of marketing appear from some of the partners and affiliates flogging tickets online. You probably will.

But I want to take a different approach and look at these two individuals as people who actually have value and are real humans who can make a difference in your life. In other words I want to push aside all the hype and get real authentic.

Les Brown is a genuinely nice guy. He cares about those he speaks to. He has been through many difficult situaitons in his life and by cultivating a belief in himself he has been able to rise above his challenges and stay motivated in his own life. He has a gift of being able to help people through similar difficulties. In my opinion he is different than many motivational speakers in the simple sense that he does not point you to himself as the source for your answers. Instead he helps you draw upon yourself and the brilliance that we often forget is within us. For this reason alone I recommend this event.

Douglas Vermeeren is another individual I say spearates himself from the pack through his authenticity. He too, has had his share of troubles and has risen above them. His focus one this event is not to motivate however. He has his own speciality. He believes in the power and messages of others and he is there to help them bring their message to the world through public speaking. His company 10X Your Speaking Business has a simple mission statement: Help you share your brilliance and your story.
In todays marketplace it is very easy for those in personal development or the motivation space to lose touch with their audience and the “Service” approach. These two speakers have demonstrated in fact, that service-first pays the biggest dividends.

If you are interested to attend this event in London, UK Nov 12 be sure to check out the website for more details on how you can register: http://www.LesBrowninLondon.com

Important notice! 10X Your Speaking Business – Douglas Vermeeren

In Memorium: Today we announcing the passing of the old way of being a speaker. That’s right the old way is gone. If you are a boring presenter, that delivers a scripted signature speech in front of a long and draw out powerpoint you no longer have a place in this market. That’s not the way we do things anymore. Do you want to learn what’s going on today? PM me for the link to the FREE webinar I am hosting on Wednesday September 27th. It is 100% free  to attend. If you re a speaker in todays marketplace you cannot afford to miss this discussion on the future of your industry #douglasvermeeren #10Xyourspeakingbusiness

A few secrets to becoming a good public speaker

Often people ask me what’s the secret to becoming a good speaker on stage. I want to clarify I’m not talking about you’re speaking business I’m talking about your presentation skills.

Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to see a lot of speakers and some of them of been very good while others have a lot of work to do still. As I have observed those that are good I have noticed a few common attributes and traits.
Naturally I know behind the scenes the study their content very consistently. I’m not going to spend a lot of time in this post talking about content.

This post is more about presentation of that content. And I believe one of the most important things a person can possess on stage is self confidence in the ability to flow with your content to look as though it’s easy for you.

The first step to having this kind of delivery is the practice everywhere you can. I have long been a believer that a speaker needs to be speaking. That means when no one is hiring you you need to find a events or create them.

I have found the same thing to be true as I have done stand-up comedy. There is no substitute for practice in front of a real live audience. As a speaker you need to find as much of that as you possibly can.

Another important element of being a powerful presenter is to learn how to keep things simple. Too many speakers try to show how clever or smart they are by making things more complex than they need to be. Rather than engaging the audience this type of activity tends to exclude them. Making something appear simple is a lot harder than looks. And quite frankly knowing exactly what to share it something that can only be experienced as you share it with an audience. You can start with what you think will work but it won’t be until you see the lightbulbs go on in the eyes of those who share it with that you’ll know for sure.

And maybe the last point to share here today which I think is the most powerful is that above all you need to learn how to connect with your audience. This can be as simple as learning how to affectively make eye contact, speak with intonation and tonality, use gestures that engage and correct body language. The idea and concept of connection is so important that in the new training I’m doing a presentation skills we spend several hours talking about how you can connect specifically with the audience.

As a preview to the training I want to mention that the most powerful way to connect with audiences is to engage them with questions, exercises and activities. To do these things effectively requires that you know your content so well that you can literally create a conversation from the stage without worrying that someone could hijack what you’re trying to do.

If you are new to speaking I would encourage you to get out there and speak as much as you can. The idea of speaking for free is the fastest way to start becoming good. I am not against speaking for free or even paying to speaking. But there will come a time when you just won’t be able to operate as a business unless you have some way of monetizing these kinds of opportunities. But for now just get out and speak.

One of the first things you should do to improve your speaking career in 2017 – Douglas Vermeeren, The Speaking Business Multiplier

One of the first things you should do to improve your speaking career in 2017

Douglas Vermeeren, The Speaking Business Multiplier

When it comes to a new year everyone is thinking about fresh beginnings, resolutions and setting goals for how they want their life and business to look in the upcoming year. most of the speakers that I come into contact with are setting goals about how many stages they’d like to speak on, which new products they are going to launch, maybe even declaring goals to speak in far away countries that they’ve never visited yet and many are even thinking about how they will increase their income. While these are all valuable and exciting things to think about there is something that I think will help build your speaking business more than any other business goal, product launch or world tour…

Would you like to know what it is? If you’ve been following me for any length of time you know how I believe that the foundation of everything in your speaking business will come back to creating powerful content.  But there is a part of creating powerful content that is often overlooked. If you get this part right then everything else in your speaking business, including the content will come together more easily and all the goals that you’ve been thinking about will fall more easily into place. Well, enough of the suspense. Here it is:

You need to get talking to your audience. In specific you need to connect with individuals in your audience. You first goal will be to discover what challenges they are currently struggling with and which ones they foresee coming in the year. You need to be able to identify how you can best be of service and how your skills, knowledge and tools will best benefit the marketplace.

Some of the key ways I do this in my business are the following:

1)I start with my most profitable and loyally clients. Those that are most profitable for you and most loyal are the audience members you want to keep with you. They are also the kind of people you want to duplicate in your business. It’s a simple reflection of the Pareto principle or the 80/20 rule. You don’t need to or ant to serve everyone. You need to find and nurture those who are best positioned to help your business grow. By focusing on the leaders in your tribe you can get the best sense of the needs of the tribe. Your leaders are dialled in and as pioneers they know what’s really going on. If you haven’t identified them that’s your first bit of homework. You need to explore such questions as:

What are their goals for 2017?

What were the biggest challenges of 2016? And what are you doing about it?

What changes are happening for you that will effect your marketplace?

Who are the emerging leaders this year in your industry? Why?

What are the important issues facing you and your business this year?

What is the new products, services and tools you are bringing to market?

What will you need to learn to do that successfully?

What efforts worked really well last year that you will duplicate again?

What efforts did not work?

Naturally these seem like very business oriented connections and I’m sure many of my students who are more focused on the healing arts and heartfelt teachings are thinking that these questions will never work with my people. That may be true but you can always create variations of these questions. Especially when working with individuals who are trying to gain clarity to begin with.

Even those in the healing modalities have clear goals and can identify many of the needs they are trying to solve.

Back to the business conversation for a second. I have found that my top students that I want to interview appreciate these kinds of explorative conversations and questions a lot. In fact, when I am asking for the interview I position it as a strategy session where they will gain and at the same time I am able to do my research.

2) Survey the group. In addition to one on one conversations to discover what my top students are wanting to learn and receive support with I share a survey with my first few audiences of the year and often I will even send out the survey to those in my database. (I actually create a contest for people to get them back to me.) The surveys work really well.

Here’s an example on one I use:

I find that by using a survey especially at the beginning of my events has been very valuable. In addition to helping me gather information it also works as a teaching to tool to get my students thinking about things they need in their business. (But that’s another conversation) For now I want to point out something which you’ve already discovered by a quick look through. It gives me an idea of what students want to learn more about, what they’ve spent over the last while, what they are willing to spend and more. I encourage you to create your own surveys to use to get to know your audience better.  (By the way if you go to my Youtube channel there is a really short video on some additional benefits of using a survey. Check it out.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ3FpuXGieM )

3)Talk to your competitors. This may sound crazy but one of the most valuable tools I use in understanding my audience is to look at what my competition is doing and also talk with them. I have a relatively positive relationship with nearly all of my competitors and the one thing I have noticed without variation is that they love to talk about their business and tell me what their doing. Maybe its a feeling that they want to let me know they are smarter than me, doing better than me, more unique than me or whatever. That’s okay. I love them telling me about what they are up to and often it confirms I am on the right track or gives me new ideas or reveals things that they may be missing that I can take advantage of. I am sure they feel the same way that I do when they talk with me. I don’t want this paragraph to sound like I am trying to be engage in corporate espionage. Truthfully these discussion are often more of a collaboration that an investigation. But I am always paying very close attention. How are your relationships with your competitors? If you are afraid to boldly call them up at least add them as friends on Facebook and you can see what they are doing.

(And I never worry about competition because MASTERY = MONOPOLY and I know most of the other people training speaking are doing other stuff on the side. That’s the secret of why I’m getting such high rating everywhere. This is ALL I focus on. )

All in all the purpose of this post is to really help you understand the importance of dialling into the conversation of what your audience really wants, what’s happening in your marketplace and to help you recognize any areas you should be focusing on this year. If you can uniquely fill a void, deliver high value and service your audience better than anyone else all the other stuff that I spoke about in the first paragraph of this article most speakers thinking about will fall into place.

BEST OF LUCK IN 2017! REMEMBER YOU ARE BRILLIANT! NOW IS YOUR TIME!

 

Douglas Vermeeren,

The Speaking Business Multiplier

Are you ready to level up your speaking business? Douglas Vermeeren is the Speaking Business Multiplier. You can only teach others if you’ve done it yourself and his tool are helping speakers: Create highly profitable speaking businesses, Position themselves as experts, Attract media attention, Get publishing deals, Get more speaking gigs, Speak internationally and JV with other top names in the business. The Speaking Business Multiplier has done this and more and now his systems and secrets can be yours. His clients include beginning speakers all the way to movie and music celebrities, professional and Olympic athletes, top business leaders and other speakers just like YOU! He has been consistently rated by the media as the top speaker trainer in the world today with the most comprehensive and powerful tools available. Other trainers stop at presentation skills while Vermeeren is the only one who helps you build the speaking business systems that you need for success. Come find out why all the top speakers are working with him! http://www.DouglasVermeeren.com

#douglasvermeeren #topspeakertrainer #1speakertrainer #becomeaspeaker

The Speaking Business Multiplier coming to Edmonton

Are you a Speaker or coach in Edmonton? Come and let me teach you how I was able to create a 7 figure speaking business and JV with some of the biggest speakers in the world today! By the way did I mention I’m going to also show you how to attract more media. This is an event that will get you ready to rock 2017! https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/5-essentials-to-positioning-yourself-as-an-expert-in-the-speaking-business-with-douglas-vermeeren-tickets-29822781743