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How to Go from Aspiring to Sought-After Speaker: Shauna King Case Study

And the audience rose to their feet amid thunderous applause. . .

What’s your vision when you walk off the stage? A standing “0?” Just gracefully exit without hyperventilating or falling off? To make a connection with someone who asks you to keynote another conference?

Most of my clients didn’t wake up one day and say, “I’m going to get paid to give a speech!”

They also wouldn’t call themselves professional speakers. They would call themselves lawyers, Ph.D.s, trainers, entrepreneurs or any number of titles that have nothing to do with stepping on a stage and getting paid to speak. No matter what they call themselves, they are subject matter experts in their chosen fields and each has her own Unfair Speaking Advantage that is waiting to be cultivated. That’s where I come in.

What’s my vision of a perfect world?

Well, besides Drumpf not President and world peace?

An army of my clients getting their messages out into the world, making a difference and being paid to speak. Ideally, it’s a world where women are given equal opportunity on the stage. Today, according to the Department for Professional Employees women make up more than half of the professional and technical workforce in the United States. Unfortunately, they are woefully underrepresented on the speaking stage. And, thanks to Tumblr for comedic proof and to mathematician Greg Martin, who provides the data proof, we know it’s true and that all-male panels statistically don’t “just happen.”

I want to see more women get paid to speak. You can do it!

And, an important way I can help more women get paid to speak is to help them find their Unfair Speaking Advantage—the key to being a must-book, highly regarded, well-paid speaker.

“Shouldn’t I be able to write my speech?”

Sound familiar? When Shauna King, owner of King Professional Development, was invited to give the closing keynote address at one of her industry’s premier conferences, she felt like she should be able to write her speech. I mean, why not? She had spent years as a trainer providing professional development to administrators, staff and teachers and speaking on other people’s material.

But this time was different. It was a CLOSING KEYNOTE, yo!

Even though this wasn’t her first rodeo, it was a huge opportunity that she didn’t want to leave to chance. Plus, she was making the transition from speaking on other people’s material to delivering her own keynote. How would she fill up a 45-minute slot without boring the audience to tears?

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To go it alone or not go it alone?

Shauna was struggling with this very question when she decided to join The Rebel Speaker Accelerator.

She was at a watershed moment, and was ready for more. Her vision included more speaking gigs on more prestigious stages and more money from getting paid to speak. She was ready to leap from “aspiring speaker” to be a “sought-after speaker.” Together, we set the goal of this one speech landing her another paid speaking gig.  

“The feedback that Michelle gives is so invaluable even for someone that has been speaking for years. I feel like I’m on another level now,” said Shauna.

Your Signature Talk – The difference between aspiring and sought-after speaker

An essential element of The Rebel Speaker Accelerator is to help you find your unique voice—your signature talk and what I like to call your Unfair Speaking Advantage. It’s the first step in becoming that sought-after speaker you see in your mind’s eye—the one who has a calendar consistently filled with speaking gigs.

When Shauna expressed concern that she wouldn’t have enough of her own material to fill her time, I challenged her to pay attention the next time she was giving a training. What does she say when she gives an aside? THAT’s her material! Once she focused on that, it was the spark that created her signature talk.

And the audience shed tears, but not from boredom!

“I’ve been saying the same thing for years and my audience would clap, but after completing Bootcamp and delivering my signature speech, there were people in tears and I got my first standing ovation!” said Shauna. “How we structured and framed my keynote speech made a huge difference,” said Shauna.

You know what happened literally moments after her speech? She walked off stage to an offer of another keynote speaking gig. The icing on the cake came several weeks later, when Shauna was hired for her first INTERNATIONAL speaking gig as a result of her first keynote speaking opportunity! Woo-hoo!

Get on that stage!

Let’s make your speaking vision come to life! The first step is to join me and hundreds of people like you in the 5-day Get the Speech – Get the Gig Challenge.

Together, we’ll create a plan for your signature talk and just like Shauna you can go from aspiring speaking to sought-after. Join below and you'll be on your way to booking your next (or even your first) speaking gig.