Girl Power

So I clicked on a link from @newmediajim from Twitter that took me to a live talk on TalkShoe where Patti Seranno with the Entrepreneur Club was chatting with women about making the ratio of women speakers a little more even in the event speaking arena. It was an empowering conversation that inspired me and made me do some ferocious note taking. I am not sure who was speaking exactly when in my note taking, so I will refer you to the session for the specifics, but I wanted to get my thoughts down while they were fresh and my notes still made sense to me. Forgive me, anyone to whom I miss giving credit.

The first thing to note that I took away, was that one major mistake that women speakers make is that they talk on topics like "building relationships" or soft topics and opposed to being an expert on a specific topic, i.e. social media. They discussed being knowledgeable on specific topics so that gigs come to you. In building your speaking business, they suggested that you participate in Rotary or Toastmasters and speak for free in the beginning. One of them worked for free for a couple of years before getting paid for it. Another critical mistake they noted is that women, who may be offered $200 for a speaking engagement, should negotiate, instead of just saying no. Use the inital offer as a starting point to then counter.

Five important points:
1. Experience; assume that when you are speaking you are always being recorded and that you are then representing yourself and that you are the marketing tool for your next presentation.
2. Know your material well enough that you could talk on the topic without notes for at least 15 minutes.
3. Market with appropriateness of content: have something that is relvant and worthwhile to the event in which you are speaking.
4. Make sure if you are credentialed--put it out there-- all memberships, chairs, etc. and show that you are building credibility in your profession.
5. If you feel you will not be compensated enough--put together a workshop where you can at least split the door and make money that way.
6. Be at your best when you are presenting, as if it were an interview. You are your best representation of your product.
7. Start small and local
One very important point the ladies made was, if you are young and inexperienced, you should become an event organizer so that you can understand how speakers are chosen, how negotioations work, settingup a budget, and how to make an event plan. They also offered to help anyone listening to become an event organizer (talk about mentoring). Event organizers do not have degree requirements.
Success doesn't happen by talking about it--create a plan and set it in motion usuing baby steps to get there.
They provided a wealth of links and places to get more information including :
Women Who Tech
Women Can International
Toastmasters

This was a truly inspiring talk and to have opportunity to interact so casually with powerful women who are making change in the world was truly a priviledge. Thank you to all the ladies with whom I connected. For anyone who doubts the power of social media, I say embrace the power of these tools and make them work for you.