How Can A Lawyer Become a Public Speaker?
Earlier this week someone on Twitter asked me a question that I have often liked answering: How can an attorney get started in public speaking?
Below I put together a how-to guide, which I hope can be of use to any new legal speakers out there. For new speakers, I would also check out my Top 10 CLE Speaking Tips.
1. Decide on a specific topic you really like to talk about, and know really well.
This absolutely essential for any public speaker, which is why it’s both worthy of repeating and put at the top of the list. The subject-matter of your speeches will set you apart from so many established public speakers, but you must commit to studying this topic on an ongoing basis.
People attend speeches not just to be entertained, but to be informed on the latest trends and techniques in their industry. If you were to focus on social media in your speeches, for instance, you would be on a never-ending quest for information.
2. Decide which type of speaker you want to be: paid or unpaid.
Speaking engagements can serve different purposes. Some public speakers draw the majority of their income from paid gigs, and have done very well doing so. Many other professionals speak publicly to get referrals and clients, promote a product, raise awareness of a brand or cause.
Plenty of lawyers have transitioned from a career in practice to a career in public speaking, while other lawyers have used public speaking as means for building their firm’s profile.
3. Be prepared to speak for free. For a good long while.
It doesn’t matter if you are planning on being a paid or unpaid speaker. Beyond even honing your craft, building your speaking career can take very long before significant progress is made. By taking free speaking gigs, you can get positive testimonials from an increasing list of satisfied customers.
Speech and meeting planners with paid jobs require speakers with a proven track record of success, and a speech topic that audiences will care about. For some speakers, this process of “courting” with free speaking can take months or years but will hopefully generate long-term business.
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The legal community at-large was a bit more skeptical of social media than the general public, as recently as a few years ago.
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