You probably already know that public speaking is one of the best ways to raise your profile and find new clients. Once you start speaking and you exude confidence as you convey your message, you will likely find other speaking requests rolling in. This is because organizations need great speakers. While it is a boost to the ego to have a jam-packed speaking schedule, you may quickly find out that not all opportunities are fruitful opportunities.

There comes a point in most people’s careers where you become more discerning about what opportunities you agree to do and which ones you take a pass on. To do this effectively, you will need a way to sift through the speaking requests to make sure you are spending your time wisely. Here is a checklist of sample criteria and questions you will want to know the answers to when assessing a speaking opportunity:

1. Who is attending?
2. How many will be attending?
3. What are the attendees struggling with/what do they need from my talk?
4. What are they expecting?
5. What are you (the event organizer) expecting?
6. Is this a paid engagement?
7. Do you also pay for travel, hotel, food?
8. I will need a table at the back of the room so I can display and sell my books and coaching program. Is this possible?
9. I plan to bring an assistant with me to film my talk, take photos, conduct a raffle and help with questions afterwards. Can she/he also have lunch?
10. What assistance will you provide the day of the event? (Set up, break down, technical support if you are using PowerPoint, etc.)
11. Do you have the audio/visual equipment I need?
12. Will you have a hand-held microphone or a lavaliere?
13. Will you send me a list of attendees and registrants so I can follow up? (NOTE: You can NOT just add them to your ezine list. You may email them once to follow up unless they explicitly asked to join your list.)
14. What kind of promotion will you do for the event?

Use this list to generate your own list of relevant questions that are important to you. Have it handy to pull out the next time you are asked to speak so you only accept speaking engagements for the right groups and show up prepared.

© 2013 Meredith Liepelt, Rich Life Marketing