Speaking/Events

Many speakers decide to become authors, and many authors turn to public speaking as a way to sell books. Speaking and writing both use your thoughts and ideas—your intellectual property—but are very different activities.

As an author, you may have many opportunities to talk about your book and your ideas. It is a vital part of your promotional effort to be prepared to give presentations of different lengths. For instance, consider what you might say in presentations of two, five, ten, or thirty minutes, two hours, or half a day. Clearly, the length of time will dictate how much information you can impart. But regardless of the minutes you have, you will want to give your most important messages to fit that time frame.

For longer engagements, you should distribute a handout that covers your talk. The listener needs a reason to want to buy your book at the end of the talk, but don’t refer to the book all the way through. No one wants to listen to a blatant sales pitch. If the audience likes you, they will want to know more about you through your book. Your job is to connect with the audience on an emotional level, tell stories they can relate to, and give them something to take away so they can act on it.

If you are an established speaker, your talks should be tailored toward selling books—but not directly. Sell yourself instead. People who like you will want to take some of you home—and buy your book as well. Use different stories from those you used in the book to illustrate your points. And when it makes sense, use the title of your book as the title of your talk.

If you are new to speaking, you will probably speak locally and for free at first. Over time, you will hone your presentation skills and discover the best way to present your ideas to an audience.

The National Speakers Association (www.nsaspeaker.org) offers a certification program for rookie and veteran speakers alike who can develop their talents and speak at a set number of engagements per year—sometimes up to twenty. The organization also helps a speaker go from unpaid to paid engagements with education and feedback.

Tanyab 08:47, 5 December 2008 (UTC) | www.publishing-store.com