5 Steps To Speaking Out For Success

The thought of public talking can be daunting for many, but if you want to heighten your company’s profile, carefully selected speaking opportunities should form part of your wider communications campaign.

Roundtables, seminars or presentations are a powerful way to communicate directly with your target audience, giving you the invaluable opportunity to speak to them face-to-face. Here are our five top tips for successful speaker opportunities:

• The first stage in putting together a speaker programme is to select your ‘talking head’. This person will be the public face of the company so it is often the managing director or CEO, but it could also be another person in a senior position who has a good breadth of knowledge about the company and the relevant industry issues.

• Secondly, they should be confident, relaxed and engaging communicators – but specialised training is available if needed.

• It’s important to be realistic about the amount of time your speaker will be able to commit to engagements during the year, so this should be factored in when arranging the programme.

• The next step is to review the conferences, conventions, seminars and trade shows to be held by relevant industry bodies in the coming year. Usually event organisers will post a summary of the theme of their event online, so monitor their websites for opportunities and be proactive in approaching them with ideas.

• Finally, a good PR agency can play a key role in this, by researching relevant speaker opportunities and pitching ideas to the organisers. They can also help you write a meaningful presentation that will win your target audience’s hearts and minds – and help achieve your company’s aims and ambitions.

Pictured is James Lee, managing director of Cromwell Polythene speaking at RWM 2018 (speaker opportunity arranged by Ceris Burns International)

Need help in seeking out speaking opportunities or support with presenting skills? Call 01825 729 941 or email us info@cbipr.com