What task do most people fear completing? Public Speaking. If you utilize this tool effectively, it can go a long way in helping to build your personal/professional brand.

1. Speaking Engagements: One tool in the
PR professional’s tool belt
Christopher Kimball
Com476 PR Campaigns
10-minute tactic assignment

2. What is a speaking engagement?
A speaking
engagement is
defined as any
planned event in
which an individual
or group of people
educate a public on
a specific topic.
~Co-Communications
www.c0-communications.com

3. Benefits of performing speaking
engagements

4. •Through interpersonal communication, a speaker can establish trust in
relationships. Verbal and nonverbal interpersonal communication can help
gauge a person’s trustworthiness.
~Miguel Cavazos, Livestrong
• Interpersonal communication can minimize “noise” that is typically found
when a person is trying to transmit a message to a receiver.
~Mark McCloskey, Tell It Often—Tell It Well
•Speaking engagements provide a vehicle to directly target publics that are
interested in your business, product, or idea. This communication tool is a
great way to generate new clients.
~Carolyn Elefant, Nolo’s Legal Marketing Blog

5. •Speaking engagements not only have the ability to be cost-effective, but
can bring in additional profits to a person or an organization. In 2012, Bill
Clinton earned $13.4 million in speaking fees.
~Robert Yoon, Bill Clinton has most lucrative year on speech circuit
•Speaking engagements are an excellent way to build personal/professional
brand. You can establish your credibility and expertise, and in the social
media age, many audience members will tweet and blog about their
experience.
~Deb Ng, The Benefits of Speaking at Conferences
•Public relations professionals are constantly looking for ways to initiate
two-way communication with their publics. Speaking engagements are one
of the best ways to know what your friends, fans, and community are
thinking.
~Deb Ng, The Benefits of Speaking at Conferences

6. Speaking Engagement “Best Practices”

7. •A good speech consists of research, knowing your objectives, and taking the
right approach.
•Writing a speech takes expertise. It consists of understanding your objectives,
knowing your audience, and tailoring the speech to fit your audience. Speech
writers charge fees from $1,000 to $10,000 or more.
•Coaching helps the speaker rehearse & polish the delivery. Tone, volume,
gestures and rate-of-delivery are all important areas of a speech to be touched
upon by a speaking coach.
•Though PR practitioners may not give many formal speeches to large
audiences, they do give a number of presentations to their employers and
clients. They also need to understand how to develop content and properly
deliver to an audience.
~Dennis L. Wilcox & Glen T. Cameron, PR Strategies & Tactics 9th Ed

8. •Never treat your audience as if they are not educated on the subject. When
engaging an audience, you don’t need to spell things out for them, rather just
give them tips and best practices.
•Keep your audience awake! Speak clearly, succinctly, and be conscious of
energy level.
~Chris Brogan, Tune Up Your Personal Message
•Watch the masters. Look at what has made public speakers in the past
successful and imitate it.
•People trust people when you look them in the eyes, so look at your audience
when you are speaking to them.
~Editors of Publications International, Ltd., 18 Public Speaking Tips

9. Examples of successful speaking
engagements
Steve Job’s introduces iPhone at
MacWorld ,2007
MLK’s “I Have A
Dream”
speech, 1963
President Bush’s
addresses Congress
following 9/11 attacks
in NYC, 2011

10. Examples of speaking engagement
disasters
Tiger Woods confesses to cheating, 2010
Mitt Romney makes
47% comment during
Presidential race, 2012
Ozzie Guillen praises Fidel
Castro, 2012

11. My favorite speaking engagement of
all-time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sfNROmn7bc

12. Conclusion and Q&A