One of my goals this year is to do more professional speaking, so I thought I had better start with this book.
While this book had some great tips, it’s mostly aimed at people who are looking to make a living as full-time speakers, which I am not. I just want to use professional speaking as a way to grow my business because I have found that, when I present in front of a crowd, I tend to get clients.
That said, I did find a lot of the information in this book valuable. One thing Atkinson managed to drive home was the importance if working and reworking my speech until it’s perfect, as well as the need for a speaker video so prospects can see me in action before making the decision to hire me. I have already implemented both of those strategies into my speaking “career”.
There were also some great tips that could be applied to people in any industry, regardless of whether they’re looking to break into the world of professional speaking. Things like understanding your core offerings and the best way to present them to potential clients are invaluable tips for all small business owners.
That said, there were some sections that were way out of date. The book was published back in 2012 and it shows, specifically in the section on online marketing, in which she mentions WordPress as a ”new development” in the world of website development. The section on traditional publishing vs self-publishing was also pretty outdated, but since I recently published my book, I just skimmed that section. If it contained any nuggets of wisdom, it’s too late for me to take advantage of them, but maybe you’re in a position to get some use out of them.
On the other hand I did get a kick out of skimming the section on online marketing, thinking, “I could write the book on this topic”, and then remembering, “Oh, wait. I did!”