Are you ready to add speaking to your creative business? Most of you are here listening because you understand how important it is to serve from the stage, but all stages are not created equal. It’s important to have a set of checks and balances in place to determine whether or not the stage you’re being offered to speak on will allow you to both serve the right audience and pay you dividends. Today I am going to discuss how to decide whether or not a particular free speaking opportunity is a good fit for you.

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Episode takeaways you don’t want to miss:

You need to have a good set of checks and balances in place to determine whether a particular unpaid speaking opportunity is right for you
All stages are not created equal
Examples of some great free speaking opportunities are
- Community groups
- Organizations
- Non-Profits
- Guest Panels
You should have a clear and carefully crafted talk before you invest your time into an unpaid speaking event so that you aren’t wasting your time
Reasons you would WANT to consider a free speaking opportunity
- Free speaking opportunities are great for building your speaker credibility
- Use free speaking gigs as a chance to gain some experience, humility and possibly even get over your public speaking fears
- If you need to gain more exposure if your market, an unpaid speaking gig is a great way to do it
  - Gain marketing material through unpaid speaking engagements (pics/video/testimonials)
- Networking is one of the most important skills in business. Unpaid speaking opportunities give you a great avenue to do this
Reasons you SHOULD NOT consider an unpaid speaking opportunity
- If the audience you’re speaking to has nothing to do with the market that you’re in then you’re likely wasting your time
- If the topic you’re being asked to speak on isn’t a good fit with your business, you should pass. You should feel confident about the topic you’re speaking about
- If you aren’t provided with enough details about the speaking opportunity to make an informed decision, it likely isn’t going to be worth your time.
  - You NEED to know who your audience is
  - The event should be aligned with your brand
- If speaking at the event is going to cost you far more than the dividends you may reap it’s probably not a good idea