I have been a
trainer/facilitator for
about 30 years and a “expert”
speaker since the 1990’s. When I spoke as a Subject Matter Expert (SME)
at meetings, conferences, and other events during my corporate employment, I did
not worry about fees for my travel or my expertise. That was all handled by someone at the company
I worked for. Sometimes I was presented
with a small thank-you gift for my time or provided with a meal, again it did
not matter as speaking was part of my job.
Then things changed when I began consulting and started motivational
keynotes as well as other professional speaking a way to sell books and advertise
my facilitation skills. Some of these speaking
engagements were paid (because companies sponsored them), some only covered
travel expenses, some gave a small honorarium (non-cash) gift as a
thank-you from the sponsor, some provided my lunch or dinner, and a few cost me
verses the organization (because they were for local non-profits). The
gift I received most was a logo'd coffee mug from the organization or a sponsoring company.
Sometimes I was given a pen or a mouse pad. In the beginning, it did not
matter if I was paid; I just wanted to share my knowledge. However, I did not go negative dollars just
to get to deliver a speech – I NEVER pay for the privilege of speaking because it
rarely gets a return on the investment. People
who are willing to pay to speak want to market their products or services so
they should be allowed to do so. However,
when I speak it is to educate or motivate so I should be paid. Now I have a reputation and a large social network,
so I do negotiate payment for my expertise and help with event promotion.
In the spirit of knowledge sharing, below are some links I
think future speakers and organizations looking for speakers might find
beneficial:
Learning to Speak
Showing Slides with Speech
Getting Paid for
Speech
Searching for Speakers
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