Contact groups that have weekly and monthly meetings and are in need of speakers. There are Kiwanis Clubs, Jaycees, Chambers of Commerce, and a plethora of organizations and associations who are looking for good speakers who will speak for free (or for dinner). Once you have picked an interesting topic and presented it well at a meeting of one of these groups, you will start getting calls from others who have heard about you. They are not expecting an incredible speaker, so when you do an excellent job, they will be delighted.

Make sure you find out how much time will be allotted for your presentation because most of these groups have a special timeline for their meetings. Oftentimes, these engagements can lead to paid speaking in the future, but don’t present for that reason. You are there to give them a powerful presentation that serves them in some way.

Becoming a member of the local Chamber of Commerce’s Speakers’ Bureau, I was given lots of chances to speak. When we asked Clevelanders to vote for a “sin tax” to help finance our new baseball stadium I spoke on the benefits. After the tax passed, I realized that a lot of groups would be interested in hearing more details of what would be taking place in the future with the stadium, so created my own presentation with blessings from the stadium group. I learned how to deal with hostile audiences (there were those who had voted against the tax), question and answer sessions, and how to create meaningful visual aids.

Look into Continuing Education opportunities. Many school systems, recreation centers and community colleges offer Continuing Education classes. Most are willing to try a new offering in their brochure. I have found this to be a perfect way to test the popularity of a topic and to also put together a winning workshop. One two-night workshop that I still give on a regular basis and one that always fills up is called “Discover Your Core Passion.”

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