So You Think You Want to Become a Storyteller... Getting Paid to Speak
It\u2019s 7 o\u2019clock in the morning in Des Moines, Iowa. I\u2019m ready to give my first ever keynote speech. My hair and makeup are done and I\u2019ve got my power dress on. I\u2019m ready to dazzle!
Only one thing\u2019s missing: my bulletproof matcha tea. It\u2019s my magic elixir that\u2019ll turn my speech from amazing to extraordinary. I gotta have it before I walk out of my hotel room.
So I take out my Ninja\xae blender I\u2019ve brought all the way from California, put all the ingredients in it (hot water, matcha tea powder, high octane oil, and ghee/butter), push the lid down, start the engines, and--poof! Everything explodes out of the blender and this sticky green goo and splatters all over me, my dress, my hair, the walls, the keyboard\u2026 everywhere.
I\u2019m freaking out when my husband Mark runs in from the other room. He tells me, \u201cI\u2019ve got this\u201d and says he\u2019ll remake my tea while I go shower, change, and get myself together again. So he too puts all the ingredients back into the blender, pushes the lid down... and the same thing happens all over again! Everything, including Mark, gets a fresh coating of green goo.
Naturally, I start freaking out even more. But we do our best with cleaning ourselves up and leave without my bulletproof matcha tea. Even though I feel like a mess (mentally and physically), I give the keynote speech in front of 4,000 people.
As we fly home after that experience, I plan to give the Ninja\xae blender people a piece of my mind, tell them their contraption doesn\u2019t work, and send it back in the box it came from. But when I go to the garage to retrieve the box, I notice something. It says that it\u2019s for cold ingredients only and meant for chopping ingredients. That\u2019s why it kept exploding!
Whoops! As I always like to say, things will either go well or you\u2019ll have a story to tell on the other side of it.\xa0
If you want to get paid to speak (with or without a pre-speech disaster like I had that day), then tune in as Mark and I continue our series on storytelling today.
In this episode, I answer questions like:
What does getting paid to speak look like? What are the different ways you can get paid as a speaker? And how can you be as effective a speaker, thought leader, and storyteller as possible?
In this episode, I answer questions like:
What does getting paid to speak look like? What are the different ways you can get paid as a speaker? And how can you be as effective a speaker, thought leader, and storyteller as possible?
What you will learn in this episode:
- How to find more keynote speaking opportunities after you\u2019ve landed the first
- How to reframe free speaking opportunities in your mind
- How to manufacture more opportunities once you\u2019ve made the journey to speak in another city
A little about me:
Hi there. I\u2019m Kymberlee.
As a Speaking Strategist and founder of Storytelling School, I\u2019ve had the pleasure of working with over 500 speakers, business leaders, and entrepreneurs worldwide for over a decade. No matter if those folks were getting ready to take the TED or TEDx stage or preparing for a high-stakes presentation with everything on the line, my specialty is High Stakes Short Form Communication. I\u2019ve seen what works when influencing change and what doesn\u2019t. It turns out storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your arsenal. That\u2019s why I\u2019m building a movement of master storytellers to affect change in the world on a global scale to help people tell real stories that have influence and impact. With effective storytelling, you change people\u2019s lives.
Since competition for potential client attention is fierce, a story can make the difference between being memorable or irrelevant. You\u2019ll find me sharing my matcha tea mishap to discuss perfectionism, my quest for Bruce Lee and Hello Kitty art to explore kindness, or the six months of live blade training I underwent to illustrate presence. I spend my days showing the power of using stories to help cement ideas and bring lessons to life and teaching my clients to do the same.
If you think business owners can\u2019t tell stories or don\u2019t have stories to share with their clients, staff, donors, followers, or investors, I invite you to reconsider your perspective. There\u2019s no better place than in business to tell your stories so audiences, no matter how big or small, can understand how you think and what you value.
Now it\u2019s your turn... If you\u2019re ready to become a master storyteller and effect change in our world, you\u2019ve come to the right place.
Links and Resources: