I do a bit of public speaking now and then. I'd like to do a lot more. So I write decks, I give talks, I post them to Slideshare and when I can, I capture them on video and post that too. Why? Because it gets the word out and helps folks looking for speakers qualify me. I also make myself available on a moments notice (if necessary) to pinch hit for groups who have had a speaker cancel on them.
I spent five years doing programming for the NOLA AMA and I know what it is like to have speaker cancel on short notice. I also know how thankful I was to the person who pinch hit for me when that happened. So I make myself available whenever I can. Like last Thursday. The speaker that was scheduled to speak to the NOLA AMA got stuck in Houston. One of the board members rang me at 10:30a and asked if I could pop over to the Northshore for a noon luncheon (note: it's about a 30 min drive). She knew I had lots of decks and talks and didn't care what I gave, she just needed a favor.
Luckily I had a light day and so I agreed. I been working on a new talk, Using Twitter to Change Brand Perception. And while it was far from finished, it would work.Using Twitter to Change Brand PerceptionView more Microsoft Word documents from Tom Martin. And it was great. I had a blast. The audience seemed to like it. And a number of folks came up after to let me know "they'd be in touch" to talk about opps to work together in the future. And best of all... I got to work out the kinks on that talk so that the next time I give it, it will be far stronger. Everyone wins.
The AMA didn't have to cancel its lunch. The attendees learned something new. And I might even have picked up a bit of biz. All because I prepared my fields for rain. Are you?Book Tom to Speak
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