Speak for a Living: The Insider's Guide to Building a Speaking Career

INTRODUCTION

This Isn’t a Hobby; It’s a Career and a Business

Speaking for a living is a competitive career and business, and it needs to be treated as such.

Some of us were born to get onstage, and some of us sharpen our skills over time and grow to become the speakers we are today. Anne, for instance, played her first gig at age three at a Knott’s Berry Farm medicine show. She became a journalist and author whose career path naturally gravitated toward speaking and training. Sardék came to the game a little later, after he was fired from his dream job. Interestingly enough, he followed the advice in the first edition of Speak for a Living: He completed the “So You Want to Be a Professional Speaker and Trainer” assessment, developed his skills, ...