I attended a meeting of the National Speakers Association North Texas chapter today. One member of the panel evaluating the websites, videos, and speech excerpts of the four professional speakers who “paid to play” had a handout called “Top 10 Ways to Work Effectively with a Broker.” In public speaking terms, a broker is the one who has clients who needs speakers and finds those speakers.
Number 3 was “Customize your submission for each gig.” –It’s a basic idea, but imagine rewriting not just a one page résumé and cover letter, but your speech to fit a particular audience. I think it is an interesting way to show that customization is important in any search for jobs.
Number 4 was “Mirror the communication mode.” This is also an important point and particularly useful for students who tend to think the world is a texting machine.