A great quote that really put a person’s time on earth into perspective is the following: “Today is the oldest you are and the youngest you’ll ever be.” When I first heard that around 10 years ago, it immediately stuck with me. It’s unfortunate because at any time, it could all be over. Tis is life. Now let’s apply that to the life of a Professional Speaker. Just how much time do you think you have to be productive, in demand and truly prospering? This question can be answered many ways and it can vary from person to person. What’s for certain is that your work ethic and pure will power will determine a lot. Your intent on taking advantage of the moment and really being a valuable asset when giving the opportunity will ensure that you are making the most use of your time. Because you should never forget, your opportunity can be given and taken away for any number of reasons at any given time. That goes for anybody.

So that was my mini deep dive on life. Now, let me talk specifically about this topic in relation to Professional Speaking. After the contract is signed, realize that when you finally make it to the stage, you only have a certain amount of time to get your point across. For example, for a celebrity who happens to give a keynote, it could be an hour long talk. People pay a lot to see this person and a lot of the time, they don’t have to be a great/polished speaker. Their notoriety can carry them and their experiences can make for some great content. An hour can feel like a long time to hear a person speak, but people of this caliber usually make it worth it. On the other hand, 45 minutes is the most common time limit for guest speakers at conferences. It allows you to introduce an idea, teach a lesson, maybe even get the audience involved if you choose, and then ultimately leave your audience with actionable items. Those 45 minutes can go fast or real slow. It all depends, once again, on how prepared you are and how you perform in combination with the amount of practice you put in before presentation day.

No matter how successful you are, you should always want to make the most of your audience’s time. You don’t have all day to get your point across. That’s why it’s key to outline how you want to go about delivering your content. The standard go-to of a basic introduction, 3 main points and conclusion could work for anybody. But what about the examples that you’re thinking about using? How can your audience visualize the information you give them. Are your transitions from one point to another seamless, or does it seem like you are randomly bouncing around?  Do you have a specific story that you want to use for the backdrop of your talk? It can be a lot to think about and once again, your 45 minutes can be just right or every minute can dwindle away without ever really getting your point across. When outlining, don’t just right down the different parts of your speech. Put a maximum time limit on it as well. That way, you know exactly how long, at max, you have to make your point known. It’s similar to writing down your regular everyday goals. It’s always good to give yourself a time frame to achieve them. If you’re simply writing down points and goals, it’s easy to trick yourself into thinking that you have forever to achieve them.

Within the speaking industry, you’ll realize that if you can be efficient, people will want to work with you. From the initial vetting process to the time you have on the stage, efficiency is one of the main ways you can make everyone’s life easier (especially yours). Take every minute you are given to speak seriously. Always time yourself when practicing, so you’ll know in the moment how to  go about delivering your content. Keeping your eye on a timer as you’re presenting will take getting adjusted too and it can be intimidating at first. But you will rarely be given free range to talk for however long you want. And to be honest, you shouldn’t want to  because it’s easy to get off track. Don’t be careless with the time you are given, because when you truly think about it, it’s an absolute honor to be a Professional Public Speaker. To have people willingly listen to you for upwards of an hour long is truly something that many of us will never fully appreciate it. To have an individual be inspired by your words is a feeling that’s irreplaceable. With that being said, how will you ultimately handle this immense responsibility?

Make your next presentation, your best presentation!

Sincerely,

Julian A. Leonard
(Founder of The JLeonard Group LLC)

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