“The more that you do the work, the more that the work impacts you.”
Dominique Luster is a Kentucky gal turned archivist turned professional speaker who joined Grant on the podcast to chat about her speaking journey, finding her niche, how others can get into the DEI space, the future of the DEI space, and how her speaking and consulting go hand in hand to leave an impact on the world.
Here are the top 3 takeaways from their conversation:
How to approach finding your niche
When you’re thinking about a topic you could speak on, Dominique talks about the idea of revising your audience until it’s the smallest intersection of what you’re passionate about, what you’re talented at, and what people are willing to pay you for.
Specifically in the DEI space, there are so many narrow niches where you can establish traction and experience for your speaking career.
How to get started as a DEI speaker
You can approach organizations that are smaller and don’t have a DEI representative. Most overworked HR reps will be happy to find a budget for these things. Or, you can approach educational places like colleges and ask to talk to leadership clubs, staff, the provost’s office, cultural heritage organizations, and more.
Remember, most places that value history, records, and the education of the patterns we have established make it a point to provide services and education around these topics.
How to use speaking to grow your other businesses
Dominique isn’t just a speaker. She’s also a consultant who works with organizations to educate and create new spaces to honor the history and culture of the people they work with.
For Dominique, these businesses feed each other. Often, her speaking opportunities create future partnerships through engaged audience members who were particularly touched by her keynote. Consequently, speaking and consulting have worked hand in hand to allow Dominique to really grow her impact and create a legacy of change that she’ll leave behind one day.
Ready to hear more? Check out Episode #470 of The Speaker Lab podcast here or wherever you get your podcasts.
