Discussing the Future of the Speaking Industry

With Scott Stratten

Grant Baldwin and Scott Stratten hosted a Facebook Live to talk about the future of the speaking industry after a pandemic.

During the live stream, Grant and Scott discuss:

  • The long-term impacts the coronavirus will have on the speaking industry
  • Experimenting with style and facial hair while social distancing
  • Why speaking isn’t really your true profession
  • Understanding the gig is the payoff for building your platform and being an expert
  • Dealing with feeling like you’ve lost part of your identity
  • Grieving the loss of things that used to annoy you (like the too early soundcheck)
  • Predicting the recovery timeline for massive events and the impact on keynotes
  • Distributing a sub-standard virtual product will hurt your live speaking down the road by degrading your value
  • Accepting that the new normal is largely unknown
  • The pending lawsuits as a result of the virus spreading at large events
  • Treating the speaking gig as one component of your business and how you deliver value
  • Do what it takes to help you feel productive
  • Being okay with where you are at in responding to these unprecedented times
  • “Whatever your normal is right now, that’s fine.”
  • Determining the right timing for when to pivot to virtual options for your audience
  • Avoiding guilt for not doing some things
  • A virtual answer isn’t the same as an in-person answer
  • Why you can’t shift the same equity you have on stage to a virtual gig at first
  • How webinars are a transfer of skills and what makes them different than a keynote
  • The drastic difference between our current circumstances and any emergency we’ve experienced in the past
  • Is everyone going to work from home in the future?
  • There will be a new normal, but it won’t be completely different from everything we know
  • How to avoid long-term risk by making short-term budget decisions that you sustain
  • Learning business lessons now that will carry you through the crisis and beyond
  • Ignoring hindsight regret
  • Getting creative with discovering new revenue sources and sponsored opportunities
  • How to approach outreach without appearing tone-deaf
  • Making sure you check on your contacts, colleagues, and clients to see how they’re doing
  • Reaching out to recent clients to offer a thank you video to their team
  • Losing your pride
  • Treat your email list as your most important asset and continue to build it beyond this crisis
  • Don’t feed the noise
  • Controlling who you follow
  • Healthy outlets for coping with stress and staying connected
  • Using the mute button on social media to create boundaries
  • Tips on growing a man bun
  • And more

Want to know exactly how to find and book more paid speaking gigs?

Download our 18-page guide to the 6 proven steps you can use to book more paid speaking gigs in 2024!

About Scott Stratten

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