Last updated on January 22nd, 2019 at 01:50 pm
Dear public speaker dreamers,
Did you know there is such a thing as “Professional Speaking Etiquette”?
Yes, it’s true. There are bad public speaker habits that are commonly considered rude in the public speaking arena. Here’s a list of the top ten so as your dream of becoming a motivational speaker begins to flourish, you don’t have to learn proper speaker etiquette the hard way and become an outcast.
10 Behaviors a Professional Speaker Should Never Do:
1. Don’t go over your allotted speech time on stage.
It’s rude. You’re taking away from another speaker’s time and the client hates it.
2. Don’t poach clients.
Don’t check out clients from XYZ speaker’s website, then call the client and say that XYZ recommended you call.
3. Don’t invent fluff to put on your website and bio.
If you didn’t win a specific award, don’t call yourself ‘award-winning’.
4. Don’t ask other public speakers to read your book and give you a review.
They are busy, and they get lots of requests like this.
5. Don’t show up at another speaker’s event and then try to get the speaker to recommend you.
No one wants to hear you give a subtle sales pitch right now.
6. Don’t ask other speakers to “pick their brain” and become offended if they say no.
They are very busy and you’re probably the twentieth person to ask that week.
7. Don’t use another speaker’s stories, quotes, or content from their speech or website.
This will come back to haunt you. Write your own material.
8. Don’t use videos, pictures, music, or any other sound/visuals where you didn’t purchase the rights.
It’s illegal.
9. Don’t ask other speakers to recommend you for speaking jobs if they haven’t heard you speak.
Most speakers will not refer someone they haven’t heard before.
10. Never talk bad about another public speaker to a client.
The client doesn’t like it, and it usually finds its way back to the source.
Feel free to reach out to me if you want help in recognizing any bad speaker habits you’ve developed. Check out the Coaching, Workshops, and Camps I offer to anyone dreaming of a successful public speaking career.
Kelly Swanson
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Kelly Swanson is an award-winning storyteller, comedian, motivational speaker, Huffington Post Contributor, and cast member of The Fashion Hero television show airing on Amazon Prime. She is also the author of Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale, The Land of If Only, The Story Formula, and The Affirmation Journal for Positive Thinking. She was a featured entertainer for Holland America Cruise Lines, keynote speaker for the International Toastmasters Convention, and has keynoted major conferences and corporate events from coast to coast. She just launched her one-woman show Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale in theaters, and it is being booked all over the country. In July of 2022, she was inducted into the National Speakers Association Speaker Hall of Fame.
Note: Articles by Kelly may contain affiliate links and may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link.
