Have you ever thought of monetising every word that comes out of your mouth? Some speak for free. Some smile all the way to the bank. Would you want to have some extra income from what I am going to call 'voicepreneurship'?
How much is Vusi Thembekwayo [South African entrepreneur, author, businessman, and founder and CEO of the MyGrowthFund Venture Partners] paid to speak? How do you think PLO Lumumba [Kenyan lawyer, activist and former director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission] is paid per gig?
How much is Jacob Kinyanjui [motivational speaker] paid to speak? How much is “Churchill” [entertainer] paid to say something? Sunny Bindra [ business adviser]? Wale Akinyemi? Caroline Mutoko [media personality]? Well, I don’t know, too. However, I am 100 percent sure they get paid to make speeches. I hope they have insured them. They get paid mouth-watering sums.
You, too, can hone your speaking competencies and then monetise them. Well, they deserve it because public speaking is one of the most feared arts. There is a joke for it.
Some people would rather die than stand at the podium and unlock sense. No, you don’t have to die. You can become one of the tribe. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t be discouraged.
Are you captivated by the idea? You should. What are the strategies of being paid to unleash words of wisdom or laughter?
The path to being well-paid means being riveted by the art of speech-making. Just as you love a particular type of food, you have to develop a love affair with speech crafting. You have to visualise yourself making memorable speeches.
Special competencies
You have to develop some special competencies that will make a listener pay so that they listen to you make particular sense. This is where one elevates their expertise to a level of mastery. In the sense that people consult you on that subject.
If people seek advice from you on a particular aspect of life or work, then you had better start assessing the skill further so that you know and understand its nuts and bolts.
For example, if you are in the human capital space you can sharpen your learning and development moves. If you are a lawyer, you can elect to understand the bits and pieces of constitutionalism, for example. Everyone in town has to know that you are the alpha of constitutional law.
You have to master the latest trends and other emergent issues in constitutional law. Develop exceptional expertise in something and get paid. This is your experience that is unmatched by peers.
Quality contact list
It is well-advanced that when we want to make lots of money we need to know more people or rather create and nurture networks. Through networks, your personal brand will travel by word of mouth. Sometimes you can laser-focus on high-yield networks as opposed to having many. Create a quality contact list.
One of the most taxing dimensions in speech-craft is knowing how to calibrate one’s payment. How should you charge? You must research daily and benchmark.
Cultivate a killer brand
Become an irresistible brand. Becoming a brand means that you are revered, appreciated and respected in a particular area. How do you cultivate a killer brand? A compelling brand possesses a value proposition, engages all forms of media, especially now that we have social media, have a captivating story to tell, develop consistency, deliver results and invest in learning and development.
Don’t forget that feedback is the nutritious food for champions. Have a niche because you can’t be there for every audience.
Practise, practise, practise
Practise on your mirror. Take up funeral speaking opportunities. Take up wedding speaking responsibilities. Use graduations to throw a transformational speech or make the audience laugh. During family gatherings, speak. Take notes of your ideas.
Scale up your business
Business has to grow. Your voicepreneurship has to go to the next level. Start expanding your reach exponentially. Your content has to be purified according to scales of excellence. Even costing has to grow. Make your message more alluring and charge more.
As you mature and become more sought-after, scale up the cost. Imagine talking to the captains of industry; the men and women who control the purse strings. They will pay premium amounts to pick your brains.
Develop a sharp nose
Where are the opportunities? People have money to pay a phenomenal speech. Have a nose for conferences, corporate engagements, educational complexes, professional associations, online events, workshops, public events, motivational speaking, author tours, consulting and coaching. Make your luck shine bright.
Magoma is an Award-Winning HR, Trainer and conference speaker, [email protected]
