Public Speaking for Supplementing Your Retirement Income

Public Speaking for Supplementing Your Retirement Income

Have you been to a local hotel in your community lately and seen the number of seminars and programs that are being put on in their meeting rooms? Well, many of the sponsors of those programs are desperate for an interesting and lively speaker to address their assembled crowd on one topic or another.

As a person that brings a wealth of life, business, and industry experience to the table, why not consider becoming a public speaker for fun and profit? It will always be interesting, perhaps a little exciting, and you will get to meet the most interesting people while earning some extra income to supplement your retirement.

By definition, an “Expert” is ‘a person with a briefcase who is more than 20 miles from home’. It is amazing how much of an expert you will be considered when the biography of your experience is read as you are introduced. The word “experience” is derived from the Latin word “experiencia” which means “to try, test, see”. The word “Expert” is similarly derived from the same Latin word. In other words, your “experience” makes you an “Expert”.

Start by selecting the topic or topics on which you feel comfortable speaking. Sometimes the simplest of life’s experiences are found to be the most interesting and humorous. This is not about blowing up your self image or bragging, etc. Rather, you will be simply relating your experience in a way that is interesting and fulfilling to others. Adding some humor and a message to the story completes the picture.

Build an outline of your speech and write it down. Start with an interesting introduction to get the attention of the audience. Then proceed to the point that you will be getting across and build your reasoning into the story. Make your point solidly and reinforce it with an analogy, actual event experience, or news article to support your contention. Close with a call to action for the audience and wrap it all up with a warm and fuzzy finish.

It would be good to develop outlines for several speeches, based on your experiences, that you will feel comfortable presenting. Get a small digital recorder and practice a speech in private, listen to it and keep improving it until you feel like you a really presenting something of value to the audience.

If you are nervous about speaking in front of a crowd, start small – in front of your mirror, then progress to your immediate family. You can join the local group of Toastmasters International and further develop your speaking skills. Local business and social groups, such as the Kiwanis, Elks, Optimists Club, etc. are always looking for speakers for their programs. You could do it on a volunteer basis in the beginning, just to get the speaking experience.

You will likely be able to earn more money for your speeches if they are reflections of your business or industry experience in a specific area. Such “targeted’ speeches are difficult for event organizers to find and they are willing to pay more for them. IF your expertise is in a certain industry, you likely already know the companies, organizations, and trade associations that periodically host events. You can use the internet to search out the contacts for the event organizers and present them with a synopsis of your presentation. Until you have established the value of your presentation in the market, you should rely on the event organizers to establish the budget and, if that is satisfactory to you, go ahead, otherwise negotiate.

It will cost you very little to try out this income producing avenue. Who knows, you may find the travels of a public speaker to be fun, exciting, and profitable! Why not give it a try?

Resources: Don Seibert is a retired business executive who, as an Expert Author, writes timely articles on many issues concerning sources of retirement income. Having retired three times, he now is the host of http://www.RetireToEasyStreet.com Visit the site for a complete discussion of Retirement Income Options