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Are you a Professional ?
Published December 11, 2011 | 
Are you a Professional? Speaker, Trainer, Facilitator, Coach, Mentor, Entertainer
I receive at least 3 enquiries a week from people wanting to know what it takes to be a Professional Speaker.
They are either aspiring speakers wanting to get into the business or they are people already speaking with some skill (e.g. well seasoned Toastmasters -DTM AC-g or company trainers) and wanting to make the transition and or they are people who are being paid (i.e. professionals) and want to up their game.
To make it easier for you to establish where you are or what you need to play in this space I have developed the questionnaire below. Please read the questions below and then mark your answers to each. These questions take into account the qualifying Criteria of most Professional Speakers Associations around the world and should help you focus on where you stand right now and what it would take you to get to your goal.
The Questions:
| No | Question/Criteria | Answer Yes /No/A.. |
| 1 | Do you get paid (currency) for speaking to audiences you address? | |
| 2 | Are you (A) Paid Directly as a Speakers Fee or (B) Paid as part of your Job as Trainer etc in a company? | |
| This is the first and most basic test – if you are not being paid for speaking then you are not a Professional Speaker/Trainer. | ||
| 3 | How many PAID Speaking Engagements do you do a year? A = 0 to 10; B = 11 to 20; C = 21 to 30; D = 31 to 50; E = 50+ | |
| 4 | What is the Average Size of the Audiences you speak to? A = 0 to 10; B = 11 to 20; C = 21 to 30; D =31 to 50; E = 50 to 500; F = 500+ | |
| 5 | What proportion of your INCOME is derived from your speaking business? A=10%; B = 25%; C = 50%; D = 75%; E = 100% | |
| 6 | What proportion of your TIME is taken up in your speaking business? A = 10%; B = 25%; C = 50%; D = 75%; E = 100% | |
| 7 | Do you operate as a: A =S ole Proprietor; B = CC or Pty LTD; C = Partnership; D = Employed by a Co. | |
| 8 | Do you classify yourself as a: A = Keynoter; B = Trainer; C = Coach/Mentor; D =Facilitator E = Consultant | |
| 9 | What describes you better as a Speaker: (click here for definitions) A = Celebrity Speaker; B = Circumstantial Speaker; C =Expert Speaker; D = Industry Speaker; E = Entertainer; F = Motivator/Inspirer | |
| Questions 3 to 9 indicate the type of speaking business you have – be it part time , full time , small-medium-large etc. | ||
| 10 | Do you have a Standard Speaking Contract | |
| 11 | Do you have a Client Assignment Briefing Check List/questionnaire? | |
| 12 | Do you have Standard documents for room layout and venue requirements? | |
| 13 | Do you have your own written Speaker Introductions for clients/MC’s | |
| 14 | Do you have your own Web Site that promotes your Speaking Business? | |
| 15 | Do you have a Business Card for your Speaking Business? | |
| 16 | Do you have Promotional Material (One Sheets) for your Speaking Business? | |
| 17 | Do you issue professional Quotes/Invoices to your clients for engagements? | |
| 18 | Do you have a Financial Advisor/Bookkeeper that does your books? | |
| 19 | Do you maintain a separate Banking account for your speaking business? | |
| 20 | Do you have the Technical Infrastructure for your speaking business? | |
| 21 | Do you have the Administrative Infrastructure to support your business? | |
| 22 | Do you have the Marketing Infrastructure to support your business? | |
| 23 | Do you have a Blog relating to your speaking business? | |
| 24 | Do you have a You Tube Channel promoting your speaking business | |
| 25 | Do you have a Slide Share Channel promoting your speaking business | |
| 26 | Do you have a Book / CD / DVD published? | |
| 27 | Do you have a 12 month Personal and Professional Development plan? | |
| 28 | Do you have Articles Published? | |
| 29 | Do you have/use Speaker Assessment Forms when you present your gigs? | |
| 30 | Do you have at least 5 Client Written References? | |
| Questions 10 to 30 indicate how well organised you are as a professional speaker | ||
| 31 | Do you attend at least 0ne Speakers Related Conference annually? | |
| 32 | Do you have a Personal Mentor / mentors for your speaking business? | |
| 33 | Do you mentor any developing professional speakers? | |
| 34 | Do you belong to any Professional Bodies/Organisations? | |
| 35 | Do you have a high regard and actively practice ethics in your speaking business – this would include respecting copyright, others intellectual property, honesty in your client dealings, fairness to all, etc. | |
| Questions 31 to 35 indicate how serious you are about upgrading you skills and craft as a professional peaker |
Please answer each question Yes/No/ or choose a letter that best describes your speaking business.
By answering these questions you will be able to
determine for yourself whether:-
- You are a Professional or not and
- Where you are on the professional speaking ladder.
PS:– these are merely items that indicate that you have the necessary items in place to be a professional speaker – the real test is your speech content and your speaking and platform skill that makes people book
you repeatedly and refer you to others – without this all the above is a bit meaningless.
If you would like to discuss any of these items or the Speaking Profession in general please contact me directly and let’s
see how I can help you achieve your dreams.
Posted in Mentoring, Personal Excellence, Speak and Present | 
Coach, Entertainer, Facilitator, Mentor, Speaker, Trainer | 
Leave a commentProfessionalism and Standards – How do you stack up?
Published April 15, 2011 | Professionalism and Standards – How do you stack up?
Two very interesting concepts that most people in business believe they deliver but which most customers/clients complain about.
So why is there a disconnect between the Provider and the Receiver?
Let’s look at the two concepts:
Professionalism, in its simplest form, merely means that a person is being paid for a service. The mere act of accepting money makes one a professional as opposed to an amateur/volunteer.
Two definitions of this term give us some interesting insights (1) -Professionalism is knowing how to do it, when to do it, and doing it. – Frank Tyger and (2) Professionalism: It’s NOT the job you DO, It’s HOW you DO the job.- Author Unknown.
Other Criteria to be considered a Professional include:-
• Expert and Specialised Knowledge in a specific field.
• High ethics– confidential relationships.
• Very high quality of work/service.
• Specialist education and skills
• Autonomy and Independence
• Applying theory to practice and solving problems
• Enthusiasm, commitment and loyalty
• Ongoing Life Long Learning
• Setting an example others follow
• And many more ….
So where do we fit in and how do we regard and measure ourselves as professionals?
Truth be told I guess we believe and espouse to be true professionals and we state that on out web sites, marketing material and even say it when we sell ourselves and our services to our client’s and prospective clients.
But the true test of professionalism is not what we think but rather it’s all about what our Clients and the world at large thinks and says. So how do you measure your professionalism? Do you ask for specific feedback from your clients as to how they felt you deal with the issues at hand with specific reference to your professionalism? And if found lacking what do you offer your clients in compensation for lower than expected delivery?
Let’s now look at Standards
Standards may be defined as the level of expected results demanded by our clients. It is not about what we believe is good enough its what our clients (colleagues/industry) believe we should be delivering.
The following quotations gives an inkling of what is expected:- (1)The idea for which this nation stands will not survive if the highest goal free man can set themselves is an amiable mediocrity. Excellence implies striving for the highest standards in every phase of life. John W. Gardner and (2) You must regulate your life by the standards you admire when you are at your best. John M. Thomas
Some minimum standards considered to be no-brainers:-
• On Time and In Budget every time
• No hidden costs and agendas
• Value for money
• Pay it Forward if it’s out of your skill set/domain
• If you don’t know – say so
• Don’t renege on promises / your word
• Unquestionable Honesty
• And many more ….
So how do you stack up?
• Do you have your own check list against which you evaluate yourself and your business transactions and interventions?
• Do you ask your clients for feedback on how you are doing in their eyys after each intervention?
• Do you test your professionalism and standards against the norms in your industry
• Do you offer a 100% of fee refund if your clients complain that you delivery was not up to standard
Professionalism and the Highest Standards are a clients right and we need to ensure that we are continually looking to provide them with what they are paying for and then some.
It’s no longer acceptable to just give the client a good experience – to stay in business and get referrals and grow our businesses we need to be delivering WOW experiences.
If we expect them to give us business referrals we need to be better than they expect us to be.
It’s a great habit to review your own Performance on a quarterly basis at least – so take 2 minutes now and set aside an hour in your diaries to do so every 3 months and you and your business will be better for it and your clients will truly believe you are the best thing that has happened to them this year.
Have fun and be better than the best you think you can be!
Setting Goals or Taking Poison – Which is Easier???
Published March 19, 2011 | Most of the people I work with think that Setting Goals is about as bad a public Speaking or Taking Poison.
They hate the concept because it reminds them of Targets and KPA’s and Work and Performance Assessments and most importantly Failure. This is a common issue and they would rather not set the goal than set it and fail and go through yet another negative – I can’t do it etc type self fulfilling prophesy. So they rather stay away and just ignore that they need to set some kind of goal and plan to get what they want and ultimately remain miserable because they can never achieve their dreams and get the things they want. And so the song continues over and over again.
The first stumbling block to remove, I find, is to re-educate them on the fact that mistakes and failures are not negative at all. They are the only means by which we can in fact gain experience in life and improve. Experience is after all the lessons learnt from making mistakes and failing at something and learning how not to do it wrong again. Once they start accepting that to fail is OK then one can get into the process of identifying where they are , what they want and where they want to go and developing the action plans that go with that new belief.
The Second stumbling block with goals is to overcome is the mindset that they are there to regiment ones life and take the fun out of living. A lot of people believe that goals are meaningless as once you achieve one there is no reward other that the Achievement High. What then follows is yet another goal and then another and so the roller coaster continues.
The way to overcome this is to look at goals as the Desires rather than just good old SMART Goals. Desires are either Positive things we want that we don’t have already and that will give Pleasure and / or Negative ones that will remove Pain. Once we understand the Pain and Pleasure elements to the goals we set ourselves we start making progress to achieving those two states of enjoyment. The next trick is to take the stress out of what goals mean to you. – Goals need not always be BIG they can be small things you want to complete or achieve – like how to cook pasta. Beware of goals that others set for you – they should be things you want to and agree to achieve.
So what should ones goals be?
In my Go APE (Achieve Personal Excellence) workshop we follow the following guidelines:-
Firstly – The Pleasure – things you like and enjoy – like your natural talents, interests and skills. Things that interest you and not necessarily others – remember they are yours to achieve and enjoy.
Secondly – The Pain – things that you don’t like or want – like being overweight or having a bad relationship. This can then set up the goal to get rid of the pains.
Thirdly – The 12 Elements of your Life – Consider how you would score your life currently in the 12 key elements of your life – give each a score out of 10 where 1 is not worth living and 10 is ecstasy. Draw a PLP Map (Personal Life Plan Map and review it every 6 months). The 12 areas of your life to consider are (in no particular order). Your Mental Attitude; Your Physical being; Your Spiritual Life; Your Finances; Your Blood Family; Your Social Life; Your Community Life; Your Career; Your Talents; Your Fun Life; Your Love Life and Your Education;
Fourthly – Work Goals – Also known as Targets, KPA’s, KRA’s etc. These are necessary for the fulfilment of your work ambitions and also assist you in creating your Personal Development Plans w.r.t work based skills etc.
Fifthly – Your Eulogy – Sit down and write you own eulogy that you would LIKE to be read out at your own funeral one day – Write down all the Nice things you would want people to say you achieved in your life even if they are only Ideas or Dreams right now. These can then focus your mind on some of the goals you need to set yourself now so that someone can actually say them one day.
Remember your purpose on this earth is to enjoy yourself and the journey – and the achievement of goals makes the journey a truly enjoyable ride. Without goals we tend to wonder around from pillar to post and eventually we die and leave no or little legacy.
Enjoy the process and the ride – it’s a wonderful experience.
Adolph P Kaestner
Personal Excellence is the Key
Published January 12, 2011 | Most people I deal with all seem to either Wish or Hope that something will happen that will make them successful in life.
What a waste of time !!- there can be no greater waste of time and energy than wishing and hoping!
The Key to success and achievement has to be the Development of Personal Excellence so that you are the most efficient and productive person you can be in your chosen field of work and endeavour.
And to be Personally Excellent one has to take action to get there – you cannot buy it, inherit it and it wont come through some wild intervention by others – it takes Personal Commitment and Action.
That is what I am all about and I have dedicated myself to assisting those who truly want to excel to get there and to be the leaders and not the followers in their lives.
I look forward to working with you all to achieve the same
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