Cool Jobs Nobody Talks About #23: Youth Speaker (Part 2)

Random Rhino fact #319: Rhinos can only move forward.

Now with that out of the way, here’s Part 2 of my interview with me.

How can I get started as a Youth Speaker?

Step one: Be real. Don’t try to be someone your not. Tell your own stories and share your own experiences.

Step two: Define your message. What will you speak about? Do you have experience overcoming obstacles? Are you awesome at setting and achieving goals? Are you passionate about equality? Whatever it is, figure it out and start spreading that message. Everywhere and anywhere at the beginning, get your message polished and ready for the big leagues.

Step three: Market yourself. Get a website, film a demo video, have some awesome photos of yourself taken, then send this stuff as your press kit/promotional kit to people who might be looking for a youth speaker.

Step four: Be on point. Once you get the chance to be on stage, put your game face on and do the best job possible. You can always improve so look for areas you can change or tweak before your next one.

Step five: Wash, rinse, repeat. Find out what you can do to improve for the next time, thank your previous clients, contact the new people and start the process again.

Do you ever get nervous?

Every. Single. Time.

Is it more important to be a great speaker or have a great message?

A great message is more important than being a great speaker. People want speaker’s who intrigue them and who they can relate to. I also think that an overly polished speaker can sometimes come off a little cheesy.

What if I don’t have my own story?

You do. Trust me. Everyone has a story. I promise.

Where can I gain speaking experience?

If you are still in high school there are a bunch of different school clubs you can join that have speaking competitions. You can also make sure you give 110% for you in-class presentations. You can join toastmasters or a local speaking group and practice getting up in front of strangers to get comfortable being on stage.

What’s the best part of your job?

Meeting new people! I love it. Every place I go I am constantly meeting the most incredible young people who inspire and energize me to keep doing what I do.

Do you have any final advice?

If you really want to be a speaker, contact a youth speaker in your area or on the internet and ask them the questions you have. I am friends with a ton of other youth speakers and every single one of them takes time each month to speak with or email people who are interested in their work.

I know quite a few speakers who mentor new up and coming speakers. Call up a speaker you are interested in learning from and ask them. What’s the worst that could happen?

And finally, act now. If you really want to try it out, find something you can do today that will help bring you closer to standing on a real stage.

How can people get in touch with you?

Check out www.ryanspeaks.com and go to the contact section or via this blog right here.

Anything else you want to add?

I like your shoes.

Thank you. I like yours.

Thank you.

If there’s a question you want to ask, now is the time. Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.

Peace.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 9:30 am and is filed under Jobs Nobody Talks About, Make Your Own Lunch. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.