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How to Find Speaking Opportunities

Speaking engagements offer doctors the chance to share their expertise while providing the ability to build a (potentially) highly lucrative side gig. Many physicians are passionate about teaching and sharing their knowledge through public speaking, but don’t know how or where to start, or how to assess what opportunities are the right fit for their goals. The hardest part of this side gig can sometimes be getting your name out there enough that people come to you with speaking opportunities, as prospectively offering your speaking services is less likely to lead in paid engagements. Particularly when you’re starting out and building a name for yourself, your approach to getting booked for available opportunities will need to be intentional. Below, we cover tips to help.


Disclosure/Disclaimer: Our content is for generalized educational purposes.  While we try to ensure it is accurate and updated, we cannot guarantee it. We are not formal financial, legal, or tax professionals and do not provide individualized advice specific to your situation. You should consult these as appropriate and/or do your own due diligence before making decisions based on this page. To learn more, visit our disclaimers and disclosures.


Tips to help physicians find more speaking opportunities to develop and grow their side gig


Define your niche, audience, and goals to help identify what opportunities to explore


Everyone has different reasons for exploring speaking. Some physicians are looking for paid speaking opportunities for significant revenue streams, whereas others may be looking to bring a spotlight on another paid side gig that they have, such as a book they published or a course or coaching that they offer. Yet others may be looking to educate about a cause they’re passionate about.


Before beginning your search, assess the following questions to help gauge your comfort level for different potential gigs and to determine your search focus:


  • Why are you pursuing speaking gigs? Is the intention to make money from the speaking itself or to develop out your personal brand or bring publicity to another side gig or passion project that you have?

  • What do you want to speak about? A specific focus area in your specialty? A specific problem in healthcare you’re passionate about solving? A non-medical topic related to your expertise?


  • What unique insights or experiences can you share? This can help set you apart from others and define your niche.


  • Who do you enjoy speaking to? Physicians? Patients? Students? Administrators? Others in the industry?


  • What size venue and audience are you comfortable with? Do you prefer a small venue with a highly engaged audience, or a large venue with a packed crowd?


  • How far are you willing to travel for speaking gigs? Do you prefer to stay close to home to focus on your clinical and familial obligations? Are you interested in the opportunity to travel globally? Are you willing to travel further depending on what’s offered (i.e. the opportunity to visit Hawaii, or the opportunity to attend and speak at a conference where you use a work stipend to help cover costs & can catch up on CME credits)?


Not only can this help you assess synergy, but it helps you build out your niche. In-demand speakers are typically known for something specific. So start to build out what your “something specific” is. Avoid picking something just because it’s a hot topic. Focus instead on what you’re passionate and knowledgeable about, as that passion is likely to translate to better talks that audiences will enjoy and recommend more.


Once you’ve narrowed your focus, finding paid speaking opportunities becomes easier as you have a clearer goal of what you’re looking for.



Put together your speaker materials


Once you have a focus, you need materials that you can pass along when assessing potential engagements. This helps show that you're professional and prepared, showcase what you’ll bring to their audience, and can cut down on back and forth and response times when inquiring about engagements. These include:


  • A speaker bio: A short biography highlighting your expertise and accomplishments


  • Professional headshot: Should be a clean, high-resolution photo you can use for your own marketing materials and that event coordinators can use for marketing materials related to your talk


  • A speaking resume: A one-page sheet summarizing who you are (your bio above), your prior speaking experience (even if it’s local CME or grand rounds at work), and a list of potential topics you could give (based off your defined niche)



Find more speaking opportunities through our free side gig matching database


Some of our most popular resources are our side gig matching databases, which we offer free to all members of our online physician community. Companies and organizations often come to us for help connecting with physicians interested in opportunities. When they do, we reach out to physicians in our database who match based on expressed interests.


If you would like to be alerted of relevant speaking engagements, sign up for our speaking side gig matching database (you must be a member of our free physician only Physician Side Gigs group to access, but it’s completely free to join).


Also make sure you sign up for our PSG weekly newsletter (open to everyone), where we publish current and upcoming side gig opportunities.



Brand yourself as a thought leader in the space


Opportunities for speaking engagements often come from visibility as an engaged thought leader in the space. People in your field of interest may see you providing other content and associate you with your expertise on a specific topic. This can lead to opportunities finding you instead of you having to hunt them down (and are more likely to pay well).


Physicians can regularly share their knowledge through other (paid!) side gigs that can build credibility to help land speaking gigs. Consider:


  • Writing articles for established, popular media outlets/platforms in your area of interest





  • Contributing to webinars, panels, and virtual events


Not only can this provide exposure, but it gives you the opportunity to practice your speaking skills. The more experience you have, the more natural it will come to you, and the more comfortable you’ll be, which can provide greater opportunities to land well-paid gigs.



Search online for relevant opportunities


The internet is something we all use, so it can help you meet people where they’re already at, if you know where and how to look. A few places to consider:


  • LinkedIn: LinkedIn is where businesses and professionals go to network. LinkedIn even has specific hashtags that you can use to help search for opportunities, such as #callforspeakers. You can also follow other speakers or events of interest to keep tabs on what opportunities others are doing and what’s coming in the pipeline. Pay attention not only to current engagements available, but to the organizations looking. Just because an available opportunity doesn’t interest you now doesn’t mean they won’t have future ones that are a better fit. If you haven’t already, make sure you put together or update your LinkedIn profile. Explore our tips for networking with your LinkedIn profile.


  • Speaker bureaus and directories. Some websites actively list speaking opportunities or allow you to create a profile where organizers search for speakers. Just be mindful to check who is offering the opportunity, and be cautious if they charge you a fee for searching or being listed. Also remember that they will likely take a cut of your earnings.


  • Event platforms. Other sites aggregate information about current and upcoming events across industries. Many will allow you to filter by your industry of interest, such as healthcare.


  • Google: Search for potential conferences and CME talks that might be a relevant fit. Consider using keywords such as “call for speakers” + your specialty or focus area, “medical conferences” + your specialty + current year, or “healthcare CME speaker opportunities” + location(s) of interest.


Regardless of where you find an opportunity, spend a little time researching each organization before reaching out. A little due diligence can save you from a huge headache down the road by filtering out potential scam opportunities and opportunities that aren’t a good fit.


Make a list of opportunities that look credible and interesting and jot down the event coordinator and their contact information so that you can reach out.



Network, network, network to find speaking opportunities through relationships


While you can scrub the internet to find opportunities, most speaking opportunities come through relationships, not cold outreaches. Networking is key to finding credible speaking opportunities.


Networking opportunities to consider include:


Networking opportunities to consider when looking to find more speaking engagement opportunities


  • Join a speakers or professional association. Professional associations such as the National Speakers Association (NSA) can not only help you network but can provide you with resources and opportunities. Specialty-focused organizations can also be a great avenue for networking and finding opportunities. Consider volunteering for a committee or for staffing a conference to help build relationships with decision makers in the association.


  • Get involved with your local community. You may be able to leverage the connections you already have with the local hospital, medical society chapter, or residency program to find local speaking engagements. These can not only help you build confidence, but they can build your network to lead to larger opportunities through word of mouth.


  • Network on LinkedIn. As we mentioned above, LinkedIn is a great networking tool if you’re looking to expand your professional network. You can follow and connect with other speakers, organizations, and societies aligned with your speaking interests. You can also comment on relevant posts and share your own perspectives.


  • Engage with an online community. By being visible and helpful in these communities, you can build trust and recognition over time. You never know who you might end up helping virtually, or how they might be able to help you in the future, when the opportunity arises. If you aren’t already, join the hivemind in our online physician community.


When networking, focus on building relationships. While your ultimate goal may be to land more speaking gigs, networking isn’t just about asking for opportunities. Your focus should be on building genuine, professional relationships. Opportunities come when you’ve shown that you can offer value to those in your network.



Have your pitch (and response) prepared


Having a pitch ready for your speech is especially important when outreaching, but it’s something to also have prepared when others reach out to you to inquire. Make sure your speaker materials are on hand and available, and that you have an idea of fees you might charge/be willing to accept.


When outreaching:


  • Plan to outreach early, around 3-6 months in advance of the event

  • Spend some time researching the event and attendees before reaching out

  • Inquire about/reference the event you’re interested in

  • Provide a brief summary (~3-4 sentences) of who you are, topics you speak on, and how you can help their audience (this shows what value you will provide in engage for your payment for the gig)

  • Describe how you fit the conference/event or engagement

  • Make sure you respond promptly to follow up emails; you want to prove you’re professional and will be easy to work with


Be prepared with a contract, or at least know your dealbreakers and what you’ll want to include/avoid.


Related PSG resources:



Start small and grow with each opportunity


If you’re just starting out, you may need to offer to speak for free at a few events as you build up your portfolio and speaking credentials.  A sign this might be appropriate is if you reach out for several paid speaking engagements and don’t land any. We always want physicians to negotiate for their worth, but the reality of this space is that you may have to put some time in to show that worth so you can leverage it for future events, as well as build out some clips and a media kit to show event organizers what they can expect and the quality of your work if they book you.



Prepare for and deliver on your booked engagements


One of the best ways to land future opportunities is to nail the ones you have. Once you’ve proven you can show up and do a great job, it gets easier for opportunities to organically find you instead of the other way around.


A few tips for your speaking engagements:


  • Focus on delivering the best speech possible, regardless of who you’re speaking to. Even if it’s a group of medical students, you never know who they might know. They may have colleagues, friends, or family who hear about your speech and are impressed and reach out.


  • During speaking engagements, tell people that you are a professional speaker. They may not know or assume. Make that connection for them, so they can keep you top of mind.


  • Be authentic and engaged. It really shows. Organizers are more likely to reach out to someone who is truly passionate about what they’re discussing versus someone reading in a monotone off of prepared slides.


  • Put your talks together ahead of time and practice, practice, practice. You do not want to wing it for your first few talks - giving a bad speech can hurt you more than not giving the talk at all.



Ask for referrals after a successful speaking engagement


Once you have a few engagements under your belt, don’t be afraid to leverage them to create more opportunities. Word of mouth is the best way to get warm leads for potential side gigs.


Thank the event organizers for the opportunity and the audience for attending. If the event organizers are pleased with your speech, ask them for testimonials or referrals to other conferences or organizations. Do the same with audience members at the end of your presentation, or in a follow up.


Stay connected with the event organizers as well, and follow up about future opportunities, especially if there are specific topics you’re also interested in presenting.



Conclusion


To be a successful speaker, you have to build a strong reputation in your area of interest. This rarely happens overnight. Finding speaking opportunities requires building your credibility and engaging and networking with others. Start with wherever you are and treat each engagement as an opportunity to grow. Leverage each speaking gig you land to help find future opportunities.



Additional speaking & side gig resources for physicians


If you would like to be alerted of speaking opportunities matching your interests, make sure you’ve signed up for our speaking side gig matching database (physician only). Also make sure you sign up for our PSG weekly newsletter, where we publish current and upcoming side gig opportunities.


Explore related PSG resources:

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