Is the Speaking Industry Collapsing in on Itself?

Last week I had a much overdue connection with a colleague.

The how-was-the-pandemic-for-you kind of overdue.

Our 4 collective decades working in this profession offered a banquet of fodder for thought that took two nearly two hours to consume.

The fodder glut caused me a sleepless night, and I got out of bed with some troubling thoughts about our industry.

Before we go full Jerry Maguire and his ‘it's not a memo it's a mission statement’ misstep, this sleepless night offered clarity. (Disturbingly I think he said that too...)

The specific unshakeable bit of our conversation is that speaker brand offerings have never looked better.

They look good. Really good. Too good.

We remarked that there is scarcely a discernable difference in brand offering between the emerging speaker and the legacy presenter.

Gone are the days of a quick glance at anything to determine depth of expertise or breadth of experience.

Tech is accessible. Vendors are savvy. Quick starts are commonplace.

Buzzwords have become boxes to check.

• Author of, Featured in, Founder of, Expert on, Recognized by, Honored with, Winner of, Contributor to, Appeared on [insert media logos here]
• Best-selling, Award-winning, ninja, guru, rock star.
• Corporate logos with no supporting details.
• Testimonials that write themselves. Literally.

This leaves us over-consoled and under-convinced.

And the internet isn’t helping. "Alexa - find "best motivational speaker".

It isn't only buyers anymore who can't confidently decide on one speaker over another without it coming from personal experience or that of a blood relative.

Heck, I can barely tell the difference anymore, and I'd venture to guess that the same names are circulating in perpetuity on proposals inside bureaus.

It's a short walk from 'tried and true' to 'tired and overused'.

And I see it happening. [grabs goldfish]

This year I added color to See Agency’s brand with the words and website ‘Just Great Speakers’.

• JUST: based on/behaving according to what is morally right and fair.
• GREAT: ability, quality, or eminence considerably above the normal or average.
• SPEAKERS: the merchants of better in a world that could use some improvement.

We are going to have to dig for the great prize inside that fancy wrapper.

This is work, and it will slow us down.

It is going to mean taking phone calls, scheduling time, digging in, opening doors.

Being uncomfortable.

Start small. Look a one out-of-rotation name per week. Review their speech - the whole thing. Get them on the phone. Let them email you. Let them spam you, if they want. You know where the delete button is.

Lean back on the unparalleled expertise of legacy speakers. The three-decaders, the VHS mailers, the bounce-backers from 9-11, 2008 and a pandemic. They have more to say now than ever, and they have earned the mic.

This industry calls us all to the very notion of greatness. Let's try to not let it down.

Christa Haberstock is Founder and President of See Agency. Since 2009, she has dedicated herself to Management and Representation of Professional Speakers and Corporate Entertainment. Really, really good ones, too. See Agency also offers Speaker Therapy and Brand Consultation, because the first step is always admitting you need help. (c) 2022

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