Want More Speaking Gigs? Stop Relying on Applications Alone
episodePreviously titled “Want More Speaking Gigs? The Speaking Secret AI Can’t Replace” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 2, 2026
Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies
31 min
2 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Why are relationships more important than speaker applications in today’s market?
You may be closer to your next speaking opportunity than you think. We're gonna show you how on this episode of the Speaking Your Band podcast. Hey there and welcome to the Speaking Your Brand Podcast. I'm your host, Carol Cox, joined today by our Lead Speaking coach, Diane Diaz. Hi, Diane.
Hi, Carol.
I want to talk about the power of relationships and networks and getting speaking engagements. We obviously have been speaking a long time in our careers. And I know when we talk with our clients in the Thought Leader Academy, one of the things that we help them to identify and figure out is who is it that they already know, whether it's individuals or organizations or places they've been associated. That they can reach out to for speaking opportunities because I think this is where. Especially people who are aspiring to be speakers, is that they feel like, well, if I just post more content online, whether it's on LinkedIn or if I submit more speaker applications for conferences, the speaking engagements will come.
And certainly that can happen. And it does happen. So you should be doing some of those things as well. But I have found, and I know you have found too, Diane, from your experience, that the best speaking engagements, the ones that are most aligned, the ones that pay well, the ones that that reach your goals, they rarely come from people we don't know, from strangers. They really come from trust that you have built over time through relationships. And so I want to talk about why that is the case, especially now. than ever, why trust in relationships is going to be the the main thing that's going to help you to get speaking opportunities, but then also some practical ways to go about doing this, even if you hate the thought of networking.
Cause I know Diane, we don't like that. Like we don't like the thought of like going to a networking event is definitely not something that makes us jump up and down for joy.
No, absolutely. And I think most I think most people if they're being honest probably feel that way.
Maybe there's like two percent of people who really like love it. And I would love to hear from them. If you love if you hear networking event and that makes you wanna like go, let us know because then we're gonna get those tips from you. But here's why I think trust and relationships is more important than ever. There's a few things going on. And, you know, we, Diane and I, you know, we have submitted uh conference proposals over the years for conferences that we wanted to speak at, like podcasting conferences early on when I was starting my podcast, conferences related to AI, I've submitted speaking proposals for and I've gotten selected. women's leadership conferences. So that definitely is something to do.
But here's what's making it more challenging. Number one, there's just more speakers out there. There's more competition. There's just more people. There's more people in the world. And there's more people because of online content and YouTube and Instagram and TikTok are realizing that they can be speakers, which is great. We want women to use their voice and go out there and share their message and their story and have an impact, but that just means there's more volume. Out there. But then the second thing is AI. Because all of a sudden anyone can draft and submit what seems like a decent sounding speaking proposal. Chat GPT is great at that. It's great at putting words together. And then so this is why with TEDx Orlando, where I was on the speaker curation committee, we got over 600 speaker submissions.
In the years past before AI, we would probably get 50. Why? Because it was hard. It was hard to put together an application. So not only are there just more people out there who want to be speakers and who are submitting for speaking proposals, but now there's just so much now instead of them submitting, say, for three that they would do at one time, they can submit for 30. And right and multiply that by all the people who are out there. So that is why competition is harder and harder.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why are relationships more important than speaker applications in today’s market?
0:00–5:03
2
How is AI increasing competition for speaking proposals?
5:03–9:19
3
What personal networking story does Diane share about her first speaking gigs?
9:19–13:44
4
Why can’t AI replicate authenticity and personality in speaker proposals?
13:44–17:58
5
How did Julia Korn turn one breakout session into a paid keynote through relationship building?
17:58–22:29
6
What challenge do the hosts give listeners to find three speaking opportunities in 90 days?
22:29–26:26
7
What practical steps can you take to nurture relationships that lead to speaking gigs?
26:26–29:25
8
How can you use AI responsibly to research local groups while still focusing on genuine connections?
29:25–31:38
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies
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