When Authority Turns to Invitations

There’s authority you only get once you’re in the press.

And it changes how people approach you.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Welcome to Dauntless PR Unfiltered. What we're going to be talking about today is a really exciting byproduct of PR when authority turns into invitations.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

So I mean we all love being invited to stuff, don't we? Don't we, Jess? Even just the word invitations makes me feel happy. But what people often find is as they build their presence in the media, as they get their visibility built up, they've increased their authority, they're more credible. They start getting invited to things like being a speaker at an event and being able to go onto stage and share their stories and really get across their messages and their, you know, all the interesting things that they may have already been talking about in the media. They get to really get that across in person to a group of people, you know, which I think is a really powerful extra thing, isn't it? I mean, it's a really great way of connecting with people on a kind of closer level.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Completely. And when somebody has that authority, people are just so drawn to them, aren't they?

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Yeah. And I think one thing people sometimes view them as very different. So they'll kind of think, oh, whether they might identify as being a speaker, or they might identify as somebody who is doing PR and being in the media. The reality is that it's much better if you are doing both, really. That's amplifies your message on a much greater level because speaking is brilliant, but you would burn yourself out really quickly if you were wanting to speak to millions and you were only ever doing in-person events, like you would have to be racing around all over the place to really be able to reach those people. So the media obviously has the advantage of reaching more people, but it does also make you a lot more enticing for events, too. If somebody has seen you talking on a topic in the media, they've heard you on the radio, they've seen you on the TV, they've listened to a podcast, and they're planning an event and they know that you and your expertise or your personal story would fit really well with what they're planning, then you know they're much more likely to reach out and invite you. And some of those can be quite lucrative. That's one thing to remember as well. That you know, once you get to a certain level of credibility and authority, some you know, some of these events can be quite a lucrative thing, and not just necessarily being a keynote speaker at being eventually. You might be you might be invited to come and talk at a dinner, you might be invited to all sorts of things. You might just be invited to come along to an event or like party as a guest because they know that you're the kind of person that they would vibe with, that they want to have involved. They might want you to collaborate with their brand. It's like the kind of opportunities are potentially endless when more people know you exist. That is the crux of it.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

Completely, completely. And also, like when people are pitching, say for stage, you better believe that those event organizers are googling you. Like if you are pitching your book to a sales agent, you have got to like you've got to know that they are absolutely Googling you, you know, what is coming up, and the more credibility pieces that are coming up, and the more they can really get to know you and your brand and who you are, and see examples of you speaking in different formats as well, the better.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Yeah. Well, how much more confident would you feel as somebody booking a keynote speaker for an event if you have heard this person that you are potentially interested in on a podcast, absolutely commanding the conversation, getting their points across, yeah, and having a really warm approach to things, that would make you feel so much more like they're a safe pair of hands. I think that's the thing of it. That's kind of oh, okay, I know that they can speak. What sometimes people make a little bit of a mistake with, I think, is that if there's somebody who really decides that they want to be a speaker, but perhaps they're a little bit apprehensive about being in the media and they see speaking as I don't think I'm saying this thinking this is not how I would view it. I think standing on a stage takes a huge amount of guts, whereas I've been in the media lots. But some people see it as it's a smaller audience, it's a little bit safer option, and so they might think it's good to go all in on one and kind of ignore the other. The problem with that is as you say, when you're Googling people, if you can't really find anything about that person online, you're asking them to take quite a big risk by inviting you along. So, what you may well find is that really people aren't gonna take that risk on you, or they're gonna expect you to do it unpaid, or send maybe ask you to go jump through more hoops before you do it. So they might be like, Oh, send us a big long video, or what you're gonna say, or whereas if they have seen you that you've got a tried and tested approach, they're much more likely to want to get you on board, and also it gives you a chance. And this is another thing that people don't think of the more you talk about your story, your message, the really key thing is the more you refine it and clarify it to make it really good. I'm not suggesting that every conversation that you have should be the same script because obviously that's not that's not going to be great. But what people will often find is as they give interviews in the media, they really help them have a light bulb moment on which parts of their story are really inspiring, which are the things that make people sit up and take notice, what are the things that people want to know more about? Because we've said this before Law, haven't we? That your own life is boring to you, and it can sometimes, when we're trying to get some sort of inspiring, like narrative arc out of our own lives, it can feel a little bit forced sometimes because you kind of think, oh, what was the turning point? What was my hero's journey? What was all this kind of stuff to come up with? When you are doing interviews with journalists, when you are having these conversations with these deeply, deeply curious people, you suddenly realize, oh, those are the things that people really want to know more about. They don't want to know all this stuff. They really want to know this is the juice, this is what people really want to know, this is the questions that people have. And that makes it so much easier for you to really deliver something compelling that people are gonna not just pay attention when you are on the stage, but they're gonna carry it with them afterwards and they're gonna think about it, not just the day of the event, but they're gonna keep thinking and thinking and thinking. And we could all think back to those moments where you really hear something that goes into your brain and you you go back and you you think about it some more. Really being able to clarify your message and what people really care about means you can deliver the kind of talk that people are talking about to each other, that people are sharing parts of to the people that they know. And that's the kind of lasting impact that you really want to be getting.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

And people don't realize most of the time, do they, that they actually need that because when they come into PR, they've already refined their message, they know their audience, they know their message and all of this. But what happens is that they uncover another layer that they didn't even know existed, and all of a sudden everything's sharper, everything is like straight to the heart, and they just didn't even know that they needed it. And something else with events as well, right? When somebody is organizing an event and they're choosing their speakers, they want to make sure that they have got a great intro, they want that person coming in and they want people buying because of that person. That's what it comes down to. So it's like if you were applying for stage right now, like what has the event organizer got that they can use in their intro to make it really, really strong and really powerful. And the you know, the more you've got, the better your chances are of booking those.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Yeah, and there's that recognizability element, and I'm not suggesting that you have to be an A-list celebrity to book something because that's not the case. But the more recognizable you are, the more people associate with you, the more precious and valuable you are to the event organizers because you have an audience of your own. Um, and you know, we can all think of big events, and they usually have one or two very recognizable names, won't they, at these big events? And for many people, that might be the thing that makes them buy a ticket, and that's what the event organizers are thinking about. Yeah, so the more you have built up of your own audience and and visibility, the more they're like, wow, we want some of that. And it and it it really feeds into each other that the event can help you, you can help the event, and it is it's a collaboration, as with with so many things, you know, that they are wanting people that bring a level of credibility and authority for their events, so they're not wanting to take a risk with an unknown person. I think this is the thing. Yeah, people often think it's all about what you have to say, and in an ideal world, then it probably would be, but actually, it isn't just what you have to say, it's like who who is the person saying it. Yeah, and that often means that people, when they're just starting out, they might feel a little bit like they're butting their head against a wall if they try to go straight to being the keynote speaker at a big event and they haven't really built a social media presence, they haven't really got a presence in the media, but they've got a really great idea for something to say. And it's like you it's it's often not enough, but PR is shining a spotlight on you and what you have to say, it's giving you clarity on your message, it's helping you hone what people really care about, but it's also meaning that when somebody googles you to think, oh, is this person's oh, I like the idea of their talk, I like what they're suggesting, and they Google you and they come up and they see you in these brands that they know. So, like newspapers and magazines are usually recognizable household names, and they're seeing you in these brands. It's a level of endorsement, although it's not an official endorsement. You appearing in in the Times doesn't mean that you are sponsored by the Times and they've decided you're the best person ever, but it's a level of endorsement because they have decided that what you have to say is worth sharing with their audience, that your story is interesting, that your wisdom and advice is worth passing on, and it just gives you that great level of credibility. I I'm gonna say something that's because it's dauntless and filtered, I'll say something that I probably shouldn't say, but I can also always say it anyway.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

Go on.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

I can always tell when someone has done a lot of stage speaking but very little media. Go on. Because they always tell their story in the exact same way, and they really, really struggle to tell it in a different way. And this is another reason why I think it's a really good if you want to become successful in stage speaking, to do lots of media to really like test your story out so that you're not always having to deliver it in a kind of a scripted learnt way. So people that have only really done stage will start their story in a very specific way, they will have a journey that they go on, and if they suddenly have to do a five-minute segment on TV, they've got a 45-minute speech. They really struggle to get across the key points because they're thinking, well, oh, I usually have 45 minutes to really capture the audience and and bring them on board, and it doesn't mean that they are not amazing storytellers because they usually are, it means that they've never really had to think about different ways of packaging up their story. And I genuinely think that doing PR and being in the media takes brilliant speakers and makes them even better because it gets them thinking about different ways of sharing that same story so they can still have their 45-minute keyno address in the bag, but they understand how to pull out the key parts of it and tell it in different ways to different people.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Yeah, yeah, completely. And you can tell, can't you? Like sometimes you'll talk to them and they'll just go into this rehearse, it's almost hypnotic, isn't it? Like they don't have to think about it at all. And it is a challenge to them that, like you say, go and do like a five-minute interview or something and make sure that they get their point in. But it's such such a great skill, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:13

And it means that if somebody asks something, if they never have to think about in an interview, it can completely throw them because they'll be like, But I don't tell my story with that part in it. Yeah, that's not how I tell my story. I don't mention that particular side character that they've just said. Like if someone suddenly went, Well, what did your parents think of this? And you think, I don't talk about what my parents thought about this amazing journey that I went on. I'm I'm got rehearsed that part. But it's you know, and as and another thing is so we've kind of going from that, people who are very confident on the stage, maybe being a little bit nervous about media, obviously it works the other way around as well. You know, and I would say that if you're somebody who has always quite fancied doing public speaking and going on stage on stage and really, you know, delivering these amazing keynote talks at big events in your in your niche, a really great starting point before that is to really hone hone your message in the media and get so that you're confident talking to anybody. Because actually, if you can nail being on a live radio segment talking about something, you can absolutely stand in a room full of people. So it's a really great, a great way of really testing what is my story, what have I got to say, what are my messages before you then develop it into these amazing talks. So it can work both ways. Yeah, totally.

SPEAKER_01 16:58

Yeah. And there's like other forms of invitations as well that people can get. Like I've thinking about my own PR now and thing like invitations that have come as a direct result of PR. There's been three documentaries, a reality show that I sadly couldn't end up doing because I happened to get pregnant at that time and it wouldn't have been safe for that particular reality show. Parties filled with celebrities, they've always been fun and um eventful, brand deals, yeah, and sometimes just things that you don't even think about.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

I think like there'll be just opportunities that open up to you to maybe work with somebody that you might not even be kind of a glossy brand collaboration, there might be just someone else that you kind of admire that you've seen that they want to work with you, they want to know because they get to know who you are through your media that they're not only aware you exist, but they get a sense of who you are, what's important to you, what you've got to say. And people want to invite you into their world. I think it opens up so many potential opportunities. It's almost impossible to think of all the potential things that could happen as a result. We've quite often had people, um, so we don't specialise as an agency in in speaker bookings. We we specialise in getting people into the media, but I've quite often spoken to clients who have been on a podcast, done an article, and then they've been invited to speak at an event as a result. Yes, yes. Maybe it's actually an event run by the people that they've been doing the interview with, or just that somebody has seen them talking about this particular topic. So they do have this like direct route between the two of them. They're not an either or. So we all, you know, we all know that budgets are not necessarily as big at the moment as people would like them to be. And people often think they have to pick one or the other with things. So they'll be like, should I go for a speaker agency? Should I do PR? Should I focus on media? Should I focus on on speaking? And really, I don't think it's as clear-cut as picking one or the other often. It's about what you can do to build your visibility, your credibility, your authority as a whole, so that all of these different opportunities to grow your business, to grow your brand, to really get your message across to more people can come out. And all these things work together in the same way as you can't choose between PR and marketing, you know, all these different opportunities, then they're not one is more valuable. It's not do I do TV or radio, or do I do magazines or newspapers? It's like all of these things add together together. Completely.

SPEAKER_01 20:16

Exactly. And just to finish off there, just be that person that people want to be associated with, you know, like the more you put yourself out there building authority, the more you're going to be that person who's like magnetic to awesome opportunities. Okay, any questions, comments? Hello at dauntlesspr.com. We'll see you next time.