I'm going to put a different spin on the public speaking gig.
I don't have any problems with speaking in public because I used to teach at two big universities. Speaking to 800 students at a time? No biggie.
This is a problem with the SEO industry - there are weasels out there who will not hesitate to use or "repurpose" your material. Even though your public speaking is given to the public, your material is still legally protected.
Now, for a trick I learned to do when I was teaching religion and mythology...
What I do is I make my presentations different. What the audience sees in their conference books is a little different than what is on the screen. I also do not put everything I put on screen into the conference book.
That way, people have to pay attention. They should be writing notes. If they are not writing, they are (a) not paying attention, or (
assume they know everything I know. That last statement might seem a bit arrogant, but if an attendee knows everything that I know about a topic, then what is he/she doing attending my session?I've been able to protect my copyrighted material. Except once. I wanted to make a good panel, and I purposely scheduled a conference call with the other panelists. Well, one of the panelists STOLE my presentation. He went first, so I looked like an idiot.
Grrrrrr.
Then he had the audacity to write an article about a topic in my forthcoming book. To beat me to the punch, I guess.
Lesson? I will give enough information to be helpful and guide people in the right direction. But I always stay a step ahead of my competitors. I know they are out there trying to either trip me up, steal my material, or outdo me.
It's a tough gig. Try to be helpful to conference attendees yet also keep your weasel competitors at bay.
Oh yeah, one last tip. Know when you can embellish your presentation if you are talking to fast. Know what topics to skip if you are talking too slow. That way, your presentations/speeches are always polished.
And lose the sales hype.
