THE CHALLENGE: REDEFINING HOW WE VALUE PROFESSIONAL SPEAKERS THE FIXER: TAMI ADAMS, FOUNDER & CURATOR OF SPEAKING TALENT, TA SPEAKERS MANAGEMENT Browsing on LinkedIn, I read an article about a professional speaker published by the Globe & Mail, and as I read, my heart broke. The article is about how the speaker received “yet another request” to speak for free with promises of exposure. The interesting point about the article is the speaker shares how the client found her, so she must already be exposed—this is likely why the client wants her in the first place. The irony! As someone who works in and understands what it actually takes to build and deliver a speaking business and an impactful speech, I am left wondering… why is there a disconnect between how professional speakers are valued and the impact they leave on our events? This is an issue I have been wanting to talk about for some time, but I have struggled as I love our industry so much and know that we all mean well and want to create memorable experiences. Recently, a speaker I work with, Brandi Leifso, said, “It’s important to stand for something, even if you are standing alone.” I couldn’t agree more, so… Here I am! I believe wholeheartedly we can elevate our industry best practices when it comes to paying professional speakers for their time and expertise. Just like many of the services supplied to the events industry, professional public speaking is an art and one not everyone can master. It’s not “just” 30 minutes, it’s not “just” one hour, it’s years of experience, tweaking, customization, practise and skill you are investing in. Professional speakers elevate our events and create meaningful and memorable experiences for all. They connect us on a human level, evoke emotions, change our mindset and take our events to new levels. They can even change lives, I have seen this first-hand. We need speakers because we need education. Employers (who often cover costs for their people to attend, especially planners) want to know that their staff will come back with something meaningful to ensure their investment is worth it. Just like everyone, speakers need to feed their families and pay their bills. Should they not be financially compensated for their time? Sure, the audience “might” contain someone who can book them and therefore perhaps they can get paid, but this is not tangible, you cannot guarantee this. If it’s important to have high- level education from professionals at our events for our audience’s benefit, how is it not important enough to pay the speakers delivering the content? Many speakers have flexibility in their rates for the right opportunities; they understand that not everyone has big budgets. While, of course, if you have the budget to pay their rate, you should, but there is flexibility. We in the events industry have the opportunity to be the change. What if your event was the event to change it all? What if you could chart the path for others to follow? I hope this article gave you some deeper insights into how we can elevate our business practices within the events industry and value our speakers more. TAMI ADAMS WISDOM 34 | Ignitemag.ca | Winter 2023
