One of my all-time favorite strategies for honing your speaking skills and getting in front of prospects is to offer to speak for free.
Here’s a list I’ve compiled of places you could possibly offer a free presentation to. Start local. Walk around your own community with eyes wide open – you’ll be surprised at how many opportunities are just around the corner!
1) Bulletin boards
2) Community Centers
3) Networking events
4) Service organizations – Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions Club
5) Religious organizations
6) Special interest clubs & societies
7) Fitness clubs
8) Yoga studios
9) Coffee houses
10) Breakfast/Lunch restaurants
11) Retailers
12) Meet-up groups
13) Business clubs
14) Chambers of Commerce
15) Country clubs & private clubs
16) Retirement communities
17) Libraries
18) Corporations – Lunch & Learns, Breakfast Briefs
19) Professional development courses (accountants, lawyers, massage therapists…)
20) Industry associations (such as healthcare, lawyers, auto, etc.)
21) Fundraising organizations
22) Non-profit organizations
23) Colleges & Universities
24) Adult education classes
25) Conferences – bonus speaker, breakouts, last minute substitute speaker
26) Trade Shows at Convention Centers
27) SHRM – Society for Human Resource Management – shrm.org (local chapters)
28) MPI – Meeting Professionals International – mpiweb.org (local chapters)
29) Your own clients
30) Cruise lines (you offer to teach in exchange for free or reduced passage)