"Spechialized Speakers...Where are you?"

Most of my work time is spent listening, analyzing, and engaging in various business presentations with my clients.

So, allow me to hold your hand while I tell you this. You do not have to drift away from your expertise topics to get more speaking opportunities or greater exposure. On the contrary, your positioning will be sustained, and even your speaking fees will be maximized in the long run by the uniqueness of your topics. And let me tell you why.

Nowadays, most events cover nearly the same topics, and what is even worse is that most speakers address only a fraction of their speeches' topics. And the result becomes: people attend events for photos, not for value.

This is not because the speakers are inadequate, no; it is because most of them drift away from what they can talk about brilliantly and start talking about what they thought they should talk about.

Let me break it for you.

Not all event organizers are industry experts, which is okay, but unfortunately, many will automatically try to find the topics that they think most people seem to be interested in and make an event about them. Or take an international event version and apply it to the market where they’re launching it without any proper modifications.

Despite how that might sound good from a business perspective, it's not since the market needs events that address different market gaps and a variety of other topics that have a bigger influence on business or people development, but may not be viewed as trending.

So, getting back to you, let’s assume you are an expert in supply chain at an international FMCG company and were invited to speak at a leadership summit. You were asked to present a topic on the latest leadership insights and trends. So instead of trying to understand how that is relevant to you. You automatically take it as a great opportunity to gain exposure and acceptance.

The result is that to prepare for your speech, you’ll do what everyone else will do. Surf the internet for information. So you end up presenting information that most attendees already know, or, even worse, information that other speakers will address too.

Don’t get me wrong, I don't want you to decline the invitation.

My recommendation is to connect the event theme to your area of expertise and propose alternative topics that are more relevant to you to add depth and uniqueness.

For example, as a supply chain expert, you could suggest:

- Global industry changes affecting leadership approaches. (You are addressing here the changes in your field that are also influential on other areas that led to the need to draw new approaches in leadership.)

- Why do details matter for leaders? From a supply chain expert. (Addressing how details affect workflow and everyday decisions, especially in FMCG, and what we learn from it)

- Keeping the lead. (How functions such as supply chain and other related ones in mega companies could stay ahead through the proper directions of their leaders)

Note: these topics weren't generated by ChatGPT. They are actually some topics my client and I came up with while brainstorming for his upcoming event.

Of course, you’ll consider the audience type while brainstorming your ideas.

You may assume that every organizer will refuse, but most will actually be very interested, since all these topics are new, practical, and have depth.

What will you gain out of doing that?

1) Investing time in thinking deeper in your area of expertise and generating topics that highlight the challenges, milestones, and insights that you see every day will sharpen your perspective and add a unique depth to your topics.

2) You’re preserving your positioning, not drifting away from it, thus sustaining your credibility.

3) You’re making it easier for yourself in preparation and the ability to stand solid in front of your audience since the information you are delivering is not just an internet search outcome, but rather a demonstration of solid expertise and a unique perspective.

4) In the long run, that unique positioning will be rewarding in terms of your speaking fees.

Speaking at events or conferences can indeed help with exposure; however, if you choose the wrong venue or the wrong topic, you could end up with useless, unprofitable exposure.

Seize opportunities but smartly.