I recently welcomed hair and makeup artist Mandie Brice to the Let’s Fix Work podcast. I first met Mandie when I needed a hair and makeup artist for an event. I soon found out she’s a phenomenally talented individual who’s a former Milwaukee Public School teacher.
What struck me most about her story was just how much her bravery and individuality shone through – going from public school teacher to hair and makeup artist. It’s not every day folks decide to change careers in such a big and bold way.
Today, Mandie is a successful entrepreneur, and yet, she is still looking for ways to make an even bigger impact.
In fact, during our conversation, she turned the tables on me and asked for some advice about how to get started with professional speaking. I offered her some tough, but true advice, which I’d like to echo here today:
If you’ve only ever given one speech, no one is ever going to pay you. You have to start at the bottom.
Yes, that is a hard truth to tell someone, like Mandie, who’s at the top of their game in other areas. But it’s true.
If you are interested in adding professional speaking to your repertoire, I would encourage you to enroll in Toastmasters or find a public speaking agency where you can practice.
Practice, practice, practice. And then, practice some more.
Finally, seek out resources where people can provide you with speaking leads.
Because let’s be real here, you need a network. Sure, you may have a good network within your industry already. But a network around public speaking will help you ten times more.
So if you’ve ever wondered how to make a move from the thing that you’re doing today to something else that you love (perhaps speaking) and still pay your bills, then hop on over here to listen to this episode of Let’s Fix Work.
Great post, what are the Professional Ethics a professional speaker should have?