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We all need communication skills to be successful in this world. We must be able to tell people who we are, what we want, but most importantly, how we can help them in their everyday lives.
As a public speaker, I have been blessed to speak for some amazing companies all around the world. In the last 12 months, I have spoken for seven Fortune 500 companies. JP Morgan, Home Depot, Cisco, New York Life, Siemens, Netapp, and First Citizens Bank. Big businesses like these pride themselves on being the best in their specific industry and bring in speakers to help keep them at the top of their game. I have spoken on topics like leadership, how to start and maintain a successful business, financial literacy, proper social media usage, branding, and more!
Thinking back to when I spoke for my first Fortune 500 client, Netapp, I remember I was extremely nervous. I was sweating bullets, and I thought I was going to not to deliver on the speech. The audience was full of doctors, medical sales people, and people in the health care industry. Right out of the gate I talked to them about a portion of my life that I knew they would find interesting. As I gazed into the crowd I could see that every pair of eyes was fixated on my every word. That relaxed me because I knew they were interested in what I had to say. At the end of my speech I got a standing ovation, and everyone said I was one of the best speakers they had ever heard!
Once I completed my first speech for a Fortune 500 company and I knew they enjoyed it; I had the confidence to know I could do this as a career! I started marketing myself to other Fortune 500 brands, using Netapp's reference letter as a bright shining star. On my journey I have been told no by a lot of Fortune 500 companies when I have solicited speaking opportunities, but worked past though and have been told yes as well.
Speaking at Fortune 500 companies is not an unattainable target like you may think. If you want to speak to Fortune 500 level companies, you must do three things:
- You must get some experience speaking for smaller companies. This will help larger companies feel comfortable with your capacity to deliver.
- You must be able to deliver on the topic you were hired for. In order to get good reports, and then be referred out to other Fortune 500 brands you have to stick to the topic you were hired to speak on.
- You must be a good storyteller and grab the attention of the audience right out of the gate by relating to them. This is probably the most important of the three. Hone your skills and get critical feedback, it will help you become a better storyteller.
