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Professional Speaking: Known. Booked. Paid.

Professional Speaking: Known. Booked. Paid.

By: John Ball | Speaker Coach for Paid Keynotes & Professional Positioning
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Summary

 Most speakers aren't struggling with speaking. They're struggling with being seen, chosen, and paid what they're worth. Professional Speaking: Known, Booked & Paid is the podcast for speakers who are serious about building a commercially viable speaking business — not just getting better at speaking. Each week, host and speaker coach John Ball cuts through the noise on what actually drives bookings, referrals, and higher fees. Solo episodes tackle positioning, pricing strategy, and the commercial mistakes keeping good speakers underpaid. Guest episodes bring in working speakers, bureau insiders, and industry experts with the kind of candid insight you won't find in generic public speaking advice. If you're ready to move from inconsistent gigs and underpriced keynotes to a speaking business that works for you — this is the show.© 2022 Present Influence Career Success Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Marketing Marketing & Sales
Episodes
  • David Newman: Why Your Content Is Already Obsolete (And What to Replace It With)

    David Newman: Why Your Content Is Already Obsolete (And What to Replace It With)
    May 13 2026
    David Newman is a speaker, consultant, and author of four books, including Do It Speaking and Market Eminence. He's spent decades helping experts, consultants, and professional speakers build what he calls market eminence -- the combination of visibility, credibility, and brand preference that makes you the obvious choice in your field.In this conversation, David makes the case that the era of how-to content is over, that differentiation is not optional, and that most speakers are making themselves dangerously easy to replace. He also shares the three types of content that AI cannot replicate and a practical framework for becoming a category of one.What you'll take away:Why branding agencies are often the wrong first move for speakers -- and what to do insteadThe fire hose problem: why giving audiences too much content kills your follow-up businessThe mule vs magician distinction: what high-value clients actually want to buyWhy how-to content is finished as of November 2022 -- and the three content types that still workHow to think, what to believe, and where to focus next: the framework for content that AI can't produceThe market eminence model: visibility, respect, and brand preference as the three pillars of getting bookedCategory of one: what it actually means and why being divisive is the strategy, not the riskWhy your website navigation might be quietly sabotaging your speaking enquiriesThe "disturbing your enemy" exercise: how to find your position by identifying who you'd rather repelConnect with David Newman: Website: doitmarketing.com | Market Eminence resources: marketeminence.comJoin me for the Speaker positioning event on May 27th, A Position of Authority: Why Most Speakers Are Invisible (And What To Do About It)https://present-influence.kit.com/products/a-position-of-authority-eventCHAPTERS00:00 AI Changed Speaker Content01:49 Branding Is BS04:57 Stop The Firehose10:23 Mule Versus Magician15:26 Front Load Airport Value17:52 Market Eminence Framework20:05 Category Of One26:06 Finding Contrarian Differentiation28:03 Spotting Anti Clients30:51 Disturb Your Audience32:29 Why Speakers Dont Book33:40 Three Content Upgrades35:04 Future Casting Advantage38:22 Is Speaking Doomed40:27 No Footnotes Needed43:15 Marketing Show Your Work45:38 Make Speaking Obvious49:07 Where To Find David50:31 Host Wrap And Workshop52:28 Follow Review And FarewellFAQ SECTIONWhy is how-to content no longer effective for professional speakers?According to author and speaker strategist David Newman, how-to content became obsolete in November 2022 when ChatGPT became publicly available. AI systems can now produce more comprehensive, accurate, and faster how-to content than any human speaker. John Ball and David Newman argue that speakers who continue to rely on how-to content are competing directly with AI on AI's strongest ground. The only content that remains uniquely human is content based on personal experience, hard-won expertise, and a genuine point of view.What are the three types of content that AI cannot replace for professional speakers?David Newman identifies three categories of Professional Speaking: Known. Booked. Paid. The first is how-to-think content -- strategic, insight-driven content based on the speaker's own experience and expertise that helps audiences approach problems differently. The second is belief-shifting content that separates myths from truths and challenges conventional wisdom based on the speaker's direct observations. The third is future-casting or trend-spotting content that helps audiences understand what is coming next and how to prepare for it. Newman argues that focusing exclusively on these three areas can transform a speaking business within 90 days.What does it mean for a speaker to become a "category of one"?David Newman defines a category of one as a speaker whose specific combination of topic, perspective, philosophy, and personal experience cannot be replicated by any other speaker. It does not mean being the only speaker on a topic -- it means being the only speaker who approaches that topic from your particular angle, with your particular beliefs and your particular biases. Newman argues on the show with John Ball that divisive, opinionated positioning is not a risk but a strategy: the people who resonate deeply will book you; those who do not were never going to book you anyway.How can professional speakers find and develop a contrarian positioning?David Newman and John Ball discuss on the podcast that the first step is identifying who you would actively not want to hire you -- your "enemy" -- and then creating content that would deliberately alienate them. Newman shares a story of a client whose contrarian positioning around corporate intrapreneurship was validated when a hostile executive told her exactly what he did not want -- which confirmed she had found her position. The homework Newman recommends is to write, post, or share something that would genuinely upset the ...
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    54 mins
  • Your Topic Is Not Your Positioning: Why Good Speakers Stay Invisible

    Your Topic Is Not Your Positioning: Why Good Speakers Stay Invisible
    May 5 2026
    If you're a good speaker who isn't getting booked at the rate or fee you think you deserve, this episode is going to be uncomfortable in the right way.The problem, in most cases, isn't your speaking. It's your positioning. And more specifically, it's the fact that most speakers build their positioning around what they want to say rather than what the market actually needs to hear.In this episode, John works through six positioning mistakes that keep credible, capable speakers invisible -- with real client stories and examples that make each one land where it needs to.Join us for the live speaker positioning event: https://present-influence.kit.com/products/a-position-of-authority-event It's a 'pay what you want' event, so pay a little, pay a lot, whatever you think good positioning guidance is worth.What's covered:The topic trap—why building your talk around your own expertise and interests, rather than your buyer's specific problem, is the fastest route to an empty pipeline. Including a story about a speaker whose health and productivity topic created a liability rather than a solution.Information vs transformation -- why packing your keynote with everything you know is the reason you're not getting rebookings or workshop enquiries. The talk that impresses is not always the talk that converts.The speak-on-anything problem -- both the unfocused speaker who hasn't chosen a lane, and the ego-driven speaker who believes intelligence alone equals credibility. With a real example from John's time at The Speaker Lab, and a look at what happened when Courtney Harding (episode 254) chased a hot topic without a clear problem to solve.The corporate bottom-line test—particularly for speakers building a career in the UK and Europe, where the association circuit doesn't exist in the same way it does in the US. If you want to be well-paid, corporate is where you need to be -- and your topic must connect directly to making or saving money. Cross-references the episode with Jackson Ogunyemi on education speaking, and a forthcoming episode with Claire Young on the UK education speaker market.Nice-to-have vs must-book -- why some topics will always sit in the soft column no matter how well you frame them, and what creates genuine urgency in a booking decision.The person is positioning—ethos, logos, and pathos applied to the speaker's positioning. Why two speakers can deliver identical content and create entirely different results, why your ethos cannot be copied even when your content is, and what Maria Franzoni revealed about content theft on episode 256 of this show.Referenced episodes:Episode 254 -- Hot Market, Cold Inbox: Why Your Speaking Calendar Isn't Matching Your Credibility (Courtny Harding)Episode 256 -- How Professional Speakers Get Hired: The Bookability Formula (Maria Franzoni)Jackson Ogunyemi episode -- education speaking and why it rarely pays enough to build a career onComing soon -- Claire Young on the UK education speaker booking market==============FAQs==============What is speaker positioning, and why does it matter for getting booked?Speaker positioning is how you define and communicate the specific value you deliver to a specific buyer with a specific problem. It goes beyond having a topic—it determines whether a buyer sees you as a must-book speaker or a nice-to-have. Most speakers who struggle to get booked consistently, or who aren't commanding the fees they want, have a positioning problem rather than a speaking problem. In this episode, speaking coach John Ball explains why positioning built around what a speaker wants to say, rather than what the market needs to hear, is the most common reason credible speakers stay invisible.What is the difference between a topic and a positioning for a speaker?A topic is a subject area —such as leadership, communication, resilience, or AI. A positioning is a specific claim about who you serve, what problem you solve, and why you are the credible choice to solve it. John Ball describes the topic as raw material and positioning as what you build from it that makes a buyer say yes. Speakers who position themselves around a topic category rather than a specific buyer problem are easy to overlook and difficult to justify to stakeholders.What mistakes do speakers make when trying to break into the corporate market?The most common mistakes speakers make when breaking into corporate include: building their talk around their own interests rather than a problem the business already knows it has, delivering information-heavy keynotes rather than creating genuine transformation, speaking on too many topics without a clear specialisation, and failing to connect their subject to the company's bottom line. Corporate buyers need to justify every fee to stakeholders, which means a speaker's topic must connect directly to making money, saving money, or reducing risk. John Ball covers all of these mistakes with real client examples in this episode.Why do some ...
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    22 mins
  • Stop Trying to Be Funny: Beth Sherman on What Actually Gets Audiences to Listen

    Stop Trying to Be Funny: Beth Sherman on What Actually Gets Audiences to Listen
    Apr 29 2026
    Beth Sherman is a multi-Emmy Award-winning comedy writer who spent 30 years writing for Letterman, Jay Leno, Ellen DeGeneres, and multiple major awards shows, including the Oscars. She now works as a keynote speaker and executive presentation coach, helping leaders and professional speakers build rapid rapport using the same principles comedians use to convert a room full of strangers.In this episode, John and Beth explore what professional speakers can actually learn from standup comedy — not the jokes, but the craft underneath them. Beth shares her BETH framework and challenges the assumption that being funny has anything to do with telling jokes.What you'll take away:Why trying to be funny is one of the worst things a speaker can do — and what to do insteadThe BETH framework: Brevity, Elephant in the room, Truth, HumanityWhy specificity and truth are the real engines of humour and connectionThe difference between self-deprecation and self-awareness on stageWhat comedians know about building trust with a sceptical audience that most business communicators don'tWhy silence on stage felt like failure to Beth — and how she's working through itWhat a "callback" is and why it's the most underused tool in a speaker's closingVisit bethsherman.com or connect with Beth on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-sherman/CHAPTERS00:00 Meet Beth Sherman02:20 Comedy Roots and Writer Room05:38 Standup Lessons and Testing07:30 Humour Influences and Favourites12:24 Stagecraft Rapid Rapport13:46 Bombing and Hecklers19:09 From TV Writing to Speaking23:36 Building a Speaking Business26:27 Positioning Humour as Rapport27:39 Trust Through Humour29:15 Standup And Speaking31:51 Keynote Challenges35:57 Stop Trying To Be Funny38:36 BETH Framework39:24 Brevity Wins40:42 Elephant In The Room42:56 Truth And Self Awareness45:55 Specific Details47:59 Humanity Over Jokes49:03 Working With Beth53:06 Quick Rapport Tip54:46 Wrap Up And TakeawaysFrequently Asked QuestionsDo professional speakers need to be funny to be successful?According to Emmy Award-winning comedy writer and keynote speaker Beth Sherman, no. The goal is not to be funny — it is to be human. Trying to be funny often comes across as inauthentic and can undermine credibility, particularly for women and speakers from minority backgrounds. What engages audiences is vulnerability, relatability, and genuine connection. Laughter is a by-product of that, not the target.What is the BETH framework for speakers?The BETH framework was developed by Beth Sherman and stands for Brevity, Elephant in the room, Truth, and Humanity. It is a four-principle approach derived from professional comedy writing and stand-up that helps speakers and leaders build rapid rapport with any audience. Brevity means using fewer words for more impact. Elephant in the room means acknowledging what your audience is already noticing. Truth means that specificity and honesty are inherently engaging. Humanity means being relatable and vulnerable rather than polished and performative.How can speakers use humour without telling jokes?Beth Sherman teaches that truth is funny — comedians do not invent absurdity, they observe and report it. The most effective way for speakers to add humour to a talk is through specificity and self-awareness rather than constructed jokes. Sharing the particular details of a real experience — what was in the room, what was said, what you did when you got in the car — creates universal relatability because audiences recognise the truth in it. This approach works regardless of whether the speaker considers themselves funny.What is rapid rapport, and why does it matter for speakers and leaders?Rapid rapport is the ability to build trust and connection with a new or sceptical audience quickly. Beth Sherman argues that until an audience trusts you, nothing else you say matters — not your data, your story, or your framework. Comedians develop this skill by necessity: they must win over strangers, often in hostile conditions, within minutes. The same principles apply in leadership communication, sales, and keynote speaking. Beth's keynote and masterclass work translates these principles for business audiences.What is the difference between self-deprecation and self-awareness for speakers?Self-deprecation means putting yourself down for the purpose of getting a laugh. Self-awareness means acknowledging what your audience is already noticing about you or the situation. Beth Sherman advises speakers to favour self-awareness over self-deprecation, particularly if they belong to a group that may already face unconscious bias from their audience. Self-deprecation can undermine credibility; self-awareness builds connection and trust.How do you open a talk and win an audience over quickly?Beth Sherman's primary recommendation is to smile and look like you want to be there. Beyond that, acknowledge the elephant in the room early — whatever your audience might be thinking or ...
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    57 mins
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