Professional Speaking: Known. Booked. Paid.

Professional Speaking: Known, Booked & Paid is the definitive business podcast for keynote speakers, subject matter experts, and corporate consultants who are serious about building a commercially viable business, not just getting better at public speaking. Each week, host and speaker coach John A Ball cuts through the noise on what actually drives client bookings, inbound referrals, and premium fees. Solo episodes tackle high-ticket positioning, pricing strategy, and the critical business mistakes keeping good speakers underpaid. Guest episodes bring in working speakers, event planners, 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 scalable speaking business that commands market attention—this is the show.

Professional Speaking: Known. Booked. Paid. is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 279 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts Professional Speaking: Known. Booked. Paid., a business show with 279 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #290

  How to Write a Business Book That Builds Authority | Ginny Carter

  Sep 30, 202654 min

  Do speakers need a book to get booked? No. Can a relevant book be a powerful authority asset, often called your best business card and a useful tool when negotiating speaking engagements? Hell yes. In this bonus episode from the archives, John Ball speaks with ghostwriter and book coach Ginny Carter, author of Your Business, Your Book . Recorded in early 2022, the conversation is still useful for speakers and other experts considering a business book. They discuss how to decide what your book is for, when you’re ready to write it, how to keep it engaging and persuasive, and how to make it part of the marketing you already do. They also explore publishing choices, formats, editing, and the role podcasts can play in helping authors share their expertise. At the end, John shares the fast book strategy behind his forthcoming book, Serious About Speaking: The Business of Becoming Known, Booked & Paid . He explains how he’s using his existing LinkedIn newsletter articles, podcast transcripts and programme materials to build a useful, coherent book, with AI helping to compile and organise the material. It isn’t a case of asking AI to write a book and publishing the result: the process includes reviewing, editing and shaping the work. John will release a wait list for Serious About Speaking with next week’s episode. Ginny Carter’s book, Your Business, Your Book , is available at all major retailers. Find Ginny and her work at ginnycarter.co.uk . Frequently asked questions Do speakers need a book to get booked? No. You can build a professional speaking career without writing a book. A book is an asset, not a requirement. How can a book help a speaker get booked? A relevant book can demonstrate your expertise, strengthen your authority and give event organisers a tangible sense of your ideas. It can also be a useful negotiating tool when discussing a speaking engagement, if it connects to the talk, audience and client’s needs. Is a book really a speaker’s best business card? It can be. A book gives potential clients a deeper view of your expertise than a business card can. The more clearly the book relates to your speaking work, the more useful it is as an authority asset. When should an expert write a business book? When they have enough experience, examples and insight to offer readers, and they know what they want the book to achieve. Ginny advises getting clear on the book’s purpose before making decisions about its content or publishing route. How can speakers market a book without creating more work? Ginny recommends incorporating the book into marketing that’s already working, such as a podcast, blog or existing online presence, rather than automatically building separate channels just for the book. What makes a business book persuasive and readable? Stories, examples and the author’s personality help keep readers engaged. Ginny also discusses a “why, what, how, what if” structure: explain why the topic matters, what it is, how to act on it, and what could happen as a result. What is John Ball’s fast book strategy? John is developing Serious About Speaking from existing material, including LinkedIn newsletter articles, podcast transcripts and programme resources. AI helps compile and organise relevant content; John then reviews, edits and shapes it into a coherent book. Chapters Times are approximate. Check against the final published audio/video before posting. 00:00 Why this archive conversation is being released now 02:40 Introducing Ginny Carter and the value of an engaging business book 05:20 Why people struggle to start and finish books 07:40 Making book marketing part of your existing marketing 10:00 How books build authority 12:20 Is it the right time to write your book? 14:00 Book as an asset: cache, not cash 19:00 What writing a book can do for your expertise and business 24:00 What makes a business book effective? 27:00 Traditional publishing and self-publishing 29:00 Book design, production and first impressions 32:00 Print, ebook and audiobook formats 34:00 Podcasts as a way to reach relevant audiences 35:00 Writing persuasively: the “why, what, how, what if” structure 38:00 Editing, grammar and reader trust 42:00 How authors can use podcasts 44:00 Ginny’s book recommendations 47:30 John’s fast book strategy and Serious About Speaking Recommended next episode Why Great Speakers Are Often Broke Listen next for a related conversation about the business skills and assets speakers need alongside their stage craft: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/0f56e6d2-15f1-4c21-8a5b-96d44ab8c67b/ Upcoming episode Next week: Why Aren’t You Getting Booked as a Speaker? We’ll look at what may be standing between your expertise and the bookings you want. Connect with John: Find out more about the Known, Booked & Paid Blueprint Subscribe to the Serious About Speaking newsletter on LinkedIn Find me on Insta Find me on TikTok Find me on Threads Discover the bottlenecks in your speaking business with the Applause Vs Invoice Quiz For speaking/podcast enquiries or to connect with me directly, you can email john@presentinfluence.com or find me on LinkedIn You can find all our clips, episodes and more on the Present Influence YouTube channel If you know a speaker who would enjoy this show, let them know. Thanks for listening.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #289

  Confidence Isn’t Competence: Lorne Kelton on AI, Evidence and Speaking

  Sep 23, 202659 min

  Lorne Kelton asked AI to find research supporting an argument. It returned what seemed like a cited study. When he checked it, the study and researcher didn’t exist. That experience opens a conversation about the responsibility speakers carry when they use evidence on stage. Lorne and John discuss why confidence can be mistaken for competence, how “fake it till you make it” advice can lead speakers astray, and what critical thinking looks like when a client wants to put it into practice. They also disagree, or at least place different bets, on what AI means for professional speaking. Lorne sees pressure on familiar keynote topics as AI gets better at producing plausible content. John argues that an audience’s relationship with a live speaker still matters. Both questions are worth asking: how strong is the thinking behind your talk, and what happens in the room because you are there? The conversation also covers Lorne’s use of AI during preparation, his approach to choosing stories, and the less glamorous reality of earning a living as a speaker. In this episode: How an invented citation made it through an AI research request Why confidence and competence need separating How Lorne turns a critical thinking idea into a corporate workshop What AI can help a speaker do, and what the speaker must check Why a speaking business may need more than keynote fees Connect with Lorne to find out more: https://www.thinkshift.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lornekelton/ Chapters: 00:00 AI Citation Hallucinations 01:14 Confidence vs Competence 03:48 AI as Speaking Partner 05:04 Generic Topics at Risk 07:11 Training AI to Your Voice 10:55 Fact-Checking and IP Rights 13:44 Will AI Replace Speakers 20:19 Critical Thinking Origin Story 22:59 Workshop Framework and Triggers 25:29 Biases and Motivation Industry 27:41 Evidence and Truth Seeking 30:14 Future Opportunities for Speakers 32:37 Owning Your Viewpoint 32:54 Expertise vs Relevance 34:32 Celebrity and Internal Competition 37:07 Making Speaking Pay 38:43 The Business of Speaking 41:32 Why Speakers Get Booked 43:35 Storytelling Over Slides 50:42 Finding Stories and Testing 53:49 Encouragement and Authenticity 55:27 Where to Connect 56:23 Host Reflection on AI 57:47 Final Sendoff FAQ What is the difference between confidence and competence, according to Lorne Kelton? Competence is built through real experience and expertise. Confidence can be performed without either. Kelton argues that speakers, and especially newer ones, get told to fake confidence before they've built competence, which he says derails careers rather than accelerating them. Why does Lorne Kelton think certain keynote topics are at risk from AI? Kelton names leadership, productivity, change management and resilience as topics where AI can already generate passable content, which he expects will lead booking committees to question paying five figures for a human speaker on those subjects specifically. How does Lorne Kelton recommend speakers use AI without losing their own voice? Kelton feeds AI his own books, articles, emails and video transcripts so it can act as a sceptical research partner rather than a writer. He treats the deep, time-consuming version of this process as the only one that produces anything close to authentic output. What happened when Lorne Kelton asked AI to find supporting research for an argument? The AI returned a fully formed citation for a study that turned out not to exist, attributed to a researcher who also doesn't exist. Kelton now treats this as a standing warning to verify any AI-sourced research before using it on stage. What is Lorne Kelton's process for teaching critical thinking to corporate clients? Kelton works backwards from a specific trigger incident, then moves the person through reflection, surfacing their assumptions and biases, reframing the situation, and finally writing a concrete plan for how they'll respond differently next time. What percentage of Lorne Kelton's speaker association members make a full-time living from keynoting alone? Fewer than 13%, based on an internal survey his association conducted. The majority earn keynote fees as one component of a broader income that includes facilitation, training, MC work and consulting. How does Lorne Kelton choose which stories to use in a talk? He starts from the client's desired outcome and works backwards to find a personal experience, often a failure, that speaks to it directly. He then tests the story with a small trusted group before using it on stage. What advice does Lorne Kelton give speakers who feel threatened by the current market? Be authentically yourself rather than copying another speaker's style or delivery. He calls this the fail-safe way to get booked and rebooked, and warns against speakers who present themselves as facsimiles of someone else. Connect with John: Find out more about the Known, Booked & Paid Blueprint Subscribe to the Serious About Speaking newsletter on LinkedIn Find me on Insta Find me on TikTok Find me on Threads Discover the bottlenecks in your speaking business with the Applaude Vs Invoice Quiz For speaking/podcast enquiries or to connect with me directly, you can email john@presentinfluence.com or find me on LinkedIn You can find all our clips, episodes and more on the Present Influence YouTube channel If you know a speaker who would enjoy this show, let them know. Thanks for listening. Mentioned in this episode: KBPB final week offer There's still time to grab one of the last few spaces left in the Known, Booked & Paid October founding cohort. Visit https://presentinfluence.com/kbpb for more information, or shoot me a DM on LinkedIn.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #288

  Speaking Industry Scams and Shady Practices Exposed!

  Sep 9, 202629 min

  A man paid $6,000 to a speaker agency that promised him multiple $10,000 bookings. Six months later, he had nothing but excuses. John, your host, has been in the coaching industry for years and has either seen or personally walked into most of what he covers in this solo episode: six distinct ways new professional speakers get sold something that looks like opportunity and isn't. Some of these are straightforwardly dishonest: fake agencies charging registration fees, pay-to-speak stages dressed up as exposure. Others are murkier: podcast invites that turn into PR funnels, speaking coaches with no paid industry experience, and PR agencies that deliver exactly what they promised but don't move the needle. John draws on his own experience getting pulled into a podcast-to-PR funnel, and on years inside the coaching industry watching credentials fail to guarantee competence. Every example comes with a specific, practical question to ask before you hand over money or trust, the kind of question a legitimate operator answers without flinching and a dodgy one stalls on. You'll walk away with a single filter that applies well beyond the six examples covered here: a real opportunity survives you asking one basic question. 4. FAQ What is a fake speaker bureau/agency? A fake speaker bureau/angency charges new speakers an upfront registration fee, typically five hundred to fifteen hundred pounds, to be listed in their directory, without any track record of actually booking speakers into paid work. A legitimate bureau earns a commission, usually twenty to thirty per cent, only once it has booked a paying gig. How can a new speaker tell if a speaker bureau or agency is legitimate? John recommends asking any agent or bureau to name three speakers they've booked into paid gigs in the last six months. A real bureau answers specifically and quickly. A fake one stalls or gives names you can't verify. Most proper bureaus will feature their speakers on their website, so you can ask directly. What is pay-to-speak, and why is it a trap for new speakers? Pay-to-speak conferences charge speakers, typically five hundred to five thousand pounds, euros, or dollars, for a short speaking slot marketed as exposure to bookers or credibility building. The trap is that the audience is often largely made up of other speakers who paid the same fee, not buyers deciding whether to hire a speaker. Is paying to speak at a conference always a scam? No. John Ball notes that paying for access to a room isn't automatically illegitimate, since some sponsorship arrangements are genuine trades. The key question is whether the room includes real buyers or mostly other paying speakers. How can a new speaker tell if a podcast guest invite is actually a sales funnel? Warning signs include a show whose business name mimics a recognisable publication it isn't actually associated with, interviews that get rescheduled repeatedly for no clear reason, and a post-recording debrief that pushes toward a call with someone else who can "help with your business goals" rather than simply asking the guest to share the episode. John Ball notes that a defensive or angry reaction to being asked about this confirms it as shady. Do certifications like ICF or EMCC guarantee a good speaking coach? Not at all. John Ball states that these bodies certify a coaching process, not a coaching outcome. He notes as an example that ICF certifies specifically in ontological coaching, a purely question-based, non-directive style, which is why he's never pursued the certification himself despite operating as a coach for over twenty years. No barrier prevents anyone from calling themselves a speaking coach, regardless of paid speaking experience. What should a new speaker check before using a podcast pitching or PR agency? Ask how they actually find and select the shows they pitch you to, and whether they check for topical relevance before sending a pitch. John Ball notes that most of these agencies blanket-pitch the same generic message to any podcast that's loosely adjacent to your field, regardless of whether the audience would ever be an interested buyer, which is why the placements they deliver often don't produce any inquiries even though they're technically legitimate. What is a Keynote Speaking Coach? A keynote speaking coach is someone with industry, coaching, and often additional experience and expertise who can help you improve your keynote talks, which in turn helps you get more bookings and referrals. Many keynote coaches only work with speakers on the talk and stage elements, but a select few, like John Ball, will first work with speakers on the business side of speaking before developing the stage and presentation side, which may still involve work on the keynote itself but will more relate to market positioning, becoming known as a speaker and developing warm relationships with bookers, as well as developing an opportunity engine that will help you to stay as fully booked as you want to. Programs like John Ball's Known, Booked & Paid Blueprint offer the full range of elements to help you grow your speaking business. What is the Known, Booked and Paid Blueprint? The Known, Booked and Paid Blueprint (KBPB) is John Ball's cohort-based coaching programme for professional speakers, built to give speakers a structured route into the industry rather than having to work out what's legitimate offer by offer. Find out more at https://presentinfluence.com/kbpb For speaking enquiries or to connect with me, you can email john@presentinfluence.com or find me on LinkedIn , where you can also access the Serious About Speaking weekly newsletter. You can find all our clips, episodes and more on the Present Influence YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PresentInfluence Thanks for listening. Rating the show 5* on Spotify helps their algo recommend the show, so please take a moment to follow the show and leave a rating.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Professional Speaking: Known. Booked. Paid.

  The Professional Speaking Show Is Changing (Here's Why)

  Sep 2, 20268 min

  This isn't a normal episode. It's an announcement about where The Professional Speaking Show goes from here. John explains the decision behind moving the podcast from weekly to fortnightly, why the numbers that once looked promising dropped off a cliff earlier this year, and why he's stopped trying to force a recovery that isn't coming. He talks honestly about what it means to admit a show isn't finding its audience, why the podcast is becoming more of a personal passion project than a professional growth channel, and where his time and energy are moving instead: focus on coaching clients and speaking gigs, daily short-form content, and a new exclusive to YouTube content strategy. He also shares a review point. At 300 episodes, he'll decide whether the show continues at its current cadence, drops further, or ends altogether. If you're a speaker weighing up whether podcasting is the right growth channel for you, this episode is a candid look at what that decision actually costs, and how to know when a passion project should stop pretending to be a business strategy. In this episode: Why John moved from weekly to fortnightly episodes What happened to the show's numbers this year, and why he stopped chasing a fix The difference between a passion project and a professional growth channel, and why the podcast is shifting to the former Where John is redirecting his time: prospecting, coaching clients, daily short-form content, and a new YouTube strategy His honest take on whether podcasting is the right move for speakers starting out The 300-episode review point and what happens next Links mentioned: Known, Booked & Paid Blueprint: presentinfluence.com/kbpb Subscribe to the Serious About Speaking newsletter on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=6882642444815519744 Find me on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/professionalspeakingpodcast/ Find me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@professionalspeaking Find me on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@professionalspeakingpodcast Subscribe and follow on your podcast platform of choice. Rate on Spotify, review on Apple Podcasts, and subscribe on YouTube. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Announcement Intro 00:25 Why The Change 00:57 Stats Drop Reality 01:49 Passion Versus Business 02:24 New Content Strategy 03:22 Podcasting Lessons 04:37 Six-Month Review Plan 05:08 How To Support 06:35 Back Catalogue And Coaching 07:15 New Cadence Farewell Want to get coached for free on the show? Fill in the form https://forms.gle/mo4xYkEiCjqtz9yP6 , and if we think your challenge could help others, we'll invite you on. For speaking enquiries or to connect with me, you can email john@presentinfluence.com or find me on LinkedIn You can find all our clips, episodes and more on the Present Influence YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PresentInfluence Thanks for listening. Rating the show 5* on Spotify helps their algo recommend the show, so please take a moment to follow the show and leave a rating. Mentioned in this episode: The Known, Booked & Paid Blueprint (Founding cohort) Get all the information on the Known, Booked & Paid Blueprint at https://presentinfluence.com/kbpb to see if it's the right fit for you.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #287

  Framework Thinking: How to Make Your Ideas Impossible to Forget | Susanna Reay

  Aug 26, 202654 min

  Most speakers are told to be visible: post more, show up more, build a personal brand. Susanna Reay thinks that's backwards. In this episode, framework thinking expert and author Susanna Reay makes the case for framework first, visibility second: the idea that without a clear, ownable structure behind your ideas, all that visibility just evaporates the moment you leave the room. Susanna walks through the difference between a personal brand (built on personality) and an authority brand (built on intellectual property), why the best frameworks borrow "safe but new" shapes the brain already trusts, and the five core structures she uses with clients: the linear roadmap, the circular model, the pyramid, the Venn diagram, and the two-by-two matrix. She also unpacks her own Framework Thinking Triangle, built from visual recognition, impact detection, boundary setting, and transfer integrity, and explains why she deliberately avoided forcing it into a clever acronym. Expect practical rules on naming (five letters or under, no repeated letters, don't force it), the neuroscience of why visual frameworks are 65% more memorable three days later, and a genuinely useful tangent on how colour choices in branding aren't just aesthetic, they're strategic. Connect with Susanna: frameworkthinking.uk or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susannareay/ Chapters: 00:00 Why Frameworks Fail 01:02 Framework First Branding 04:12 Umbrella Framework Metaphor 07:41 Authority DNA And Energy 10:28 What A Framework Is 13:54 Simplicity Design Thinking 15:51 Frameworks On Stage 20:20 Make It Visual 23:11 Five Visual Framework Types 28:14 Iterate Your Framework 32:51 Acronyms And Naming 39:21 Book Showcase And Branding 43:34 Colour And Consistency 49:28 Connect With Susannah 51:48 Show Updates And Wrap FAQs What is a framework, according to Susanna Reay? A framework is a structure that brings ideas together in a way that's simple for others to understand. A good framework is simple, clear, unique, and specific to a defined space, rather than a long list of steps that functions more like a process diagram. What is Susanna Reay's "framework first, visibility second" principle? It's the view that experts and speakers need to establish their intellectual property and structure before focusing on personal visibility. Without a clear framework, ideas don't stick with an audience after a talk ends, no matter how visible the speaker has been. What is the SPARK process? SPARK is Susanna Reay's trademarked process for authority building: Self, Premise, Art, Reach, and Kudos. It starts with self, meaning personality, passion, and prowess (the "three Ps"), which she says most people skip when trying to imitate other speakers' styles. What are the five core IP families for building a visual framework? Susanna Reay identifies five recognisable shapes: a linear roadmap (A to B), a circular model (mastery through repetition), a pyramid (layered progression, as in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs), a Venn diagram (overlapping pillars of thought), and a two-by-two matrix (two axes of transformation, as in the Eisenhower Matrix). What is the Framework Thinking Triangle? It's Susanna Reay's own framework, developed iteratively from an original two-by-two matrix into a triangular structure. It has four elements: visual recognition (top), impact detection (bottom left), boundary setting (bottom right), and transfer integrity (centre, representing whether ideas travel beyond the room without the speaker present). Does a framework need to spell out a word or acronym? No. Susanna Reay says a framework always needs a name and title, but its internal elements don't have to form a word. When a word does work (like SPARK), she recommends five letters or fewer with no repeated letters, since anything longer becomes harder for the brain to hold onto. Why does Susanna Reay recommend visual frameworks over verbal ones? She cites research suggesting a presentation is 65% more memorable three days later when it includes a visual, and that the brain processes visuals roughly 65,000 times faster than text. A visual framework also travels intact when shared, unlike a spoken message, which tends to degrade the more it's retold. Visit https://strategic-speaker.scoreapp.com to take the 2-minute Strategic Speaking Business Audit and find out what's blocking you from getting more bookings, re-bookings, referrals and bigger fees. There's a special surprise gift for everyone who completes the quiz. Want to get coached for free on the show? Fill in the form https://forms.gle/mo4xYkEiCjqtz9yP6 , and if we think your challenge could help others, we'll invite you on. For speaking enquiries or to connect with me, you can email john@presentinfluence.com or find me on LinkedIn You can find all our clips, episodes and more on the Present Influence YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PresentInfluence Thanks for listening. Rating the show 5* on Spotify helps their algo recommend the show, so please take a moment to follow the show and leave a rating. Mentioned in this episode: Do you want to join the Known, Booked & Paid Blueprint September Case Study group? This September I'll be working with a group of 5 speakers who are already speaking but not getting the level of bookings and speaker fees that they really want. We'll work on the 3 key areas that will allow your speaking business to flourish. Since it's the founding group, there's an extra special deal on the price for joining that will never be repeated. Go to https://presentinfluence.com/kbpb for full details.

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Professional Speaking: Known. Booked. Paid.. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.