How to get hired as a speaker with Kiaundra Jackson
My interview guest this week is Kiaundra Jackson, LMFT. Kiaundra is a licensed marriage and family therapist, award-winning speaker, and best-selling author.
Kiaundra is the visionary of KW Couples Therapy, a thriving private practice in the Los Angeles area and the co-founder of Black Speakers Rock, a network for new and emerging speakers with more than 1,700 members.
I spoke to Kiaundra about how she got into speaking, how she gets speaking gigs, and what advice she has for therapists who are interested in getting paid to speak. Enjoy!
How did you get into speaking?
Speaking found me. I wasn’t on social media prior to starting my business. I got into an MLM years ago (don’t judge me!) which was my introduction to entrepreneurship. My mentor at the time told me I needed to get on social media so I created Instagram and Facebook.
I started talking about mental health and relationships. People were receiving my posts really well, which moved into people inviting me to be on their podcasts. Then people started asking me if I did live events.
I had my first paid speaking engagement in 2016 and after that, the rest is history. It snowballed from there.
What topics do you speak about?
As therapists, we’re well versed in a number of different areas. But I tell people to talk about things you enjoy and fulfill you. For me, that’s intimate or romantic relationships.
I also talk a lot about mental health in the Black community. In a corporate setting, I talk about healthy work relationships and mental wellness in the workplace.
How has COVID impacted your speaking business?
Before COVID, I was literally traveling every week to speak somewhere and it shut down overnight. Conferences have moved to virtual so I’ve been doing a lot of those. I just did my first in-person keynote a few weeks ago since the beginning of the pandemic and I missed it so much.
How do you get paid speaking engagements?
I pitch corporations and HR departments. I do my own searches on Google to see what’s out there within my niche. I get a lot of opportunities that come my way because I’ve been in the game for a number of years. So it’s not one way.
There are sites like Conference Monkey and GigSalad that can help you find bookings. I always tell people to look on Eventbrite as well to find events who are looking for speakers.
How much do you charge?
This is always a great question. It depends on your credibility, the number of speaking engagements you’ve done, and whether you have an established brand. You can set your own rate. There aren’t too many rules.
If you are a beginner, I would say start off depending on what the opportunity is from $0 to get experience to $5,000. Then it grows from there. Once you have an established brand, you can get into the $7,500 to $10,000. I know speakers who charge $20,000 for a keynote.
When did you start helping other therapists with their speaking?
I never wanted to do that. I just wanted to do my own thing and people started seeing the momentum of what I was doing. We’re not taught how to have a thriving speaking business in graduate school. So I started getting a lot of questions.
I couldn’t get back to everybody individually so I decided to create courses and content where people could learn on their own with my guidance. People wanted more support so I created a Facebook group for Black speakers called Black Speakers Rock. I also started providing individual speaking coaching for all races as well.
What’s the biggest mistake you see speakers make?
That’s a hard one! Because we talk a lot as therapists, people think that translates to the speaking industry, but speaking is a skillset. You have to understand how to tell stories, how to incorporate pauses and humor, audience participation, your body language. Everything is important.
Another mistake speakers make is not prioritizing their online presence. To me, that encompasses a congruent universe of you and your brand, which is more than your logo and colors. It’s your energy, your photos, how you show up online. It’s a system to get booked and to keep getting booked. We love repeat clients.
Any parting advice for therapists interested in getting paid to speak?
Don’t lowball yourself. You are already an expert. You’ve done the schooling and thousands of hours of therapy. Take all of that knowledge and expertise that you already have and translate it to a different arena.
A lot of people get burned out doing therapy and want to create different streams of income. Speaking is one of the most powerful ways for therapists to make money.
Thank you to Kiaundra for sharing with us. Visit her website to learn more about her speaking offerings and coaching services. Click here to learn more about her online courses.