Tom Antion: Hi! I am Tom Antion a veteran over 3000 paid speaking engagements around the world. You know there are lots of different ways to get paid to speak. Most people only think of just standing up, running their mouth and somebody giving them a check. But there's a lot of other ways to do it and I am going to give you ten of them right now and if you are nice, I'll throw in a bonus.

First thing is get it out of your mind that you are just speaking. You are actually selling your knowledge; you can put your knowledge out in all kinds of products, books, DVDs, CDs, telephone seminars, all kinds of ways. Number two, get sponsorship. There are many big companies that would love to have you present them in a nice light. If you are a youth speaker, maybe a beverage company would sponsor you to go in and speak to high schools. If you speak to corporations, maybe an office-supply place, so get sponsorship. Then, of course you can get paid directly. Somebody will write you a check to come in and speak to their group; that's the one most people know about. Actually, it's the one that happens the least; there are so many different ways. Let's go to four public seminars. You can throw you own seminar, advertise it to the public and you get all the money. It can be a little risky, so start small and get people showing up and they'll spread the word for you. Number five is one you probably want to avoid, it's called going to speaker's bureau. Speaker's bureaus book speakers that are usually high fee and very experienced. So, if you go to them when you're brand-new it might be a tough road.

Number six, you don't even have to get up out of your chair or put on your power suit. You can do telephone seminars. I do seminars with people calling in from around the world; they listen to the phone line and I get paid to speak on the telephone. Next, number seven is webinars. Webinars have a visual aspect to them where people can chat with you and ask questions right in the middle of it. They are little harder to produce than telephone seminars, but expected in many businesses, but you still get paid, so they are a great thing to do. Number eight are training companies. They pay you a per diem fee. You go to the event, you sell products at the back of the room and get a percentage of them and you get paid to do this over and over and over on behalf of the seminar company.

Number nine, speak free to promote your business. This is another way many professionals make money, lawyers; doctors, even plumbers could tell people how to remodel their bathroom, so speak free to promote your business. Number ten; speak as part of your job. A lot of times they need presentations in a business, but nobody wants to volunteer. So you raise your hand and you'll probably get to do it and get paid to speak in your company.

Now, since you've been such a good audience I'm going to give you a bonus. Number eleven; this is one of the most powerful ways ever to speak even a down economy. Speak at fundraisers. You prepackage a seminar presented to a church or some other civic group, they promote it to their members as a fundraiser and you split the money. It's a slamdunk way to be invited back every time, because you've helped them earn cash. So there are all kinds of ways to sell your knowledge as a speaker. Pick one or two of these and go out and do it.