On this episode of Chat About Brand, we dive into the world of speaking engagements as a means of building your brand. Our guest, Bri Williams, a speaker coach, shares valuable insights on how to know you are ready to take the stage and take it from something you do occasionally to actually building a sustainable business.  We discuss the importance of having a signature talk, understanding your audience, and picking a topic you're passionate about. We also touch on the symbiotic relationship between speaking and branding, building relationships, and creating marketing assets such as headshots and bios. Join us as we explore the world of speaking and how it can help elevate your brand. Bri Williams is a speaker coach. She works with professionals who are ready to leverage speaking to get to that next level in their career visibility. And she also works with entrepreneurs to build. Speaking businesses. [0:00] Introductions [3:40] How did speaking become Bri’s business? [5:49] How do you know you are ready for a speaking career? [9:56] How do you focus your talk so you don’t overwhelm your audience? [13:07] Why you should be marketing your business through speaking [13:59] How do you focus your efforts to find your signature talk and turn speaking into your business? [19:15] How do you make sure that the speaking you are doing is actually building your business (and not harming it)? [23:18] What assets do you need to have in place to begin speaking? [25:28] What are two things that people commonly struggle with when they start speaking? Follow Christine Gritmon on Twitter: @cgritmon and join her each Tuesday for the #ChatAboutBrand Twitter chat Subscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out every Monday to ensure you don't miss a beat! Listen to Let's Talk About Brand on your favorite podcast platform! You can listen and subscribe to all of Adweek’s podcasts by visiting adweek.com/podcasts. Stay updated on all things Adweek Podcast Network by following us on Twitter: @adweekpodcasts. And if you have a question or suggestions for the show, send us an email at [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.