How Entrepreneurs Actually Get Speaking Opportunities

Summary

Social Media Decoded – How Entrepreneurs Actually Get Speaking Opportunities

Host: Michelle Thames
Date: March 13, 2026
Episode Theme: Strategies for entrepreneurs to land speaking engagements through visibility, relationships, and referrals.

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Episode Overview

In this episode of Social Media Decoded, Michelle Thames demystifies how entrepreneurs and business owners actually secure speaking opportunities. She emphasizes that the process isn’t as exclusive as many imagine—big platforms and speaker bureaus aren’t prerequisites. Instead, Michelle offers actionable strategies rooted in content creation, relationship building, and leveraging referrals. Drawing from personal experiences, she provides insights that empower listeners to start attracting speaking invitations through their online presence and real-world connections.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Myths Around Getting Booked as a Speaker

• Many believe you need a huge following or a speaker bureau to get booked.
• Reality: Most speaking gigs come from “relationships, visibility, conversations, and people seeing your expertise online” (01:18).

2. The Three Main Ways Entrepreneurs Secure Speaking Gigs

Michelle breaks down the three primary avenues entrepreneurs use to land speaking opportunities:

a. Visibility Through Content

• Consistently share your ideas and expertise online.
• Over time, your name becomes associated with certain topics.
• “People start associating you with certain topics… and eventually someone watching your content might think, ‘we should have her speak about this’” (02:14).

b. Rooms and Relationships

• Physically show up at events and conferences.
• These spaces allow people to experience your “energy in real life… hear how you talk… see how you think… and lead conversations” (02:52).
• Sometimes the person next to you is the one booking speakers (03:02).

c. Referrals and Word-of-Mouth

• One opportunity leads to the next.
• “Speaking tends to compound. One stage leads to another stage, one introduction leads to another introduction, and visibility spreads through networks” (03:20).

3. Real-World Stories: Visibility in Action

PowerTable Live Example

• Michelle found a speaking opportunity via Threads by responding to a post and engaging with the event host.
• The host resonated with Michelle’s shared content and perspective:

  “She saw my perspective online and the things I was sharing. They resonated—how I think about visibility, business, and building community. And I believe that that led for my invitation to speak” (04:05).

Alma Mater Invitation (Northern Illinois University)

• Someone saw Michelle’s content on LinkedIn and invited her to speak at her alma mater.
• Highlights the power of online conversations and their ripple effect:

  “They saw conversations I was having around visibility and entrepreneurship. And that visibility opened the door to an opportunity to come back and speak at the place where my own journey started” (05:02).

4. The Layers of Visibility

• Opportunities emerge from varied sources: social media, referrals, real-life rooms.
• Unified theme: “People need to see your expertise somewhere. They need to know what you stand for. They need to know what you talk about. And when that happens, opportunities start finding you” (05:34).

5. Unpopular Truth: You Don’t Need a Speaker Bureau

• For most, opportunities stem from visibility in relationships—not formal agencies:

  “You do not need a speaker bureau to get on stages… Most speaking opportunities come from people seeing your ideas, from people experiencing your energy, from someone saying your name in a room” (05:59).

• Take action: Don’t wait to be discovered. Put yourself out there where your expertise can be seen.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There’s this belief that you need a speaker bureau or some huge platform… But honestly, that’s not how a lot of speaking opportunities happen.” (01:03)
• “One stage leads to another stage, one introduction leads to another introduction, and visibility spreads through networks.” (03:20)
• “When entrepreneurs understand this, they stop waiting to be discovered. They start putting themselves in spaces where their expertise can be seen.” (06:25)
• “Because the reality is, people book speakers they already trust, and trust is built through visibility.” (06:52)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:03 – Debunking myths about how speakers are booked
• 02:14 – Visibility through content
• 02:52 – The power of rooms and relationships
• 03:20 – Referrals and word-of-mouth explained
• 04:05 – Personal story: PowerTable Live opportunity via Threads
• 05:02 – Being invited to speak at her alma mater through LinkedIn connections
• 05:34 – The layers and compounding nature of visibility
• 05:59 – Unpopular truth: You don’t need a speaker bureau
• 06:25 – Encouragement to take initiative and show up

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Focus on sharing your ideas and expertise publicly—online and in-person.
• Invest in building relationships at events and within your communities.
• Value every speaking engagement, no matter how small, as it can lead to more.
• Don’t wait to be ‘discovered’—actively seek opportunities to be seen and heard.
• Trust is the real currency, and it is built through repeated, authentic visibility.

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If you enjoyed this episode, Michelle encourages you to connect, leave feedback, and share your own stories about landing speaking opportunities.

Transcript

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month hey everyone, welcome back to the podcast. If you're new here, welcome to Social Media Decoded, the show where we talk about visibility, building authority, and turning your expertise into opportunities. I'm your host, Michelle Thames, and today we're talking about something that so many entrepreneurs speaking opportunities. People tell me all the time I want to speak, I want to get on stages, I want to be invited to panels. But what most people don't understand is how speakers actually get booked. There's this belief that you need a speaker bureau or some huge platform to get on stages. But honestly, that's not how a lot of speaking opportunities happen. Most speaking opportunities come from relationships, visibility, conversations, and people seeing your expertise online. And I want to break down exactly how this works because I've experienced it firsthand multiple times. So get your pens and your notepads ready because you know gems are about to be dropped. All right, it's time for the visibility breakdown. This is where we break down how visibility actually works in real life. And today we are talking about how speakers get booked. There are three main ways entrepreneurs get speaking opportunities, in my opinion. Okay, the first is visibility through content. When you consistently share your ideas and expertise online, people start associating you with certain topics. They start seeing you as the person who understands that subject. And eventually someone watching your content might think, we should have her speak about this. The second way is rooms and relationships. This is actually one of the most powerful ways speaking opportunities happen. When you show up at events Conferences and community spaces. People experience your energy in real life. They hear how you talk. They see how you think. They see how you lead conversations. And sometimes the person sitting next to you in a room is the exact person who books speakers for events. The third way referrals. Someone hears you speak somewhere else. They see you on a panel. They hear about you from someone they trust. And suddenly your name is recommended for another opportunity. This is why speaking tends to compound. One stage leads to another stage, one introduction leads to another introduction, and visibility spreads through networks. All right, let's get into our room story. And this one is really interesting because it shows how speaking opportunities can come from both online visibility and relationships. One example is an opportunity I had with powertable. That opportunity actually came from threads. I saw a post about applying for a speaking opportunity at powertable Live, and I applied. I engaged with the host, follow her on social media. She looked at my application, of course, followed me back. But what really I think helped me land that was she saw my perspective online and the things I was sharing. They resonated how I think about visibility, business, and building community. And I believe that that led for my invitation to speak. Now, here's another example that happened just recently. Last week, I was invited to speak at my alma mater, Northern Illinois University. And that opportunity came from LinkedIn. Someone saw the work I was doing. They saw conversations I was having around visibility and entrepreneurship. And that visibility opened the door to an opportunity to come back and speak at the place that where my own journey started. And moments like that are really powerful because it shows how visibility works in layers. Sometimes the opportunity comes from social media. Sometimes it comes from someone mentioning your name in a room. Sometimes it comes from a combination of both. But the common thread is people need to see your expertise somewhere. They need to know what you stand for. They need to know what you talk about. And when that happens, opportunities start finding you. All right, it's time for today's unpopular visibility truth. And here it is. You do not need a speaker bureau to get on stages. Now, eventually, if someone is speaking on very large stages around the world, they might work with the bureaucracy. But for most entrepreneurs, speaking opportunities come from visibility in relationships. They come from people seeing your ideas. They come from people experiencing your energy. They come from someone saying your name in a room. And when entrepreneurs understand this, they stop waiting to be discovered. They start putting themselves in spaces where their expertise can be seen. They share their ideas more openly. They show up in rooms where conversations are happening, and that is when opportunities start appearing. Because the reality is, people book speakers they already trust, and trust is built through visibility. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love to hear from you. If you're listening on Spotify, make sure you answer the question for today's episode. And if you're enjoying the show, consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps more entrepreneurs discover these conversations. And if you want to support the podcast, you can also check out the Buy me a Coffee link down in the show notes. Your support helps keep the podcast going and allows me to keep sharing what I've learned along this journey. Thank you so much for listening. I'll talk to you in the next episode. Peace.

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