In this episode of Your Dream Business Podcast, host Teresa Heath‑Wareing talks with Lauren Davis, a marketing & brand consultant, about how public speaking can boost your business. Lauren shares her journey into speaking, offers a framework for deciding whether to say “yes” to unpaid gigs, compares keynotes vs. workshops, and shows how to make the most of events (think networking, pro photos/videos). A big emphasis is put on making sure speaking opportunities align with your values and business goals.

Key Takeaways

Choose Speaking Gigs That Align with Your Values & Goals

Not every opportunity is worth taking. Lauren emphasizes evaluating engagements based on how well they match your personal values, the audience, and your long‑term business vision. Saying yes to misaligned opportunities can dilute your brand and effort.

Weigh the Difference Between Keynotes, Workshops, Paid & Unpaid Gigs

Workshops and keynotes serve different purposes. Workshops might offer more interaction, learning, or depth, while keynotes often give broader visibility. Similarly, unpaid gigs aren’t always “bad”—they can offer exposure, networking, or content. But you need criteria (audience, promotion, platform) to decide whether the cost in time/energy is worth it.

Maximize What Each Event Gives You

Treat speaking engagements not just as “one‑off gigs” but as opportunities. Get professional photos/videos, leverage them for marketing, build relationships with other attendees/speakers, and ensure organizers promote you well. These extras amplify the value of the speaking moments.

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Connect with Lauren on Instagram, Linkedin, Website Freebie:

Connect with Teresa on Website, (Grow, Launch, Sell), Sign up to Teresa's email list, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook

Transcript

Teresa: Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Your Dream Business podcast. I am, Teresa Heath-Wareing your host as always, and this week we have an interview and we're actually talking about. Something that was [00:01:00] so good. Well, every interview I have is so good. Like, I dunno why I just said that, but this, this is like a subject very close to my heart. We're talking about speaking. Now. If you are not a speaker and you don't want to be a speaker, you might be thinking, well, this episode's not gonna work for me. This, you know, this is not gonna be what I need to listen to. But the conversation that we had was so good and included so much that basically, I think people think of speaking as stood on stage. When speaking is when we talk about us and our business and we're connecting with people and we're having conversations. So I think there is so much that you can take from this episode, even if you don't wanna be a speaker. So let me tell you about who I'm chatting with. Today I'm talking with the lovely Lauren Davis. Lauren is a marketing and brand consultant that helps speakers and entrepreneurs establish a memorable personal brand resulting in Magnetic, easy for me to say engagement and lifelong clients. Lauren and I met because we were both doing sessions at Atomicon and I instantly [00:02:00] loved what she was saying and I instantly loved her take on things and. We actually talked, even though she has a lot of stuff to do with personal branding and becoming a personal brand. We use this entire conversation to talk about speaking because it's something that a Lauren helps with. Lauren helps speakers. Lauren is a speaker, and I just loved talking about it and talking about what it really is because people think that, well, there's so many misconceptions with speaking. People think a, you make a load of money from speaking. That is not always the case. And sometimes isn't the case. People think that when they speak, they want to get on the big massive stages. They don't wanna start small. I started very small and also they think they wanna be the next Mel Robbins or the next keynote, inspirational motivational speaker, and we talk about. So much good stuff in this episode about what it really is [00:03:00] like to be a speaker, what it can really do for your business. And like I said, even if you're not planning on being a speaker, I think it's definitely worth listening to this episode with Lauren. We chat about how you prep for speaking. We talk about different ways in which the way I prep, which is. Very different to the way other people prep. We talk about do you still get nervous and what that means, and if that's a good or a bad thing. And then we talk about what's the difference between a keynote talk and a workshop or a strategy style talk. And like I said, it's one better than the other. Then how you decide whether you want to speak somewhere or if someone asks you to speak whether it's worth being paid or not. She has a really good framework with some things that made me think so hard about this, and it was genius. Some of the stuff that she said about some of the questions you should be asking yourself or some of the things you should be looking at. When you decide whether to speak somewhere and [00:04:00] also if there's a budget or not a budget, because some places will not pay you. And we talk about this and how do you know whether you should speak for free or not speak for free. And she has a really great framework for this, which she's gonna take you through. So like I said, whether you wanna speak or not, Lauren is just the nicest person anyway. And like I said, I've had the pleasure of meeting her in person, having lots of conversations with her. I've been on Lauren's podcast as well. I just think this is a really cool conversation. Um, but if you do wanna speak or if you are a speaker and you wanna know more about it or you've started, then this is definitely, definitely gonna give you so much value. So, without further ado, here is the very lovely Lauren. Lauren, welcome to the podcast. Lauren: I am so happy we are finally doing this podcast. We have, we met one year ago today. No one needs to know, know when this is, but Teresa: no, we met Lauren: a year ago today, and we've been planning this podcast episode ever since. Teresa: Literally, and it was like. You had to change. I had to change. You had to change. I had to change. And it was like we finally get to the point where it's like, [00:05:00] yes, we're on the call. So we just had a really lovely catch up. So we've already been chatting for about half an hour, which I love. I know. And, and at some point we were like, no, we probably should get on with recording the interview next. So, but I am. So happy to have you on because we actually met at the at Atomic on in 2024. Where are we now? 25. Because you were doing, we both did a fringe event for Andrew and Pete to run Atomic on. Yes. And you were doing an event at the same time as me. And that was the first time we met. And then we went to the speaker dinner and we just hit it off and it was awesome. And. I'm really excited and I dunno whether I'm really excited to talk about this today's subject because I literally have just come off the back of coming back from Atomic Con 2025, which is where my voice sounds a little bit. 'cause it's a lot, right? Like you've been to the event, it's a big event. T...