Speaking Engagements at Colleges
When working with college students for speaking engagements always make sure to talk to their campus advisor. The Lecture/Programming Board on college campuses is made up of students who are in charge of booking programs. Many students will receive your marketing brochure in the mail or hear you speak at a conference and they’ll want to bring you to speak on their campus.
There is something VERY important to be aware of when it comes to working with students. Make sure to always ask to talk with their campus advisor anytime you are ever contacted by any student who wants to book you for their campus. I had learned the importance of this the hard way.
A few years ago, a student leader contacted me several times and ‘booked’ me to speak at an event on her campus. She assured me several times that all was fine with the college, despite the fact she never returned my speaking contract.
I made the mistake of taking her word for it and even paid for a non-refundable $600 airline ticket as the date was approaching. I even turned down another speaking engagement for the same date.
As the date was getting to be about 10 days away, I noticed the contract still wasn’t returned by the student so I decided to track down and call the campus advisor to ask if she would return the contract for the student.
I introduced myself and said I was speaking for her students on November 7th. Imagine my surprise when she replied, ‘No you’re not. We have a hypnotist coming in on November 7th.’
When I told the coordinator that her student had called me several times and that I even mailed her a contract several weeks earlier, the advisor informed me she knew nothing about it.
Because I made the mistake of not contacting the advisor for confirmation immediately upon being contacted by the student, I lost the $600 I spent on the airline ticket plus the $3,500 fee for the other speaking engagement I turned down.
The majority of students are wonderful to work with when they contact you. However, every now and then there may be one or two who don’t follow through. Again, I cannot stress enough the importance of talking with the advisor for confirmation anytime you are contacted by a student.
James Malinchak, ‘America’s Hottest Young Speaker,’ is the creator of the two top-selling speaker courses, ‘How to Make BIG Money As a Speaker,’ and the ‘College Speaking Success Home Study Course.’
Susan’s note: James offers an incredible Bootcamp-Speak at Colleges, November 29-December 2, 2007. Learn more
James and Susan at the NSA Conference
