IABC Consultants SIG: Chasing the Stage: A Panel on Speaking Engagements for Consultants

Speaking engagements promise visibility, credibility, and new clients. Some deliver. Others eat your week, cost you travel, and put you in front of rooms that don’t move your business forward. The trick is knowing which is which before you say yes.

Join Adam Belmont (Founder, A-to-B Strategies), Catherine Iliya (Conference Producer at ALI Conference), and Lynn Zimmerman (CEO & Chief Strategist, Swing Communication) for a candid conversation from three sides of the stage: a PR consultant who prepares clients and pitches them to podcast hosts, an organizer who books consultants for her events, and an independent consultant who has spoken at least monthly for the past few years. They’ll share what speaking has actually returned, what gets a pitch accepted, and what it takes to make an opportunity pay off.

We’ll get into:

• What speaking actually returns, and how to tell whether it belongs in your practice right now
• Finding a talk in the work you already do, and what makes organizers and podcast hosts say yes
• Making each opportunity pay off before, during, and after, including the unpaid ones

Speaking-curious, speaking-skeptical, or already booked and refining your approach: you’ll leave with a clearer sense of how the stage can fit into your consulting practice, and how to make it work for you.

About IABC’s Consultants SIG

The IABC Consultants shared interest group provides a space for communication consultants to develop business connections, exchange ideas with their peers, and advance their careers through collaborative learning. We serve as a trusted resource where members can find real-time support, thoughtful conversations, and valuable partnerships that enhance the services they deliver to clients.