Professional speaker

Back in the early 90’s, I ran into a woman who was a professional speaker. She was an athletic in high school and college, so she was used to being in front of crowds.   She rented herself out to give presentations at professional conferences.  Let’s say a group of researchers have produced a break through paper. They know it is likely to result in big $$ if it is well received.  They also know that while they know the material, they are not the ones to publicly present it.  So this lady would do the presentation for about $2000.00 plus expenses.  When the presentation was over, the researches would be available to answer the questions.

I have never encountered anyone else with a similar career.  Has anyone here bumped into a person with a similar job?

No... but its an interesting way to make a living. Sounds kind of fun.

Interesting in that the $2000 in 1990 would be around $4700.00 today.  More interesting was the way she could change her appearance and persona.   She understood the nuances of each profession and industry and could fit into it to be recognized as a knowledgeable professional without knowing anything about the material she was delivering.  Her approach was not to sell the material but to sell herself.  I know she could seamless shift from a state dinner to a biker bar and fit in both places.

That's a much better gig than being a starving actor! Though you don't get to cultivate your existential angst to its fullest extent.

I don't have a problem with a professional presenter. We see them as news anchors all the time. They have the trained voice, movements, cadence, gestures, all the subconscious elements that sway an audience. If they have these things naturally, why not use this resource/gift? They do risk overexposure though.

To follow up, though: I wonder where she ended up? Sooner or later, at a personal level, you have to believe in something and make a stand (IMHO).

Hi Douglas,

Yes, I have been trying to remember. I met her at a conference in Minneapolis where I was making some kind of presentation.  Anyway, a group of us ended up at Mall of America ate at the Rainforest….one of the weirder places.   We kept in light touch via email for a few years. She end up working for a major airline for some significant bucks….maybe 3 years later.  We lost touch after that.  Oddly, I cannot remember her name….this is mostly because she went by the nickname her father gave her …BeeSkeeter.

I haven't personally encountered someone with a similar career, but it seems like a niche and valuable service. Having a professional speaker present breakthrough research allows experts to focus on Q&A, ensuring effective communication and engagement.

interpreters and translators often have to really look the part and know their stuff. i've gone to events and had people ask me where i got my degree in forestry, or chemical engineering, or where i did med school. LOL, next week I'll be interpreting in the city hall and they'll think I'm the lawyer.

Good for her!  Chamileoning is a wonderful skill and she certainly got paid to do so along with the public speaking.  I really enjoy public speaking as well, in college when we had to do projects in groups, all my groupmates would fall all over themselves to do all the hard work if I did the presentation part so they didn't have to, ))  It was great.

Every October we have a county school institute that features a guest speaker.  About half of these people are in fact professional, full-time speakers.  Granted, they are experts in education and not necessarily well-versed in permaculture or similar fields.  But long story short, I have met many of these people.

Eric