What Do You Actually Get When You Hire a Professional Speaker?

Let’s be honest. When someone asks, “What do we actually get when we hire you as a professional speaker?”, they’re not trying to be awkward. They’re trying to make a good decision.

They might be asking:

Is it just the time on stage?

What happens before and after the talk?

Are we getting good value?

And I get it. Booking a speaker — especially if it’s your first time, or if budget is tight — can feel like a bit of a leap. You want to be sure you’re not just buying 45 minutes of nice stories and a PowerPoint deck.

So, let’s talk about it. No smoke. No mirrors. Just the truth about what you’re actually investing in when you bring a speaker in.

1. Yes, You're Booking the Talk – But That’s Only One Piece of the Puzzle

It’s easy to think you’re paying for the 30 or 45 minutes on stage — but that’s just the visible bit. The tip of the iceberg. What you actually get is a much broader mix of time, energy, experience and emotional labour that starts long before the event (and sometimes lingers long after).

In my case, that means you get:

• Pre-event calls to understand your audience, your goals, your event culture
• Research and tailoring — I don’t do ‘plug and play’ talks
• Custom stories, framing, and examples to make the message feel yours
• Rehearsal, rewriting, and refining so it actually lands
• Arrival early, engagement before and after the session, and sometimes staying the whole day to connect

It’s not just about a performance. It’s about presence.

2. Behind Every Confident Talk Is Hours (and Hours) of Preparation

You might not see the prep work. But you feel it.

When a speaker walks on stage and just gets it — the tone of the room, the culture of your team, the in-jokes and tensions that aren’t written on the agenda — that’s not luck. That’s intention.

For every talk I deliver, I usually spend:

• Time researching your organisation and sector
• Hours fine-tuning stories and transitions to suit your people
• Rehearsing until the talk feels conversational, not memorised
• You’re not just paying for the talk itself. You’re paying for the invisible prep that makes it great.

3. It’s Not Just About Speaking – It’s About Holding the Room

There’s a difference between talking at people and truly connecting with them.

A good speaker brings:

• The ability to read the room and adjust on the fly
• The emotional intelligence to bring people with them — whether it’s a sleepy post-lunch crowd or a high-energy leadership group
• The skills to engage, not just entertain
• Sometimes that means drawing people out. Sometimes it means calming the room. Sometimes it means holding silence for just a second longer than feels comfortable — because that’s where the magic lands.

These aren’t things you can fake. They’re honed over years of being in front of different audiences, in different industries, with different expectations.

4. Every Event Is Different – And That Matters

One of the most common (and reasonable) worries I hear is, “Will your talk fit our audience?”

The answer? Only if it’s tailored.

When I work with a client, I spend time understanding:

• What tone you want to strike (light, challenging, inspiring, reflective?)
• What your audience is really struggling with
• What you want them to feel, think, or do afterwards
• Even if the core message is something I’ve spoken on before, no two versions are the same. I’ll shift the language, change the flow, pull in different stories — and sometimes throw out whole sections if they’re not relevant to your room.

That’s not just professionalism — that’s respect. Your people deserve something that feels like it was made for them. Because it was.

5. You're Getting a Partner, Not Just a Presenter

Some speakers show up, speak, and go.

Which is fine — but it’s not how I work.

When you bring me in, I see myself as part of your event team. That might look like:

• Supporting comms ahead of the event (promo videos, teaser clips, etc.)
• Talking with your senior team before or after to dive deeper into key messages
• Hanging back for informal chats or coaching after the talk
• Sharing resources, follow-up materials, or being part of the wider learning journey
• Because if I’ve done my job well, the value doesn’t stop when the applause does.

6. And Finally… You Get Confidence

At the end of the day, hiring a speaker is about trust.

You’re handing over the mic — sometimes literally — and hoping that person helps you deliver something meaningful, memorable and impactful.

You want to be able to relax and know:

• They’ll show up on time
• They’ll deliver what they promised
• They’ll handle hiccups gracefully
• They’ll make you look good for booking them
• That’s what you’re really buying. Peace of mind. Confidence that you’ve made a great call.

A Final Thought

Hiring a speaker isn’t a transaction. It’s a relationship — even if it only lasts a day.

When it works, it can lift an event from “decent” to “talked about for months.” It can spark conversations that keep rippling long after the last chair’s been stacked.

So if you’re wondering what you get when you hire me?

You get all of me. The prep, the presence, the partnership. The care behind the content. The thought behind the stories.

Because you’re not just hiring a speaker. You’re creating an experience. And I’m here to make it one your people remember — for the right reasons.