Position Your Speaking Career for Global Impact: A Masterclass with Marlo Clarke
The impactful PSASA Virtual Chapter meeting on Tuesday, 8 October 2024 featured personal development speaker Marlo Clarke. This recap will provide you with actionable takeaways.
Our guest speaker, Marlo Clarke, brought his extensive experience as a 2x TEDx
presenter and former international rugby player to the session. He shared insights from his travels, insane engagements with diverse — from Fortune 500 companies in the USA to rural schools in South Africa.
Marlo is renowned for his dynamic approach to personal development. As a speaker currently residing in South Africa, he has continued to offer powerful, relatable insights tailored to any audience.
Marlo’s top tips to adapt your presentation to any audience is to incorporate 3
elements: story, humor and information. He shared valuable tips for creating a speaker sheet, highlighting 12 key points. Find Marlo on LinkedIn for his speaker sheet.
One key point that stood out for me is how to position yourself as a speaker:
I am (job title) AND speaker.
Make a clear distinction between the two.
Such rich conversations were had with our international attendees.
The meeting concluded with a reminder about the upcoming PSASA Midterm Convention 2024 and a heartfelt thank you from the Virtual Speaker Chapter President.
The speakers provided invaluable insights into the art of public speaking and
business growth strategies, making an important contribution to all.
Written by:
Harsheila Bhaga
PSASA Associate Member
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For the video recording of Marlo’s session on the PSASA Virtual Chapter, visit our YouTube channel here.
Marlo’s Speaker Cheat Sheet:
1.Position yourself as a speaker who is a paid professional.
Unless you make this clear, you will always be expected to speak as a favour.
2. Your speaker sheet distills your value as a speaker.
- You have one page to make a lasting impression.
- Show your winning smile.
- Include a brief and compelling tagline.
- Begin with a credible testimonial.
- Show a photo of you speaking on stage.
- Include past clients.
- Include keynote summaries with key takeaways.
- Include clickable links to relevant content, like your booking page and speaker showreel.
If you need an example, find Marlo’s speaker sheet on his website or LinkedIn profile
3. The best way to get speaking engagements is to speak.
- People must see you speaking to refer and recommend you.
- If people can’t afford to pay you, consider a trade exchange the client can offer you that is equal to your price.
4. Speaker bureaus and agencies will come to you once you are successful.
- Give them evidence of your value by speaking, gathering testimonials, videos and photos of your impact on stage.
5. Combine the components of great speech in the appropriate ratio for different audiences around the world.
- Story: This is the “sticky board” to which your information will stick.
- Humour: This gives people time to FEEL.
- Information: This builds on your story.
6. To speak successfully to audiences around the world, know your audience.
- Before speaking to a new audience in a different culture or environment, ask for the names of two audience members (e.g. a leader and a junior in a company).
- Talk to them about their needs and learn what the audience will need.
- Acknowledge their input in your presentation to build credibility.
7. Be bold and ignore the “rules” about speaking perfectly.
- Be yourself, not a caricature of what you think the perfect speaker should look like.
- Remember, you were hired for who you are, not to be someone else.
- Avoid obsessing about your mannerisms or using filler words like “um”. It can be very empathising for your audience and give you time to think!
8. To build credibility in a new market:
- Remember that social media is a great tool when you use it to engage,
- Avoid becoming over-reliant on chasing the algorithm on social media.
- Build your broader Google-ability through your website, speaker profiles and YouTube videos that validate your fee.
9. BONUS: In response to a question about how to find the right message, Marlo responded:
- Don’t obsess about your message as a speaker. Start speaking and your audience will build your content.
In a nutshell, the session gave aspiring global all the tools to start building that international career. To help you implement those tools, the PSASA Virtual Chapter invites you to attend our next meeting as we grow together.
About the Speaker: Marlo Clarke
Marlo Clarke is a personal development speaker whose remarkable journey has taken him from his humble beginnings in Barbados to stages across the United States, Europe, and South Africa. Marlo is a former international rugby player, business and charity director, and he builds his presentations by immersing himself in different cultures and engaging in meaningful conversations. After spending a year traveling to 13 European countries in 2019, developing his concepts on “How to Thrive after Achievement,” Marlo has dedicated the past year to volunteering in numerous organizations and rural communities in South Africa, where he has further refined his ideas on “How to Share – Building a Longer Table, Not a Higher Fence.” In his presentation to the PSASA Virtual Chapter, Marlo shares insights gained over his career living and speaking across three continents specifically marketing, networking, and adapting your speaking style and content to match diverse markets with diverse needs.
Website: http://www.marloclarke.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marloclarke/
Written by:
Marie Le Roux
Media Strategist, PSASA Virtual Chapter
Would you like to catch the highlights of this session?
The speakers have kindly agreed to share the video recording on the PSASA YouTube channel’s PSASA Virtual Chapter playlist. Click the link below to watch it, and while you’re there, remember to subscribe to the PSASA YouTube channel for regular updates.
Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/DI-pn6EwRg0
Don’t miss out on the next PSASA event!
See what’s happening and register now at https://www.psasouthernafrica.co.za.
