Headshots and bios are an essential part of being a public speaker, and they’re often the first thing people ask for when they book you as a speaker. But just how important are they?
Well, the short answer is they’re vital, but we’d like to take a look at the long one. Let’s get started.
First impressions count, especially as a public speaker. You need people to take you seriously if you want them to listen to what you have to say, and this process starts when they first see you take to the stage. Your headshots and bios contribute to the first impression that you make by being the first thing people see when they look at the event’s website. If you don’t put your best foot forward here, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
Building from the last point, your credibility is your biggest asset as a public speaker. If you want people to sit up and listen to what you have to say and take your message with them, you’ll need them to perceive you as an authoritative and credible source of information. Having a high-quality headshot and a well-written bio will take you a long way towards being seen as credible and worth booking and listening to.
Public speakers aren’t big brands like Nike or McDonald’s, and so they don’t have logos like the swoosh or the golden arches to fall back on. Instead, our bios and headshots act as our logos and trademarks. They play a critical role in boosting brand recognition. Ideally, people will look at your headshot or read your bio and think, “Oh yeah, I know that person. I’d love to hear them speak.”
Search engines feed on content, so if you want people to find you, you need to create some sort of written or visual content. Your bio and your headshots are just that—valuable content for search engines that allow people to find you. This means that event organizers and attendees can track and follow you on social networking sites and email lists.
When you make your headshot and bio publicly available, it becomes easier for people to approach you at events. They’ll be able to recognize you as soon as you enter the room, and they’ll find something in your bio that they can talk to you about. It will also make you seem like more of a well-rounded human. For example, if you say that you’re a father of two, suddenly you’re more than just a face in a crowd.
As a public speaker, event organizers will ask you to give them information that they can put in their brochures or on their websites. When you’ve got a bunch of headshots and some biographies of varying lengths that you can send out, you have a great way to sell yourself and encourage people to come and listen to you speak.
Your bio and headshot provide a way to differentiate yourself from the competition. Without these assets, you’d just be another name on a long list of names, while your bio and headshot make you stand out from the crowd. Unless you happen to have a bunch of clones who all live similar lives to you, your bio and headshot will naturally be different from everyone else’s.
If you’re the kind of public speaker who has a good relationship with the media and who’s willing to go on radio shows and television, your bio and headshot will help with that initial outreach. You’ll want to create a media kit packed full of high-resolution images and well-written bios of different lengths so your media contacts have a lot to work with.
If you want to use your public speaking engagements as opportunities to network with people and grow your business, you’ll find that your bio and headshots are invaluable. Instead of having to seek people out if you want to talk to them, they start coming to you. They’ll initiate conversations because they’ll recognize your face from the photos. They can use details from your bio to think of what to say.
Ultimately, you don’t really have much choice. You’ll need a professional headshot and a decent bio if you want to make it in the business. These are as important to public speakers as portfolios are for writers and graphic designers. If you don’t have them, people looking for speakers will ignore you and turn their attention to the people who do have them.
Now that you know just a few reasons why public speakers need a high-quality, professional headshot, it’s time for you to share your thoughts.
How much time did you spend perfecting your bio and headshots, and how have they helped you throughout your career? If you had to rate their importance out of ten, what rating would you give them?
As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments so we can keep the discussion going. You can also follow us on your favorite social networking sites for more, and we’ll see you soon for another article.
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