You can reach many important opinion leaders by giving a speech, but it need not stop there. Proactively coordinate publicity with the organization hosting you; suggest they work with you to generate coverage that will be of mutual benefit. This might include:
- In advance of the speech, send a brief media advisory about the presentation — who, what, where, when and why they should be interested.
- The day of the presentation, distribute a news release with bulleted key points of the speech, along with the full text, to the media.
- Distribute reprints or copies of your speech to targeted newsletters and Web sites.
- If there is an opportunity for interviews, either at the speech location or by telephone, offer to be available for this.
Taking these extra steps increases the possibility that key excerpts from the speech will reach additional audiences, multiplying the impact of the time you have spent preparing for and delivering your remarks.
At the right is an example of a story that ran in the Record-Courier the day after President Lester A. Lefton’s presentation at the fall 2006 Bowman Breakfast.