In 2017 I declare that I will no longer sell myself short anymore & you shouldn't either.
I spend about 30-40 hours a week on average talking with patients in my office about their health care. It is easily one of the most gratifying things about what I do but I got to a point where that didn’t feel like it was enough. Outside of medicine I’ve been pretty active with various community organizations and there is just a different feeling being part of a panel discussion for a group, leading a discussion or presenting to a group of people.
I used to be worried about being a speaker and giving presentations because I thought stage fright would hit me and I would just draw a blank up there or even worse that know one would care about my presentation. Thankfully neither has been the case thus far but today I proclaim to take my speaking prowess to the next level.
Like I talked about in yesterday’s post one of the many podcasts I listen to focuses on speaking and how to become a paid speaker. One of the telling things I have learned about speaking is that physicians just aren’t taking advantage of the opportunities to expand. There are professionals whose only job is to speak & give wellness talks but here are physicians leaving this money on table.
One of the reasons more physicians don't become paid national speakers is because of our love to “the patient”, which often occurs one at a time but I argue that you are doing a disservice to everyone when you only focus on one person. When I write medical spotlights on hypertension,depression or anxiety I am able to educate way more people than I would be if I was spending 10-15 minutes on one.
Also, physicians can't be afraid to ASK to be paid to be a speaker either. Imaging spending 2-3 hours working on a power point, another 6-8 practicing, 30-45 mins actually presenting that topic but not getting any compensation for it? Doesn't that sound crazy? When you go out to eat you compensate the establishment for taking the time to sit you down, cook your food & servicing you so why shouldn't someone pay you for the work that you do. We have to realize that its ok if you miss out speaking at an event because they can't afford you because there will be plenty of others that will.
Of course me being a physician I am biased towards getting us paid to speak but if you are a professional in your field with expertise why aren’t you getting compensated as a speaker? If you are a lawyer, teacher, accountant, or manager you have a gift that needs to be spread, just make sure someone is compensating you for it.
