Successful public speaking can be easier than you think. Natural anxiety aside, speaking is a useful and effective marketing tool for a meaningful connection with professional peers and prospective patients in the community. Attracting new patients and professional referrals is more about what you have to say than how well you say it.
Believe it or not, there's really little to fear and much to be gained from public speaking.
Speaking is a marketing strategy that presents you (your reputation, your brand, your personality) in a comfortable environment—no "white coat" issues. Speaking adds to and extends your credibility. It's a useful tool for the individual practitioner, a representative of a physical group practice, a healthcare organization, or any number of individuals representing a hospital outreach to the community it serves.
And above all, it's an opportunity to showcase your professional knowledge and share some part of this knowledge with the audience.
Professional practitioners on the podium—at least sometimes—overlook the fact that the audience cares more about what you have to say than about how well you say it.
So relax a little. Consider these eight tips for maximum marketing mileage, and polished speaker or not, you'll likely be a hit with the crowd. And you'll win new patients and/or referrals at your next public speaking gig without "selling."
Bonus idea: For additional value capture your speech material on video and post it—in slices if needed—on your practice, hospital website and YouTube channel.
There's a spot in every marketing plan for public speaking; typically it's low-cost, produces a high Return-on-Investment (ROI) and extends your reputation. Practices that present at civic and community organizations come away with new patients, and a presentation to peer groups inspires professional referrals.
If you'd like us to join you on the podium, we're available to speak to healthcare organizations and groups about healthcare marketing.
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