Behind the Scenes Tips from an Event Organizer and TEDx Speaker with Sharyl West Loeung.

Welcome to Public Speaking with Peter George. Do you want to be calm, confident, and credible every time you speak in public? Then stay tuned as Peter and his guests discuss public speaking tips, techniques, and tactics that help you increase your impact, influence, and income. Here’s your host, the author of The Captivating Public Speaker, Peter George.

You’ve booked a gig — and that’s great. But booking a gig and writing and rehearsing your talk is only part of your preparation. There’s a whole lot more to be done. As an experienced speaker, coach, and event organizer, my guest Sharyl West Loeung shares with you the relationship between the speaker and the event organizer. By asking good questions and thinking ahead, she says you show up not only with an excellent speech, but in excellence. Sharyl is a speaker, producer, educator, and social entrepreneur who loves helping people discover belonging in our diverse world. She is also the co-founder of Cardia House Consulting, which focuses on the mindful reframing of difficult conversations by practicing generous communication. Here’s my conversation with Sharyl West Loeung.

Learning the Craft from Every Angle

Peter: Sharyl, you get to see the speaking world from various perspectives. What’s your experience in the roles of speaker, coach, and event organizer?

Sharyl: It’s been one of the best parts of my life — to evolve into different roles and see it from different angles. I started speaking really young, competing from second-grade poetry contests to original oratory in high school, then theater and tech theater through college. I coached high schoolers in speech and debate, and I preached — which is another form of public speaking. I worked at a university organizing events, bringing in speakers for banquets and lectures. More recently I’ve been coaching through The Big Talk with Tricia Brooke in New York. And as a TEDx speaker, I learned a great deal — though I also realized you lose your speech once you give it on a TED or TEDx stage. You can only use less than 30 seconds in your own speaker reel. So I wanted to give other speakers that same powerful experience, and I produced my own show.

Peter: With all that experience — and they say the greatest way to learn is to teach — how has coaching others helped you as a speaker?

Sharyl: One of the best learning experiences is reading other people’s writing — way before you even get to the speaking portion. When you read someone’s work and think, this is redundant, even though it matters a lot to the speaker, it helps you edit your own work the same way. As Faulkner said, kill your darlings. And I always tell people, don’t throw it away — put it in another document. It may turn into something else somewhere else.

Red Flags: What Organizers Watch For

Peter: When you bring a speaker in, what are you looking for — and what are the red flags?

Sharyl: There’s a moment in a conversation with a speaker where you understand they have the combination of not just heart and passion, but also discipline. A speaker can’t just be passionate about the topic if they have no coachability or no concept of what it’s going to take to get where they want to go. When there’s a balance — I really want this, I really care, and I’m willing to do the work — I’m all in.

Some people hold on too tightly to what they want and they just can’t let go enough to massage out what they need to. That can be a red flag. If an issue is so personal that they haven’t really worked through it yet, that’s another. And early on, being late to meetings, not responding to emails, making excuses — that’s not going to work on a tight timeline.

Peter: Why do you think some people are more coachable than others?

Sharyl: One thing that doesn’t get talked about enough: people are defensive because they aren’t confident. It’s not always a big ego — it actually has more to do with fear or shame, something deeper that’s coming out because they’re struggling with a fear of failure or rejection, something more personal than what you’re battling on the surface.

Red Flags for Speakers Too

Peter: What red flags should speakers look for when they’re invited to speak?

Sharyl: I’ve turned down a pretty large speaking opportunity not long ago — it was difficult because I’d gotten pretty far into the process. Some red flags: holding back information that’s normal for you to have — if they can’t tell you the venue or times for rehearsal when you’re well into the process, that’s a signal. If you feel someone wants to completely rewrite your idea and make it their own — you can’t give a talk that’s not yours. And if expenses are racking up, if they’re asking you to pay fees — that’s always a huge one.

What to Do After You Sign the Contract

Peter: What tips do you have when speakers first secure a gig?

Sharyl: Ask basic questions about the organizer’s crew — who’s running sound and lighting? These questions signal whether they’re well-supported. “I don’t know yet” or “I’ve got it covered, don’t worry about it” shows they may not be as prepared. Also ask whether the event will be recorded. Poor video and audio quality lives on the internet forever, and people Google your name. If it’s a recurring event, go look at their past shows. If the quality isn’t there, it’s very easy to say thanks, but no thanks without calling them out.

Find out how many speakers there are, where you are in the order, and whether they require speakers to stay for the whole show. Some will have rehearsals in person versus Zoom — that’s a budget issue to know beforehand.

How to Get Invited Back

Peter: Once you get the gig — how do you get invited back?

Sharyl: First, don’t compromise your values to please the organizer, and don’t suck up. If you need something, it’s okay to ask — but feel the room. If they’re running around trying to get things done and you’re interrupting, that’s not great. Figure out your point person ahead of time. Have your slides done. Have your script done. Don’t be asking about last-minute changes on the day of.

Say thank you. Be polite. Encourage the other speakers. Send a handwritten note or bring a gift from your hometown. Send a thank-you email when you get home. Not everyone will do that — and that’s exactly why it stands out.

Peter: I’ve been doing handwritten notes for years. People say no one writes cards anymore. Exactly — yours stands out.

Sharyl: I’m a millennial and I still do it. When I’m traveling, I’ll bring state postcards — just a nice little touch. Don’t just thank the event organizer — thank the stage manager, the volunteers, the person who helped fix your microphone. There are a lot of thankless jobs in event organizing. People backstage don’t get seen. It’s important to acknowledge them.

Making the Most of a Low-Fee Gig

Peter: What if the fee is low? How can speakers still make it worthwhile?

Sharyl: You can ask for video, referrals to other events, and quotes for your website. If those assets multiply into more opportunities, they can be more valuable than the fee you wished you’d had. Good video is not cheap to get on your own. At our Belief in Belonging Festival, we paid for hair and makeup and provided video and photography — speakers had full rights to everything. That gave them assets to take forward for their websites and future applications. We catered dinner. We wanted them to feel valued.

Peter: Sharyl, where can listeners connect with you?

Sharyl: You can find me at Belief and Belonging Festival on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. And personally at Sharyl — S-H-A-R-Y-L — underscore WL on Instagram. You can find everything else through the link tree in my bio.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Public Speaking with Peter George. Are you ready to be calm, confident, and credible every time you speak in public? Then visit petergeorgepublicspeaking.com and let’s make it happen. I’ll see you next time.