Professional Speaker Versus Coach & Mentor

Our industry is full of professional keynote speakers and entertainers. Many of these have YouTube channels and blogs.

Many professional speakers are not industry experts but rather those who know how to engage an audience on a topic.

Today there is so much content on YouTube that I find myself going whenever I want to learn something new. Often this comes with doing repairs around the house.

I have found there are two types of communicators out there on the channel.

One group is trying to monetize in every way possible. So, they typically have lengthy introductions and drag out the content.

The second group tends to be those that realize my time is valuable and get to the point quickly.

Bill Bangham and James Dockery are helping with editing of Jennifer Pallikkathayil’s story during our Storytellers Abroad workshop in Santiago, Chile. [NIKON Z 6, VR Zoom 24-105mm f/4G IF-ED, Mode = Aperture Priority, ISO 3200, 1/100, ƒ/5.6, (35mm = 28)]

James Dockery, ESPN Senior Editor, noticed this as well. He often tried to learn the latest trend in editing and, after doing this for a while, created his 2-torials. He would boil down all you needed to know on an editing technique and make these for ESPN internally these short 2-minute tutorials, hence the name he gave them 2-tutorials.

Once you have been in an industry for a while, you can tell when someone is a professional speaker versus an industry expert.

Today when I search YouTube, I look at the length of the video or how many views it has to determine which one I will watch first. I have also saved certain YouTubers because they are perfect and worth checking out for more content to increase my knowledge.

Study the professional keynote speakers and entertainers

While I am not one of those super-polished speakers, I am an industry expert who often teaches in workshops. I find that industry experts are the best for workshops.

Photo by: Dennis Fahringer

Get A Coach

There is a point in your journey in photography where your skills can only improve with an industry expert. Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan didn’t have a coach for his first five years. He was considered a wild pitcher until he finally got a coach who turned his tumultuous pitching career into one with 51 records, including record six no-hitters.

I don’t want to take anything away from the professional speakers. They do great jobs, but to coach, you need someone who can critique you from experience.

I do one-on-one coaching as well as workshops. Drop me a line, and let’s set up something for you. I won’t make you into a no-hitter pitcher, but I can improve your storytelling and photography.