Speaking isn't one skill, it's twelve.

I think one of the biggest frustrations in the world of thought leadership is around the idea of meritocracy.

This assumption that the best ideas rise to the top; that the most impactful messages are the ones that will get booked the most.

It’s a nice idea, but if we’re honest with ourselves, it’s simply not how the world works.

We’ve all stumbled across a celebratory announcement post from a peer and quietly thought to ourselves: How the hell did they land that?!

One of the things that’s become increasingly clear to me over the course of the last few years is that:

And that means that the skills required to deliver an outstanding talk are completely different from the ones required to land the opportunities in the first place.

They’re connected, but different.

So I built this framework to help you identify where you are strong and where you might need to level up next.

Let me take you through each section…

1. Clarity

   • Messaging: Core beliefs, philosophies, ideas - the messages you want to be known for and remembered by.
     

   • Positioning: Social profiles/website, topics/keywords, session descriptions - the way you package your talks for the market.
     

   • Validation: Topic relevance, audience appetite, proof of demand - evidence that people want what you’re talking about.

2. Credibility

   • Experience: Personal/professional background, subject matter expertise, life experiences - the things that make your perspective credible and different.
      

   • Proof: Talk/podcast clips, books/research, client testimonials - tangible evidence that makes you a safe bet to book.
     

   • Audience: Quality of audience (social media + newsletter), strength of network - the reach and relationships that open doors.

3. Demand

   • Attract: Visibility, inbound interest, recommendations - your ability to stay relevant and keep new opportunities coming your way.
     

   • Convert: Conversations, proposals, negotiations - how you turn interest into booked (paid) talks.
     

   • Compound: Repeat bookings, audience referrals, amplification - creating momentum from every engagement.

4. Deliver

   • Preparation: Audience connection, content design, composure - your process for creating high-impact, low-stress talks.
     

   • Service: Client comms, audience anticipation and aftercare - creating an outstanding client experience from start to finish.
     

   • Perform: Connection, transformation and memorability - creating an experience that shifts the way your audience thinks, feels and behaves.

Scoring yourself on each of these elements is an extremely useful starting point. The goal isn’t to have every section nailed, it’s to identify the biggest bottleneck that’s standing in the way of you and your speaking goals.

For example: You might have complete clarity on your message, but if you haven’t validated demand, getting booked is always going to be a struggle (and you’re going to lack confidence until you do).

Or you might be getting a steady flow of enquiries through, but something is holding organisers back from booking you which means there could be a credibility gap that needs closing.

Everything we do inside MicDrop is built around this operating system, so when our latest intake of members join next week, one of the first things we’ll be doing is taking them through this system so they can see exactly where they should be channelling their energy next.

Then we’ll be inviting them to join specific strategy sessions depending on where they are in their journey around:

1. Finding speaker market fit 🧩

2. Going from busy to premium ✨

3. Using speaking as a growth lever 🚀

The perfect way for them to meet other members who are at the same stage of their journey, share what’s working (and what isn’t) and get clear on their next high-leverage move.

At the time of writing, we have 9 spots left.

Two have verbally confirmed,
14 offers on the table,
9 calls with prospective members booked in this week. 

If you’d like to book in a call to see if it’s a good fit, click here.

Have a great week (and sorry I’m a day late!).

Alex