Keynote Mastery: The Personal Journey of a Professional Speaker

by Patrick Schwerdtfeger

Learn how to become a PAID keynote speaker. This book describes the journey, including both the victories and the struggles.

This book is NOT about selling coaching or consulting programs. It's about getting PAID as a keynote speaker at corporate events.

If you have ever wanted an inside look at what it takes to become a professional speaker, this is the book for you. Keynote Mastery is the most transparent account ever written about that journey. Patrick Schwerdtfeger welcomes you into his life, recounting the struggles and hard-earned victories he experienced while building his career as a full-time, professional keynote speaker. You will learn how you

Get paid $10,000 or more for a 60-minute keynoteTravel to the most exotic destinations on the planetValidate your expertise and attract consulting clientsAvoid the mistakes that most aspiring speakers makePatrick originally thought he needed an indisputable victory before he could become a professional speaker. He was wrong. Over an 8-year period, he’s headlined events in Dubai, Bangkok, New Delhi, Bogota and Moscow, among many others, as well as dozens of cities across the United States and Canada. Topics

Setting keynote speaking feesWorking with speakers bureaus and agentsMarketing with YouTube videos (with a video blog)Website SEO optimization (organic marketing)Getting booked to speak at corporate eventsKeynote Mastery is more than a memoir or a how-to book. It’s an inspiring story of tenacity and triumph, full of lessons and insights for aspiring speakers and self-employed professionals alike. If your goal is to position yourself as an expert in your field, Keynote Mastery will accelerate your journey and energize your spirit.

Patrick Schwerdtfeger is a public speaking example, helping young motivational sales speakers learn how to improve public speaking skills. This book is essentially a motivational speaking school or a public speaker course. Patrick reveals his public speaking scripts, including bad speeches, and explains how to find paid jobs in public speaking. This is a valuable book for aspiring inspirational speakers and those who wish to become effective public speakers.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 6, 2016

Reviews

[Monnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

By the author's own admission, this book is both a memoir and a how-to. Now that I've finished it, I figure the actual book leans heavily toward the memoir side (a very entertaining one, I hasten to add). Some how-tos are here, though, and there are plenty more to be downloaded for free online.

The focus, as the title suggests, is on why and how the author became a keynote speaker - and why and how readers can do the same. Not by accident, that's a targeted audience, which begs the question of why a mid-70s, mostly retired, grandmother of four would have the slightest interest in reading it.

It should go without saying that at this stage of the game, I have no desire to shift gears and head off to foreign lands, as the very accomplished author has done, to earn a living by sharing expertise with audiences willing to pay me. That said, public speaking has played a role at just about every stage of my life - in fact, I just signed on again to help recruit volunteers for Ohio's long-term care ombudsman program, taking my presentation on the road to area clubs and organizations. Beyond that, I was privileged to have a father who, in addition to having a full-time job and penning several self-published books of down-home country poetry (mostly under the pen name of Slim Acres), spent close to 30 years as an "after-dinner" speaker. Many evenings after work, he'd take off to get behind the podium at a club meeting, alumni banquet or commencement ceremony.

Neither of us ever made it beyond what the author calls the "cheap" circuit - more on that later - but I know I speak for him when I say we both had a heck of a good time. And that, in large part, is what attracted me to this book - and I certainly wasn't disappointed. The author doesn't pull any punches, laying out in interesting and sometimes humorous fashion his personal trials, tribulations and, of course, successes (right down to revealing his credit card balances at various points along the way). Topics, presented in relatively short chapters, range from charging fees to website deign to book marketing (and the need for aspiring speakers to write one in the first place).

Also explained is the difference between podium, motivational and keynote speakers, as well as the aforementioned "circuits" that are defined by income (the first, "free," describes most of my efforts). My dad fell more into the "cheap" category, and it's for sure neither of us ever dreamed of achieving "professional" status (keynoters who earn $5,000 and up per presentation). At the top of the heap is the "celebrity" circuit, but that one is reserved for folks like best-selling authors, movie stars, ex-politicians (whether in or out of favor) and and thus out of reach for most of us mortals.

Successful speaking requires repetition, hard work and unflagging determination ("Success is the accumulation of 10,000 tiny victories and 100,000 tiny failures," the author writes) and, I'll add, little or no fear of standing in front of hundreds of people and talking loudly enough that most of them can hear you. If you're among the latter group, this book won't do much to steady your knees; but if you've got those first three and a desire to earn money, it's worth your while to take a look. Be sure to check out the online worksheets as well; there are 12 at the website (keynotemastery.com) on such topics as Identifying Content Opportunities, Structure of a Keynote and Starting a Video Blog. Sign up at the site, as I did, to download any or all.

And that brings me to another purpose of this book: Self-promotion. Throughout, the author never misses a chance to get in plugs for his books, videos, training programs and the like. Should you think that's not a Martha Stewart good thing, think again; in fact, it demonstrates that he's walking his talk and putting into practice exactly the principles he's advising readers to follow if they want to achieve similar success. If that includes you, run, do not walk, to get a copy of this book today.

My thanks to the author, via NetGalley, for approving my request for a free copy in exchange for a review.

[Bent Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is part memoir and part how-to-become-a-professional-speaker manual, and although it is refreshing to read such a book where one follows the author on a bumpy road to success instead of just getting the impression that it is the easiest thing in the world. Patrick Schwerdtfeger does it here through a chronological history of his most important lessons from the professional speaker's circuit in the US and the rest of the globe. His success - or lack thereof - is measured throughout the book through periodic updates on his credit card balance - a fun but also a little tacky way of showing his struggles.
He offers a number of really good pieces of advice on public speaking, getting contacts, behaving oneself when at work as a keynote speaker, and which investments in marketing have or have not worked for him. There are also quite a few things that are so ordinary observations that I felt that they were just there to fill up an extra chapter. His personal life also takes up a lot of space throughout the book, and I doubt that very many people find that interesting when you have most likely picked out the book for advise on public speaking - I know that I didn't. Stuff like that is probably more relevant or interesting in books by celebrities where the reader may have heard about the author's family or friends before, but Schwerdtfeger (I dare you to close your eyes and try to spell his name correctly - you couldn't, right?!) is no celebrity and should focus more on the topic, which of course would make the book quite a lot shorter, but the stronger focus would also make it much more useful. (By the way, try spelling his name again - you still couldn't, right?! And for some reason, he insists on using his full name as the URL for his website...)

[An ARC of this book was generously provided by the publisher through NetGalley]

[Carsten Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a lot, books on all sorts of non-fiction topics, particularly on sales, public speaking, marketing, internet marketing, entrepreneurial as well as regular fiction books. Some books are great, others bad, and the majority fall somewhere in between, but it is rare that a book truly puzzles. This book, however, did and still does. It describes the author's path in world of public speaking, from decidedly poor beginnings, his struggles to evetually becoming a more successful speaker, thus the title. That being said the book is odd, loaded woth personal references, that I honestly think should have stayed personal, e.g the illness and demise of his parents, his financial situation, i.e. credit card balances and such. Also, I feel some of the people mentioned in the book, and there is considerable name dropping, would have been best served by remaining nameless.
This could make you think that I completely hate the book, but that is not the case, because the author provides a considerable amount of tips and suggestions for both what you should do, but just as importantly what you should absolutely avoid.
This could have been a very interesting book if he had added some more value content and left out some of the personal stuff. If you compare this book to his website, then it leaves you with two very different impressions of the same person. The website looks professional and well put together, whereas this book gave me the impression that he has been fumbling around and somehow managed to become successful, despite making a lot of very strange decisions along the way.
[A copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher through Netgalley for the purposes of this review]

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's a chance to learn from someone else's journey, both good moves and not-so successful. Yes, it jumps between how-to and memoir, but isn't that a bit like the career journey? You're making progress and yet life happens? You'll find some solid tips for building a career as a speaker and some entertaining, as well as some poignant, moments from the author's life.

Thanks, NetGalley, for a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Tiffany Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspiring

It personal and touching. Patrick not only shared his career journey, he also gives us a glimpse of aging-parents challenges. Through his story, it makes me treasure the time I spent with my aging parents even more. Thanks for sharing.

[Mike Kowis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about the author's journey to becoming a keynote speaker. I really enjoyed his stories and his advice on how to become a professional speaker. If you intend to do any paid public speaking, I highly recommend this book.

[Gerry Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very different book. I appreciate the short chapters and the memoir/self help styling. More than anything I appreciate the openness and honesty. There are some great tips and some hard lessons. All of it works together.

[John Stone · Rating 1 out of 5]

Superficial. Boring endless dollars and sad personal stories to attract reader. No in-depth thoughts on how to be a professional keynote speaker but put emphasis on appearance, diet and social class.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personal stories are interesting.

[Janette Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Schwerdtfeger writes about his life journey as a professional speaker. He is brutally honest about the challenges of self-employment and his personal struggles to survive.

However, he has a dream and his determination, perseverance and tenacity lead to a degree of success that many speakers never achieve.

This is a memoir that offers inspiration and motivation to all who aspire to be a professional speaker. The author shares many "insider secrets" that he has learned from being a speaker for the past seven years.

When I listen to a keynote speaker, I expect to be informed, inspired and entertained. I have never had the opportunity to hear the author speak, however, I listened to Mr. Schwerdtfeger's Tedx speech on YouTube and was very impressed.

These are the things I especially liked about this book:

1. The transparent look at the author's life. Mr. Schwerdtfeger posted his credit card balances all along his seven year journey to become a successful keynote speaker. He did not candy-coat his life or make it appear to be something that it is not.

2. The easy-to-read flow of the narrative. The author wrote in a very engaging manner and I felt like I was traveling right along with him on the many journeys that he wrote about.

3. The sensitive manner the author dealt with his mother's mental illness and his father's chronic illness. I am sure this was very difficult to describe, but it was part of the journey and described in an admirable way.

4. The professional information the author shared about professional speaking. He goes into detail about the structure of a keynote speech. The author was especially open about the financial challenges that he faced and how he handled them.

5. The author's marketing strategies. Mr. Schwerdtfeger's business success depends on how well he markets himself. He has come up with some very creative marketing techniques that should benefit other self-employed entrepreneurs.

What I didn't like about this book:

1. Chapter 61 - "Book marketing sucks." There is a discussion on the trials and tribulations of book marketing in this chapter. The author discusses "pay to play" programs and other ways to get your book noticed for a price. It seems like book marketing would be a piece of cake after all the experience the author has in promoting his speaking career. The chapter is just too negative for my tastes.

2. Chapter 62 and 63 - "The Keynote Mastery Program" and "The Speaker Syndicate". These chapters promote two programs that the author is selling to professional speakers. I think these chapters could have been cut down to a one page "teaser" that encouraged speakers to contact the author for more information.

FYI ~ I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Apryl Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more than a how-to book. It’s primarily a memoir written with typical Californian exuberance and enthusiasm. I expected organizational writing and knowledgeable speaking tips, and this is not.

To his credit, Schwerdtfeger doesn’t take himself too seriously. There is healthy humility in admitting his American blinders, but at the same time, I cringed for his blindness. For example: “My host was originally from India but had moved to Oman early in life. Her name is Mini Mary John. No joke. These names amaze me sometimes. Lennart Svanberg brought me to Sweden, Ali Al Kamali brought me to Dubai, Raveej Kohli brought be to India and Mini Mary John brought me to Oman. You can’t make this stuff up!” I don’t think he intends to be rude. Names are identity, and they carry a wealth of cultural implication. They’re an opportunity to learn about individuals and societies. Patrick=Irish Catholic + Schwerdtfeger=I dunno; sounds Bavarian. God bless America!

It was also uncomfortable for me to read his Credit Card Balance as stated every few chapters. Because I’ve come to rely on a Debit card, and I so am adamant about avoiding debt, I’m not sure if these are the figures of his bank statement, as in negative income? In any case, I find it tacky; we really don’t need to know this.

Frankly, there were many, many episodes that I didn’t need to know. This is a highly personal book; it’s lovely that Mr. Schwerdfeger wants to share his arduous climb to success, but there is simply too much information. Like a fine work of art, it’s best to leave part of the story untold, for the viewer’s sake. On the other hand, perhaps there is an audience of those who consider themselves victims of their consequences. In this case, Keynote Mastery is proof that hard work and positive intent can break the cycle of victimization and failure.

Spoiler alert: I was relieved to see that he is working through the earlier bitterness over his parents’ difficulties. Yes, emotional battles are extremely draining, and it’s so hard to fulfill one’s creative potential with relationship baggage. I wish him continued healthy growth through forgiveness.

I received a free copy from netgally.com in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Darren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a bad book in itself, but perhaps one was expecting more from what was billed as being the personal journey of a professional speaker since, after all, it was written by a master communicator, a wizard of the keynote! In the end, it just fizzled out and this reader’s concentration gave up: this was a shame as there was a lot of interesting potential.

The author explained his life story, telling how he developed a speaking business that sees him paid thousands of dollars an hour to give a keynote speech. It was no overnight success and the reader is not being sold fake hope. A lot of hard work, frustration and expense has contributed to the author’s success. The inference is that this can be something the reader can aspire to and realize. Everyone can and should have a dream, yet expectations should also be managed.

It is said that this book did not feel or act like a keynote speech. It jumped around, felt unfocussed, verbose and just not something at the top of its game. Think of a vaguely interesting talk, given perhaps by a small-town business owner who just does not really engage the audience and you might get the measure of this book. You wanted to be interested in the story, you tried to focus on it despite the literary rocks in the road, and yet it just didn’t cut it. Admitting defeat became regrettably the easy way out.

At the time of writing this review, the paperback version of the book is hovering just under 20 dollars on one online bookstore site, whilst an eBook version is less than half the price. Dropping ten dollars on the book might be worth it, even if you give up part the way through or dip in and out. Anything else, sadly, and you must be incredibly desperate for the content you believe that you might get to stump up the cost.

It felt like a something that should have a brilliant, engaging read but it turned out to be a bit of a dull, foggy reality.

[Paul C. Stalder · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I had never heard of Patrick Schwerdtfeger before before receiving a copy of this book. After viewing a handful of his presentations, it seemed worthwhile to go through this book; Schwerdtfeger is a great speaker. Upon closing this book, that conclusion had not changed; Schwerdtfeger is a great speaker. But an author? Debatable. Despite being billed as a marriage between a how-to book and a memoir, Keynote Mastery clearly sacrifices one for the other. The intrusively short chapters rarely allow the reader to situate themselves in the story. Just as one starts to get interested, they are abruptly introduced to a new character in the story, two years in the future. This work would have been a marked degree better if it were told in a more chronological fashion. While Schwerdtfeger does an decent job of displaying the struggles of up-and-coming professional speakers, he gives very little advice regarding speaking. With the exception of one chapter that provides a framework for a presentation, Schwerdtfeger remains mostly mute on actual speaking advice. One gets the impression that he was born with an innate ability to speak well. If you want to learn how to give a keynote presentation, skip this book. If you already have a decent handle on your speaking abilities, this book has some great advice to market yourself. In spite of this criticism, there were many high points of this book. Schwerdtfeger deftly inserts hyperlinks to highly beneficial worksheets on a great number of topics. The addition of links to a variety of manuscripts he has presented also drives this book forward. With that being said, I wish that this book could be presented as a seminar. It proves that while great writers often make great speakers, the reverse is not always true.
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for making this book available to me.

[Shannon L. Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: A Look Behind The Curtain of a Professional Speaker

Keynote Mastery
The Personal Journey of a Professional Speaker

by Patrick Schwerdtfeger

Part memoir, part instructional, Keynote Mastery gives a glimpse into Patrick Schwerdtfeger's life as he became a professional speaker.

He tells how he rose through the ranks of professional speakers to become sought after and high earning. While it was balanced more toward the memoir side in comparison to instructional, there is a lot to be learned from his first hand accounts. He is brutally honest in sharing the hardships he endured to attain his current success. The reader gets to follow along in an abbreviated form of the several years that it took to gain that level.

He gives business tips and strategies to not only improve yourself but to follow along the path so you can, with hard work, attain keynote mastery.

There are accompanying worksheets with exercises that he links to the book. He teaches by example not only with what you should do, but with which pitfalls you should avoid.

With very few resources about how to proceed in this profession, Keynote Mastery gives you a hand up to start your journey.

Patrick Schwerdtfeger writes in an easy going style as if he were sitting at the kitchen table sharing his advice. While he does mention his other books, he doesn't boast of how great he is. He tells his story from a humble point of view that will reach more people than the grandiose styles of those wanting to have guru-status.

If you want to pursue the interest in keynote speaking, then you'll want to read this book.

Please visit his website to see videos, learn more and find motivation at http://www.patrickschwerdtfeger.com


FTC Disclaimer: I was given an ARC of this title by NetGalley for review purposes only; no other compensation was awarded.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something in this book for everyone.
Adventure, suspense, memoir, how-to instructions and abundant resources!
This is a very complete representation of taking risks to follow ones dreams, whether your desire is to be a speaker, author or an expert in any field. You will find something in this book to both educate and entertain you.

For much of the reading I was satisfied with the content.
There were a few instances where I could have glossed over some of the details and personal references, but after reading the entire volume I was glad to have that information.
Around chapter 40 my impression jumped up completely to five stars.
Author and speaker Patrick Schwerdtfeger freely gives far more than any other author in this genre has before. I said he perhaps disclosed too much, but it is 100% authentic content. Success and struggle.

He is open that this book is a byproduct, an introduction and a tool.
He hopes that you will be impressed and intrigued.
I admit I am. I was fascinated, encouraged and impressed not only with his professional growth but also with how he is willing to help others. He has identified a need and is working hard to fill it.
Flexibility is a constant companion for speaker Schwedertfeger.

His advice on behavior and marketing has most value to me at present but I look forward to taking advantage of other advice and trade secrets I learned here. I have already recommended this resource to others with professional and creative dreams. I strongly recommend that you read it also.

I did receive a copy of this book to review.
I believe I will gift copies to others. I wish I had had this information sooner.

[Lois Strachan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a relatively inexperienced professional speaker, I was interested to read Patrick Schwerdtfeger’s latest book, Keynote Mastery.

As the author indicates clearly, the book is primarily a memoir of his own journey, and he discusses both his successes and his failures in a candid and human manner.

I found the book very readable. The style is conversational and relatively informal, and makes use of anecdotes and personal stories to bring home the tips that the author shares with his readers.

At times I felt the author shared a little more of his family history than was necessary, but it did not detract too significantly from my overall engagement with the book.

I found the details of the way the speaking industry operates in the USA interesting, but felt that this might be confusing for inexperienced speakers from other countries where the industry may be set up in a slightly different way. Nonetheless, the inclusion of this type of detail serves to demonstrate the importance of understanding the industry, wherever one is based.

Overall, I found the insights and helpful tips for aspiring speakers very valuable and particularly enjoyed the way the author used his personal stories and experiences to reinforce the value of each lesson. Also useful were the 16 worksheets on the author’s website that are further aids to assist aspiring speakers on their journey.

(review copy provided by Netgalley)

[Gio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part memoir and part how-t0, Keynote Mastery tells the story of Patrick Schwerdtfeger and the steps he took to become a professional speaker. From the beginning, you get a clear idea of how hard and convoluted the path to success is. It took Patrick years of hard work and grit to get to where he is today.

The book is a treasure trove of advice about public speaking: it tells you how to get gigs, what makes a talk successful and the marketing strategies that help you take your business to the next level (and those that are just a waste of time).

On the other hand, I think Patrick spends too much time talking about his personal life. If you've picked up the book just to know how to get better at public speaking, this'll annoy you. Skip these parts.

I also find the writing style kinda flat. I'm sure he's amazing on stage but, on paper, he just doesn't captivate me that much.

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not only an account of the author's journey to become a Professional Speaker but is also a personal memoir. It makes for a fascinating read and Patrick Schwerdtfeger pulls no punches either. It isn't easy becoming a Professional Speaker but with a lot of hard work, determination, and a never give up attitude, it is possible. He highlights not only his successes but also his failures that he has learned from along the way and shares it here. This book is a must read for anyone considering becoming a Professional Speaker and can also be an inspiration for anyone to go for their dreams. I received a copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Marko Gaans · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest easy read of the author's struggle to become a successful professional keynote speaker. I like that it's not one of those books which promises a quick easy road to success if you'd only follow the author's 'proved' formula. Instead it's a book filled with practical usable advice and, more importantly, stories about those ideas that didn't work out.

I've followed Patrick through a number of his publications and public performances and he's very much a WYSIWYG author. Highly recommend it to both aspiring speakers and other self-employed professionals!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a combination memoir/how-to guide. It is clearly written and quite intriguing. I would recommend it for not only for people set on becoming a professional speaker, but also those just at the point of considering it as a career path. This book gives skillful insight into the world of public speaking.

** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

[Laura Salas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know the subtitle says "Personal Journey," and the author does warn us right at the intro that this is really a memoir, not a how-to book. That said, I expected there to be more of an element of a takeaway for readers who are building a speaking career.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.