Demand Drops for Professional Speakers

Speakers who make a living on the rubber-chicken circuit, regaling conventions and seminars with motivational lectures, have experienced a sharp drop in demand for their services since the terrorist attacks.

And the slump in bookings could continue for months, said Jim Rhode, president of the 4,000-member National Speakers Assn., the nation’s largest group of professional speakers.

He said bookings could drop as much as 20% over the next 18 to 24 months for speakers, some of whom command thousands of dollars per speech.

Over the last two decades, Scott McKain of Westlake Village figures he has averaged 100 speeches a year--recently receiving about $10,000 an appearance--to advise businesses on how to build customer and employee loyalty.

Now, he expects to lose about 25 of his bookings, cutting his annual earnings before expenses from $1 million to about $750,000.

A recent survey of 144 National Speakers members found that two-thirds reported lost bookings, and many are concerned that business won’t pick up for awhile, Rhode said.

The typical full-time speaker earns about $70,000 annually, before expenses, he said.

The Convention Industry Council recently estimated revenue losses for September and October at about $1 billion.

Chris Clarke-Epstein of Wausau, Wis., said a major corporate client just scrapped 12 of her sessions for managers. The cancellations cost her $40,000.

If there are no further terrorist incidents, Clarke-Epstein expects demand for her services to return to normal by early next year.

But “if something else happens, all bets are off,” she said. “To say I wasn’t nervous would be very foolish.”

Janelle Barlow, who speaks on customer service and stress management, said only one of her appearances has been scrapped. But the Las Vegas resident said she has been asked to tone down parts of her presentation.

She no longer refers to angry customers as “terrorists,” and one client asked her to remove a slide of a turban-clad Arab from a presentation on workplace diversity, fearing it would trigger negative feelings.