Read Confessions of a Public Speaker for Free Online Page B

Mamet (playwright, screenwriter, and director) and Nicholas
    Pileggi (author of
Wiseguy
, the novel Scorsese’s
Goodfellas
was based on). Both occasions were
    author readings, which are notoriously boring and bad bets for good public
    speaking. Yet, in both cases, they filled their respective rooms
    impressively well. However, I bet no one in attendance got much from the
    experience of listening to them, except the right to say they saw a famous
    person speak, which perhaps is also worth something.
    The challenge for event organizers, who have limited budgets and
    tough timelines, is to manage the three unavoidable criteria for picking
    people to talk at their events. They must find speakers who are:
    Famous or credible for a relevant topic
Good at speaking
Available
    Two out of three is often the best they can do. It’s common to see
    good speakers who don’t have much to say, as well as experts who are
    brilliant but boring. To secure someone with all three often requires some
    cash, and as a result, I am one of thousands of people at the low end of a
    very high pay scale activity.
    To put the numbers so far in this chapter in perspective, the
    average adult on planet Earth earns $8,200 a year (U.S. dollars), and the
    average American makes about $50,000. [ 20 ] Since you see your paycheck, you know exactly where you
    stand. I think it would be smart for corporations to put information like
    this on their checks—it would prevent many people from complaining about
    what they don’t have. [ 21 ] Almost half of the world’s population doesn’t have clean
    running water or reliable electricity, no matter how well they are paid.
    From a planetary view, if you’re reading this book indoors, under an
    electric light, within walking distance of a stocked refrigerator or a
    take-out delivery menu you can afford to order from, and rarely find
    yourself worrying about malaria or dysentery, you are doing quite well.
    And if you’re still not happy, consider that compared to most of the
    galaxy, a place comprised of 99.9% dead, empty space, the fact you’re even
    alive, and in the form of a species evolved enough to know you’re alive,
    and educated enough to read books reminding you of how rare life is, makes
    you astronomically fortunate. We should be happy about this, but mostly it
    seems we’re not.
    Unfortunately, we know, care, and obsess more about the 10% of the
    world who earn more than we do than the 90% who earn less. And although
    you might disapprove of my speaking fees, I’m no different from you. I’m
    well aware of speakers who earn more than I do but who have less to say
    and say it worse than I would. It’s safe to assume that no matter where
    you stand, someone would be happy to be in your shoes, just as you’d be
    happy to be in someone else’s. I know all too well that rock stars, movie
    actors, Fortune 100 executives, and professional athletes make millions
    annually just for endorsing things they had nothing to do with. If I’m
    overpaid, at least it’s to perform a service where I risk getting booed
    off the stage. An endorsement is paid for liking, or merely pretending to
    like, something. It’s not work in any familiar sense of the word, since
    it’s a vague approval of work done by people the endorser has likely never
    met. Tiger Woods and LeBron James make more than $50 million a year from
    endorsements alone, an annual income so large it’s more than the average
    American could earn in 10lifetimes. This doesn’t seem fair, and in a philosophical
    sense, it isn’t. They are not doing anything for the greater good. They
    are not educating children, helping the poor, stopping wars, or curing
    diseases. In fact, depending on what they’re endorsing, they’re likely
    increasing our desire for what we don’t have, can’t afford, and probably
    don’t need.
    However, from another perspective, we all know people earn as much
    as they can argue for. If you’re a fan of the free market,