True story:
Gayle’s connecting flight from Atlanta was canceled and she had to be on the stage at a conference the next morning in New York City — 850 miles away.
Not only was her five-figure speaking fee on the line, there was no way she was going to ruin her sterling reputation by not showing up.
What would you do?
There was only one option: She hailed a cab, put her bags in the trunk, and asked the driver, “How would you like to earn a lot of money tonight?”
A few hours after midnight, the driver pulled over at a rest stop. “I know you have a commitment but I can’t keep my eyes open. It’s not safe for me to keep driving!”
“Crawl in the back and get some sleep!” Gayle commanded. “I’ll take over.”
Of course, you know this story has a happy ending. Gayle made it to the conference just in time, coffeed up, delivered her keynote, and saved the day.
I know speakers who have chartered private jets or driven their own cars halfway across the country.
As they say, “the show must go on!”
The blizzard that grounded your flight might also make it a suicide mission to drive on the roads but sometimes, making it to the gig isn’t the problem.
Life happens!
What if a loved one gets sick or YOU get sick?
If you have COVID are you going to sit next to that elderly person on the plane because the show must go on?
The moral of the story:
Discuss contingency plans with your meeting host and always have a backup speaker—preferably one who lives close to the speaking venue—ready to fill in.
After all, it’s not about you; it’s about the audience.
