The Business of Speaking: Negotiating Fees, Building Relationships, and Getting Referrals with Teri DeLucca, PhD

About this episode

Carol Cox interviews Teri DeLucca about the realities of the speaking industry, including negotiating fees and the impact of AI on leadership.

In this episode, I sit down with Teri DeLucca for a candid conversation about what really happens behind the scenes in the speaking industry, from getting your first speaking engagements to negotiating fees, navigating “pay-to-play” conferences, and building the confidence to take bigger stages. Teri shares how she went from feeling intimidated and unsure if she belonged on stage to becoming an in-demand speaker traveling across the country. We talk openly about the realities many speakers face but few discuss publicly: speaking for free, undercharging, the gender pay gap in speaking fees, networking with other speakers, and learning to see speaking not as performance — but as service. We also dive into Teri’s new AI platform, Luma, a human-centered AI “thinking partner” designed to support educators and leaders with communication, stress management, organizational culture, and decision-making. Plus, she shares exciting news about becoming a finalist for a grant funded through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation focused on women and AI innovation. If you’ve ever wondered: How speakers actually get booked When to speak for free (and when not to) How to raise your speaking fees…

People in this episode

Host: Carol Cox

Guest: Teri DeLucca

Topics covered

• speaking industry
• negotiating fees
• building relationships
• AI in leadership
• gender pay gap
• networking

Keywords

• speaking engagements
• pay-to-play conferences
• confidence in speaking
• speaking for free
• raising speaking fees
• AI platform
• women in AI

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Products: Luma

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