Today’s guests are from S3 - Strategic Speaker Services: Lori Zetlin (Rosmarin), the Founder, and Managing Principal, and Eric Zetlin Managing Director.  S3 builds world-class executive visibility programs for global brands and dynamic startups - delivering the right speaking opportunities and the most desirable audiences to our clients. Eric and Lori explain the concept of Earned Speaking and how executives can go about gaining speaking engagements at conferences without having to pay to be a sponsor.  They shed some light on what those earned speaking opportunities look like, the matchmaking process they through to line their clients up with the right conference. For the last year, speakers have had their careers turned upside down by COVID-19, Lori and Eric share their experience taking things virtually, why many conferences are getting larger turn outs virtually than they ever did in person and the benefits of not having to travel beyond just the time savings. If you are a speaker looking to increase your visibility and stay thriving in this virtual setting this episode is tailor-made for you! Three Key Takeaways: ·         Becoming an earned speaker as a thought leader means landing an engagement based on the content of your message and not the size of your wallet. ·         It can be best to pass on speaking at some conferences.  You want to ensure your thought leadership is delivered to the right audience and not simply the widest one. ·         Virtual conferences are allowing thought leaders to attend conventions nationally and globally that would have been difficult to attend in the past due to time and travel.