Renee Bauer never planned to trade her keyboard for a microphone, yet one published book somehow put her in front of a room of five hundred people. She unpacks how saying “yes” to speaking gigs turned into a whole new income stream, and why writers might just make the most memorable speakers of all.

The audience sat down but the room was still buzzing. I was still on a rollercoaster of emotions—the adrenaline, the nervousness, the high of speaking on stage was still coursing through my body. I made my way over to the audio booth where they unhooked my mic pack and I was set free into the room. It was a break for the attendees and many of them lined up at my table to purchase a book.

I didn’t write a book to sell a course or a service. I wrote a personal development book because I’m a writer and I’m a storyteller. And while I kept hearing other entrepreneurs advocate that books are the natural course in order to build credibility, that always felt phony. Writers write because there is no other way. We don’t write because our ulterior motives are to sell you an online course you probably don’t need.

But something interesting happened after I published my book—event planners started asking me to speak. I never set out to be a professional keynote speaker. In fact, speaking from stage is quite the opposite of us writerly types who prefer the company of our writing snacks and pets. In fact, even thinking about speaking in front of an audience no matter the size will make me feel like I might vomit.

Instead, I fell into speaking, because I figured every opportunity meant I could bring my book there and maybe it would land in more hands. If you know anything about the publishing business, even a traditionally published book, which mine is, requires ongoing marketing efforts by the author because the publishers tend to tap out soon after the book is released. So, I said “yes” over and over again. I said yes until one day I found myself speaking to a room of five hundred women and even more shockingly, I was enjoying it.

When people ask me how I started speaking, I tell them I wrote a book. And if you look at others who are professional speakers, many have published books, too. There isn’t a handbook anywhere that says, one must be published to wear a microphone like Britney Spears and tell funny stories from stage, but I think it helps. I think it’s even better when writers—those of us who have hundreds of notes on our phone of half-baked ideas, get on stage because we were good with words before we ever spoke them aloud.

I’ve studied the art of speaking by watching speakers at dozens of conferences, and I’ve determined that the speakers that make an impact and who are most memorable are the ones who tell stories. It has nothing to do with fancy power point slides or statistics. No one actually remembers any of that, but instead, it’s about how you made the audience feel. If they are hanging on your every word because they need to know how the story ends, then you just might be a desirable speaker, too.

It makes sense really. Writers communicate with words, as do speakers. Both are crafts. Both require revision to get it right. Whenever I’m driving, my dog gets to hear me practice my stories because I’m constantly playing with how I tell them. I practice pace and timing. I practice tone and humor. It’s quite similar to the revision process, too. We communicators are always honing our words, our craft.

Since my book was published in 2023, I’ve spoken at over 25 events and have been invited on even more podcasts. As an author, you have something to say and about 280 pages to back that up. That’s how I ended up signing with a speaker’s bureau. That’s how I ended up turning speaking into another income stream. It was never intentional because frankly, it’s safer to hide behind my keyboard. But books lead to speaking, which leads to more book sales, which leads to maybe another book deal, which leads to more speaking. See how the eco-system goes round and round?

Someone recently asked me if I was a writer or a speaker first. It took me a beat to figure out how to answer this. Then I said, “I’m a storyteller.” Not all speakers can write. But all writers have stories within them to tell, if only they are brave enough to clip on the microphone.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Renee Bauer is the author of the bestselling book, SHE WHO WINS (Urano Publishing).

She is an award-winning divorce attorney, motivational speaker, and founder of the Connecticut family law firm, Happy Even After Family Law. She is certified as a Mediator, Guardian Ad Litem, and Collaborative Attorney.

Renee’s insights are sought after by media outlets, podcasts, and conferences where she speaks on entrepreneurship, relationships, divorce, and the art of reinvention.

Renee spends her time helping women find their voice, take bold action, and claim their right to happiness.

CONNECT WITH RENEE BAUER

Websites: https://msreneebauer.com/ and https://www.familylawyerct.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msreneebauer/

SHE WHO WINS

If Untamed by Glennon Doyle lit your soul on fire, you will love She Who Wins.Lean into doing the hard thing and catapult your life from flatlined to fabulous.

If these past years have taught us anything, it’s that so many women are stuck in jobs they despise, marriages that are joyless, roles they didn’t ask for, and most of all, their own heads. The pandemic shook our world and now as we emerge from the cover of COVID, going back to “normal” seems insufferable. If there were ever an opportunity to shake things up, it’s now.Using over two decades of experience as an award-winning divorce attorney and entrepreneur, Renee Bauer shares her own vulnerable stories of divorce, failure, and reinvention to embolden, empower, and inspire women to choose the path most uncomfortable.

Through the pages of She Who Wins, Renee breaks down some uncomfortable truths about the things holding us back from truly winning in life, all while giving you the tools to build a mindset and strategy around finally becoming the victors of your own life. Because if we can survive a pandemic, homeschooling, loss of income, and even a toilet paper shortage, don’t we deserve to win?