Teach What You Know

When you think about networking and becoming known in your community, one thing that may not have come to mind is teaching. Many local communities have organizations that need experts from the community to teach different subjects. Look for the Center for Lifelong Learning. You likely have a local one that you can start with. In addition, find local groups that need speakers to teach something.

* College Clubs – These clubs often need free speakers to teach something to their groups at their monthly meetings. This will help you practice your skills, but it will also help connect you with the college in a new way as an expert.

* Organizations – Look for a list of business organizations (often they’re Chamber Members) in your area, then send each one a list of the things you can teach their members along with examples of your work if you’ve recorded yourself. You will more than likely get called the first time to replace someone last minute. Be ready.

* Networking Events – In some cases, people who plan networking events also need speakers or people who will act as an MC. You can get yourself on the list by joining your local speaker’s bureau or by directly contacting event organizers. 

* Learning Centers – We mentioned the Center for Lifelong Learning, but there are other learning environments locally that may work for you. For example, some communities have women's business centers, minority business centers, and so forth. You can teach something even if you’re not part of the specific community.

* Online Courses – You can also set up online courses using software like Teachable.com. Then target your local community with the lessons by using a targeted Facebook advertisement to get the word out.

* Publish a Book – Another great way to teach what you know is to write and publish a "how to" book of some kind. You can fit this into any niche. It’s also very easy to self-publish today. You can do it right through Amazon Kindle.

* Churches – Sometimes smaller churches have openings for speakers on Sunday. The reason is they may have a pastor who is on break and they want to bring information to their congregation. You’ll want to look for slightly alternative churches to send your information to, along with your book and one sheet so that they know what you’ll talk about. Some churches even pay you by sharing the plate or by allowing you to set up a table to sell your books and information before and after your talk.

These are all ways that you can teach what you know to get known better in your community. If you think of any talk or speech as simply teaching what you know, it might be easy for you to do it if you’re nervous. You can practice at home, on YouTube, via Facebook Live, or other means to get more comfortable teaching what you know.