What Happens When Speakers Stop Competing and Start Collaborating

She almost didn't go. The conference was across the country, the ticket wasn't cheap, and she was convinced everyone else in the room would be further ahead than she was. But she went. And the speaker she sat next to at lunch - someone she had assumed was a competitor - ended up referring her for three paid gigs that year.

That's not a fairy tale. That's what collaboration looks like in practice. And for Christian speakers, it should be the norm, not the exception.

The Competition Lie

The speaking industry has a competition problem. Scroll through any speaker Facebook group and you'll see it. People guarding their contacts. Refusing to share what they charge. Treating every other speaker on the circuit as a threat.

And it makes sense in a worldly way. There are only so many stages. Only so many events. Only so many slots on the programme. If someone else gets booked, that's one less opportunity for you. Right?

Wrong. That thinking is built on scarcity. And scarcity is not something we were called to operate from.

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another."

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV)

Spurring one another on. Encouraging one another. That's the model. Not protecting your territory. Not hoarding your contacts. Not looking over your shoulder at what other speakers are doing.

Why the Best Speakers Don't Go It Alone

Here's a fact that most people in the speaking world know but rarely talk about: 100% of the highest-paid, most sought-after speakers in the United States belong to a professional speaking community. Every single one.

Grant Baldwin, who has trained thousands of speakers through his programmes, says it plainly: "You can't build a speaking career in isolation." The people who succeed are the ones who surround themselves with other speakers who challenge them, refer them, and hold them accountable.

The National Speakers Association has known this for decades. Their entire model is built on the idea that speakers grow faster together. Mentorship, mastermind groups, peer review - these aren't extras. They're the engine.

But for Christian speakers specifically, there's another layer. You need people who understand the unique challenges you face. The faith-and-marketplace tension. The guilt around charging. The question of how much of your testimony to share on a secular stage. A general speaker community might understand the business side, but they won't always understand the calling side.

That's the gap. And it's exactly why communities built specifically for Christian speakers matter.

What Collaboration Actually Looks Like

Collaboration isn't just a nice word. It has practical, tangible outcomes. Here's what it looks like when speakers choose to work together instead of against each other.

Referrals. You get asked to speak at an event but you're already booked. Instead of saying "sorry, I'm unavailable," you say "I know someone who would be perfect for this" and you refer a colleague. They do the same for you next time. Everyone wins. The event organiser gets a great speaker. Your colleague gets a booking. And you build a reputation as someone who's generous and well-connected.

Honest feedback. You run your new talk past someone who won't just tell you it's great. They'll tell you where you lost them, where the story dragged, where the point got fuzzy. This kind of feedback is gold. And you can only get it from someone who knows the craft and cares enough to be truthful with you.

Shared wisdom. How did you handle that difficult audience? What did you include in your speaker proposal? How do you prepare for a virtual keynote versus an in-person one? These are the conversations that happen naturally when speakers are in community together. You don't have to figure everything out from scratch.

Encouragement. Speaking can be isolating. You travel alone. You perform alone. You drive home alone. Having a community of people who understand that - who can celebrate a win with you or pick you up after a rough event - makes a real difference. Not a theoretical difference. A keep-going-when-you-want-to-quit difference.

Accountability. When you're in community with other speakers, you have people who notice when you're coasting. People who ask the hard questions. Are you still growing? Are you taking care of yourself? Is your message still fresh, or are you running on autopilot? A good community won't let you settle. And for Christian speakers, that accountability extends beyond business into faith, integrity, and character.

Shared platforms. When speakers collaborate, they create opportunities that didn't exist before. Co-hosted events. Joint workshops. Panel discussions. Collaborative book projects. These are things you can't do alone. And they multiply your reach in ways that individual effort simply can't match.

"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)

You were not designed to do this alone. Your message gets sharper, your business gets stronger, and your faith stays grounded when you're connected to people who are running the same race.

Try This Today

Think of one speaker you know - even just an acquaintance - who you've been treating as a competitor. Reach out to them. Ask them what they're working on. Share something useful with them. A resource. A contact. A word of encouragement. Start the collaboration with one small act of generosity and see what happens. You might be surprised how quickly the dynamic shifts when someone makes the first move.

This Is What NCAPS Was Built For

NCAPS exists because Christian speakers need a community that gets it. A place where collaboration isn't just a value on the wall - it's how we operate. Where members share expertise, refer each other, and cheer one another toward greater impact. If you've been going it alone and you're ready for something different, come see what this community looks like from the inside.