Why me?
- I am experienced. I have spoken about autism for a wide variety of audiences since 2015. Through the years I have spoken hundreds of times, nationally, internationally, virtually, for corporate audiences, for schools, for charities, and so on. I have a six-figure following on social media for my advocacy platform Autistic Not Weird, and have co-chaired a mental health conference for the National Autistic Society.
- I help to solve problems. If you want a speaker to just inspire an audience and makes them feel happy, I can do that. But my teacher instincts always drive me further, and ask ‘what need is being met here?’ So, whatever your organisation’s goals are, have a chat with me about how I can help you reach them.
- I am neurodivergent-affirming. Being autistic myself, and an active voice in the neurodiversity movement for over a decade, the core of my message is that neurodivergent brains add to the success of the human race. As you may have seen on this website already, my mantra is human progress relies on diversity of thought.
- I am professional. Far from simply dabbling in speaking work, I take it as seriously as it deserves: my speaking business is a limited company (Chris Bonnello Ltd), and I’m a professional member of the Professional Speaking Association.
- I am easy to work with. Both in the interpersonal sense, and in the administrative sense too. After all, this line of work is much easier when the process is simple, predictable, and stress-free.
Are your talks virtual, face-to-face or hybrid?
I can do any of the above. Virtual is easy but I am also keen to travel: I am based in the British East Midlands, but the furthest I’ve travelled for a speech is Sydney Opera House.
How much do you charge?
As much as I’d love to give a numerical answer from the very start, there are a few factors that influence specific pricing. These include:
- What type of audience I’m speaking for (e.g. corporate, school, charitable);
- The nature of the work (e.g. keynote speech, panel discussion, lunch and learn, teacher training, and all et ceteras);
- Where you are geographically (for in-person events).
I endeavour to give clients that numerical answer as soon as I sensibly can: the fastest way to establish one is to get in touch via email, and preferably have a video call to discuss the specifics.
Do you offer free speaking engagements?
Under very specific circumstances I might: the example I often use is a local autism charity my family is involved with, who paid me in pizza. (Given their turnover, this was entirely reasonable.)
As a general rule though, speaking is my profession and what I provide is worthy of payment. Sadly, autism and neurodiversity speakers are often asked to speak for free even by multinational corporations, sometimes offered ‘exposure’ or asked to be grateful that our marginalised voices are getting an audience at all. (Ironically, if a company’s outlook is “let’s find a neurodivergent speaker who will provide work for free”, it’s a strong indication that their attitude to valuing neurodiversity would be helped by my services!)
Can we hire you on a retainer basis?
Absolutely: following any work I provide, you can retain my services on a month-to-month basis. Frankly, I feel that more good is done through long-standing relationships than one-off speeches, and I’m grateful that so many of my clients ask for my services a second time.
Any further questions? Please do send me an email (chris@autisticnotweird.com).