I know this is not particularly novel advice, but to me it is mostly about preparation. Even if you feel like the content comes very naturally to you, making sure you have practiced your full talk (assuming it is kind of a formal talk) at least two or three times all the way through makes all the difference in the world.

And writing notes on the palm of your hand helps too!

To get started, I'd suggest making people in your network aware that you're interested in speaking to some groups and some examples of topics you could talk about or do a workshop/seminar on. You'll likely be surprised at how many opportunities are out there - especially if you are willing to speak for free. Once you've gotten several under your belt, you'll likely be referred and recommended to other groups who are willing to pay you for your time and expertise.

Beyond your network, here's a few additional resources I'd suggest contacting:

1) Schools or universities in your area. Usually, the Career Development offices are dying to connect students to business leaders who can talk to them about what it's like in the "real world" and also provide networking and job search tips.

2) Job search support groups or networking groups in your community - In Cincinnati, there are a number of Job Search Support Groups that meet regularly to help people in career transition. Most have a speaker as part of their meetings and they are thrilled to have someone from HR/Recruiting come to talk with them and answer questions about how to approach their job search. You'd be perfect for this!

3) Check with your local HR Association or Recruiting groups. While most local chapters tend to book their lunch speakers months in advance (and it seems they like to book out of town speakers to give some "cred"), it's likely they'd be interested in having someone like you offer to provide a seminar, breakfast or lunch talk about one of the many topics you could speak to. I bet if you offered to do a social media workshop for an hour or so, they'd be ecstatic. :)

A few more tips:

1) Add a Speaking page to your blog. List topics you can or have spoken about. Not only will your blog readers find you that way (and you'll get opportunities from it I'm sure), but you'll also get found through search engines. My Speaking/Workshops page on my blog get daily traffic and more than once I've booked a speaking gig because someone googled "Using Social Media in HR" or "Using LinkedIn for Job Search", etc. and landed on my blog. I've also gotten interview requests from magazines, radio shows, etc. through being found by this page.

2) Add that you're a speaker, or open to speaking, on you LinkedIn profile. Same as the example above, I have booked several speaking engagements and interviews as a result of being found on LinkedIn.

3) Don't be shy about asking attendees to write a recommendation for you on LinkedIn if they found your talk to be of value. I've not been comfortable with asking myself, but I know several local speakers who have tons of great recommendations to show on their profiles - because they asked. It doesn't diminish the recommendation and the people still wanted to write them, but most people don't think about it. Once your LinkedIn network starts seeing recommendations pop up for your speaking, you'll start getting more requests to speak. Subtle marketing works.

4) Bring your own evaluation sheets if the group doesn't provide one. The feedback will not only help you understand what resonated with the audience, but also what you can improve upon. As you start speaking more and filling out those Speaker Proposals, often they ask for evaluation results from some recent engagements.

5) Eventually make sure you get a good video of you speaking to a group. Same as #4, it will help you see what you do well and what you need to improve, and it's also frequently requested for more high profile speaking opportunities.

Sorry about the long comment, but I wanted to share enough to get you started. I know you'll be great at this and I highly encourage you to put the word out. Who knows, you may eventually turn pro and we'll be able to say that we knew you back when you were just Simply Lisa. :)

I have to speak in front of audiences large and small often and I think it's practice that's made it easy for me. I remember my first graduation as a principal, I was sweating bullets and struggling to manage the anxiety--everything needed to be perfect, including my welcoming speech. That was about eight years ago and I can tell you that I don't even think about it now. Speaking in front of an audience is as easy as breathing and that's because I've done it time and time again.

Preparation is key, I better know my topic cold and for 99% of my speaking gigs, I've got to be able to answer questions afterwards. I also keep it focused and try to relate directly to my audience. It's still like teaching, just more "students", I'm very aware of the people in the audience and work hard to make a connection with them. I even need to be close to them, I prefer standing within the audience to standing at a podium on the stage.

YOU, my friend, have to know that every time you write, you're developing and processing your thoughts. Your thinking is sound and fluent and clear in your writing---your speaking will be precisely the same. Ditch the nerves, that's all that's standing in your way. Those nerves are a total waste of your precious energy.

Start with the colleges! I love speaking at the Career Centers and for classroom presentations. I find the students to be a great audience, full of energy and excited about having a break from 'regular' class for the night. Most students are in college becuase they want a job so there are many aspects of HR they are interested in learning about. You writing is clear, engaging, on topic, and fun...I have a feeling that's just who you are, and it will come through in a speech as well. Good luck!