Moving Through Your Fear About Speaking

Do you have a desire to be a speaker? Do you know you have a powerful message you want to share with the world? Is fear stopping you?

Even the best speakers have a fear or anxiety about speaking. Mahatma Gandhi, during his student life, suffered from frequent panic attacks. He had a particularly agonizing experience during a speech he was asked to give to a vegetarian community in London. After reading one line from the message he had prepared, he could no longer speak and asked someone else to read the rest of the speech for him.  Warren Buffet was once a college student who was “terrified” of getting up and saying his name.  Barbra Streisand stopped singing for years due to her anxiety about speaking.

It is said that for some people, the fear is so strong they'd rather be the one being eulogized, than the one giving the eulogy. There's nothing wrong being a little nervous before you speak. In fact, a little bit of adrenalin is good because it keeps you alert, focused, and energized as you speak.

Fear shows up in different ways. It could be the fear of failure, fear of rejection, or fear of success. The fear can manifest itself in ways that we’re not always aware of. Some signs of hidden fear are procrastination, distraction, excuses, feeling stuck, feeling overwhelmed, negative beliefs, worried, and anxious.

Whenever we step into something new or take on something we’ve never done before, it’s not uncommon to experience fear. We remember our past failures and pull back to avoid them happening again. I invite you to consider what happened in the past is over and will not happen again. We don’t know what is going to happen in the future. We only have the present moment.

Be in the present and create action steps to take. By taking action will help you diminish the feeling of fear.  Remind yourself of the message you want to deliver to your audience.

Peak Performance Corporate Speaking is a Woman-Owned Professional Development Company uniquely designed to help Women Corporate Professionals improve their speaking skills, establish more credibility in less time, create a take-action culture of doer’s, be seen as thought-leaders and position themselves as industry-experts. Our mission is to transform Women Professionals from possibility to peak performance through speaking that leads to increased corporate success! Learn more at www.peakperformancespeaking.com.

You Don’t Have to Sound “Salesy” When You Speak

There is a subtle, proven way to sell your program or product at live speaking events that doesn’t sound “salesy.” It’s called “Sprinkling the Seeds.” Right from the start of your talk, sprinkle seeds of interest with your audience throughout your talk. By doing this, you don’t have to switch into a “sales mode” when it comes time to present your next program or product offering at the end of your talk. Let them know you have more to give them than you have time for. Let them know you’re going to do your best to cover as much value as you can during the time you’re speaking. Then let them know at the end of your talk you’ll share with them the additional resources you have.

Practice saying your sprinkling the seeds statements until the words easily flow.

Breaking Through the Fear Factor to Speaking

Is there part of you that really, really wants to take a quantum leap and become a speaker, but the other part of you is afraid you won’t succeed? Because of this, we don't take risks, we don't pursue our dreams of becoming a speaker. We play it safe and play it small in life. We call this the “Fear Factor”!


The way to break through the Fear Factor is to be willing to stretch yourself and step outside your comfort zone. It may be uncomfortable at first but understand that's only temporary. You're stepping into new and unfamiliar territory. It's okay to feel uncomfortable. But once you get to the other side, you'll feel exhilarated and excited. Once you start speaking in front of groups, you’ll know that YOU did it! You broke through the Fear Factor to the other side!

Creating Your Vision for Your Event

Before you start planning your event, take the time to write your vision for your event. Your vision should describe your event as vividly and specifically as possible. It should inspire you, excite you, and guide you through the journey you’re about to take. The vision for my first event, when written, was three pages long. I read my vision each day. As I read it, I would visualize what the event would look like, who the participants would be, what it would be for them as they entered the room, how I would feel standing before them, and the breakthroughs they would experience.

Creating and reading your vision daily as you plan your event will help you take your dream and make it real!

The One Thing You Must Say at the End of Your Talk

The one thing you must say at the end of your talk and you’re probably not saying is the “Call to Action.” If you’ve given a great talk with great value, the audience will be interested in what’s next. Your “Call to Action” is what you want your audience to do next. Your “Call to Action” is your Special Offer. Do you want them to sign up for a complimentary session with you, your upcoming workshop, receive your free report? Often speakers end their talk by saying, “If you have any questions, I’ll be here for a while to answer them.” That’s all they say. Then they’re so disappointed when only a few people come to see them. I invite you to set aside time the next time you speak to present your “Call to Action.”

Do You Have a Product to Sell From the Stage?

If you have given a great talk, the audience wants to learn more from you. As a speaker, you have a group of people eager to hear what’s next! This is your opportunity to increase your revenue stream by offering a product your audience needs and wants to buy. Creating a product or program can be very exciting! Before you start creating a product, you want to make sure you’re creating a product they will buy. Here’s eight questions to answer that will help you create the best product.

1. Who is your audience?
2. What is the topic?
3. What format will you use?
4. How much will you charge for your product?
5. How will you brand your product?
6. Who will help you create your product?
7. How are you going to market and promote your product?
8. What goes into a sales page?

   

Handling Questions

You’ve given the best talk of your life, but if you’re not in control of handling questions, all credibility is lost! The final impression audience members remember is the way you handle questions.

After you’ve finished your talk, raise your hand and say, “Are there any questions?” When speaking to a large group, repeat or rephrase the question to the audience. The reason you do that in a large group is to make sure everyone in the room has heard the question.

When repeating or rephrasing a question, avoid saying, “The question is,” or “That’s a good question.” If you credit one person with asking a question, you have to credit EVERYONE for asking a question. You don't want people to feel their question was not as important. It’s best to avoid getting yourself into this situation so you don’t sound repetitious.

Finding Places to Speak

Looking for places to speak? If you want to share your message with the masses, you have to get out there and speak. There’s many places to speak. Here are some places where you can find speaking engagements.

Business Networking Groups

There are many business networking groups always looking for speakers. Some well-known groups are Business International Network (BNI), Le Tip and Meetup groups. Also, do an Internet search for “business networking groups” in your city to find when they meet and visit them to see if they bring in speakers.

Local Service Clubs

These service clubs are in every city and meet on a regular basis. They are the Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, Lions Club, and local Chamber of Commerce. The Rotary Club is always looking to fill their meetings with content. This is a great way to get out there and present your message.

Special Interest Groups

There are many different interest groups out there. Whatever your interest is, there’s probably a group for you to speak at. If you go online and check out Meetup.com, you’ll find a variety of special interest groups.

Social Media Groups

Everyone’s on social media these days. Check out Facebook, LinkedIn, and Eventbrite.com for events that are happening. You can search online by topic and geographic location. I suggest you visit these events to see if it’s a good fit for you.

Creating Your Speaker Sheet

If you’re contacting places to speak, you want to create a sheet describing your background and experience as a speaker to give to them. This sheet is called your “Speaker Sheet.” It can be a one or two-sided sheet (my speaker sheet is two-sided). The person making the decision to hire speakers wants someone who will specialize in their particular type of audience. You want your Speaker Sheet to tell the potential client everything they need to know, so they will hire you.

Here’s what to include in your Speaker Sheet:

• Your title across the top of the page
• Your photo with brief bio
• Testimonial under bio
• Contact information to reach you
• Testimonials listed on the right side of the page
• Brief description of your speaking style (2nd page)
• Topics you speak on (2nd page)
• Contact information to reach you (2nd page)
• Partial Client List on the right side of the page (2nd page)

Now you have what you need to create your own Speaker Sheet!

What Makes a GREAT Speaker

Welcome to our May Blog Hop!

This month we are so excited to help you in your business and life. You’ll find fabulous articles, how-to’s and resources for you today that have helped each consultant, blogger, and business owner on the hop in their own lives and businesses. Get ready to be inspired for a wonderful month ahead of you as you move along through the blog hop.

You may just be starting the blog hop or may have come from #1 Natalie Bradley Consulting, on Natalie Bradley’s Blog Hop. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you make sure to see and learn from all of the articles featured here today.

Today I am going to talk about what makes a GREAT Speaker.

Have you ever heard a great speaker and thought to yourself “Wow, I wish I could speak like them but I’ll never be able to do what they’re doing!” Well, I want you to know it is possible. No one is born a natural speaker. They learned the skills and strategies to becoming a GREAT speaker. And, so can you!

I remember seeing Suze Orman, the financial guru, speak at a conference. As soon as she walked on stage, she connected with us. She was down-to-earth, funny, and knowledgeable. She shared her own personal story of growing up in Chicago, working as a waitress for several years making only $400 a month. Although she has achieved great success and fame, she had her ups and downs just like you and me. Because she shared authentically from her heart, she had us all sitting on the edge of our seats listening to every word she said.

Here’s 10 valuable tips to draw the audience to you from the beginning to end of your talk.

1. Know who’s in your audience before you speak. Call the event or program planner to find out the profile of the people attending.
2. Arrive early before you speak and walk around introducing yourself to some of the people. This helps to relax you and get you related to them.
3. If you’re speaking for a half-hour to an hour, your talk should cover only 3-4 points. The audience can only retain a limited amount of information in a short period of time.
4. Let the audience know at the beginning what you’ll be talking about and how long you’ll be speaking.
5. Speak to only one person at a time for about 4-5 seconds. Don’t look over their heads. Speak to them. This helps to reduce nervousness, increase confidence, and connect with the audience.
6. Create a compelling memorable story. People are interested in “you.” By sharing a memorable story, you’re connecting with the audience at a more personal level. They now will feel more related to you and what you have to say.
7. Engage the audience throughout your presentation and make it interactive. Check in with them by asking questions. It’s much more fun when you include them.
8. Throughout your talk, share other stories about people who you helped and the results. People love to hear real-life stories of triumph and success.
9. End your talk with a “call to action.” What do you want as an outcome for your talk? Do you want the audience to take an action step? Do you want them to buy your product or service?
10. Capture your audience. If you want to keep in touch with them, offer to send them notes from your talk or give a gift if they give you their business cards.

The next stop is my good friend, #3 M. Shannon Hernandez on Natalie Bradley’s Blog Hop! Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you again next month!

1. Natalie Bradley at Natalie Bradley Consulting
2. Rochelle Togo-Figa at RTF Coaching <<– you are here!
3. M. Shannon Hernandez at The Writing Whisperer
4. Jill Russo Foster at JillRussoFoster.com
5. Deb Brown at Touch Your Client’s Heart
6. Vicki Heise at Vicki Heise ~ Live Your Healthy Life
7. Kim McDaniels at iBiz Design Duchess
8. Robin Hardy at Integrity Virtual Services
9. Heidi Kleine at Worth it Woman
10. Ronda Neufeld at Ronda Neufeld Relationship & Life Coach

Here’s to your breakthroughs…

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You Gotta Grab Their Attention From The Start

 

Welcome to our March Blog Hop!

This month we want to help you experience success in your business and life, featuring articles, how-to’s and resources for you today that have helped each consultant, blogger and business owner on the hop in their own lives and businesses. Get ready to be inspired for a fabulous year ahead of you as you move along through the blog hop.

You may just be starting the blog hop or may have come from #4 Vicki Heise at Live Your Healthy Life, on Natalie Bradley’s Blog Hop. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you make sure to see and learn from all of the articles featured here today.

Today I am going to talk to you about how to grab your audiences attention from the start.

I'm sure you'd agree we are inundated with many e-mails inviting us to sign up for a teleclass, webinar, or workshop. We don't have the time to read all the way through the description. Unless the title grabs our attention in the first few moments, we hit the delete button. The same happens when you give a talk. The audience makes a decision as to whether they're interested in what you have to say within the first three minutes of your talk, so it's important to keep in mind you only have a few moments to grab their attention.
Here are four steps to grab the audience's attention easily and quickly right from the start:

1. Create a catchy title that addresses their pain. With all the information we receive, people may not read further than your title, so make the title of your talk quickly grab their attention. As you think about what to say in your title, think about what matters most to your audience. What's their pain? What will they gain from your talk? Be clear and descriptive in your title. Instead of "Learn How to Become a Speaker," a more exciting title would be "The 9 Best-Kept Secrets to Exploding Your Business as a Speaker."
2. Tell your personal story. Begin your talk by telling your personal story of how you got to be who you are today. The fastest way to draw the audience to you is being authentic. When you share something personal about yourself, the audience feels more connected to you. They can relate to you more through your story and that will draw them to you. The speakers who leave the strongest impression on you are the ones who share something personal about themselves. We quickly get engaged when a person shares their humanity as we can all relate to that.
3. Describe your story vividly and specifically. As you tell your story, speak in the present tense. Share your story as if it's happening right now and describe it with excitement and energy. I remember seeing Suze Orman, the financial expert, speak at a conference. As soon as she walked on stage, she connected with everyone in the audience. She was down to earth, funny, and knowledgeable. She shared how she had grown up on the poor side of Chicago, working as a waitress, making only a few hundred dollars a month. She had her ups and downs just like us but because she shared authentically from her heart, she had us all sitting on the edge of our seats listening to every word she said.
4. Other ways to start off your talk. The point is you're engaging the audience right from the start. Some other ways to quickly grab the audience's attention is by sharing a story about a client, or asking a question to engage the audience, or sharing some current news story, or some startling statistic that relates to your talk. I've started off a talk about speaking by saying, "Did you know most people would rather be the person being eulogized than the person giving the eulogy?" I always hear a few chuckles and people nodding their heads in agreement. These short factual statements quickly grab the audience's attention.

The next stop is my good friend, #6 Robin Hardy on Natalie Bradley’s Blog Hop! Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you again next month!

1. Natalie Bradley a Natalie Bradley Consulting
2. Debra Burdick at The Brain Lady
3. Deb Brown at Touch Your Client’s Heart
4. Vicki Heise at Live Your Healthy Life 
5. Rochelle Togo-Figa at Speaking Breakthrough Strategist <<– you are here!
6. Robin Hardy at Integrity Virtual Services
7. Chérie Ronning at Chérie Ronning, Consultant-Mentor-Speaker
8. Kim McDaniels at iBiz Design Duchess

Here’s to your breakthroughs…

Sign Up to Receive Free

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Does the Thought of Failing Keep You From Pursuing Your Dream of Becoming a Speaker?

You may just be starting the blog hop or may have come from #5 Vicki Heise at Live Your Healthy Life, on Natalie Bradley’s Blog Hop. If you get off track at any time, the full lineup below will help you move along from blog to blog so you make sure to see and learn from all of the articles featured here today.

Today I am going to talk to you about getting past your fear of becoming a speaker.

Does the thought of failing keep you from pursuing your dream of becoming a speaker? If the answer is “yes,” you’re not alone. When we hear the word “fail,” we connect it to something negative and bad. For many people, the thought of failing brings up strong feelings and emotions. The feelings are so strong, it’s feels safer not to take on new things.
If you’ve read the bios of most successful people, you’ll see they’ve all failed many times over before they achieved success.
Here are four key steps to help you move through the fear and be willing to take that risk.

1. Identify the fear: Write out specifically what the fear is, including all the details. To move through the fear; you first have to clarify exactly what the fear is.
2. Emotions and feelings: Write the feelings you’re experiencing as you think about your fear. Do you feel scared, nervous, frustrated, anxious, angry, or hopeless? The clearer you are about the feelings connected to the fear, the easier it will be to move through it.
3. Identify the fear: Ask yourself, “Is this a real or self-imposed fear? A real fear would be if you were about to be pushed out of an airplane. A self-imposed fear is a fear you’re experiencing that hasn’t happened. Once you identify that it’s a self-imposed fear and your life is not in danger, you now know you’re in charge and can take action.
4. Action steps: A powerful way to move through the fear is taking action. Once you take that first step, you’ll feel freedom and confidence because you’re taking charge of your life and the next steps become easier to take.

They say in life you’re either growing or contracting. The only way to grow is to be willing to not let fear stop you. I invite you to be willing to move the fear and become the speaker you’ve always wanted to be!
The next stop is my good friend, #7 Lisa Ivaldi at InsightClarityGrowth.com on Natalie Bradley’s Blog Hop! Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you again next month!

1. Natalie Bradley at Natalie Bradley Consulting
2. Cari Vollmer at PassionIntoProfit.com
3. Debra Burdick at The Brain Lady
4. Janet Slack at Solopreneur.Biz
5. Vicki Heise at Live Your Healthy Life 
6. Rochelle Togo-Figa at Speaking Breakthrough Strategist 
7. Lisa Ivaldi at InsightClarityGrowth.com
8. Robin Hardy at Integrity Virtual Services
9. Sandra Gardner at Tall Red Poppy // Marketing, Magic, & Design Sanctuary
10. Deb Brown at Touch Your Client’s Heart
11. Jill Russo Foster at JillRussoFoster.com
12. Kim McDaniels at iBiz Design Duchess 
13. Sharon Lewis at Questiam Leadership Development
14. Chérie Ronning at Chérie Ronning, Consultant-Mentor-Speaker

Here’s to your breakthroughs…

Sign Up to Receive Free

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Immediate Access to 3 Successful Speaker Strategies

Complete the form to get immediate access.

First Name

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Create a Step-By-Step Plan for Speaking

If you want to be a speaker and you’ve never spoken in front of an audience before, you need to create a step-by-step plan to get you there. Here are some steps to take.

1. Create your signature talk: This is your main talk that represents who you are and you can give over and over again.
2. Be trained: If you’ve never spoken in front of an audience before, you want to be trained to powerfully deliver your message.
3. Your audience: You need to know who your ideal audience is. You want to be speaking to this group. These are the people you want to work with.
4. Places to speak: Find networking groups, organizations, associations, and events where your ideal client attends. Introduce yourself to the person who hires speakers and ask to speak to their group!
5. Speaker Sheet: Create a Speaker Sheet. This sheet describes your background, the topics you speak about, where you’ve spoken, and testimonials.

Shift Your Mindset About Speaking

When you shift the way you think about speaking, your whole view of speaking will transform. This means changing every single negative thought you have. Thoughts like, “I’m not good enough, I’ll never be a successful speaker, or she/he has what it takes and I don’t.” These thoughts were made by you.

Ask yourself, “What are the thoughts I’m creating right now?” Are you thinking about ways to become a speaker or are you thinking of reasons why you’ll never be able to be a speaker?

Studies show the mind is like a programming machine. Whatever thoughts the mind hears over and over again believes it to be true. We can turn any negative thought into a positive and powerful thought.

You have within yourself the ability to change your thoughts and by doing that, you can achieve everything you want to achieve. You can be the speaker you’ve always wanted to be!

It’s Okay to Speak for Free

I want to share with you what authors Dottie and Lilly Walters, authors of Speak and Grow Rich, say about speaking for free.

“There is no reason to make a ‘free’ presentation. There are many good reasons to present for “no fee.” The majority of speeches in the world are done for no fee. Obviously, there are many benefits of speaking for no-fee, or so many people wouldn’t be doing it!”

Here are some benefits of speaking for “no fee”:

• Correct Performance Problems: A way to sharpen your speaking skills for the world of paid bookings is to practice before live audiences.
• Educate the Public: Most companies realize the tremendous marketing and benefits available to them by sending presenters into the public to teach them about their product and industry.
• Obtain Prospective Clients: Speaking for no fee is one of the best ways of obtaining prospective clients.

Meet with the Audience Before You Speak

Many new speakers feel nervous at the beginning of their talk. The main reason this happens is they don’t know the people in the audience. This may bring up the fear of being judged and not being good enough. I have found the easiest way to break the ice with the audience is to arrive and mingle before you give your talk. When you do this, you’ll get to know the people you’ll be delivering your talk to and this will put you at ease.

When I spoke at a conference, I stood outside as people signed in and introduced myself to them. They loved having the opportunity to meet me. And for me, connecting with them early on helped me to relax before I got up to speak.

F-E-A-R Doesn’t Have to Stop You

The only power fear has over you is the power you give it. Remember fear may come up for you when you're doing something you've never done before. The next time you feel yourself pulling back because of fear, notice you're the one giving it power. Then choose to take your power back by taking an action step forward. When you step into what you fear the most, you have broken through to the other side!

There's a great quote by Oprah, "Whatever you fear most has no power — it is YOUR fear that has the power."

Fear of Failing Keeping You from Becoming a Speaker?

Does the thought of failing keep you from pursuing your dream of becoming a speaker? If the answer is “yes,” you’re not alone. When we hear the word “fail,” we connect it to something negative and bad. For many people, the thought of failing brings up strong feelings and emotions. The feelings are so strong, it’s feels safer not to take on new things.

If you’ve read the bios of most successful people, you’ll see they’ve all failed many times over before they achieved success.

Here are 4 key steps to help you move through the fear and be willing to take that risk.

1. Identify the fear: Write out specifically what the fear is, including all the details. To move through the fear; you first have to clarify exactly what the fear is.
2. Emotions and feelings: Write the feelings you’re experiencing as you think about your fear. Do you feel scared, nervous, frustrated, anxious, angry, or hopeless? The clearer you are about the feelings connected to the fear, the easier it will be to move through it.
3. Identify the fear: Ask yourself, “Is this a real or self-imposed fear? A real fear would be if you were about to be pushed out of an airplane. A self-imposed fear is a fear you’re experiencing that hasn’t happened. Once you identify that it’s a self-imposed fear and your life is not endangered, you now know you’re in charge and can take action.
4. Action steps: A powerful way to move through the fear is taking action. Once you take that first step, you’ll feel freedom and confidence because you’re taking charge of your life and the next steps become easier to take.

They say in life you’re either growing or contracting. The only way to grow is to be willing to not let fear stop you. I invite you to be willing to move the fear and become the speaker you’ve always wanted to be!

Think Outside the Box

When putting on a live event, you have to think outside the box when it comes to filling the seats.

Here are 4 creative ways to fill the seats at your event:

• In addition to doing Internet marketing, also combine it with an offline approach. People are constantly inundated with emails. Do direct mail campaigns and pass out flyers. This will help you to stand out from the crowd.
• Do a teleconference call for your list previewing your event and answering questions.
• Reach out to your colleagues and ask them to do a teleconference call for their list.
• Pick up the phone and personally call people who you think might be interested in attending.

Create a Catchy Title for Your Talk

Like it or not, people often buy books by their covers, or at least they are attracted to take a closer look at the book’s content because the cover has caught their attention. It’s the same with writing the title for your talk. If your title is the typical type of title, it will probably be ignored.

One of the best ways to come up with ideas for a catchy title is to walk through bookstores and peruse the shelves reading the titles of books. Notice the words of titles that quickly grab your attention. Titles are like headlines in newspapers and magazines. You buy the publication because the headline promises you information you need or are interested in.

As you’re creating the title of your talk, you want to think about what matters most to your audience. What’s their pain? What can they gain from my talk? Write a title that points out the problem and implies your material contains the answers the audience is looking for.

For example, “The 9 Best-Kept Secrets to Exploding Your Business as a Speaker”.

When you create a title that talks about the problem your buyers need a solution to, and then deliver the best material to solve that problem, you’ll start attracting your ideal clients!