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!

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

Video Speaking Series

Immediate Access to 3 Successful Speaker Strategies

Complete the form to get immediate access.

First Name

Email *

* Required Fields

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.

Fear Stopping You from Becoming a Speaker?

Do you dream about being a speaker? Do you know you have a powerful message you want to share with the world? Is fear stopping you from pursuing your dream?

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 different 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. Taking action will help you diminish the feeling of fear.

If you have a dream of becoming a speaker, write down the steps you can take and take action NOW!

Speaking Powerfully Videos

If you want to attract more people to your website, start doing videos! Sounds simple doesn’t it? After you do them for a period of time, it does become easier. At the beginning there are steps to take to help you come across powerfully on video.

Here are 5 steps to help you grab people’s attention right from the start when speaking in videos.

1. Create the script. When you’re speaking, the language you use has to be easy to understand. The words you say are different than the words you would write on paper.
2. Be fully expressed. No one wants to listen or watch a boring speaker. Show your passion and enthusiasm in every word you speak.
3. Be authentic. Speak genuinely from your heart. Don’t say what you think they want to hear, say what is true for you. Speak your truth.
4. Practice, practice, practice. Don’t expect to get it right the first time. If you fly by the seat of your pants when speaking, it will come across in your delivery. Practice saying your script until you can say it naturally and without looking at the words.
5. Connect with the audience. Look directly at the camera when speaking. Imagine you’re having a conversation with a friend sitting across from you.

Are You Filling the Seats?

The biggest undertaking and most critical part to having a successful event, is filling the seats. It takes the most time, so a step-by-step marketing plan is critical. You need to start promoting your event several months in advance, depending on the size and cost. There will be bumps along the way, so don’t expect smooth sailing all the way through. This is where the answer to the question, “How badly do I want this?” comes into play.

The number one key is having a solid blueprint and a multilevel marketing strategy in place. If people hear the same message over and over again, they will stop listening. You have to come up with creative ways to get people interested in your offer.

Many workshops don’t fill up until close to the deadline, so it’s important to come up with creative ways to entice people to sign up.

2 Key Steps to Create a Successful Event

As you’re planning your live event, you may go through a series of different emotions. It’s to be expected if you’ve never done this before.
Whenever you step into something bigger than you’ve ever done before, it’s normal to experience fear, doubts, and anxiety. There is a way to diminish these feelings. Here are two key steps that will make the biggest difference for you as you create your live event.

1. Create Your Vision: Before you start planning your event, take some 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. Then read it each day to remind yourself of why you’re doing this event.
2. Ask Yourself This Question: “How badly do I want to do this?” Write down the answer to that question. Getting clear for yourself as to why you’re doing the event, will keep you moving forward even when you have those doubts. Whenever we take on something bigger than we’ve ever taken on before, it’s not unusual for those doubts to fill our heads. Answer that question honestly as there will be times where you will be tested.

Mistakes to Avoid When Planning Your Event

Planning your first event can be very exciting and overwhelming at the same time. There are many facets to planning a successful event. You don’t want to rush into it without a clear plan in place.
Here are four mistakes to avoid when planning your event:

1. Not planning far enough in advance. If you’re planning for 25-40 to attend, give yourself about 60 days to plan. For larger events, give yourself 3-4 months to plan.
2. Doing it all yourself. It’s impossible to do it yourself, especially a live event. Write down everything that needs to be done and hire people to do some of the tasks.
3. Ineffective social media. The key to success is to make sure you are marketing and promoting on the right social medial platforms. Don’t promote just to promote.
4. Not creating a sense of urgency in your marketing. It’s not enough to ask people to register. You have to entice them to do so. The best way to do this is to offer discounted registration prices, also known as Early Bird Specials.

Do You Know Your Audience?

When you’re creating your presentation, it’s important to know your audience. You want to do as much research as you can on the people who will be attending your presentation in advance, so the presentation addresses their needs. Here are some questions to help you design an effective presentation:

1. What is the profile of the people attending?
2. How many people will be attending?
3. How does their knowledge of your subject matter match yours?
4. How much time do you have? How will you manage the way questions and discussion fit into your time allotment?
5. How might your age, gender, background, appearance, or other factors affect your credibility? What can you do to establish credibility?
6. What are the actions steps you want the audience to take at the end of the presentation?

Create Urgency to Buy NOW

At the end of your talk you have the opportunity to promote your products or services. If you’ve delivered a powerful presentation and given great content, your audience will be interested in what you have to offer.

To create urgency for people to buy your product or service at the end of your talk, have a special offer with a deadline that you can present. The special offer can be a dollar amount savings if they buy now. Make it clear it’s for a limited time only and to take action to buy now.

When people walk out the door, the chances of them buying your product or service drops dramatically. You want them to buy immediately—at the moment when they’re excited about what they’ve just heard.

An example of a special offer with a deadline is “Save $200 (this is the amount they save) if you sign up by February 28th (this is the specific date).”

Follow Up is Key to Getting the Business as a Speaker

The gold is in the follow-up. Follow-up is the key to getting business and making money as a speaker. Studies have shown that 80% of sales are lost due to the lack of follow up. And, the sale is made between the 5th and the 12th contact with a prospect. So it’s important to stay in touch with the people who came to hear you speak.

Always remember every person in the audience, whether or not they purchase your product, program, or service, is a potential client and you don’t want to let them slip away.

Here are 5 steps to following up for the business:

1. Always follow up with attendees within 24-48 hours of an event.
2. Send them a “Thank You for Attending” email.
3. Repeat the special offer you made at the end of your talk.
4. Let them know you’re gifting them a free online newsletter.
5. Continue to stay in touch with them via email until the “special offer” ends.

Collect Their Business Cards When You Speak

A golden opportunity as a speaker is collecting business cards from the people attending your talk. You want their cards so you can stay in touch with them over time. One of the ways to stay in touch over time is doing a weekly online newsletter. So when they’re ready to hire you, you’ll be in the forefront of their minds. Here are three valuable tips to help you collect those cards…

• Sign Up Sheet: Pass around a “Sign Up” sheet for them to sign to receive your free weekly online newsletter as a gift. If the group is larger, pass around two “Sign Up” sheets to ensure you gather everyone’s card.
• Free Drawing: At the beginning of your talk, tell them about the free drawing and that everyone’s going to receive a free gift, so they will want to stay to the end to receive it. Have a small dish or basket for them to drop their business cards in as they enter the room.
• Copy of Your Presentation: Offer to send them a copy of your presentation if they give you their business card.

Present Yourself with Impact

How you look and sound matters most. Studies have shown that 93% of the impact you make on your audience comes across in the way you look and sound. They only remember 77% of the words. Although it’s important to deliver valuable content, it’s even more important to present with impact. This means sharpening your physical skills is a priority.

When you walk to the front of the room, from the moment you speak do the following:

• Convey enthusiasm, confidence and authenticity.
• Look directly at people when you speak (not buried in your notes).
• Maintain energy and volume.
• Use gestures.