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.”

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!

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…

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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.

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!

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.

What to Charge to Attend Your Event

A common question that comes up when planning your event is, “What do I charge to attend my event?”

In the past, many of the well-known people leading events charged a big upfront fee to attend their events. With the shift in the economy, that has changed. They’re now charging a lower upfront fee and delivering a lot of value, such that the attendees want to sign up for their higher end programs.

When deciding on the fee you want to charge to attend your event, check within yourself to make sure you can stand behind the fee you’re charging. You must believe in the value you’re delivering.

Investing in Your Event

There is an initial investment you will make upfront before sales start coming in. It’s important to understand you will be spending money upfront. If you plan wisely, you will make back the money you invested plus more at the end with people signing up and buying programs and products.

Some of the upfront costs are paying for the room, creating the program and product materials, administrative assistance, outsourcing, etc. If you hire an event planner, he or she will be able to provide you with all the costs. If you’re planning your event yourself, look at all the costs involved so you’re completely clear on what your investment is.

Questions for Designing a Powerful Event

As you begin to create your event, there are questions to ask yourself that will help you design a powerful event.

They are…

• What is the topic?
• What is the information you want to teach?
• Who is your target audience? How will you find them?
• Where, when, and how long do you want the event to be?
• How much do you want to charge?
• What special bonuses will you offer?
• What Early Bird Specials will you offer?
• Do you want to have guest speakers?
• Do you have programs and/or products to sell at the event?
• Do you want to hire an event planner?
• Do you need to outsource more of the planning and to whom?