by Leisa Reid

The following is an excerpt from the book, Get Speaking Gigs Now.

What does it mean to get your talk ready to rock?

There is nothing like the feeling of speaking in front of an audience and being IN FLOW.

1. The audience is engaged and leaning in, you are in the zone, feeling confident and there is a feeling of ease, certainty, buzz in the air.

2. People come up to you afterwards and are interested in your services or business offerings.

3. They tell you how much they were affected by what you said and they would like to learn more about you and what you offer.

4. They ask if you might be able to help them because they can relate to what you shared.

All this, and the whole time you were YOU. You spoke from a place of authenticity, truth and shared your expertise in away that felt truly in alignment with who you are. The audience felt that from you. You knew where you were taking the audience because you had intentionally created your talk with them in mind. You narrowed down your years of expertise into bite-size pieces that they could understand. You made the pathway to working with you super clear and easy without sounding or feeling “salesy.” It felt natural. You remembered to share your call to action and kept it clear and easy for the audience to make a decision. You did that confidently because, again, you were intentional and prepared.

You had practiced your talk so that your anxiety level was low and your confidence, certainty and connection with the audience shone through. People felt that. You were a ROCK STAR!

That is what I mean when I help people get their talk ready to ROCK. No two talks are alike because no two speakers are alike. It’s not about being someone else. It’s about YOU and your expertise and how you can make the biggest impact with the time you have on stage.

How do you know you are ready to get your talk ready to rock and become a speaker?

You are ready if you are:

1. Pushing speaking opportunities away because you’re working on your talk.

I see this SO often. Speakers are “working” on their talk for a looooooooong time. It’s hard to edit our talks and narrow down our expertise because we think it’s ALL important. We want to impart ALL of our knowledge. “Working on your talk” is also an excuse not to get out there and give it. It can be scary to be a speaker.

2. Scheduled to speak, but dreading it.

I get all kinds of 9-1-1 calls from speakers. And the best advice (if you haven’t done this yet) is to get help sooner rather than later! There is a way to lower all of that anxiety and make this a fun experience (and get clients too!).

One day I got a panicked call from a woman who was scheduled to speak in front of an audience of 100 people. She was hoping they would cancel her as a speaker because she was so nervous because the talk she had prepared didn’t feel natural to her. By the time we worked together (4 days before her talk – nail biter!), she was calm and felt grounded. Oh, and she did a great job!

3. Want to use speaking to build your business and gain clients.

Speaking is a fun and powerful way to attract the ideal clients who you can help. The audience has gotten insight into your personality and knowledge, so the people who resonate with you come forward. For those of us who enjoy teaching, coaching, mentoring, training and facilitating, speaking is the cat’s meow! You can easily formulate a valuable talk that serves the audience AND helps you gain clients.

4. Booked to speak in the future.

Some of us become speakers unexpectedly. You may have experienced people asking you to speak at an event even though you weren’t actively looking for the opportunity. So now what do you do? The date is looming and you still need to figure out the best way to leverage the opportunity.

This happened to one of my clients who had a fear of speaking. She is a very educated and powerful coach, but was not confident in public speaking due to English being her second language.

We found a way for her to give a powerful talk (loaded with some experiential exercises) that accented her depth and wisdom. Instead of overfeeding the audience with facts, she was able to inspire and connect through her authentic gifts as a coach.

I believe that if you feel that you have been called to speak, then listen up! You wouldn’t have thought about it if it wasn’t a part of your path. Speaking is an incredible way to make an impact in the world. If you have a book, then speaking is a tool you can use to sell more books and attract more clients. 

If you are looking to get booked on more stages (virtual or otherwise) as a speaker, get the free 5 Top Tips to Get More Speaking Gigs Now HERE!