Transcript
You have instant authority once you’re on stage. You speak to one, to many. Obviously, you would do that online as well. But you have them present in the room, they are listening, they pay attention, they’re here for exactly the topic you actually share about, and they can feel you, they can feel the vibe in the audience, and it’s just a whole another experience. So, what happens actually after I talk is that people will come up to you, they want your contact information, they will ask you further questions. So, in marketing, we would say you instantly transfer cold leads into warm or hot leads or contacts because the trust is built so quickly.
Hopefully, you master your topic and it’s important to not only master your topic but also dare to have stage presence because there’s a difference between just delivering information and actually creating a bond with the audience. So, you need to know why the people are actually there, what they expect from you, and how you should deliver the message and how it relates to your brand, how it relates to your offers. And also dare to pitch, not in an aggressive – heavy way, but just allow yourself to share and give the information about how you can provide further service if they’re really interested in the topic because you’re the expert in the field. So obviously, some of the people in the audience would like to continue working with you. So, tell them about your offer.
The most important public speaking events, Obviously, there are some big names out there like TEDx, but it depends on your industry, what actually matters. So, do your research and also allow yourself to start local – start small. You have to train somewhere, you have to build your skills, your public speaking skills. And it’s totally okay to start in your local town and then build from there. It’s a practice, you need places where you can practice, meaning you need to plan your content, what will you actually talk about? You will have to present it to an audience that is maybe not that adverse in the topic, meaning do they really understand what you mean? Present it to family and friends or colleagues first, and then go out there and dare to actually present yourself on stage. Look in your industry: what type of events are there? Which type of events would you actually visit yourself?
And ask around; you might have entrepreneur friends and colleagues that actually talk about events they attended. Look into magazines, they actually talk about the latest events that are showing up. Look up online, I mean, we have Google, you can do a whole like listing of events that might be relevant to your topic – your industry. But you have to know two or three things when you apply to an event which is; have a bio. What is a bio? It’s a biography about who you are, what you do. Maybe a little resume about the first speaking things you already had, or if you’re an author in a magazine, just put in some references that make you relevant to the event; pitch them why they should like give you a slot, right? And then you also have to know there are different types of speaking possibilities.
Some will invite you for free as a keynote speaker, but usually, that doesn’t happen at the beginning. Usually, at the beginning, you pay for your speaking moment and it’s okay to only have 15 minutes or even 30 minutes because it’s a skill to keep the attention span of the audience high. So, don’t underestimate 15 minutes. I’d rather have you talk shortly, but precisely and deliver than booking a slot of an hour and then eventually bore the people because you can’t hold the energy. And you can also start in networking events. They’re women networking, entrepreneur events all over the place. Go there, book a 15 minutes slot and present yourself to the networking community; you can start there. And it’s a very effective way to also then sell your services.
Identify your fear before you go out there. It’s totally normal to have stage fright, but there’s so many fears attached to public speaking. Please do yourself a favor and look at them, and ask yourself, are they really true? Let’s say you forget the words; well, you master your topic, you’re an expert – you can improvise something, don’t worry. Worst case scenario, you have some paper with you and you look at it, right? Or you have a presentation; you look at it. So, the fear, maybe it’s not that important than you thought at the beginning. There are different types of fears. So, just write them down, analyze them, and let them go – that’s the first thing. You need to have confidence when you’re on stage because people want to have a good time. So, allow yourself to have a good time and to offer that to them.
If you’re scared and nervous, they actually are scared and nervous with you, all right? So, they’re not there to get you. They’re there to actually learn from you. So, know they expect and wait for you, and they want to have fun – Just relax. The other thing is know your audience; know why they’re actually there, know the context of the event. Plan what you’re going to say in advance. Really have to know the intro, the main topic, and the outro; just be sure that you have a strong intro and a strong outro. And engage with the people, meaning don’t just make them listen because at some point it’s a monologue. Try to actually create a type of dialogue with the audience. Obviously, you can’t talk to everyone even though they might be open mic questions, but make them raise their hand, make them clap as they agree or ask them just to nod if they agree or whatever involves them somehow. Talk to the people, not at the people. That’s my biggest advice.