I like to reframe things, and there are a lot of feelings and beliefs around public speaking that need reframing. You won’t be surprised to hear that ‘How Public Speaking Helps You’ is not normally the first thought people have in connection to public speaking.
Much more common thoughts are:
“I can’t do public speaking, I get too nervous”, or “I have to do a presentation and I am so bad at public speaking” or even “Public speaking? I’d rather do a parachute jump and I’m scared of heights!”.
But here’s the thing. We only do things if we want to or have to. If you have to (for example doing a presentation at work, or a speech at a wedding, or a reading in Church or many other occasions), then you might watch some video’s, go on a course, or ask someone for help. But that won’t change how you feel about public speaking.
You will still hate it and try to avoid it. Until the next time you HAVE to do it.
The only way to permanently change that feeling is to reframe your it.
Rather than making a negative statement such as “I hate public speaking” or “I’m no good at public speaking” ask yourself this question…
“How can public speaking help me?”
Once you can identify how something you fear can be good for you, you begin to see if differently. Because we will only do something we want to do or we have to do. If you can change public speaking from something you HAVE to do to something you want to do.
Why would you want to do public speaking?
Here are all the ways that being able to speak in public can help you.
- It can help you get a job – interviewing is public speaking
- It can position you as an expert in your field – after all people don’t get asked to speak on stage unless they know what they are talking about (at least that is the perception)
- It can win you business (all great sales people are public speakers, they just don’t know it)
- It can make you friends – if you volunteer for the presentation and your colleagues don’t have to do it
- It makes you better at what you do
- It gets you on Radio, TV or in the press
- You can get paid to speak
- You can get the word out about what you do to a mass audience rather than 1-2-1, so you can grow your tribe, your client base and your business far more rapidly
- If it is on video – or is at an event and is recorded, then you are creating an asset for your business
There are other reasons too, but I would like to focus today on Number 5.
It makes you better at what you do. What do I mean by that?
Well, I am talking about the principle that – in order to teach someone something you have to know it, and when you teach it you actually get better at whatever it is yourself.
When you have to present your idea, course, program, to others, you have to know it inside out yourself. You might be thinking – but I do this every day – of course I know it. But here’s the thing with that. You might be so good at whatever it is, that you do it automatically, on auto-pilot as it were.
If that is how you are operating, and it is how 95% of people operate, then that makes your business so hard to scale. In order to scale you need to know step by step what you do, and have that process in a simple format that others can follow.
If you are a coach and you have a unique process (and it WILL be unique because it is your way of doing things), then that is easier to sell.
Your clients understand what they are getting – which is not just 6 coaching sessions, like all the other coaches offer. If you are a dentist and you have a process, then you are not just another dentist.
And when you have something unique, then you can sell it for more and you can stand out from the crowd. But we are venturing into another subject here. The important thing is that by having to craft your 30, 60 or 90 minute keynote around what it is that you do, it will make you better at actually doing it.
As you are crafting this piece, ideas will occur to you that you had never spoken out loud before, or never thought of that way before – it was all subconscious and now it becomes conscious and you realise just how much you DO know about your subject and how worthy you are to serve others and be paid for doing that.
I could go on, but you get the point.
On the list above – what is THE biggest way public speaking could help your business? When you have decided that, congratulations. You are starting to reframe, and bring this life changing skill into your grasp.
And for even more help go and join the How To Speak With Purpose Facebook Group where you will find me going live from time to time, and sharing other tips around how you share your message with the world to make an even bigger impact.
Cheryl xx
PS – The genetic blueprint really helps with understanding who you are and what you are here to do – fill in this 2-minute questionnaire and I will send you your own ‘genetic blueprint’ which will help you understand yourself so you can begin to find your why! You will find it here.
PPS – If the link doesn’t work for any reason (sometimes technology has a bad day) then email me on cheryl@cheryl-chapman.com and I will sort it out for you!
PPPS – If you liked this blog and want to read more blogs surrounding female empowerment, you can find last week’s here: ‘Your Invitation for Strictly Come…Speaking‘
“I’m on a global mission to help 10 million disheartened souls, who are at a crossroads, to STOP asking why me? And START saying why not me!”