Maybe you harbour a secret desire to be a speaker and speak to large audiences all over the world. Perhaps you don’t feel confident speaking in public, but you would LOVE to be able to do it, because you have a message burning inside you that you need to get out. Potentially you have had some speaker training and you really want to use it, and hone it and get really darn good at it, because you know to be a leader in your field you need to be SEEN.
And that is certainly true – Leaders in Business, Politics, Religion, Education – leaders in any field at all, are not generally hidden.
But you might be. Right now. Just for the moment. You might just be a hidden gem, whose knowledge, expertise and passion could be helping many people. But at the moment, you are a well-kept secret.
There are a number of ways (which I will be talking about over the next few weeks) for you to get into a position of ‘authority’ in your market or industry.
Today is all about being SEEN.
Of course, right now in the world, there aren’t many conferences or real-world opportunities to speak and therefore be ‘seen’ on a stage. Everything has gone online, and for many people – talking to a video camera or on a Facebook live is even more frightening than speaking in front of people.
It’s a bit like the first time you ever heard your recorded voice. Remember that?
What is the first thing that went through your head? I’ll bet it was,
“There is no way that’s me” or “Do I really sound like that?”
And then you were horrified that the way you always thought you sounded and therefore – the way others hear you – was completely different than you thought it was. More about being herd next time.
Well, here’s the thing – it is exactly the same way when you see a video of you speaking for the first time. It’s bloody awful!
You didn’t realise how many times you make that “erm” sound, and what is that clicking sound you seem to be making? (Spoiler – it’s just nerves making your mouth dry through over-breathing / speaking too fast). Why does your mouth move in that weird way when you are saying certain words? And what an earth is going on with your hands? And your eyes?
It’s horrifying!
For many people speaking in public is just about the most frightening thing they can think of doing because they are judging themselves and projecting that out to others. They really believe that everyone else will be focused on/laughing about or feeling sorry for their pathetic-ness on stage.
Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. People who don’t know you, don’t really care what you look or sound like – as long as you have something worth saying, something that they need or want to hear. People who DO care about you will be proud of you and hanging on your every word.
Then there are all the practicalities.
What camera do you use? What lighting do you need? What about microphones? And background?
And not just all that but what are you going to actually talk about? How are you going to differentiate yourself from any other ‘expert’ in your field. The trick here is to have something unique. You might be thinking
“But Cheryl – is there anything unique in the world? Hasn’t everything already been said?”
Well no actually. The thing that is unique is YOU. Your take on things. We re in a world where you can no longer sell ‘information’. There is this thing called Google and you can find information on just about anything you care to look for.
What people want to hear, and see, and experience….what they are prepared to pay for ….is YOUR take on it. Your unique insights, and ultimately probably, your implementation solution.
There is a lot to think about, and a lot of skills and knowledge required to make speaking work. But that can all be learned or outsourced.
The only thing you really need to be a great speaker – is the desire to be a great speaker.
Having coached many thousands of wannabee speakers over the years there are maybe less than 1 % who flat out CAN’T be a great speaker.
Like anything in life – it depends on your WHY.
If your WHY is strong enough then you can do just about anything you want including being a speaker.
The problem at the moment is – even if you can source help on all of the above – where can you go to speak?
Well, I might just have a solution for that as well. You know I organised a TEDx last year, well watch this space…we are about to launch CHEDx! Sshh!!. Don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret. More will be revealed soon – but if you can’t wait, and you are looking for help with being SEEN – go join my group How To Speak With….
SEE you soon (pun intended)