Why You Should Prioritise Speaking In Your Business Right Now!
In last week’s blog, I spoke to Bilyana Georgieva, Neuro Business Coach, about her journey to TEDx. Bilyana was one of the speakers at the event I was fortunate enough to organise in December 2019 – TEDxAinleyTopWomen. And whilst Bilyana had always wanted to be a TEDx speaker, the event was not on a particularly convenient day or location for her.
Not one to be stopped by a little thing like – almost impossible logistics – Bilyana made it a priority for her to be there. And, as a result, she can now call herself a published TEDx speaker, with all the opportunities that has brought for her. You can watch Bilyana’s TEDx talk here.
You see, in most people’s world – Bilyana did not have time to fit this in with all her other commitments at the time. But what Bilyana did was – she prioritised speaking in her business. This was not a new decision – she had already committed to speaking a certain number of times in 2019 and this was the final talk to fulfill her ‘quota’.
She made it a priority, but many people don’t for reasons we will look at in a minute.
Most people would benefit by speaking more in their business.
That could be in a number of different ways. One of the key things in business is to be visible. You can have the best product or service in the world, but if people don’t know about it, then you may as well not have it. One of the best ways to be visible is to be seen speaking – teaching, inspiring, motivating others about your passion (I am hoping your business is also your passion?).
But most people hold themselves back from speaking up, for a number of reasons.
Do any of these resonate as something your ‘little voice’ might have said to you?
Who would listen to me?
I have nothing new to say.
But doesn’t everybody already know X?
I’m hopeless at public speaking.
I can’t stand the sight of myself on video.
I hate the sound of my voice on camera / audio.
I don’t know what to talk about.
Well – you wouldn’t be alone. But the problem with that is that the focus of all those statements and questions is YOU. And really the focus of any public speaking – whether on stage or on camera – should be YOUR AUDIENCE.
If you have ever heard someone talking about something and thought to yourself – ‘I said that 2 years ago’…or seen someone publish an online course that you could have written ….or post something on social media that you already knew – then that may be a sign that you are not speaking up enough.
You have to – as my great friend and business partner Marion Bevington is often heard saying – ‘build a bridge and get over yourself’. You MUST get yourself out there. Now at the moment – under current conditions (Covid 19 lockdown), you cannot actually get out there onto a stage in front of a live audience. You cannot get face to face in the real world with a potential client.
What you CAN do is be visible on your social media.
You can speak to your audience and potential audience and be more concerned with your audience than with yourself. Now more than ever, you need to SHOW UP, and solve the problems of your audience. People still need stuff. They may need different stuff or the same stuff as before.
What you can do is look at your ‘stuff’ and find out what your audience needs right now, and then get out there talking about ….whatever that is. But you can’t do anything to help if you don’t speak up. Your current clients and your future potential clients – are looking to you to solve their problems, and be the person they can rely on for ….. (fill in your own dots).
If you need any help with what you should be saying, how you should be saying it and general presentation skills on camera – then drop me an email to cheryl@cheryl-chapman.com or message me. You can find me on Facebook, Insta, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
The most important thing is that you make it a priority in your business. Because until you do – you will find all sorts of reasons why now is not the right time. You know it! So – if ever there was a time to make speaking a priority in your business – it’s right now!