Speaking Your Brand: Public Speaking Tips and Strategies

Do you know what makes your approach and process unique? As a speaker and entrepreneur - whether you’re a coach, consultant, strategist, trainer, therapist, or other type of business owner - your methodology and philosophy are important components of what you do. In this on-air coaching call, I help my guest Anne Torrez find what makes her coaching approach unique, so she can better articulate her...

In this on-air coaching call, you’ll hear how my guest Coryne Forest and I create the visual shape of her framework to use in her presentations. In episode 61 , you learned how developing your own framework can be a game changer for not only your presentations but also your business. Many listeners have told me how impactful that episode was for them. They’ve even shared sketches of their framewor...

What is it like to travel around the world, from Europe to China, to speak - and get paid for it? My guest is Annie Mori, a licensed pediatric occupational therapist and founder of playSense, based in California. Annie is paid to travel internationally several times a year to conduct trainings and workshops and to be a keynote speaker at conferences. In this episode, Annie and I talk about: How sh...

In this on-air coaching call, you’ll hear how to distinguish and balance the WHAT, the WHY, and the HOW of what you teach related to your business and your offer. My guest is Libby Rothschild, a registered dietitian who helps other registered dietitians build their businesses and use social media, especially Instagram, effectively. With her partner, Libby offers an online course and masterminds. W...

I’ve talked before about how sharing stories in your talks helps the audience to better understand and remember what you’re teaching. In this episode, we’re going deeper into why stories matter - not just for our presentations, but for understanding ourselves, our place in the world, and our identity - who gets included and who is excluded in the stories we hear and the stories we tell. My guest i...

Do you feel like everything’s already been said about your topic and that your audience has heard it all before? Let me assure you that sharing your own experiences, knowledge, and examples*will* set you apart. The key is to have a unique angle and to align your presentation content with what you do in your business. In this on-air coaching call, you’ll hear how my guest Regina Byrne and I find wh...

In this on-air coaching call, you’ll learn how you can shift the content and flow of your presentations to increase conversions (leads, clients, and referrals) at your speaking engagements. My guest is April Caldwell, who helps professional women manage their money and achieve their financial goals. April hosts a monthly in-person event for women and also speaks at other groups, but isn’t getting...

Being a guest on podcasts is great for brand awareness, credibility building, networking, and lead generation. How can you pitch podcasters the right way so they want to have you on their show? In this episode, I talk with Nicole Holland of Interviews That Convert on: what to do and, just as importantly, what *not* to do in your podcast pitches how to turn listeners into leads specific tips on how...

Speaking in front of the right audiences with the right message can position you as an expert in your field, showcase your business, build relationships, and lead to clients and referrals. Have you been getting the results you want from the speaking engagements you’ve been doing? What you need is a clear and intentional speaking strategy and a powerful signature talk. Consider: Are you speaking in...

You’ll notice that the title of this episode is in the definitive: using humor in your talks *will* get you more speaking engagements. I don’t mean you have to add a stand-up comedy routine to your presentations (leave that for the comedians!). Rather, as my guest Kathy Klotz-Guest and I talk about in this episode, using humor and improv techniques: Makes you more relatable to your audience Allows...

How can your wardrobe align with and reflect your brand and make you feel confident, so that you attract your ideal clients, whether you’re speaking, on video, or at a networking event? My guest is wardrobe stylist Jennifer Mackey-Mary, founder of Apple + Pear Wardrobe. We talk about what you should wear on stage and how you can use your business branding to decide what to wear, including whether...

Do you have your eye on a conference or event that you really want to speak at? How can you get selected? My guest today is Erin Smith, who runs the annual Entrepreneur Summit in Dallas, Texas. We go behind-the-scenes into how event organizers select speakers, who they choose to pay and why, and what *not* to do as a speaker. Erin shares what to include in your speaker submissions to get noticed a...

How can you get your first paid speaking engagement? How do you figure out what to charge and how to negotiate? In this episode, you’ll hear from 7 women entrepreneurs and speakers who share how they got their first paid speaking engagement. I also share how I got my first paid gig for Speaking Your Brand and how I got paid to be a political analyst on TV news. There are lots of great reasons to s...

If you’ve been giving a presentation but you feel like what you do in your business isn’t well integrated into it and you aren’t getting the leads, clients, and referrals that you know you could, it’s time to stop giving that version and create one that gets you results. In this on-air coaching call, I help my guest Melissa Bennett re-work her presentation to make it more impactful for her audienc...

I can remember talks I’ve given, especially ones on stages in front of large audiences, where it felt like an out of body experience. I gave my talk, it went really well, but it was a complete blur, like tunnel vision. It all happened so fast and I felt like I was observing myself rather than being truly present and a part of it. Now, when I do a presentation, I’m in my comfort zone. I feel confid...

Have you thought about writing a book, but you’re not  sure what’s involved or even if it’s worth it? My guest today, Julie Broad of Book Launchers, answers the questions you have about the process of writing, publishing, and promoting a book. You’ll hear towards the end of the episode what’s the best way to promote and sell your book - and it’s not social media. We talk about: The advantages of s...

Speaking at groups and conferences is one of the best ways to create awareness about what you do and how you help your clients. The key is to show, through the examples and main points you include in your presentations, how what you do is different from others. In prior episodes, I’ve talked about how to do this without “selling from the stage” (episode 59), using story structure to create compell...

What opportunities are you missing out on because you don’t have a signature talk? In this episode, I share why having a signature talk is critical for your business and your personal brand, including examples of what makes a great signature talk (and how it’s different from a training). With a signature talk, you become the go-to expert and thought leader for your topic and industry. You establis...

Have you been to conferences and events and, during sessions, you see lots of people in the audience on their phones? And not using their phones to take notes, but to do other things because they’re not engaged with the speaker. How can you keep your audience interested and off their phones? In this episode, I share 5 mistakes I see speakers make that turn off their audiences - and specific techni...

Ever since I started my first business over 15 years ago, I was told to make it a habit to ask for referrals: from my current clients, past clients, and network. I never did make it a habit, but in all three of the businesses I’ve started, including Speaking Your Brand, referrals have been a key component of getting new clients. My guest today, Stacey Brown Randall, believes we should *not* ask fo...

Developing your own framework can be a game changer for your business and presentations. It differentiates yourself from others in your field, it makes it easier for your audience and clients to understand what you do, and you’re creating intellectual property. What is a framework, why do you need one,  and how can you find yours? It’s not an internal system or process; it’s how you work with your...

Do you feel like you have so much you want to share in your presentations that you’re not sure what to keep, what to exclude, and how to streamline it? Or, are you afraid that you’re giving away too much valuable information? In this on-air coaching call, I help business strategist Joanna Sapir simplify her presentation content, so that it’s more useful for her audience AND gets her better results...

Episode 59: Have you heard the phrase “sell from the stage”? The idea is that you pitch your programs and products to the audience at the end of your presentations. If you’ve been doing speaking engagements, you know it takes time, effort, energy, and sometimes money (especially when travel is involved), so it’s understandable that you want to get a return from it. However, when preparing your pre...

How can you reach your highest potential in speaking and in your business? What does it take to be the best you can be? For many years, I felt that I had to learn and master anything I came across in my businesses, from coding and SEO to marketing and PR to graphic design, accounting, and contracts. Each of these areas are specialized and require not only certain skills but also constant upkeep. S...

Why use story structure? Simple: It’s what makes us human. You want to make sure the content you’re sharing is compelling, keeps your audience interested to the end, and invites them to take action, whether you’re hosting a podcast, being interviewed on one, or giving a presentation. Our brains are hard-wired to understand and respond to story structure. Think about the fairy tales you read as a k...