1 00:00:00,110 --> 00:00:02,390 Carol Cox: Have you been hesitant to call yourself a 2 00:00:02,390 --> 00:00:03,920 speaker or a thought leader? 3 00:00:03,950 --> 00:00:06,440 My hope is that this changes after you 4 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:08,510 listen to this episode of the Speaking Your 5 00:00:08,510 --> 00:00:09,590 Brand podcast. 6 00:00:13,580 --> 00:00:16,250 More and more women are making an impact by 7 00:00:16,250 --> 00:00:18,980 starting businesses, running for office and 8 00:00:18,980 --> 00:00:20,960 speaking up for what matters. 9 00:00:20,990 --> 00:00:23,210 With my background as a TV political 10 00:00:23,210 --> 00:00:26,090 analyst, entrepreneur and speaker, I 11 00:00:26,090 --> 00:00:28,580 interview and coach purpose driven women to 12 00:00:28,580 --> 00:00:31,070 shape their brands, grow their companies, 13 00:00:31,070 --> 00:00:33,710 and become recognized as influencers in 14 00:00:33,710 --> 00:00:37,070 their field. This is speaking your brand, 15 00:00:37,070 --> 00:00:39,560 your place to learn how to persuasively 16 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,920 communicate your message to your audience. 17 00:00:43,370 --> 00:00:44,900 Hi there and welcome to the Speaking Your 18 00:00:44,900 --> 00:00:46,940 Brand podcast. I'm your host, Carol Cox. 19 00:00:46,940 --> 00:00:49,100 I've gotten such great feedback on last 20 00:00:49,100 --> 00:00:50,840 week's episode where I talked about 21 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,810 impromptu speaking, why impromptu speaking 22 00:00:53,810 --> 00:00:56,300 is hard for us, but why it matters so much 23 00:00:56,300 --> 00:00:58,580 to your development as a speaker and as a 24 00:00:58,580 --> 00:01:00,650 leader, and specific things you can do to 25 00:01:00,650 --> 00:01:02,180 get better at impromptu speaking. 26 00:01:02,180 --> 00:01:04,760 I also share some of my own impromptu 27 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,640 speaking wins and fails, so definitely go 28 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:09,290 back and listen to last week's episode if 29 00:01:09,290 --> 00:01:10,520 you haven't already. 30 00:01:10,550 --> 00:01:12,140 Now, I know because you're listening to this 31 00:01:12,140 --> 00:01:14,510 podcast that you want to share your message. 32 00:01:14,510 --> 00:01:16,520 You have an important message to share. 33 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:19,460 You also want to shape your personal brand. 34 00:01:19,460 --> 00:01:21,590 You want to make a difference for your 35 00:01:21,590 --> 00:01:23,240 audiences, and you want to build your 36 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:25,370 business or your professional career. 37 00:01:25,370 --> 00:01:27,830 Yet for many of you, you resist calling 38 00:01:27,830 --> 00:01:28,940 yourself a speaker. 39 00:01:28,940 --> 00:01:30,920 Or maybe you feel comfortable with speaker, 40 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:32,930 but you don't want to call yourself a 41 00:01:32,930 --> 00:01:34,010 thought leader. 42 00:01:34,010 --> 00:01:36,440 I cannot tell you how many times I've heard 43 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:38,990 clients say to me, I'm not a speaker. 44 00:01:38,990 --> 00:01:42,410 Yet these exact same clients have delivered 45 00:01:42,410 --> 00:01:45,470 keynotes to big audiences and have been paid 46 00:01:45,470 --> 00:01:47,630 thousands of dollars to do so. 47 00:01:47,630 --> 00:01:50,180 And they still tell me I'm not a speaker. 48 00:01:50,180 --> 00:01:52,490 There are the clients who've been invited by 49 00:01:52,490 --> 00:01:55,460 event organizers to speak at conferences, so 50 00:01:55,460 --> 00:01:57,680 they've been invited as speakers. 51 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,170 I've had clients who have taught classes in 52 00:02:00,170 --> 00:02:02,690 workshops for years, clients who give 53 00:02:02,690 --> 00:02:05,810 presentations at work all the time but still 54 00:02:05,810 --> 00:02:07,970 don't think of themselves as speakers, much 55 00:02:07,970 --> 00:02:09,260 less as thought leaders. 56 00:02:09,260 --> 00:02:10,970 So in today's episode, we're going to talk 57 00:02:10,970 --> 00:02:13,760 about why we resist claiming the identity as 58 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:16,310 a speaker or as a thought leader, what to do 59 00:02:16,310 --> 00:02:18,920 to start feeling more comfortable doing so, 60 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:21,500 and why it's so important that you do. 61 00:02:21,500 --> 00:02:23,390 And I'm going to share in this episode how 62 00:02:23,390 --> 00:02:25,550 I've been struggling with claiming the 63 00:02:25,550 --> 00:02:27,740 identity as a book writer. 64 00:02:27,740 --> 00:02:29,990 If you've been listening to this podcast for 65 00:02:29,990 --> 00:02:31,640 several years, and I know that there are 66 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:34,280 many of you who have, and I am so grateful 67 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:36,260 for those of you who have been a long time 68 00:02:36,260 --> 00:02:39,050 listeners. I did a challenge back in the 69 00:02:39,050 --> 00:02:40,790 beginning of 2020. 70 00:02:40,790 --> 00:02:42,140 So this was February 2020. 71 00:02:42,140 --> 00:02:43,580 I can't believe this one over four years 72 00:02:43,580 --> 00:02:45,530 called Choosing Women's Voices. 73 00:02:45,530 --> 00:02:48,590 And the challenge was around making sure that 74 00:02:48,590 --> 00:02:50,690 the podcast that we listen to, the books 75 00:02:50,690 --> 00:02:52,580 that we read, the people that we're 76 00:02:52,580 --> 00:02:55,550 following, that they're as are as many women 77 00:02:55,550 --> 00:02:57,560 or hopefully more women than men. 78 00:02:57,560 --> 00:02:59,450 And this challenge came about because I was 79 00:02:59,450 --> 00:03:01,880 doing an audit of all the books that I had 80 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,160 read the year prior and the podcasts that I 81 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:05,840 listened to, and I realized that so many of 82 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:07,820 them were by men. Now, of course, men have 83 00:03:07,820 --> 00:03:10,130 great things to say. It's not that, but I 84 00:03:10,130 --> 00:03:11,840 wondered, where are the women's voices? 85 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,150 Why aren't there more women at the top, the 86 00:03:14,150 --> 00:03:16,340 New York Times best seller list, or the 87 00:03:16,340 --> 00:03:17,960 marketing and business books that are 88 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:19,250 recommended to us? 89 00:03:19,250 --> 00:03:22,130 So that's why it's so important that you 90 00:03:22,130 --> 00:03:24,710 claim the identity as a speaker, as a 91 00:03:24,710 --> 00:03:26,690 thought leader, because we need you out 92 00:03:26,690 --> 00:03:29,450 there. If you would like to find out your 93 00:03:29,450 --> 00:03:31,820 speaker archetype, this is a fun ten 94 00:03:31,820 --> 00:03:33,920 question quiz that we had that you can take 95 00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:36,590 for free. And once you identify your speaker 96 00:03:36,590 --> 00:03:38,780 archetype, you get recommendations of how to 97 00:03:38,780 --> 00:03:41,630 lean into your strengths and how to amplify 98 00:03:41,630 --> 00:03:43,250 them, along with recommended podcast 99 00:03:43,250 --> 00:03:44,450 episodes and more. 100 00:03:44,450 --> 00:03:46,850 You can take this quiz for free at speaking 101 00:03:46,850 --> 00:03:48,920 your brand.com/quiz. 102 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:51,950 Again, that's speaking your brand.com/quiz. 103 00:03:51,950 --> 00:03:53,810 Now let's get on with the show. 104 00:03:53,810 --> 00:03:56,930 Why do we resist claiming the identity as a 105 00:03:56,930 --> 00:03:58,550 speaker or as a thought leader? 106 00:03:58,550 --> 00:04:01,100 Why do we hesitate to put that title on our 107 00:04:01,100 --> 00:04:03,770 LinkedIn profile or on our website? 108 00:04:03,770 --> 00:04:05,510 I think there are a number of things going 109 00:04:05,510 --> 00:04:07,580 on. First, you may not feel like you have 110 00:04:07,580 --> 00:04:10,190 the skill set, or the experience or the 111 00:04:10,190 --> 00:04:13,220 expertise to be called a speaker, or to be 112 00:04:13,220 --> 00:04:14,570 called a thought leader. 113 00:04:14,570 --> 00:04:16,190 Now, that may or may not be the case. 114 00:04:16,190 --> 00:04:18,680 As I mentioned in the intro, I hear this 115 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,440 that I'm not a speaker from women who have 116 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:23,450 delivered keynotes and been paid to do so. 117 00:04:23,450 --> 00:04:25,970 For women who have spoken at conferences, at 118 00:04:25,970 --> 00:04:28,700 work, at business events, and so on. 119 00:04:28,700 --> 00:04:31,010 So clearly many of you have the skill set 120 00:04:31,010 --> 00:04:32,600 and you have the experience, but you're 121 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:34,490 still not feeling comfortable calling 122 00:04:34,490 --> 00:04:35,810 yourself a speaker. 123 00:04:35,810 --> 00:04:38,000 So the other thing that I think is going on 124 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,790 is that we're comparing ourselves to others. 125 00:04:40,790 --> 00:04:44,330 So we have this idealized image of a speaker 126 00:04:44,330 --> 00:04:47,720 out there, this person who's on a big stage 127 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,390 with big screens and lights, and they're 128 00:04:50,390 --> 00:04:52,520 speaking to hundreds or maybe thousands of 129 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:54,230 people in the audience. 130 00:04:54,230 --> 00:04:57,080 So for some of us, we may feel like it seems 131 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:59,870 presumptuous of us to call ourselves as a 132 00:04:59,870 --> 00:05:01,670 speaker, because, after all, maybe we like 133 00:05:01,670 --> 00:05:04,370 doing workshops of 30, 40, 50 people. 134 00:05:04,370 --> 00:05:06,890 Or maybe we've spoken to a to an audience of 135 00:05:06,890 --> 00:05:08,870 100 or 150 people. 136 00:05:08,870 --> 00:05:10,670 Maybe we've served on panels. 137 00:05:10,670 --> 00:05:11,780 Maybe we've taught a lot of. 138 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,820 Glasses, so we don't really feel like we 139 00:05:14,820 --> 00:05:17,760 match that idealized image of a speaker. 140 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,100 And oftentimes that idealized image of a 141 00:05:20,100 --> 00:05:22,380 speaker is also a man. 142 00:05:22,530 --> 00:05:25,230 Maybe we picture someone like Tony Robbins 143 00:05:25,230 --> 00:05:27,690 running around the stage with his booming 144 00:05:27,690 --> 00:05:29,670 voice and jumping up and down, and that's 145 00:05:29,670 --> 00:05:31,590 not the type of speaker we want to be. 146 00:05:31,620 --> 00:05:33,480 We all have a natural speaking and 147 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:35,910 communication style, and our approach here 148 00:05:35,910 --> 00:05:37,770 is speaking your brand is we want to help 149 00:05:37,770 --> 00:05:41,130 you amplify your natural style, not try to 150 00:05:41,130 --> 00:05:43,110 make you someone that you're not. 151 00:05:43,110 --> 00:05:44,970 And I try to make you a different type of 152 00:05:44,970 --> 00:05:48,480 speaker. So if you have fallen into 153 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:50,610 comparing yourself to others or comparing 154 00:05:50,610 --> 00:05:52,530 yourself to this idealized image of a 155 00:05:52,530 --> 00:05:54,060 speaker, and so that's why you haven't 156 00:05:54,060 --> 00:05:55,740 claimed the identity of identity as a 157 00:05:55,740 --> 00:05:58,500 speaker. Just know that you can be any type 158 00:05:58,500 --> 00:06:00,300 of speaker you want to be. 159 00:06:00,330 --> 00:06:01,980 The other thing that I think is going on as 160 00:06:01,980 --> 00:06:04,140 far as why we resist identities, and this 161 00:06:04,140 --> 00:06:06,600 goes for speaker, for a thought leader, for 162 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:09,420 me, it goes claiming the identity as a book 163 00:06:09,420 --> 00:06:13,620 writer is risking discipline at not meeting 164 00:06:13,620 --> 00:06:17,190 expectations of ourselves or our imagined 165 00:06:17,190 --> 00:06:19,350 expectations of other people. 166 00:06:19,350 --> 00:06:22,140 Fear of failure comes into this fear of not 167 00:06:22,140 --> 00:06:23,250 being good enough. 168 00:06:23,250 --> 00:06:26,250 And maybe we have an idealized image of what 169 00:06:26,250 --> 00:06:29,190 a great speech is or a great talk is, or I 170 00:06:29,190 --> 00:06:32,070 have this idealized image of what a great 171 00:06:32,070 --> 00:06:34,740 book is, or what I want my book to be. 172 00:06:34,740 --> 00:06:36,810 And of course, we know that the more we 173 00:06:36,810 --> 00:06:39,060 actually work on the thing, work on the talk 174 00:06:39,060 --> 00:06:41,730 or on the book that it gets, it's more it 175 00:06:41,730 --> 00:06:44,370 becomes more real, so it becomes less 176 00:06:44,370 --> 00:06:46,230 idealized. And that can feel really 177 00:06:46,230 --> 00:06:47,700 uncomfortable for a lot of us. 178 00:06:47,700 --> 00:06:49,470 And that is certainly the case that I'm 179 00:06:49,470 --> 00:06:52,170 feeling right now as I'm working on my book. 180 00:06:52,170 --> 00:06:54,360 And then I think back to the book Atomic 181 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:56,550 Habits by James Clear. 182 00:06:56,700 --> 00:06:57,750 It's a great book. 183 00:06:57,750 --> 00:07:00,000 I highly recommend it if you haven't read 184 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,550 it. And what he talks about is that if you 185 00:07:02,550 --> 00:07:06,000 want to create new behaviors, if you want to 186 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,240 create new habits, you have to first adopt 187 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:11,910 the identity of that type of person that you 188 00:07:11,910 --> 00:07:14,550 want to be. Not the idealized person that I 189 00:07:14,550 --> 00:07:16,860 was just talking about, but instead, what is 190 00:07:16,860 --> 00:07:17,970 that type of person do? 191 00:07:17,970 --> 00:07:20,880 So for example, if you want to exercise and 192 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:23,130 be healthier, say you want to go for a run 193 00:07:23,130 --> 00:07:25,800 every day or go for a run 4 or 5 days a 194 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,200 week. You want to get up in the morning, go 195 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:29,850 for a run, come back, have your breakfast, 196 00:07:29,850 --> 00:07:32,730 and so on. And as he explains in the book, 197 00:07:32,730 --> 00:07:35,760 for so many people, we have this goal that 198 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:37,770 we have, but then we never quite get to it. 199 00:07:37,770 --> 00:07:38,940 We don't develop the habit. 200 00:07:38,940 --> 00:07:41,070 Maybe we do it one time and then we stop. 201 00:07:41,070 --> 00:07:43,860 And he argues that we first have to adopt the 202 00:07:43,860 --> 00:07:45,480 identity of a runner. 203 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,870 Really think about what would a runner do? 204 00:07:48,870 --> 00:07:51,360 So we almost kind of put that put that 205 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:53,970 costume on for ourselves, kind of put that 206 00:07:53,970 --> 00:07:55,740 cloak on for ourselves and imagine 207 00:07:55,740 --> 00:07:57,840 ourselves. Okay, if I was a runner, what 208 00:07:57,840 --> 00:07:59,310 would I do? Well, the first thing I would 209 00:07:59,310 --> 00:08:01,020 set my alarm at a certain time in the 210 00:08:01,020 --> 00:08:03,180 morning. I would have my running clothes and 211 00:08:03,180 --> 00:08:06,630 my running shoes set out invisible to me 212 00:08:06,630 --> 00:08:08,130 when I when I get out of bed. 213 00:08:08,130 --> 00:08:10,260 And I would tell myself the night before, 214 00:08:10,380 --> 00:08:11,730 I'm going to get up at a certain time, I'm 215 00:08:11,730 --> 00:08:13,680 really excited to go running this is going 216 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:15,120 to feel really good. I'm going to be really 217 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:16,170 glad that I did it. 218 00:08:16,170 --> 00:08:18,000 So we start adopting that identity. 219 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,190 We start adopting the thought patterns and 220 00:08:20,190 --> 00:08:22,230 that's what creates the habit. 221 00:08:22,230 --> 00:08:24,150 So in the same way. 222 00:08:24,670 --> 00:08:27,400 If when you resist adopting the identity as 223 00:08:27,400 --> 00:08:28,630 a speaker and a thought leader, you're 224 00:08:28,630 --> 00:08:31,270 actually preventing yourself from becoming 225 00:08:31,270 --> 00:08:33,220 those things, and you're preventing yourself 226 00:08:33,220 --> 00:08:35,950 from being the messenger that your audience 227 00:08:35,950 --> 00:08:37,150 is waiting for. 228 00:08:37,180 --> 00:08:39,670 So here are some very concrete things that 229 00:08:39,670 --> 00:08:42,640 you can do to start claiming this identity 230 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:44,530 as a speaker and as a thought leader. 231 00:08:44,560 --> 00:08:47,740 The very first thing I want you to do is on 232 00:08:47,740 --> 00:08:49,960 your LinkedIn profile or your Instagram 233 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:51,940 profile. If you primarily use Instagram, 234 00:08:51,940 --> 00:08:53,740 then then do it there. 235 00:08:53,740 --> 00:08:55,420 I highly recommend though, having a LinkedIn 236 00:08:55,420 --> 00:08:57,100 profile, especially if you want to get more 237 00:08:57,100 --> 00:08:58,750 speaking engagements, because a lot of event 238 00:08:58,750 --> 00:09:00,700 organizers do search for speakers on 239 00:09:00,700 --> 00:09:03,730 LinkedIn. So on your LinkedIn profile, put 240 00:09:03,730 --> 00:09:05,080 the word speaker. 241 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:06,940 You can put the word keynote speaker. 242 00:09:06,940 --> 00:09:08,470 You can put speaker and workshop 243 00:09:08,470 --> 00:09:10,900 facilitator. And then further down on your 244 00:09:10,900 --> 00:09:13,540 LinkedIn profile in the about section, 245 00:09:13,540 --> 00:09:15,220 mention some of the topics that you speak 246 00:09:15,220 --> 00:09:16,450 about as well. 247 00:09:16,810 --> 00:09:19,420 The second thing to do is add a speaking 248 00:09:19,420 --> 00:09:21,010 page to your website. 249 00:09:21,010 --> 00:09:23,980 Go back and listen to episode 371 from 250 00:09:23,980 --> 00:09:26,320 January of this year called What to Include 251 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:28,240 in Your speaker, video reel and speaker 252 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:30,910 page, because we talk about specific things 253 00:09:31,270 --> 00:09:33,280 that you can put on your speaker page on 254 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:35,410 your website. So if you don't already have 255 00:09:35,410 --> 00:09:37,330 one, definitely go and put one on there. 256 00:09:37,330 --> 00:09:39,160 Just keep it simple for now because you can 257 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:40,480 always add to it. 258 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:43,850 Doing those two things are already going to 259 00:09:43,850 --> 00:09:45,980 get you more comfortable as a speaker. 260 00:09:46,010 --> 00:09:49,280 The third thing to do is I want you to post 261 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:51,410 a photo of you speaking. 262 00:09:52,060 --> 00:09:54,430 Post it on LinkedIn and then tag me. 263 00:09:54,430 --> 00:09:55,480 You can connect with me. 264 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,150 My LinkedIn profile is in the show notes, so 265 00:09:58,150 --> 00:10:00,460 connect with me and then tag me when you 266 00:10:00,460 --> 00:10:02,530 post a photo of you speaking on LinkedIn. 267 00:10:02,530 --> 00:10:04,450 Now, this photo could have been taken a 268 00:10:04,450 --> 00:10:06,580 month ago. It could have been taken a year 269 00:10:06,580 --> 00:10:09,250 ago. It could have been taken ten years ago. 270 00:10:09,250 --> 00:10:10,480 It could have been taken when you were in 271 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:12,790 college. You can do a Throwback Thursday 272 00:10:12,790 --> 00:10:14,950 post if it's from a while ago. 273 00:10:15,250 --> 00:10:17,950 I bet you even if you feel like you're not a 274 00:10:17,950 --> 00:10:19,930 speaker, even if you feel like you haven't 275 00:10:19,930 --> 00:10:21,970 been doing a lot of speaking, especially not 276 00:10:21,970 --> 00:10:24,820 recently, there are photos of you somewhere 277 00:10:24,820 --> 00:10:27,550 of you speaking or speaking on a panel, and 278 00:10:27,550 --> 00:10:29,590 I want you to find one of those posted on 279 00:10:29,590 --> 00:10:31,540 LinkedIn. Just say something like, oh, you 280 00:10:31,540 --> 00:10:33,670 know, I was going through my phone or going 281 00:10:33,670 --> 00:10:35,530 through my computer, and I found this photo 282 00:10:35,530 --> 00:10:38,770 of this panel that I was on back in 2015. 283 00:10:38,770 --> 00:10:40,420 And, you know, I really enjoyed it and 284 00:10:40,420 --> 00:10:41,950 enjoyed meeting the other people who were 285 00:10:41,950 --> 00:10:43,660 there, just something like that, and tag 286 00:10:43,660 --> 00:10:46,510 them too. It's a great way also for your new 287 00:10:46,510 --> 00:10:48,220 LinkedIn network, your current LinkedIn 288 00:10:48,220 --> 00:10:50,470 network, to remember that you're a speaker. 289 00:10:50,470 --> 00:10:52,960 The fourth thing to do to get more 290 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:54,910 comfortable claiming the identity as a 291 00:10:54,910 --> 00:10:57,730 speaker and a thought leader is repetition. 292 00:10:57,730 --> 00:11:01,450 So practicing often, speaking regularly. 293 00:11:01,450 --> 00:11:04,900 Now, as a podcaster, I do this every single 294 00:11:04,900 --> 00:11:06,490 week. I record these episodes, whether 295 00:11:06,490 --> 00:11:08,650 they're solo episodes or guest interviews. 296 00:11:08,650 --> 00:11:10,930 I also appear as a guest on other people's 297 00:11:10,930 --> 00:11:13,870 podcasts. I speak both virtually and in 298 00:11:13,870 --> 00:11:16,270 person, so the more speaking you do, the 299 00:11:16,270 --> 00:11:18,910 more repetition you have that's going to get 300 00:11:18,910 --> 00:11:21,550 you more comfortable claiming this identity. 301 00:11:21,580 --> 00:11:24,670 Now, this is the identity as a writer that 302 00:11:24,670 --> 00:11:27,400 I'm developing and how I'm doing this is on 303 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:30,220 my calendar. I have an hour each morning 304 00:11:30,220 --> 00:11:32,890 after I get up, which is my daily writing 305 00:11:32,890 --> 00:11:35,440 practice. So back thinking to that book, 306 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:38,530 Atomic Habits, what does a writer do? 307 00:11:38,560 --> 00:11:42,610 A writer sits down every single day, and for 308 00:11:42,610 --> 00:11:43,870 a lot of people, the morning work. 309 00:11:43,870 --> 00:11:45,220 So for me, that's what works is in the 310 00:11:45,220 --> 00:11:48,100 morning and writes whether the writing is 311 00:11:48,100 --> 00:11:50,050 useful or not, whether the writing is going 312 00:11:50,050 --> 00:11:51,910 to be actually in the book or not doesn't 313 00:11:51,910 --> 00:11:54,190 really matter. It's more just building that 314 00:11:54,190 --> 00:11:56,500 repetition, building that practice. 315 00:11:56,740 --> 00:11:59,710 The fifth thing to do is to join a community 316 00:11:59,710 --> 00:12:01,180 of fellow speakers. 317 00:12:01,180 --> 00:12:02,920 That's what I'm doing right now. 318 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:05,320 I'm in a part of a book writing group with 319 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:07,000 my book coach, Tiffany Hawk, who is 320 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,400 fantastic. She was on this podcast back a 321 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:11,110 couple of years ago. I'll include a link to 322 00:12:11,110 --> 00:12:12,340 that in the show notes. 323 00:12:12,340 --> 00:12:15,340 So being around other people who are also 324 00:12:15,340 --> 00:12:17,500 writing books, being around other authors 325 00:12:17,500 --> 00:12:20,050 makes me feel more like one. 326 00:12:20,050 --> 00:12:22,780 This is also what I hear from the women who 327 00:12:22,780 --> 00:12:24,730 join us on our Thought Leader Academy. 328 00:12:24,730 --> 00:12:27,220 Is that being around other women who are in 329 00:12:27,220 --> 00:12:29,140 a similar place that they're in, and their 330 00:12:29,140 --> 00:12:30,910 speaking journey and their business journey 331 00:12:30,910 --> 00:12:33,160 and their career journey, they start to 332 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:35,500 recognize that, oh, I am a speaker. 333 00:12:35,500 --> 00:12:36,850 I am a thought leader. 334 00:12:36,850 --> 00:12:39,550 I do have important things to say, and that 335 00:12:39,550 --> 00:12:42,610 is the reason to adopt this identity of as a 336 00:12:42,610 --> 00:12:44,260 speaker and as a thought leader, both for 337 00:12:44,260 --> 00:12:46,930 yourself internally, but also externally, 338 00:12:46,930 --> 00:12:48,700 like on your LinkedIn profile and on your 339 00:12:48,700 --> 00:12:51,760 website, because you're going to have a 340 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:53,410 bigger positive impact. 341 00:12:53,410 --> 00:12:55,360 When you can share your message with more 342 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:57,820 audiences, you're going to get more speaking 343 00:12:57,820 --> 00:12:59,530 engagements, including paid speaking 344 00:12:59,530 --> 00:13:02,620 engagements. And as I mentioned in the 345 00:13:02,620 --> 00:13:04,300 introduction about this idea of choosing 346 00:13:04,300 --> 00:13:06,670 women's voices, we need more women to claim 347 00:13:06,670 --> 00:13:09,220 these identities so that more people can 348 00:13:09,220 --> 00:13:13,090 find women to follow, to read, to listen to, 349 00:13:13,090 --> 00:13:15,640 and so on. Let me share with you a 350 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:18,340 testimonial that I got just recently from 351 00:13:18,340 --> 00:13:20,560 one of the women who attended our recent 352 00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:22,270 in-person client retreat. 353 00:13:22,270 --> 00:13:24,400 And by sharing this testimonial, it really 354 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:26,500 illustrates this idea of claiming this 355 00:13:26,500 --> 00:13:27,760 identity as a speaker. 356 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:29,080 Here's what she wrote to me. 357 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:31,510 I wanted to tell you how much your retreat 358 00:13:31,510 --> 00:13:34,630 helped me. I recently facilitated a workshop 359 00:13:34,630 --> 00:13:38,200 at my most prestigious venue yet, and people 360 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:40,870 told me how warm and charismatic I was. 361 00:13:40,870 --> 00:13:43,690 And charismatic isn't something I normally 362 00:13:43,690 --> 00:13:46,270 hear. One attendee even flew in from 363 00:13:46,270 --> 00:13:48,640 overseas for the weekend and said it was 364 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:51,130 even better than he expected when he booked 365 00:13:51,130 --> 00:13:53,410 the trip. Obviously, I bring decades of 366 00:13:53,410 --> 00:13:55,360 experience to the table and I have spoken on 367 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,120 stages before, but never with this sense of 368 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:00,130 ease and confidence and never with so much 369 00:14:00,130 --> 00:14:02,680 of my personality shining through, she 370 00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:05,290 continues. After getting on stage over and 371 00:14:05,290 --> 00:14:07,540 over, this is at our retreat in front of you 372 00:14:07,540 --> 00:14:09,280 and such an incredible and supportive group 373 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:11,530 of women. I not only got comfortable in my 374 00:14:11,530 --> 00:14:13,750 own skin, but I discovered strengths I 375 00:14:13,750 --> 00:14:15,760 didn't even know I had this time. 376 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:17,830 Without even thinking about it, I was able 377 00:14:17,830 --> 00:14:20,200 to move around the room and take up space 378 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:23,710 and just be so much more confident and be me 379 00:14:23,710 --> 00:14:25,210 than I otherwise would have. 380 00:14:25,210 --> 00:14:27,220 To be honest, although I was proud of myself 381 00:14:27,220 --> 00:14:29,530 after the retreat, I left feeling like I 382 00:14:29,530 --> 00:14:31,660 didn't want to do that again and that being 383 00:14:31,660 --> 00:14:33,940 a keynote speaker isn't my thing. 384 00:14:33,940 --> 00:14:35,110 And then this is me, Carol. 385 00:14:35,110 --> 00:14:36,520 You see, like not wanting to claim the 386 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:38,320 identity. Now this is back to the retreat 387 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,470 client, she continues, I still felt like 388 00:14:41,470 --> 00:14:44,080 leading workshops was right, but when people 389 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:45,850 said that when they got up on stage, they 390 00:14:45,850 --> 00:14:47,620 felt like they wanted to do that every day 391 00:14:47,620 --> 00:14:48,640 for the rest of their life. 392 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:50,560 I was like, what? Not me. 393 00:14:50,620 --> 00:14:53,140 Then after. Dry finish leading that 394 00:14:53,140 --> 00:14:56,710 workshop. I absolutely thought, this is what 395 00:14:56,710 --> 00:14:58,810 I want to do every day for the rest of my 396 00:14:58,810 --> 00:15:01,930 life. I suddenly got exactly what those 397 00:15:01,930 --> 00:15:03,850 other women were saying. 398 00:15:04,030 --> 00:15:06,910 And then she concludes, I knew intuitively 399 00:15:06,910 --> 00:15:09,370 that I needed to do your retreat, and now I 400 00:15:09,370 --> 00:15:13,530 know why. Isn't that incredible? 401 00:15:14,170 --> 00:15:15,820 All of those things that I just talked 402 00:15:15,820 --> 00:15:18,310 about, this idea of feeling like, well, I'm 403 00:15:18,310 --> 00:15:19,780 not really a speaker, even though she's 404 00:15:19,780 --> 00:15:21,910 delivered workshops and classes and she's 405 00:15:21,910 --> 00:15:23,980 spoken on stages over the years, feeling 406 00:15:23,980 --> 00:15:25,840 like she didn't have the skill set or the 407 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:28,240 experience, comparing herself to others, 408 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:30,910 this idealized image as a speaker. 409 00:15:30,910 --> 00:15:34,540 But then, because being around this 410 00:15:34,540 --> 00:15:36,820 incredibly supportive group of women that we 411 00:15:36,820 --> 00:15:38,890 put together, whether it's at our in-person 412 00:15:38,890 --> 00:15:40,600 retreat or it's in our online thought leader 413 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:43,090 academy, being around these other women, 414 00:15:43,090 --> 00:15:46,060 having the opportunity to hone your skill 415 00:15:46,060 --> 00:15:48,040 set, to develop your message and your 416 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:50,500 thought leadership, that is what gives you 417 00:15:50,500 --> 00:15:52,960 the confidence to claim the identity as a 418 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:54,880 speaker and as a thought leader, and to put 419 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:56,800 yourself out there in a bigger way. 420 00:15:57,160 --> 00:15:59,770 If you would like to work with us, you can 421 00:15:59,860 --> 00:16:01,450 join us in our Thought Leader Academy. 422 00:16:01,450 --> 00:16:03,310 You can get all the details and submit your 423 00:16:03,310 --> 00:16:06,850 application as speaking your Brand.com slash 424 00:16:06,850 --> 00:16:08,590 Academy. Again, that's speaking your 425 00:16:08,590 --> 00:16:12,370 brand.com/academy. You can also work with us 426 00:16:12,370 --> 00:16:15,190 in our brand new live online workshop that 427 00:16:15,190 --> 00:16:17,110 we're hosting to help you build your 428 00:16:17,110 --> 00:16:18,490 speaking confidence. 429 00:16:18,490 --> 00:16:20,740 If you have felt like I don't know if I'm 430 00:16:20,740 --> 00:16:22,570 really a speaker or I haven't really spoke 431 00:16:22,570 --> 00:16:25,060 much recently, especially during the years 432 00:16:25,060 --> 00:16:27,580 of the pandemic, or I really need to get 433 00:16:27,580 --> 00:16:30,400 more comfortable speaking on my feet and 434 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:32,590 feeling more confident in my message. 435 00:16:32,590 --> 00:16:33,970 This is the workshop for you. 436 00:16:33,970 --> 00:16:36,400 This is exactly why we've created this 437 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:38,020 workshop. You're going to learn our 438 00:16:38,020 --> 00:16:40,480 framework for any presentation, speech or 439 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:42,310 interview you have, whether you have five 440 00:16:42,310 --> 00:16:44,350 minutes or five weeks to prepare. 441 00:16:44,350 --> 00:16:46,330 We're going to really dig into storytelling, 442 00:16:46,330 --> 00:16:48,130 because storytelling and identifying your 443 00:16:48,130 --> 00:16:50,830 key stories is going to be so important to 444 00:16:50,830 --> 00:16:53,410 help you get the confidence and the clarity, 445 00:16:53,410 --> 00:16:55,450 whether you're on a panel, leading a team at 446 00:16:55,450 --> 00:16:57,790 work or you have a presentation to give, 447 00:16:57,790 --> 00:16:59,710 we're going to give you lots of time to 448 00:16:59,710 --> 00:17:02,200 practice in a very safe and comfortable 449 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:04,630 environment with us and with the other women 450 00:17:04,630 --> 00:17:06,040 who are going to be a part of this. 451 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:07,960 You're going to learn techniques to reduce 452 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:10,180 your nerves, deliver with confidence and 453 00:17:10,180 --> 00:17:11,830 energy, and you're going to get feedback and 454 00:17:11,830 --> 00:17:14,470 coaching from us so you can quickly develop 455 00:17:14,470 --> 00:17:17,830 your speaking skills as a podcast listener. 456 00:17:17,830 --> 00:17:21,340 You save $100 on our workshop using the 457 00:17:21,340 --> 00:17:23,950 coupon code Podcast100. 458 00:17:23,950 --> 00:17:25,090 So that's all together. 459 00:17:25,090 --> 00:17:28,270 Podcast100. Podcast100. 460 00:17:28,270 --> 00:17:30,220 You can get all of the details about this 461 00:17:30,220 --> 00:17:32,410 workshop and register as speaking your 462 00:17:32,410 --> 00:17:35,650 Brand.com slash speaking workshop. 463 00:17:35,650 --> 00:17:36,700 Again, that's speaking your 464 00:17:36,700 --> 00:17:41,050 brand.com/speaking-workshop. I really hope 465 00:17:41,050 --> 00:17:42,130 you can join us. 466 00:17:42,790 --> 00:17:44,890 And don't forget to tag me on LinkedIn when 467 00:17:44,890 --> 00:17:46,540 you post your speaking photo. 468 00:17:46,540 --> 00:17:48,880 We're continuing our speak with Confidence 469 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:51,250 series. Next week, I'm going to talk about 470 00:17:51,250 --> 00:17:54,880 why I no longer teach from the stage. 471 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:56,380 Oh yeah, this is a big one. 472 00:17:56,380 --> 00:17:58,600 Until next time, thanks for listening.