How to use your talks to get more clients (and not feel like vomiting)
This is NOT a video about how much money you’re leaving on the table (yucky marketing talk) if you don’t use your talks to sell. This IS a video about how many more people you can help with all the goodness you have to offer, if you can find a way to speak that feels natural and comfortable for you and your audiences. This applies to EVERYONE who speaks, by the way, even if you think you’re not trying to sell anything (you’re wrong). Oh, and this is also a video about one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made that guarantees I lose power and connection with my audiences. I bet you do this too.
30 things nobody tells you about powerful speaking
There’s all sorts of advice in books, online, and being espoused in public speaking courses everywhere about what you absolutely must know to stand up on a stage and own it. I’ve been speaking publicly since I first sat behind the microphone at 5AD, the radio station that offered me my first journalist and newsreader gig at the ripe old age of 20. I want to share with you what I’ve learned during my 25 years in the game so you can focus on what’s genuinely necessary to become a truly powerful speaker, and ditch everything else.
The world needs to hear what you have to say
Most of what I consider my greatest achievements involved walking away. They came with a decision to let go, say goodbye, and walk – sometimes run – in another direction. My greatest achievements have been hard-won. I imagine yours have too. You may not have miraculously recovered from an incurable disease overnight, survived being shot 13 times by a mad man, or climbed Mt Everest. None of that is necessary for being a powerful speaker. You have a message to share and stories filled with wisdom that could make a difference for other people. Your words matter. Your voice matters. Your life, your experiences, and your truth matter.
They’re clapping for you! Feel the love
In my powerful speaking programs, something happens every single time that causes me to raise my voice and say, “No, no, no!” And then, “Go back and do it again!” It’s this: After delivering a brilliant talk, directly and powerfully straight from the heart, that leaves audience members marvelling and longing to clap loudly to show their appreciation, each woman walks away. I’m calling this for the big pile of poo it is. You diminish your power and presence when you do that. Stop.
From dread to excitement: public speaking made fun and powerful
Call me strange, but I love speaking in front of an audience. I genuinely look forward to it. I can’t wait to get up on that stage. I love it when people are so engaged that they hang off my words. I love making people laugh and then saying something that makes them deadly silent […]
Brand new to your career? How to value yourself and own your worth from day one.
This is a post by my intern, Sarah Voigt. She’s a final year journalism and creative writing student, and has lots to say about Gen Ys and how they perceive their worth. See below! Tricia Final year university is a bit of a mystery. I almost have my degree, I could just about apply for a […]
The story of the day spa and the clock (and why you need to ask for what you want)
A facial plus a hand treatment. The result of a birthday gift voucher I couldn’t wait to spend. I did wait though, deciding to save it for part of my wind down ritual after a Powerful Speaking Intensive weekend (it’s not called an Intensive for nothing). I booked the treatments. I turned up to the […]
How to penetrate a lack of attention from your audience
Speaking at a lunch is tricky. With waiters clearing plates and topping up wine glasses, people trying not to speak but whispering anyway because they haven’t finished with their calamari and want to say so before their plate’s whisked away, a guy reaching down to pick up his napkin, and the woman at the end […]
Assume equality
I’m fortunate to regularly present to different groups of women who feel safe to share with me their frustrations and struggles at work. From personal and executive assistants to future leaders and those in executive leadership roles, there’s a theme that’s come up time and again these past few weeks. It goes like this: I […]
The art of the ask
A favour. A pay rise. A new project. An opportunity. Want it? Then ask for it. Be bold. I work with a lot of women, and know quite a few more, who don’t ask. They don’t like to. It’s as if they believe that if they ask, they’re being a nuisance, or making life difficult […]
