Introverts Can't Be Public Speakers...Said Who?
A blueprint to become a professional speaker
For many, speaking in public is terrifying.
Glossophobia, the fear of speaking in public affects about 40% of the population. Many would rather be the person in the casket than the one reading the eulogy. You couldn’t make this stuff up.
For others, becoming a public speaker is the dream: you are invited to share your thoughts and ideas on a stage – and get paid for it.
If you are interested in speaking in public and monetizing it, today’s newsletter is for you.
If you don’t like speaking in public, guess what…
Today’s newsletter is also for you.
In August, I hosted a virtual keynote for the UK Cabinet on Cultural Agility.
Last week, I delivered a hybrid session for 100+ employees of Ageas Insurance across 5 countries in Asia.
On Thursday, I hosted a webinar for LULULEMON’s teams in Asia-Pacific.
You can find my previous public appearances on www.veronicallorcasmith.com.
Every month I’m booked for a couple of public speaking engagements, from keynotes to workshops and panels. It doesn’t sound like much and I’m still growing my business, but with sessions averaging 3,000$-5,000$ (and much more for others), the math is cotton candy-sweet.
Plus, speaking in public strengthens your credibility as a professional, and your brand as an author. So, in case you missed the memo:
If you are not speaking in public, you are missing out.
It wasn’t always sweet though; it was rather bitter for a long time (and sometimes it still is). I had to suck it up and learn the hard way before I was able to turn public speaking into a new income stream.
Some of you showed interest in the topic so I decided to share my public speaking blueprint to help you get started.
1. Practice, practice and then some
The secret to speaking in public is practice, practice and…yes, practice some more.
Know your message so well that you become the message and stop hiding behind the slides.
The good news is that you don’t have to be on a stage addressing a full house to practice - and you shouldn’t. Anything that allows you to speak in front of people keeps adding to the score: a meeting, a group gathering, an interview…
Before I started charging for speaking in public, I put my hand up for dozens of interviews, and podcasts and hosted over 20 LinkedIn Live sessions. I did tons of practice to get mileage on the stage - and a bit of Google love.
Takeaway 1: Practice builds confidence and confidence wins the stage.
2. Seek feedback
I’m lucky to partner with companies that provide coaching to their speakers. As a facilitator and speaker at Speakers Institute, I was blessed to have both group and individual coaching by amazing professionals.
I had tons of blind spots that I was only able to see once my coach pointed them out.
If time, money, or life circumstances don't allow you to go for coaching, an effective strategy is to record yourself presenting and watch the replay 3 times:
Only voice: How is your verbal language?
Only video: How is your body language?
Voice and video: How do you come across as a speaker overall?
Take away 2: Seek feedback to find your blind spots.
3. Get comfortable with technology
Speaking on a stage is one thing.
Speaking live in front of a camera is a different thing.
They each have their unique challenges and you must be ready to tackle both.
My first online session was not good. I got an average rating in the participants’ survey (3.8/5) and it hit my confidence big time.
Let’s be honest, an average speaker is a pretty crappy speaker.
It’s like saying that a joke is average: you either laugh or you don’t.
At that point, I thought public speaking just wasn’t for me.
Part of it was the fact that I wasn’t comfortable with the technology: I had to manage the virtual chat while launching Zoom polls, monitoring breakout rooms and muting people, all while focusing on the presentation and talking to an audience that was off-camera.
Not fun.
In a virtual session, technology sets you up for success…or failure.
It’s up to you to be digitally savvy and turn technology to your advantage so that you can fully focus on your message.
Even if you are decent with tech, it’s a different ballgame when you are presenting in front of a crowd and the screen suddenly freezes. You freeze too.
Shit happens and digital shit happens too.
I had the co-host drop out in the middle of an interview leaving me sola solita online.
I had one participant remotely annotate my presentation in red while I was speaking (yes, you can do that on Zoom).
I had participants hijack the conversation disrupting the entire flow.
There’s a lot that can go wrong, but there’s a lot you can control, so be ready.
No one ever regretted having a plan B.
Takeaway 3: turn technology into your BFF.
4. Normalize rejection
During my 2 years as a professional speaker, I have had way more deals lost than won. It’s the foundation of a business pipeline and it’s a healthy sign: you are putting yourself out there.
I had clients ghost me, pick another speaker, cancel the budget at the last minute, or bounce me back and forth between different teams to eventually lead me to the same destination: a big fat no.
It’s part of the (numbers) game: for every 1 yes, be ready to collect 9 nos.
C’ est la vie.
Don’t take rejection personal. It will eat you alive.
On the bright side, once you start working with a client and they see your value, they tend to book you again and even refer you to other departments internally. Companies like to work with the same partners: less risk, more trust and less hustle (you are already in the system, so the procurement team loves you).
Takeaway 4: Embrace rejection as part of the journey.
5. Let the testimonials do the selling
Public speaking is the perfect illustration of the chicken and egg situation: companies want testimonials before they hire you, but you can’t get testimonials if no one gives you a chance in the first place.
This is true for most services: coaching, courses, consulting…customers want business proof. Once you have it though, your value skyrockets.
Getting those first testimonials is hard but once you have a few solid referrals, especially from high-profile brands or customers, selling becomes easier (it’s never easy).
I have invested a lot of time and resources in my business proof:
A professional photoshoot
A website designer for WordPress
A Professional Speaker Media Kit
500+ LinkedIn posts to grow an 8K audience
I also do pro bono work for NGOs, schools, governments, Chambers of Commerce, industry events and conferences. These opportunities allow me to make an impact that goes beyond the corporate world and help me raise my profile even though I make zero dollars out of them.
However, once I had credibility and a solid portfolio, larger organizations gave me a vote of trust: global banks, retail companies, Fortune 500…
Next month I will host a keynote for the largest Swiss bank but I had to start with the building blocks.
Takeaway 5: Invest in your building blocks to collect the dividends later.
See, as an introvert, I never thought speaking in public was something for me.
We are labeled as shy and loners, and we believe the narrative that pushes us to sit quietly at the back of the room and take notes while others speak.
It’s time to challenge the status quo.
I discovered that having a stage to use your voice and make an impact is a golden opportunity to champion the causes you believe in, regardless of your personality type.
If you like writing, speaking is just another element, a different way to express yourself and channel your thinking.
In the same way that water can turn into different elements, your ideas can take different and beautiful shapes. It’s up to us to let them flow.
It took me a long time to get out of my shell and build the courage to go on stage and grab the mic, but once I did, it changed my life.
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You are great at public speaking. But without a doubt, it's not for me. I just want to write about my experiences and travel destinations I wish to go to.
This was so helpful to read. I've thought about trying to become more of a speaker aka, looking for opportunities proactively and not just doing the ones I'm asked to do (although those are great too). Thank you for this peek into how you made it happen.