Many people know that they would be much more successful in their business if they could stand in front of the room promoting it. However, when it comes to actually speaking to a room full of strangers, whether it’s around a table at a networking meetup, standing at a mixing desk, or as a guest speaker at an industry function, they adamantly refuse. Why is that?
For these people (and you know if you’re one of them), talking is scary. It means stepping out of your comfort zone, doing things differently than you’ve always done them, having a different outcome than you’re used to, and yes, definitely taking the risk of changing your life. For the best!
When he was named vice president of sales for his company, Michael was terrified of speaking to his sales team every time the company president walked into the room. He would immediately break out in a sweat, trip over his tongue, confuse his team, and chagrin at his own incompetence. The fear of him was literally destroying his ability to do his job. He sought the help of a speaker trainer. He changed his life. He learned where his fear came from, overcame it, discovered that he wanted to be his own boss, and became the CEO of his own company.
Walter was a partner in a small accounting firm who wanted to grow his firm into a large accounting firm. However, making sales presentations to potential clients caused his brain to freeze. He would forget the key points of the proposal he had spent so many hours preparing and losing client after client. He knew that discovering the source of his fear and conquering it literally meant the difference between staying where he was and becoming CEO of the powerful company he wanted to head. He worked with a speaker trainer and now his company has five offices in three states. His life is much more satisfying.
Linda wanted to be a financial advisor, but she hated having to go out and network to meet and attract clients. She was knowledgeable and competent, and when people referred to her, they were delighted with her results. But she couldn’t rely solely on referrals to achieve the level of success she desired. She found a speaker coach who helped her uncover the source of her reluctance to meet new people and market herself. Her networking skills immediately improved and her business is picking up.
What would your life be like if you could get up and talk to a room full of strangers about how great your business is and how much they will benefit from working with you? What would your bottom line look like if whoever heard you speak understood that you can give them what they need to move on and improve their life? How would you feel about yourself if you really achieved your goals, professionally, financially and personally? What if public speaking could really change your life for the better?
If you don’t stand up in front of the crowd to let them know how good you are, what’s stopping you? Worried you won’t say it right, whatever it is? That you will forget something important and feel ridiculous? Maybe someone will laugh at you? You can’t speak as well as (name of a famous speaker), so you’d rather not try? Never learned how and are too (old, tired, busy, etc.) to start now? Is it your bad luck that you weren’t born with the public speaking gene and there’s nothing you can do about it? Are you afraid of taking the risk of trying and failing?
Do yourself a big favor. Get over! Give yourself the opportunity to become the successful entrepreneur that you would really like to be. The one who is confident in the value of what you have to offer and the benefits you can bring to people who are smart enough to work with you. Public speaking is a skill like any other. All it takes is the desire to learn and a good coach. If you want to be a confident speaker, you can be.
Get the help you need to become the unique and sexy speaker you know is in you. You will be surprised how much your life will change for the better!
