Strategies for Getting Momentum on the Speaking Circuit with Cindy Rowe: Podcast Ep. 401

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Carol Cox:
You’re going to get so much value out of this episode on specific strategies you can use to get momentum on the speaking circuit with our guest, Cindy Rowe, on this episode of the Speaking Your Brand podcast.

Carol Cox:
More and more women are making an impact by starting businesses, running for office and speaking up for what matters. With my background as a TV political analyst, entrepreneur and speaker, I interview and coach purpose driven women to shape their brands, grow their companies, and become recognized as influencers in their field. This is speaking your brand, your place to learn how to persuasively communicate your message to your audience.

Diane Diaz:
If you are trying to build your visibility as a speaker, maybe you’ve landed a first speaking gig, or maybe you’ve done a couple of speaking engagements already. But you might be wondering how speakers can build a consistent stream of speaking engagements and build momentum on the speaking circuit. So you might have seen speakers like the guest we have today speaking all over the place, but how do they do that? How do they build this consistent momentum with their speaking engagements so they can keep getting more speaking gigs? If you’re new to speaking your brand, welcome. If you’re returning to us, welcome back. I’m Diana Diaz and I’m lead speaking coach with speaking your brand. And today we are going to talk about all those things and more and the strategies that you can use, just like our guest has used to build momentum on the speaking circuit for yourself so that you can get out there and start doing more speaking engagements. Now, before I introduce Cindy, I just want to let you know that Cindy did go through our Thought Leader Academy back in June of 2022. So if you’re interested in working on your signature talk, building your momentum, getting more speaking gigs, enrollment is open for the Thought Leader Academy. You can visit speaking your brand.com/academy. Again that is speaking your brand.com/academy. So let’s get on to our guest Cindy Rose. Cindy is a dynamic professional speaker, trainer and a passionate entrepreneur, having built two successful companies from the ground up. She’s an influential thought leader in her community who works tirelessly to change the narrative around kindness. And as I mentioned, Cindy is a graduate of the Thought Leader Academy almost exactly two years ago, by the way, I checked the date on that. So and Cindy was a guest on the Speaking Your Brand podcast already, also back in 2022. And just so you know, episode 284, connecting your ideas into one message. So definitely go back and listen to that. It is so wonderful to have you back on the podcast, Cindy.

Cindy Rowe:
Oh, thank you so much, Diane. It’s my pleasure. I’m excited to be here and chat with you today.

Diane Diaz:
Yeah. Me too. And I’m I’m excited to have you talk about all the strategies that you’ve used, because it’s a nice comparison to when you were on the podcast last and all the hard work that you’ve done to get yourself creating this momentum. And by the way, everybody should go check out Cindy’s LinkedIn profile, because that is where you will see how on fire she is with speaking engagements. So maybe we can just start at the beginning. Maybe you can just tell our audience a little bit more. You know, I said that you’re sort of passionate around kindness, but tell our audience a little bit more about the work that you do and kind of like your main message.

Cindy Rowe:
Absolutely. So I am a self-proclaimed kindness ambassador, and I tell my story, uh, during my presentations on how I became that. But, you know, I was in a dark place a long time ago, and somebody suggested that I do a random act of kindness, and it literally changed my life. So I, um, through the thought leader Academy, figured out my message on how I can help inspire and motivate others through kindness and getting in front of organizations. Um, whether it’s corporate or nonprofits, anybody can benefit from hearing my message on kindness, and I really like to change their idea wrapped around kindness, because we think of it as such a basic thing that we all should do. And I’ve even had attendees come up and say that they weren’t really excited about my message at at the beginning, and they left changed. And for me, that is a huge testimony on the power that kindness can have if you are truly open to it. So I you know, I love speaking with, um, leadership. You know, we need more kindness in the workplace. And that’s really what I’m passionate about right now, is getting in front of as many people, um, in the workplace to to spread the message of kindness and how it actually belongs in our workplaces.

Diane Diaz:
Oh, yes. Thank you for sharing that. That’s. And I remember when you and I worked together way back when on your VIP day. That is one of the things that we talked about. So we’ll get to that in a minute. But what I want to know is thinking back to when you were in the Thought Leader Academy back in 2022, before you joined, what was your experience with speaking? Were you already speaking? How frequently were you speaking? What were the topics of your speaking back then?

Cindy Rowe:
Yeah, so I actually, uh, run a marketing company and I was doing speaking in my local community on social media and just different marketing tips, um, and strategies that small business owners could, could utilize. And I, I love doing that. I love giving back. Um, and I was actually doing I had I hosted my own conference. Um, and from that I started doing like lunch and learns, uh, locally. And then it was the chamber or my local chamber invited me to speak at the women’s luncheon, and they wanted me to share my entrepreneurial story, and that’s when I did. That is really where I got the bug. I’m like, I have to do this, and I and I felt like, um, I wasn’t so passionate about sharing social media tips. I wasn’t that didn’t fire me up. And, um, but talking about my story that fired me up and I just got really excited. And that’s, you know, when I stumbled across the Thought Leader Academy and and dove into that. And I’m grateful I will not ever look back on that decision. So it really helped me propel forward.

Diane Diaz:
Oh, I’m so glad to hear that. And I, I’m glad that you were able to share your story with the audience at the chamber, because that is something we also talk a lot about, is using your story to inspire other people to connect with the audience. And I’m sure, well, let me ask you this question. What was the reaction when you, from the audience like, what feedback did you get when you shared your story? What was how did they react to that?

Cindy Rowe:
I had people come up afterwards and like, they just really were grateful that I was so open and vulnerable and they they were inspired. I actually got a client from it too, which was kind of funny. Um, but because she related to me on a different level and she wanted to work with me. So that was really exciting. Um, yeah. And then I honestly was on cloud nine for several days, and I remember going home and telling my boyfriend at the time, I’m like, I need to do this. I need to do this more like, I like this was amazing. Um, and I just, you know, seeing their faces. I love humor, um, and I like, you know, our lives are funny and, you know, just kind of make light of things, but also having that serious aspect of the struggles and, you know, kind of opening up your heart a little bit. You see the reaction of people. And it just, I don’t know, it gives you the warm fuzzies, actually. You know, I just yeah, I love it.

Diane Diaz:
So yeah, that’s that’s you’re absolutely right. You do get the warm fuzzies. And I think it’s through vulnerability, right, that we can connect with other humans who are sitting in the audience. And, and it’s no surprise to me that somebody then wanted to work with you, because the more that we know about someone, the more we trust them, right? And then we trust them not only to listen to what they’re saying, but we also trust to work with them. So it’s no surprise to me that somebody wanted to work with you from that. And it seems like and we’ll get to this in a moment as well, that that message that you where you started sharing your own personal story also then propelled you into sort of this greater momentum with your speaking. So, uh, you know, we we worked together again way back in 2022. And then so we worked on your signature talk around kindness. So, um, what was the goal that you had with that specific talk? Was it to generate leads? Was it to build brand awareness? Did you what was your goal, your specific goal in relation to creating that talk?

Cindy Rowe:
Um, I think brand awareness, just getting me, um, known as a speaker and kind of separating myself from my marketing company, that was really important to me. Um, I honestly haven’t used my talks to generate leads per se. Um, that’s kind of my next step is I want to create a training program that I can. So after they hear me speak about kindness, then they’re like, well, we have to have her come in and work with our, you know, emerging leaders or our top leaders or whatever sales team. Um, I want to create that next product. So, uh, you know, I can help more people and just like, you know, zone in on certain things. Because during the conversation in my presentation, we don’t deep dive, you know, it’s it’s not that serious, I guess. And and so I want to be able to have that opportunity to really go deeper. So that’s that’s next level for me.

Diane Diaz:
Yeah. That’s great. No I like that because I think you’re now you’ve been setting the foundation for that. You are known as the kindness speaker. Right. You speak on kindness. You’re building that brand. You’re building awareness for yourself. And then, as you said, and as we often tell our clients, you can then turn that into paid offerings where you then get paid to come do a workshop with them, where you do get to dive deeper into those topics. But this this talk that you’re giving in all these talks around kindness are setting you up for that. So I love that. Now, do you do I know that on LinkedIn, when you’re sharing content, all your almost all of your content is connected in some way, shape or form to kindness. So, you know, the message is out there that you’re the kindness person. You’re doing some speaking engagements. You created that signature talk. I’m curious, how do most of your speaking engagements come to you? Because, by the way, for our listeners, if you do go to Cindy’s LinkedIn, what you’re going to see, hopefully, is a post that I saw not too long ago where you had posted what your summer talk schedule was. You had three talks in June, one in July and two in August, which is incredible. But how do how do you get these speaking engagements? Tell us some of the ways that and strategies that you. Use to get those speaking engagements.

Cindy Rowe:
Um, yeah. So I do Google Google searches. I have the Google Alerts come in. Um, and actually I pay attention on LinkedIn. I follow a lot of speakers, and if they’re speaking somewhere, I usually look it up. And if it aligns with, you know, the audience I want to get in front of, I’ll add it to my little, uh, spreadsheet to follow up on. But Google alerts have been really great. Uh, lead source for me. Um, what’s been really cool is where I’ve spoken at before, like, last year was an amazing year for me where I really hit it hard. Um, and I think I had somebody had asked me, I think, I think I had 18 speaking engagements last year. My goal was 12. So I, I did I did a great job with exceeding that. Um, but I’m now getting calls from people that saw me speak and they want me to come speak at an event or their conference or at their workplace. So now I’m a referable speaker, which is so incredible. Um, and, and, you know, you have a little bit more of a opportunity there, you know. With those people that have seen you speak and want you to come speak for them again. So that’s been really exciting. That’s been the change this year is I have more people coming to me than me, you know, filling out applications or sending cold emails. Um, but I work really hard on leads. I mean, that’s I still, I still, you know, every week I am sending out emails or filling out applications, um, and hopes that I get booked.

Diane Diaz:
Thank you, Cindy, for sharing all of that, because I think these are things that, uh, you know, tips that we often give out. But I think it really shows those things in action and the results that you can have when you do those things. So as you said, every week. And so for the listener, just to reiterate, because these are things that I think are important when you’re, you know, trying to build that momentum. So, you know, most of us, we’ve done random speaking here and there, but to build actual momentum and keep those speaking gigs coming. So Cindy said every week she’s working the leads, looking for places to speak, seeing also I think another important thing that we often forget. I forget it sometimes to follow other speakers because as you mentioned, they are speaking in places. So if it aligns with what you speak about, no reason. You can’t also pitch yourself to speak there. So working on those leads every week, following other speakers to see where they’re speaking. Google alerts I love that you have that set up now do you do you set those up? How like what terminology do you use? Do you use call for speakers? Do you use women’s conferences? What are you searching on in those Google alerts? Yeah.

Cindy Rowe:
So, uh, women speakers needed. Um, yeah. Call for speakers. Uh, keynote speaker. Um, I have because I love, um, hr and I’ve that’s my sweet spot right now. I get booked to speak at a lot of HR conferences. I put in HR conferences, um, women conferences, pretty much, and leadership conferences, I think ERG conferences, pretty much every kind of, um, conference I’ve spoken at in the past, I have a Google alert for and yeah, search and I have a, um, so I’m based out of Illinois. I’m right on the border of Wisconsin and Illinois. So I do a call for speakers for Illinois, a call for speakers for Wisconsin. Um, and then just a general call for speakers. But I probably have close to 20 Google alerts, um, that I have come to my I have a special Google folder, um, in my Gmail that it goes right there. So I don’t it doesn’t clog up my email box. And once a week that’s I go and look at that and kind of weed through those. I also do Google alerts for um, like kindness articles that I may not have, you know, seen on my scrolling. Um, that really helps me stay in touch too with my topic. And that’s been really helpful. So then I can, um, reference any kind of new research that’s out there or idea that I haven’t thought of or seen before. So that’s been helpful for me for content to.

Diane Diaz:
Oh my gosh Cindy it’s brilliant. These. Okay, a couple of things I had never thought of. Number one, to start having Google alerts for articles related to your topic, so you can stay on top of that topic. Mind blown for me. Like that’s it’s brilliant. And also the idea to have the Google alerts go to a folder in your, in your Gmail so that it doesn’t clog up your email. Genius. Because of course it does clog up your email if you just let it come to the general folder there, but also a good way to collect them in one place so that you always know where their where they live and you can just go right back to it. Yes. So I love that. And I also love that you have many Google alerts set up on different search terms. So for anybody listening to this, if you’re not clear on how to set up a Google alert is very simple. Just go literally go Google. How to set up a Google alert is very easy, trust me. But you can set them up on multiple search terms. And I think that’s important because, you know, you have to kind of think outside the box sometimes for where you can speak that fits with your topic. So as Cindy mentioned, she’s speaking to HR conferences a lot or meetings or things related to HR, but also could be, you know, a women’s event or a corporate event of some type. So think outside the box of those, you know, search terms that you can use for where you can speak and make Google alerts around those and then work those leads every week. And then so Cindy, I’m wondering too, with the speakers that you follow, do you ever connect with any of them and either ask for a recommendation to speak somewhere, or are there? Is there any special way that you leverage that.

Cindy Rowe:
I have just through, um, you know, some of the, uh, speaker systems, I guess through Thought Leader Academy that we met. Um, but some of the ones that I’ve not, I guess, been introduced personally, I have not reached out to them. Um, I do interact with them on LinkedIn, their posts and whatnot, but I’ve never private messaged them. I’m not to that point yet. Um, and that might be a good idea to do. I start building a relationship that way when I’m at a conference and I have the opportunity to meet other speakers, I always try to get them on LinkedIn and follow up with a quick note and just kind of stay connected that way. Um, and that’s been helpful. And, and actually, one speaker sat in my session and I sat in on her session and we both left each other a recommendation on LinkedIn. So that was really cool.

Diane Diaz:
Yes, I love that while you were I this is a really great example for everyone listening on how you have to work multiple angles, right? So it’s not just like, what is the thing I can do to get speaking engagements? There isn’t one thing right. There are lots of things. And it does take in order to create momentum and consistency with it. It takes working all those multiple angles because. So as Cindy just demonstrated, she’s getting speaking engagements, finding them in Google Alerts, but also through connecting and following other speakers and also through, uh, you know, pitching herself, of course, and working leads every week and then reaching back out to places she’s already spoken at. So there’s multiple ways that the speaking engagements are coming, but you kind of have to work all those angles. And and, Cindy, I think for you too, you’ve you’ve built the awareness of who you are and what you speak on. And so as you mentioned, now people are reaching out to you. So what for your speaking engagements that you’ve done, you know, as of late or over maybe over the last year, what percentage were you, would you say have come from people who reached out to you versus you pitching yourself?

Cindy Rowe:
Um, well, so it would be this year, I have. Um. And a handful, and then I’ve, um. And then I’ve actually booked into 20, 25 to, uh, speaking engagements from people that have seen me speak already this year. So that that was pretty exciting. So yes, I’ve only got two on the books for 2025, and those are both referral referrals and both paid. Um, yeah, it’s pretty exciting. So I, I believe that number will continue to grow and um, where I’m getting more booked business through my speaking engagements versus me filling out the applications and, and doing the nitty gritty work. But I’ll continue doing the nitty gritty work because it’s been very fulfilling and successful for me to do that. And until I don’t have any space on my calendar, I’m not going to stop. So well.

Diane Diaz:
I love hearing that you have gigs booked already into 2025, because and that’s so to to that point, now is the time to start working on getting those. Because depending on where you want to speak, most events, organizations, conferences, they are planning far out in advance. So if you’re if you’re listening to this and you’re looking to speak in 2025, start working on that now. And you can start with some of the tips that Cindy has shared on the ways. So go ahead and set up Google Alerts and that can help you start finding those opportunities for speaking. But but I love that you’ve built this brand of being the speaker that speaks about kindness, and it is clearly working for you to build that momentum. So do you mostly speak locally? Do you travel a lot? How does that.

Cindy Rowe:
Look? I would say I do mostly travel. Um, the summer is local, which I did by design. Um, honestly. But come August I am traveling and will be traveling through, uh, the end of November. I don’t know if I even have a local. I think I have one local event in the fall, but everything else is travel, so.

Diane Diaz:
And, ah, those are the travel ones. Are those all paid gigs?

Cindy Rowe:
Uh, I would say 50, 50, 50, 50. Um, if they’re not paying me to speak, they’re helping cover travel. If they’re not doing either of those, I’ve negotiated other things like video and photos and a testimonial and a referral, so I.

Diane Diaz:
Love it. Yes. No, I love it. I think we always tell our clients that if you if you do want to speak somewhere and you know they don’t have a budget or they say they don’t pay, then there are other things that you can negotiate as quote unquote payment, which could be all the things you mentioned. Right? So you have to again, think outside the box on that if you want to get this, if you want to take the speaking engagement. But also I think those things can still work into your visibility and building the momentum. And like you said, maybe getting a referral. So and I love the idea that you shared to sit in on another speakers session and then do a LinkedIn recommendation for it, because that’s so powerful. And you’ve got, uh, you know, third party credibility from someone who actually saw you speak, sharing that with other people. Plus, you never know, that speaker might not be able to speak somewhere and then might refer you. Right.

Cindy Rowe:
Exactly. And it’s just it’s really neat. I, I really enjoy watching other speakers and not necessarily on there. This sounds sad or I don’t even know, but not necessarily what they’re speaking on, but like how they’re doing it, like their slides. I really pay attention to what they’re doing versus their topic. But, um, just so I can learn, you know, I, you get stuck in your own bubble. Um, and it’s kind of refreshing to see what other people are doing. And I if I’m at a conference, I always try to get to the keynote speaker, too, because that’s that’s the position I want and I want to see what they’re doing that I am not, or, you know, that I should be doing to get up on that big stage. So.

Diane Diaz:
Yeah, that’s a you know, that’s a really great point that I think we need to see the people doing the thing that we aspire to do, and then it either gives us ideas or it gives us motivation or it like you said, it just gives us, you know, good insight for how we might present something or I mean, sometimes, frankly, even what not to do. Right. So, you know, it’s the anything that you’re doing, whatever it is, the more it’s almost like practice or research for you as a speaker. Right? So part of your research as a speaker and practicing being a speaker is to see other speakers speak. And then you can learn so much from that. You can I’ve seen some speakers who the way they manage the stage and their delivery and their presence is just awe inspiring. And I’m like, I want that. And so then you can keep that in your mind for when you speak and you say, oh, I can pull from that, that I learned from this speaker.

Cindy Rowe:
Yeah. And I and you know, it’s part of if you’re there. It’s a great opportunity just to meet somebody doing what you love to do, too, and building that network, like you said, you know, even if it just ends up being a LinkedIn connection down the road, you know, you never know where your paths might cross or can cross again. And I just love meeting new people. Anyway, so.

Diane Diaz:
Is there, I’m wondering, because I was just thinking, as you were sharing that about the watching other speakers, have you ever have you ever, um, gone to an event or conference or something and then connected with the organizers to sort of say, you know, hey, I loved this conference and I’d love to be a speaker. And then my follow up question to that would be, what is the strangest way that you’ve gotten a speaking engagement or the most interesting way that you’ve gotten a speaking gig?

Cindy Rowe:
Um, so I, I don’t know if I’ve ever been to a conference as just an attendee since I started professional speaking. Um. Oh, nice. Um, I. I can’t think of one. So, uh, but I do I do like to find the, the the person that booked me. If they’re on site, every time I go, I always ask for them, uh, and just want to meet them face to face because most of the time we haven’t. Or it’s just been a quick zoom call or maybe a phone call. Uh, so I really like to say hello and thank them again. Um, and the your second question. Oh, the strangest way I.

Diane Diaz:
Or most interesting or.

Cindy Rowe:
I, you know, I had, uh. I have a speaker friend locally and he was unable to do a gig and he we, we kind of speak about the same thing. He speaks about connection. And um, and so he said, hey, you should probably talk to my friend Cindy. And we had a conversation and yeah, I was booked as the, the, uh, closing keynote thanks to him, but he couldn’t do it so that that was why. Yeah.

Diane Diaz:
So that’s why it’s so important to connect with other people that are doing the thing you want to do, because you never know when those opportunities might come up. And certainly, I mean, there have been times that I couldn’t take a speaking engagement for one reason or another or, you know, or it just wasn’t a good fit for me or whatever. And I will always refer another speaker that I know. So I’m sure everybody else feels the same way too. So it’s great to know other speakers. So so I would say definitely connect with other speakers on LinkedIn. And you can, you know, as good as you can connect with them, you know, in that platform. But you can also once you connect with somebody on LinkedIn, you can invite them to a virtual coffee just to get to know them better. And then now you’ve established a relationship. So if they can’t do a speaking gig, they might mention your name, or they might just refer you for something. Or sometimes speakers, they themselves are also setting up events, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Cindy Rowe:
I hosted my own event this past fall, so in September and I actually, uh, had that gentleman that referred me. He was one of my speakers and kind of as a thank you, I guess I didn’t pay him to speak, but, uh, he, um, he got in front of a different audience and a new audience, and so, um, but. Yeah.

Diane Diaz:
That’s fantastic. And so now in all the speaking that you’re doing because you again, you’re just pretty much I see you out speaking all the time. You’re just always sharing it on LinkedIn. That’s another thing. Make sure you’re sharing your content on LinkedIn from speaking engagements so that people know you’re a speaker. That’s very important. But what would you say, like with within the speaking that you do? What percentage would you say? Or is it most for? You know, you said you’re not really doing much from lead generation standpoint, but are you doing workshops? Are you doing? And I know you said you’re looking to do keynotes, but what is what are they mostly the types of talks that you’re giving. Like what format lunch and learns, uh, you know, lead gen whatever.

Cindy Rowe:
Um, I’ve been booked mostly for like, breakout sessions at conferences. Um, I’ve done actually, just yesterday I was hired for, um, a local organization to do a, um, a presentation, more of a recognition and appreciation for case managers. Then. That was a lot of fun. I it was two hours that they had me, um, speak and kind of but we did more activities and it was it was a lot of fun. It was all on kindness and and a lot of self kindness. They really wanted to focus on self kindness and um, but so those are that’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve, I’ve done several keynotes um, and a couple workshops, but not I wouldn’t say more than the two hour mark. Um, but I’m hoping that, you know, down the road, that’s where I will be spending more time to where I can really deep dive and and help organizations take the kindness thing a little bit further.

Diane Diaz:
I love that and I, I noticed in your so, for example, that post you made on LinkedIn about the different the number of talks you had in June, July and August, the titles were different, but they were all connected in some way to kindness. Um.

Cindy Rowe:
And it’s basically the same presentation. So when I pitch or fill out an application or have that conversation with the, um, event organizer organizer, we know the title sells it right in the program and whatnot. So trying to make the title work for the conference theme is really important. And making sure that, uh, you know, you’re kind of. Being open to having that flexibility of changing your title to fit the need of the event. And but the the main part of my presentation is the same, and I do tailor it to the group I’m speaking with. So for instance yesterday it was case managers. So I did some research on what kind of, uh, issues they’re having. I already knew this, but just to make sure, you know, they’re dealing with burnt out, um, high levels of stress, overworked, um, lack of staffing. And so I weaved that throughout my presentation on how kindness can actually battle some of those things. And I think that’s really beneficial. People really love when you’ve taken the time to research their industry and drop a few of the little nuggets in there and how and weave it through, like how kindness can actually make a difference with their. Areas of, uh, levels or whatever of, uh, stress that they’re, they’re having in that industry.

Diane Diaz:
So I love that. I love that because it really demonstrates that idea of having a signature talk that you then tailor to some degree, but you don’t wholesale change it. You just tailor it to that audience, tailor the title to be appealing so people will want to come to it. So I love that idea, and I love that you and this is something that we also say to almost all of our clients, because this comes up, well, you know, I want to be doing these speaking engagements regularly and I want to get paid to speak. And so you can do that. But if you look at Cindy’s trajectory here, you were in the Thought Leader Academy in 2022. It’s now 2024. It’s been almost exactly two years. And so it is about a two year trajectory to get to that momentum and start getting regular paid speaking engagements. So it kind of holds true in this example. Is it kind of it takes time to build that momentum. But you’ve done it just to recap for everyone by connecting with other speakers, by setting up Google Alerts and staying abreast of any event that might come up where they’re looking for speakers by pitching yourself, filling out applications, applying to conferences regularly weekly, all the time to make sure that you’re still you’re doing the effort. And then while you’re doing the speaking engagements, you’re building momentum where people are then coming to you. So you’re leveraging the speaking engagements you’re already doing to get more speaking engagements. So, so to get that momentum, it kind of takes all of those things. Mhm.

Cindy Rowe:
Yeah, absolutely. And consistency is key. I still run my marketing business so I have to carve out time. This is really important to me. I would love to be a full time speaker. But um right now I, you know the, the marketing company pays my bills and you know hopefully I’m hoping and two, maybe three years that it will be the other way around where the speaking is my main thing and I can kind of walk away, um, more from my marketing company. And I’m realistic, right? You know, taking one day a week to really focus on my speaking career. I know it’s going to take time. If I had the opportunity to do 2 to 3 days a week, I mean, I know I would propel forward much faster, but it’s just not reality. And I am thrilled with the results of, of, uh, what the effort that I’ve put in and it’s it’s not it’s not easy, you know, and I get a lot of rejections, but with those rejections, then I get, you know, a yes. We can’t wait to have you. Um, and then within those is when people reach out and say, I heard you speak and I need you to speak at my event we’re having, you know, I’m on the chair, you know, or a committee, and that those are all exciting. But it it does take time.

Diane Diaz:
Yeah, I’m glad you shared that because it does take time. And also there are going to be rejections and that’s okay. But the more you know, who is it that said you you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. I don’t know who said that, but some basketball player I believe. But um, but it’s true. I mean, you you are going to get rejections, but the more you keep at it, you will start to get the yeses, and then you just. That’s all you need is like the one. Yes. Just keep you going until the next. Yes. Right. And so it’s that, like you said, the consistency in the work that you’re doing towards it. And so, you know, and I think most it seems like most of us that are speakers are also doing, you know, that’s not our sole thing. Right. So you do have to carve out time, but you’ve found a nice it’s not a formula but like a strategy, if you will, for how to start to build your presence, get known and then build the momentum. And so now here we are two years later from Thought Leader Academy, and you are all over the place. So tell us, Cindy, what is next for you with speaking? Do you have any really cool speaking engagements coming up or anything that you’re super excited about with regard to speaking or maybe some new speaking goals? Yeah.

Cindy Rowe:
So there’s several things. Um, I, I’m coming down to Orlando in August. That’s my first, uh, trip this fall or whatever late summer. Um, I had interviewed for the keynote and I didn’t get it. Um, but they gave me a breakout session, and they just reached out to me maybe two weeks ago and asked if I would do another session because there’s they’re receiving responses that, um, on the schedule that they won’t be able to attend both or, you know, that it must be aligned with two, you know, two different great presentations. So they asked me to speak a second time. Um, so I’m speaking both Monday and Tuesday, and I’ve never had that before. Um, and I’ve negotiated my hotel and some extra cash, um, to do that. And for me, that that was an eye opener that, you know. I’m curious why I didn’t get the keynote and maybe. Maybe next time for the next conference. I’ll be considered if my session is a success. Um, our sessions are a success. The other thing. Last year I spoke at a HR conference. It was standing room only. They actually had to close the doors. And the feedback that the, uh, event organizer received was that they were really disappointed they didn’t get into my session, so she begged me to come back. Uh, and so I’ll be going back to that conference this fall.

Cindy Rowe:
And, um, I was able to negotiate again because I had leverage that they wanted me there. And she’s like, I don’t want you to change a thing. She’s like, we had so many people that couldn’t attend your session, so just do the same exact presentation and, uh, come prepared to have a full room. So I that was really exciting to me. And, you know, I love feedback and I love when my friends are in the audience, but I never truly trust them with their I feel like they’re just being nice. But when you get that great feedback that and people want you to come back or, or, you know, you hear that you’ve inspired or motivated, somebody like that is so fulfilling. And I it just makes me want to work a little bit harder. My goals for the future, I would say for probably the next year, I definitely want to, um, apply for TEDx talks. So that’s on my agenda. Um, I know they take a lot to get into, so I just have to start and then I do want to build a training program. I’ve already created the outline of it. I just have haven’t had the opportunity to sit down and nail out all the details. So those are two of my big goals for the next year.

Diane Diaz:
Well, first of all, Cindy, congratulations on those those two speaking engagements that you shared about that they just I mean, you’re in demand. Literally. They are demanding you. I, I love to hear that because obviously you have a message that resonates with so many people. And if we’re being frank, we really need more kindness in the world right now. So I think I think everybody’s realizing that that message is very important, not just to us on a personal level, but also on a business level. It is important. And so kudos to you for getting these opportunities, like having that message, delivering it, and really just demonstrating how important it is, what you talk about. So I have no doubt that you will knock their socks off. Can you share what the conference is in Orlando? Since Carol and I are in Orlando and anybody locally.

Cindy Rowe:
And you’re going to ask that. Um, I think it’s, uh, it’s a, a HRA.

Diane Diaz:
It’s a it’s like an HR, an HR.

Cindy Rowe:
Yeah. It’s like, I think it’s health care HRA. Um. I knew you were going to ask. Um, yeah. Now I can’t find it on my calendar.

Speaker4:
That’s okay. But yeah, I’ll.

Cindy Rowe:
Be there August 4th through the sixth, so.

Speaker4:
Okay, great.

Diane Diaz:
Good. Well, hopefully you’ll bring lots of water with you because it’s very hot here, so you do not want to burst into flames.

Diane Diaz:
So. All right. Well, thank you so much for sharing all of that with us. Now also, let’s go ahead. If you would share with our listeners where they can connect with you online. Because I know after hearing this, people are going to want to reach out to you and connect. So where can our listeners connect with you?

Cindy Rowe:
Yeah, I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn so you can find me, Cindy Rowe on LinkedIn. Um, my website is the Cindy Road.com and I have a podcast as well. It’s, uh, The Kindness Advantage with Cindy Rowe, where I share tips ten minutes or less because it’s I like quick and easy. And I’m also on Instagram and Facebook too. You can find me Cindy Rowe on those channels too.

Diane Diaz:
Okay, great. Well, we will share all of that in the show notes. And also if you are attending a conference related to healthcare in Orlando in August, please go to Cindy session because I know you’re going to love it and I know you’re going to be blown away, and you will be one of those people demanding that she has another session or or that she’s the keynote speaker next time. So. Well, thank you, Cindy, so much for coming back on the podcast. I can’t tell you how excited I was to chat with you, and I know our listeners are going to love to hear your stories and how you’ve built momentum. So thank you.

Cindy Rowe:
Oh, thanks so much, Diane. I really appreciate it. I appreciate everything that you guys have done for my success. I wouldn’t be where I’m at without it. So, um, you have been helpful in making my dreams come true. I know I put in the work, but, uh, I had I had a great team behind me, and I appreciate that. And I would love to connect with any of your listeners. Um, so please message me. Let’s connect. Support each other. Wonderful.

Diane Diaz:
Yes, absolutely. Let’s do support each other. Well, those are thank you for the kind words. And we we truly appreciate it has absolutely been my pleasure to work with you. So thank you. All right. If you are getting started on the speaking circuit and you’re you’re creating your signature talk, or you want to create your signature talk and you’re just not sure how to get all those ideas together. As I mentioned, Cindy did go through the Thought Leader Academy and you can do the same thing too. It’s enrolling now, so if you want to work on those things, create your signature talk, create a visibility plan and get started on this path towards creating momentum on the speaking circuit, you can visit speaking your brand.com/academy again that is speaking your brand.com/academy. And as I said we are enrolling right now. Until next time thanks for listening.

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