The 3 C's of Successful Speaking (and Business)

You know the spare closet in your house that ends up holding lots of random stuff and eventually becomes so full that the next time you open it, everything spills out?

That’s how my mind has felt the past couple of months. I had been consuming so much information during the past year that I was full. I needed to declutter.

So, last week I decided to go on a news and social media detox. No news sites, no politics podcasts, no Twitter (gasp!), and no Facebook news feed (thanks to this nifty Chrome extension).

Not only do I feel better, but I’ve been able to focus on what I’m going to create.

Consuming content is fine and necessary – we have things to learn and we want to be entertained.

However, to be successful in your business, to get the loyal fans and clients that will make the difference between a short-term, short-lived tactic and a long-term, sustainable strategy, you need to be spending more time creating and connecting than consuming.

What does creating look like in your business? For me:

• It’s writing emails like this one.
• It’s crafting speeches and putting together presentations and webinars.
• It’s doing market research and designing new programs and offerings to help more women achieve their speaking and business goals (stay tuned for more info on this in the new year).

Think of the deep, creative work you should be doing that’s going to force you to introspect, reflect, dissect, synthesize, and articulate what’s unique about you, your message, and your business.

After you make creating your #1 priority, then focus on connecting with the people who are or will be your biggest fans and advocates.

You could:

• Invite someone you’ve been meaning to catch up with to lunch or coffee (real or virtual!).
• Send a personal email to 10 people on your email list each month.
• Join a mastermind group.
• Pick 2-3 Facebook groups (not 10 or 20) and focus your attention there. Be visible, helpful, and resourceful. Ask your own questions to get feedback from others.

Here’s my challenge to you:

1. Do a rough inventory of how much time you spend each week consuming vs. creating vs. connecting.
2. Reduce and be selective with what you’re consuming.
3. In all this reclaimed time you’ll have, decide what’s the next creative project for your business that you’re going to work on and then start on it! It could be a presentation or TEDx talk, a webinar, a blog or video series, a new program – whatever lights you up.
4. Share in our FB group so we can keep you accountable and cheer you on – and you can connect with other like-minded women.

Want to know my next creative project? Come into the FB group. (It’s free.)

Stand-Out Speakers Spotlight

I was so impressed with the women who were in my Stand-Out Speakers online group program this past fall that I’m sharing a couple of them with you in each of my upcoming newsletters so you can follow them too.

Puja Madan is the creator of Wild Radiant Woman and coaches high-performing, heart-centered women entrepreneurs to help them create more time and ease in their business by teaching them a system of profitable productivity (I’ve worked with Puja myself and can’t recommend her highly enough). Puja is a master at creating engaging and relevant content – from her soulful weekly newsletters to her gorgeous new productivity archetype cards. 

Victoria Moran is the creator of Main Street Vegan, which includes an academy in New York City that certifies vegan lifestyle coaches and educators (which I completed back in 2014 – it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had). Victoria is an expert content creator: she produces a weekly podcast on Unity.fm, is the author of 12 books, and creates presentations and speaks at events across the country. She was recently named PETA’s Sexiest Female Vegan Over 50 (woohoo!).

P.S. Don’t forget to head over to the Facebook group to share your next creative project and to hear what mine is.

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