Is Your Fear of Speaking (or Not Feeling Ready) Stopping You?

Over the last few months I’ve been working privately with a client helping her build her business model, marketing plan, signature system and signature talk.

Since starting our work together she’s gone from a few clients to a full practice, to not charging enough to reaching her monthly revenue goal, to no system or process for her brilliance to a transformational program she’s now turning into a course, from not speaking or having a signature talk to having a beautiful talk that she’s already using to generate more sales.

One day she emailed me and told me about being approached to speak on a large stage. The thought completely freaked her out and here’s what she said,

“Jeannie, I’m not ready!”

Interesting, I thought! She’s polished, intelligent, genius at what she does and has been doing it for a long time. So I asked the obvious question,

“What makes you think you’re not ready for this opportunity?”

She replied,

“I’m not ready for the exposure it might bring. My website needs updating. My free offer isn’t done, I think I’m just really nervous to get in front of so many people, what if they don’t like my talk, what if it doesn’t go well, what if I don’t get any clients out of it?”

The list went on and on.

After calming her down, this is what I told her…

“Everyone is afraid of exposing themselves. Speaking is about putting yourself out there in a way that exposes you and your expertise. There are tremendous benefits like getting clients, more opportunities and sharing your brilliance with the world. But in order to do it you must step in to the amazing outcomes it will bring and not focus on all the things you’re afraid of about doing it”.

After talking her off the ledge I reminded her of all the things she’s done to set herself up for success and once she realized what she’s done and got in place she decided that she can’t let her fear stop her.

Here are some things I reminded her to do to have the most successful speaking engagements possible:

1. Design a Talk That Compels and Sells – in her case she had done this so I reminded her that her talk would compel the audience and move them to the sale. (We’d already designed it that way)
2. Practice Your Talk – you can never spend enough time practicing your presentation. The more comfortable you are with the content and your presentation the easier it will be.
3. Set Up the Backend to Support the Talk and Offer – I have plenty of clients who don’t even have a website or a free offer and yet they’re still out there getting clients every time they speak. In some cases it matters, other times it doesn’t. If your offer is pointing them to your website and your website isn’t up to snuff then take the time and make the investment to take care of it. Don’t put off the talk, make getting the website done a tip priority!

Now it’s possible that your fear is more about exposing yourself and criticism. I hear that quite often too. At my Talk Design Workshop we’ll be talking about some easy ways to overcome your fear of stepping out onto any stage.

But the key to getting over your fear of speaking is to take your brilliance and turn it into a signature talk that compels and sells! Something you LOVE talking about. Because when you’re passionate about what you talk about, the fear of stepping on any stage goes away and will give you the confidence to speak on stages, host teleseminars and webinars and allow you to control how and when you get clients.

To learn how to do this – I invite you to join me at The Talk Design Workshop, my special 1-Day workshop.

When you attend you’ll also learn how to deliver your talk and exactly how to use it to transform your business. It’s April 24th and there are only 15 spots left.

To learn more, check it out here.

I’d love to hear what you think. What keeps you from stepping out and speaking? Let me know in the comments below.