Episode #531

How to Become a Leader People Will Follow

With Jenni Field

“You can’t need to be liked if you’re in a leadership position, and I’d say the same if you’re in a speaking position, cause you will say things that people don’t agree with, and that’s okay”

As a speaker, very few things matter more than establishing your credibility and expertise. This week, communication expert Jenni Field joins us to talk about how to build your credibility and become a leader that people will follow. Jenni is a firm believer in the importance of establishing your expertise and building your credibility, and she’s here with some practical tips on how to make that happen.

Jenni found a void in the industry she knows best and figured out how to fill it. During this episode, she’ll detail the expertise, research, and likability needed to make you genuinely needed for gigs. Jenni talks about how audiences can sense you care or not and how to work with your viewers so that your effort can be seen on stage.

Jenni has been through hard moments of her own, like in the end of 2022 when her business was failing, and she no longer loved what she was doing. She will share some lessons she learned from the heavy moments, including how she pulled herself out of that rut and pushed herself into a better space mentally and financially. Jenni took the time to know herself and what works for her, and she’ll talk about how you can do that for yourself as well.

You’ll learn:

  • How to channel your passion effectively
  • The most important steps to build your speaking career
  • What likability means for you
  • Why finding your purpose is key
  • How to grow by trying new things
  • And so much more!

“People won’t ask you to speak unless you’ve got something to say.”

Want to know exactly how to find and book more paid speaking gigs?

Download our 18-page guide to the 6 proven steps you can use to book more paid speaking gigs in 2024!

About Jenni Field

Jenni Field is an international speaker, author, podcaster, researcher, and business communications strategist. She specializes in helping teams and leaders use communication to take people and organizations from chaos to calm. From Canada to Slovenia, you’ll find her talking about credible leadership, relationships at work, and how to be more impactful with your communication.

A well-respected thought-leader in the communications industry, she is known for her optimistic outlook, energy, and honesty on any stage she is speaking on. Jenni’s podcast, Redefining Communications with Jenni Field, provides short 15-minute episodes focusing on different business topics and providing advice to help organizations go from chaos to calm. In 2021 published her first book Influential Internal Communication.

Jenni has led several research projects to help organizations tackle some of their biggest challenges; In 2019 she carried out the only research into communication with desk-less workers, repeating it in 2023 to see the impact of the pandemic on frontline teams. Her research in 2021 explored the role of line managers and in 2023 she researched the different practices that make a leader credible – leading to the publication of Nobody Believes You; Become a Leader People Will Follow.

Episode Resources

Share This Episode 

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Email
Reddit

Explore Recent Episodes

#542: Changing Leadership Culture and Scaling Content with Jeremie Kubicek
“We use visual tools and common language, so we share tools as if they’re mirrors so that the mirror does the heavy lifting and you get self awareness through looking at the mirror.” Navigating the world...
#541: How to Master the Three Pillars of Thought Leadership with Dorie Clark
“I knew it was important for me as I built my business to develop markers of credibility, and that would make everything easier. Like the wind is at your back when you have enough credentials that people...
#540: How to Find and Maintain Excellence in the Speaking Industry with Jon Acuff
“You have to regularly find things where the challenge exceeds the skill set.” In this week’s episode of The Speaker Lab Podcast, speaker and author Jon Acuff joins Grant to talk about the challenge...