Who do you speak to and what do you speak about?
I am an occupational therapist. I have a brother and son with autism so my goal is to help families build relationships with neurodiverse and neurotypical families, specifically siblings.
Again, I do have a brother with autism. Growing up in that space, I didn’t see a lot of people that were in my situation. And so I want to help families bond together.
I love it. That’s so awesome. We need more people speaking about that so I’m glad that’s what you landed on. So what was happening or not happening in regard to speaking that made you sign up for The Speaker Lab?
I started doing guest lectures for occupational therapy schools, and I was thinking about maybe going into adjuncting or teaching, and I’m still considering that.
At the time, I did work for the New York City Public Schools. And I loved what I do, and I’m always going to be an occupational therapist.
I just felt that I had reached the cap of where I could go in that organization and I thought to myself, “You know, why not look into speaking? I do have something to say.” I’ve heard great reviews from when I did guest lectures for occupational therapy school. So I figured why not take the jump?
I knew I needed help. I knew that I knew my topics very well, but I didn’t know how to present. I didn’t know where to look. I didn’t know who to ask. And I found The Speaker Lab.
I did my homework with The Speaker Lab and I spoke to current students and I asked them what they thought–if they thought it was worth the investment and everyone said, “Yes it was,” so I spoke to my husband and we made the investment.
Did you have any fears or apprehensions from the start and how did you overcome those?
Absolutely. I’m not gonna lie to you the money was the number one–that’s a lot of money to shell out.
And I thought to myself, “Why would I pay that? Could I do it for free…” and you can–you don’t have to pay The Speaker Lab, but I knew that it would take much longer and there was information that I wouldn’t have access to.
So when I spoke to the current students, quite a few of them said that the community is what really brought them to The Speaker Lab, and I really enjoy community so that was a selling point for me.
But the way that I overcame the financial concern is that I looked at it and that I’m investing in myself, right?
I went to occupational therapy school, I invested in myself there–I have a career. So if I want to go into this career, I want to be trained properly, and I want to be trained to the best of my ability. So why not invest in myself?
In the long run, that investment is going to pay off. I’m going to get those speaking gigs and things of that nature so then in hindsight, the money that I shelled out will be nothing in comparison to the money that I plan to gain in the future.
Totally, I love that you had that vision because especially on this side of things, where I see so many student wins, I know that number that you invest at the beginning is going to be–for some people–covered by one gig or two gigs. You get that back very quickly, and then you’ll be able to grow beyond that. I love that you compared it to college, too–that makes a lot of sense.
100%. Yes.
Well, in doing the SPEAK framework, what were some of the key takeaways for you?
Honestly, the one-on-one coaching that I had was really helpful. I had a person, Jeremy, that could relate to my story, because they themselves have autism.
I adore him, and he came on my podcast. I have a podcast with my mom, and he was a guest on the podcast, which I totally love.
The one-on-one was the most valuable to me, and I felt like I was able to blossom with that.
I’m a very good executor. You tell me what to do? I will go and do it. But I needed the step-by-step and I needed that guidance to say, “Okay, Crystal, think about this,” or “You may not want to go that way, here are some other ideas.”
I needed that one-on-one.
That’s what made The Speaker Lab stand out for me, because when I looked at other speaking programs, it was a group format, and I don’t mind the group, but I didn’t want to pay that much money for just a group–I wanted that one-on-one attention, so that was the biggest selling point to me.
Also that I have access to any and all trainings for a lifetime! You can’t beat that.
Yeah, and you definitely can’t go through it all in the six months either, so I always tell people–save these bonuses for later, and then treat it like a podcast or something.
But yes, that one-on-one coaching is awesome. And what I think is cool about our program is that we offer both–if you are a group person, there’s consistent group calls and there’s always wisdom to be gained from the community on those calls.
And you get the one-on-one help where someone’s really investing in your specific business and giving you that undivided attention so that’s awesome.
Well, what have been some of your results or highlights as a speaker now that you’re out there booking paid gigs?
I am getting some paid gigs. Some of them are still free, but what The Speaker Lab has given me is the confidence to just say outright what my expectation is.
As an OT, and I think other occupational therapists can relate, in general, we’re a very humble group, right? It’s not about us. It’s about the patient. It’s about the work, so a lot of times we do stuff for free and that’s just because that’s our nature. We just want to help people so we’ll do things for free.
But The Speaker Lab helped me to figure out, “Yes, okay, free is okay, but you have value and there has to be a monetary price to that value.” The Speaker Lab gave me the confidence to do that.
With that being said, again, some of my gigs are still free, but I am getting my name out there.
I booked a conference in New Jersey for an autism conference, and then another in Wisconsin. Those were free, but I did book a gig with a nursing organization that’s like $500.
NYU–New York University–they are interested in me coming to speak, which is huge. I mean, New York University, that’s amazing. They have a grant for $500, so I am starting to get gigs.
Last year, Therapeutic Resources paid me $800 for a workshop. It was two nights for two hours. I talked about early intervention and how occupational therapists can switch to early intervention.
So I’m starting off small, but I figure that the more that I do, the more I get my name out there, then as The Speaker Lab has taught me, you can build on that and you can increase your rate. I’m still getting out there.
Totally. The momentum is clearly there. And we always say the more you speak, the more you speak. It’s awesome to think that you’ve just named four or five gigs, right? And I’m sure there’s more! It’s cool to think that means you’re duplicating the testimonials you can get, you’ve added experience, you’ve traveled, it sounds like?
Actually, at the beginning of this month, I went to Maryland for a non-profit organization and I spoke there. I say to people: still do the free gigs because what happened was I went there for free–traveled from New York to Maryland for free–paid for my own hotel and everything, but in doing that I connected with the owner of the non-profit organization.
I said, “Hey do you want to come on my podcast? Maybe you could fund an episode and then we could give you advertising,” and she’s like, “Whatever you want! I want to support your podcast!”
So maybe I’m not always getting paid directly, but now if they fund my podcast, I don’t have to come out of pocket for that, so you just never know what kind of deal or influence you can have.
And you never know who’s gonna be in the audience that’s gonna see you. I think that’s so wise. There’s so much strategy and intentionality that can be put into doing the unpaid gigs and so I think that’s another awesome thing we teach. It’s one thing to do a paid or a free gig right, but it’s another to really leverage it even if you’re not getting compensation.
How can you get demo footage? How can you get testimonials? How can you get referrals? How can you get yourself in front of all these different connections? It sounds like you’re utilizing that mentality.
Yes, and for example the gig that I got in Wisconsin–Autism United–they’re not paying but I again said, “Would you be interested in being featured on the podcast or sponsoring a podcast?” They said to send them the information and they’ll send it up the chain. So I was like, “Okay, I will take that!”
You just never know unless you ask.
Hearing you now, knowing this is your momentum, having had enough of these conversations with students, I know if I talk to you in a year, you’re going to have had a really crazy 2025. I’ll have to invite you back; these are great beginnings! I love that you’re getting booked and paid to speak.
How is it feeling to get out there, be on a stage, and know you’re a paid speaker?
Oh my goodness, nerve-wracking. Exciting. Humbling because again, as an OT, I don’t find myself to be in that space that often–I just do the work, so I don’t feel…I don’t want to say worthy, but sometimes I just feel doubtful of my expertise, even though I have over 18 years experience as an occupational therapist–and that’s a long time.
But I know I don’t know it all. I don’t pretend to know it all, so for someone to say, “Your perspective is valuable and we want to hear it. We would like for you to share what you know.”
I’m like, “Really? Little old me? You want to hear me? Okay. I’ll tell you!”
I like to share information, and I like to help people, but it’s definitely humbling. I think I’ll always be that way. And I don’t want to change that.
That’s a very sweet mentality to have. I think that says a lot about your character and your energy you’re bringing into this.
Thank you.
Totally. I think it’s good to talk about finding the middle between having a heart to serve these people and also knowing your value and wanting to get compensated.
We have a lot of people in industries and spaces where they’re used to just speaking for free so it’s really hard to find that push to start saying, “I can ask to get paid for this.” As you said, you are bringing 18 years of your expertise!!
That’s amazing! I think you totally deserve to get paid. But I know sometimes that’s a mindset thing, especially if you’re in more of a service space, like for non-profit work or faith-based, I know that can be a tricky thing to overcome.
A hundred percent, yes. But you’ve got to overcome it, you have to.
Yes. What’s your new normal looking like these days? How has your life changed?
I’m still treating as an occupational therapist–that’s still my main goal. And then I have the side gig of doing my podcast. I am looking into adjuncting at a college because that’s always been something that I have thought about. And then I have speaking.
I will say–one thing that I learned from COVID is that having one source of income can be–I don’t want to say dangerous, but you never know what can happen, right?
So even if something were to go to the wayside, I still have other things that I could lean on.
That’s what I like about The Speaker Lab, too. It’s not just going out and speaking–there are people that have podcasts and they’ll put out a feeler like, “Hey, who wants to come on this podcast? This is what I’m talking about.”
I’m like, “Me, yes, I will, yes!”
So my new normal is instead of working a 9-5 and working for someone else, I have the freedom of time now.
As my husband so kindly puts it, “It’s either going to be time or money.” What is valuable to you at that point?
Early in my career, I’m not going to lie, it was money because you come out of grad school, and you’ve got to work, you’ve got to pay off loans, so it was money.
Now that I’m further down in my career and I have a family–again, I have my own son with autism. It’s time. I want the freedom of time. The Speaker Lab allows me to do that and follow my passion at the same time.
Even though I still work for agencies, like I said, I still want to be an OT, I want to treat, but I have the freedom of time to go for those passion projects, go for those speaking gigs, where I couldn’t do that in a 9-5 in the public school system.
If it’s not after or before school hours, you’re not doing it. So now I have the freedom to change my schedule and move my clients around to go to Wisconsin or Maryland and things like that.
Freedom of time is really big.
I love that you talked about that. We call it “The Income Pie.” A lot of our speakers are also authors or podcasters or maybe they do coaching and consulting in that industry that they’re speaking in.
Speaking is a really great piece of a robust income pie and you get to build off of it. It feeds into so many other things.
Who would you recommend to The Speaker Lab? And what would you say to someone that’s on the fence?
I would say do your research, number one, like I did–there’s nothing wrong with that.
I’ll be honest–I feel like The Speaker Lab is number one, but I am biased. So do your research. Figure out what fits you. And if you are worried about the investment, you have to think long term.
That’s one thing that I learned about The Speaker Lab, and that I really appreciate, is that everyone has said from the jump, “It’s a long-term game.”
If you want to get rich quick, this is not for you. I don’t know about that because that’s not how I operate. I don’t even want that. In the long term, the investment is so worth it.
And I’ve had people tell me, “Oh, you don’t have to join to do speaking.” No, you don’t. But if you want to do high quality speaking, and you want the best education, then I’m telling you The Speaker Lab is where it’s at.
And you can come ask me; I’ll tell you the truth.
I appreciate your transparency. It is a big investment, so it’s totally reasonable to want to do the research, talk to other people, check out other programs, talk to people who’ve actually done it, which is part of why we love having these conversations because we get to hear from a real student who put the SPEAK framework into practice, absorbed what they could and are now seeing the fruit of that.
Anything else you want to add?
If it’s in your gut and it’s something you have been wrestling with, you should do it. I’ve had that goal or feeling for a long time, that I was going to go into this space. And I put it off. I had children, things like that. And then once I had the opportunity, I was like, “Okay, I’m just going to go for it.”
I’m not just talking about two days, but if you’ve been wrestling with this for months or even years, then it’s time to just take the plunge and go for it.
I love that you put it that way because I think we are a lot of peoples’ “finally” moment. They come to us at the moment that they’re like, “I’m going to finally take this seriously.”
And then when they come out on the other side and they look around at their life and go, “I can’t believe I’m speaking. I’ve been dreaming about this for so long.” Some people have said, “Since I was a little kid, I thought about doing this.”
We had someone recently who was saying like, since 2018, he had been toying with the idea of speaking and just putting it off, putting it off, putting it off and he finally was like, “Okay, I need to follow that calling.”
So it’s cool to watch people step into those dusty dreams that they keep putting off, so I love that you said that. It’s a great way to wrap up our conversation.
Thank you so much! Thank you for having me.
Of course–congrats on everything!