Why TSL?
I joined The Speaker Lab in 2019 to hone my skills. I am a coach and also have my own nonprofit doing personal and professional development. Each year I hold an event and wanted to make it an incredible experience. I felt that by working with TSL I would be able to do just that.
I had such a great experience going through the elite program and then 2020 hit. This moment in time literally changed the world. I decided to seize the day or this time, and took advantage of the additional training TSL offered, like Virtual Speaking Pro and Erick Rheams Master Your Speaking Pipeline course. It was so helpful to see his pipeline and how he manages it.
Fast forward to 2022 and I had this moment where I was really looking at my business model and asked myself where I wanted to go as a businesswoman. I realized that I get the most joy when I’m speaking and delivering workshops. So, I literally sat down and wrote my 2022 business plan and all of a sudden I received an email about Stagecraft and it was a no brainer.
I really enjoyed working with Rick as a one-on-one coach when I was in the elite program. And so when I joined Stagecraft, I was committed to making 2022 the year that I went from being a coach and a part-time speaker to being a full-time speaker and a part-time coach.
What were some Aha’s and takeaways?
The one thing that Stagecraft really reinforced for me and something I coach my own clients on is the importance of practice and preparation. Today, I build into my schedule, 30 minutes of practice every single day, regardless of what’s going on.
The second takeaway was how to plan your “attack” of the stage. Rick teaches you how to plan your movements for greater impact with your words. I tend to pace a lot and he taught me the importance of settling in in order to deliver my speech thoughtfully and move with reason.
The camaraderie of Stagecraft was wonderful. It was such a small cohort group of 10 people and we were all at different stages of our speaking careers. Because of that, we were all able to support each other in different ways, which was really invaluable.
The other thing that I really love about The Speaker Lab is there’s always more learning to do. To this day I still go back to listen to that pipeline or refresh my skills on prospecting or proposals. I watch one video every day because it really keeps me motivated to work on my pipeline every day.
What is your new normal as a professional speaker?
I used to say I was a coach and an entrepreneur, now I say I’m a speaker and facilitator. Period! If people reach out to me for one-on-one coaching, I do it only if they’re the right fit. Today I lead with I am a speaker and I put that hat on every day.
The other thing is I work my business every day. However, I am not a fan of social media so I made the conscious decision not to work my business in that way. I don’t dispute that for some people social media can produce significant ROI. For me, it is not authentically in my wheelhouse and so I don’t do it. Most of my business is from word of mouth and from working my pipeline daily, which is definitely my new normal.
Who would you recommend TSL to?
I actually just recommended The Speaker Lab to a very dynamic woman yesterday. Here’s what I would say to anyone who is thinking about joining TSL. If you have a message and even if you have multiple topics you think you can speak on, you have to hone in on the specificity of what problem you solve and who you solve it for. TSL 100% helped me do that and they will help you as well.
