Who do you speak to and what do you speak about?
I speak to college students and recently just added high school students. I speak on leadership, and how it’s no longer what it used to be as far as leadership being the buzzword for money and prestige; leadership is the key to success in their futures, both personally and professionally.
And in adding the high school students, it’s been a whole change in my program, so it’s been a ride.
What made you switch over or add high schoolers?
I actually didn’t. It just fell in my lap and I’ve gone after it. I’m doing 10 freshman orientations locally at 10 different high schools, so I’m really excited.
That’s incredible. Did you book all 10 in one go?
I actually booked the one and then there were nine others who said, “We want to talk to her,” and so I’m still in negotiations with a couple of the schools, but it’s happening and I think that’s the key – that it’s happening.
I love it! We want to know what was happening or not happening in your speaking business that made you join The Speaker Lab?
I was really struggling with the outreach and marketing and the who–who do I talk to? How does this work?
The Speaker Lab really brought me through each phase, helping me clarify: What is my message? What is it that I’m actually going to be able to solve for them? And how can I identify what the real problem is?
In going through the procedures and processes of The Speaker Lab, I was able to really niche into what it is that I do. And it has been just a whirlwind. Through the process, my head was spinning, I made friends. We connected, and so I had that extra momentum.
The people in The Speaker Lab–the coaches, you included–walked me through when I had a problem. I’d shoot an email, say, “Hey, help! Red flag! I don’t know what I’m doing here.” And I would get an answer, so TSL just really held my hand through it.
And if you do the work, you will get the results. It’s just staying committed to doing the work.
Totally. Yes, we always tell students that.
It’s part of what I talk about. If you’re in the problem, and you’re just wallowing in it, then you’re not in the solution. So the idea here is to, from the problem get into the solution, and then you’re in action.
If you’re not in action, then what are you doing? So it’s all about giving a mental focus on where you want to go and what’s next for you out there.
So thank you for asking that.
Did you have any fears or apprehensions at the beginning? We know it’s a big thing to enroll in the program. Were there any mental blocks you had to overcome?
I just actually addressed that with Corinne from The Speaker Lab. She’d asked which four things have blocked you?
I answered that my fear was the comparison that I have not been doing this for 20 years. This has not been my forte, and I’m not as well known, or I may not even be as good as the other people I’m competing with.
So it was my fear of the competition. But what I looked at was–when I’m talking to an audience, what am I telling them to do?
I tell them it’s not about comparison; it’s your own race. So how are you going to learn from the people that you see as better? What are you going to do to improve what you feel you are maybe not as strong in? And I just took that and ran with it.
I still suffer from the fear of maybe getting blown away by somebody’s presentation. But I take that information and I look at it and see how I can do better.
Totally. I love that. Yeah, you’re keeping a posture of learning from the people you look up to instead of it bringing you down.
Yes! If we don’t have those better than us, then how are we going to learn? So we got to be able to look at those who are our predecessors and say, “Oh, that’s how they nailed it.” It’s all learning.
That’s a great attitude. If you can recall the SPEAK framework, what were some of those major key takeaways for you?
I think really narrowing down my talks and doing the abstracts. I had never done an abstract. I didn’t know what it was. I knew there were speaker sheets and things like that, but the abstract clarified my message.
I was doing the EPS and I was working on all that, and then I went from that into the abstract and I realized, “Oh, this makes sense! This really clarified it for me.”
The coaching really clarified and hit things home for me. All the coaches are first class–just wonderful.
I’m in California, and I was up north, and I was speaking and I got to meet Rick in person. We went and had dinner. And I was like, “This is happening!” It was just such serendipity, but things like that, those little nudges of success along the way helped me to plot out what was next for me.
It was about the marketing, it was about the actual contacting, and the process of how you contact potential clients, how you follow up and turn it around, and then the CRM–I’d never done that before. Bunched in 6 months, it was like this 5-year program that I never would’ve known about, and it was fast-forward, and it was wonderful!
We jampack a lot in those 6 months!
Yes, but I get it! We have to know!
And we always tell people this is just the beginning! You get to take what you learn and apply it for years to come. What have been some of your results as a speaker?
I have had amazing results with my workshops. My keynotes–I have wanted to work on. I’ve now got this new one coming up.
I’ve never done anything like that. So I’m doing what I was taught, and that’s talk to the people who’ve gone before me, as well as learn from those who’ve already done it so I think it’s going to be great.
The workshops for me are my comfort zone, because that’s what I did for years as a professional–I trained and taught young adults how to be leaders.
So in this case, getting in front of them for 45 minutes is just a little bit different, but it’s just learning how to do it and delivering it.
Yeah, and now you’ll have a big assortment of offerings, so that’ll be great.
Oh my gosh, yes, I’m so excited.
Yeah, we’ll have to hear about the keynote after! Make sure you post in the community.
Oh, I will. It’s going to be a ride. It’s just one more time reaffirming that this is where I’m supposed to be.
Yeah, how are the opportunities feeling? How does it feel to be on these stages or be looking forward to certain stages?
It is so uncomfortable until I get there. And then it’s like, “Oh okay, I am prepared.”
I know this will pass in time as I build that confidence, but I think it’s actually very positive– that nervous energy brings up the level of my energy on the stage or in the workshops.
I’m a big believer that if you’re not nervous, then you know too much and you’ve got to go back and start over.
If it’s too comfortable, then you’re not improving.
Totally. That’s a great mindset. You have a good attitude about you, Kathy!
Thanks!
It’s so good to keep those nuggets of wisdom on your mind at all times–sounds like you’ve got great self-talk. So what’s your new normal looking like these days?
I’ll tell you – I think I carry myself differently. I have a different confidence about me. I’ve always been a risk taker but I think now, I jump more than I used to because I know where to land.
Before, when I would jump, it would be like, “Okay I’ll contact a school and I’m not sure if they’ll want to talk to me,” but now I just go ahead and go forward and if they don’t need me, somebody else might.
I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that it is a relationship business.
It is all about the introduction and leaving people feeling like they were heard and seen and sometimes they’ll call later. From the experience of my other friends in The Speaker Lab, they have told me the same thing and I’ve experienced it as well.
So I think that’s one of my biggest takeaways.
Knowing it’s a long game is important. Sometimes things happen really quick, but yeah, you never know who’s going to think of you in six months or in a year when they’re looking for someone.
Exactly, exactly.
That’s awesome. I love that you keep mentioning that you’ve built friendships through the program. That’s so awesome and it’s so important as a speaker to have those people around you who get what it’s like.
I hope to one day speak with one of my friends from The Speaker Lab. I hope we can both share a stage. That would be amazing.
We do two different things, but I think we complement each other. So perhaps! We’ll see.
That’s a really beautiful dream. You’ll have to tell us when it happens. I’m believing you’ll get it. Can I ask who the friend is that you’re talking about?
Shannon Ganun.
We love her. She’s awesome. I think she’s going to a gig of Jake’s this weekend. Jake on our team told us he was gonna meet her.
Well, that is so neat! I haven’t talked to her in a while. So I’ve got to reach out and say, “Give me the scoop!”
Who would you recommend to The Speaker Lab and what would you say to someone who’s on the fence?
If you’re prepared to drill down and really chase it, if you feel in your heart that this is what you were meant to do, even if you’re even a little unsure, I would invest in myself and do it anyway because waiting around is not going to make the dream happen.
Waiting around and thinking about it is inaction. So if you’re not taking action on your own behalf, then how are you going to get to your dream?
I really believe that people that are considering this program should jump on it. And I would take advantage of every aspect of the program.
And it’s there forever, which is the greatest part–when you forget something or you have a question, you can go back in the program and you can kind of re-educate yourself because, like we talked about before, it’s so fast and you’re learning learning learning. And I’ve noticed when I go back and check it out, I’m like, “Okay, I do remember that correctly!”
And then it reaffirms that I’m in the right direction. So get on it, go for it and go all in, it’s worth it.
Yes, I can tell why you’re a speaker. I need to write down the things you’re saying – you’re so articulate. That was perfectly said and you’re totally right! Is there anything else you want to share as we wrap up our time together?
I will tell you somebody randomly found me and saw that I had done The Speaker Lab after you guys posted me on social media. She reached out to me and she’s like, “I’m thinking of doing it and I’m not sure…” so we were just typing back and forth, and it was really cool–she ended up entering into The Speaker Lab and I was really excited!
We hold ourselves back just from fear. Just like I told her and anyone else who asks me about it, we don’t get to live in our dreams if we choose not to, so The Speaker Lab really works if you work it, like I said.
You guys are awesome.
Thank you! We all are very happy to be on this team. It’s the best getting to do these calls and get to go tell this coach or that coach that this student had a really good experience with them.
It makes me happy to know that our team is connecting in such a profound way, but credit to you for taking advantage of everything. Some people don’t embrace all their coaching and we’re like, “Please do! That’s such a strong part of the program! You gotta hang out with these coaches for your 30 minute call and see what they can do to really help you get to the next level!”
Yeah, it’s been fantastic.
It’s been so great talking to you and hearing about everything going on. I can’t wait for you to get those orientations locked in and you’ll have to tell us how your keynote goes.
Yes, I will. Thank you so much Emily. It’s been a blast talking to you.