4 practices from an amazing speaker!
It is said that public speaking is the number 1 fear in life. As an entrepreneur, I consider this practice the #1 way to grow your business. I also have a different definition of ‘fear’ than most people: my definition is that fear is simply a lack of information.
Information is power. Once we decide we want something, and identify how badly we want it, we usually start collecting information to achieve that end result. It’s no different with our skill set.
Once you identify what you want/need to learn to take your business to the next level, it’s time to start gathering information. That’s what I did this past weekend when I attended the Women of Faith Farewell Tour in Columbus, Ohio.
I had attended this conference several years ago but with the sole intention, then, of personal fulfillment. This time, I went with mixed emotions and mixed intentions. As I work to bring my professional public speaking skills to the Masters level, I knew that I was actually going to be in Masters’ presence when it came to going on stage and being amazing.
I was not disappointed. The six women who started the Mujeres de Fe tour 20 years ago were present and in their prime. It’s time to take notes and there are 4 practices that caught my attention, in particular.
#1 – Love what you do. It was very obvious (is that good English lol?) that each of these women was in her element. They love God. They love to spread the word of God. They love talking to women of faith. The joy was not only written on their faces: they projected that love and joy throughout the time they were on stage (and off… because they were sitting to the side, on the ‘porch’, during the entire conference and we could see them singing, dancing, hugging, laughing on the big screens).
#2 – BE A STORY TELLER. Each of the speakers mastered the use of stories to get their message across. The stories ranged from the familiar little sticker on the top of a new Ajax can, to going through the process of adopting a child, to a life experience of depression that included time in a mental institution. The stories were sometimes just funny and uplifting, and at other times very deep, dark and somber, but they always took us to the other extreme of light, joy and transformation. That was the key: the masterful use of personal stories. And yes, people DO want to hear about your trials and tribulations – it gives them hope and inspiration when you’re real and people can relate to you.
#3 – BE YOURSELF. What I enjoyed the most was observing the different styles of these masterful women. One used songs throughout her performance (she had the voice of an opera singer), the other shared her story through a ‘sit down interview’ with the emcee, and yet another shared her story through drama, and it was absolutely funny and insightful. There were times you could hear a pin drop in that arena (and 11,000 women attended!!!) because their stories were so raw, real, and relatable. You just have to be yourself, find your own style and get the message across.
BONUS #4 – BE CONNECTED. Now, this practice isn’t necessarily for everyone, but it sure works for me. Throughout the conference, there were invitations to connect on social media: hashtags were posted everywhere. And so, being a ‘connector’ type of person myself, I was tweeting my heart out (most of you know I love doing that anyway, especially so I can share the experience, lessons, music and photos with those of you I know who would love to be there too but for whatever reason couldn’t). That IS the power of social media. Now, know that these professional speakers are all in their late 70’s and 80’s, so seeing their social media posts I thought it was all being done by their team. And that’s okay, I have a team that does that for me too.
The icing on the cake for me, on our long drive home, was when I tweeted to one of the speakers (Marilyn Meberg), and poof, before I knew it, she tweeted back! I answered, and then again, so did she. Now I thought that it was not only funny, but also quite stylish. I imagine she was also traveling home and taking time, along the way, to review comments and photos from the audience. I personally was excited and grateful that she made the effort to reply to me.
As a speaker, if that’s something you like to do, please know and understand from my own comments here as an audience member that it’s appreciated. People like to be validated (and that includes me!). Yes, you can call me a ‘groupie’ and I’m okay with that. When I’m a big fan of someone, I’m a BIG fan and I’m happy to promote him and his work.
Although I am a professional speaker myself, I learned a lot from the ‘Masters’ and I will take those lessons to my own stage. Thank you Women of Faith!
Not only have I learned a lot, but I am also looking forward to the launch of the ‘next generation’ of Women of Faith next year with great anticipation. In fact, I have set a goal to BE one of those Women of Faith on stage next year. There. I said it out loud. Who, out there in the universe, can help me in my efforts to make this happen? (Also know that, behind the scenes, I am also ‘working’!!!!)
“Dreams don’t come true, plans do!” -Larry Wingett