My favorite thing about public speaking is the power it has to change people’s lives,
During talks and trainings I deliver, as part of my intro I always say something like: “What I love most about speaking is that there is no more powerful way to serve a lot of people all at once than public speaking.”
At a recent speaking event, I got to learn how this one sentence – and focus – can make a huge difference.
The morning after this particular talk, I was surprised to get an email from someone in the audience who had been clearly resistant to the idea of stepping into thought leadership. During the discussion portion of my talk, she had said, “I can’t imagine actually wanting to speak to an audience.”
Yet her email the next morning said she’d like to talk to me about speaking coaching.
When we got on the phone, I told her I was delighted – and surprised – to hear from her. I asked her what changed her mind about speaking. She said, “It was when you said the part about speaking being a powerful way to change a lot of lives all at once. I realized this was absolutely true – and that’s the first time I felt motivated to get up on stage to speak. It suddenly seemed like a brilliant idea, actually.”
This is the magic in focusing on service in our speaking. All of the passion and drive we need is right there in that intention.
In the video below, I help you make sure that your talks are built to serve above all else.
Highlights Covered in This Video:
- My story about the time I was totally blindsided (in a bad way) by a speaker I flew across the country (and to another country) to learn from
- How you can make sure the content you share will actually serve this audience
- The only reason to aspire to “be amazing on stage”
- How to be useful in a way that reaches beyond the four walls of your speaking event
