Painfully blunt is the way my hubs describes me.

Not gonna mince words here.

If you’re pitching yourself to event organizers who hire speakers….and all you get are crickets and maybe a gig for “volunteer speakers” …you’re wasting your time and energy.

You DON’T need to:

😢Create a slick Speaker 1-sheet with new branded photos

😢Pay for a goofball “speaker reel” video that's staged with “real people”

😢Join Toastmasters or spend big bucks on a voice coach

😢Waste a ton of time, money, and energy writing a book

Here’s what you DO need to do:

🎯Connect your topic to the theme of an event so that decision-makers know you "get" their audience

🎯Have a 1-minute video clip from a real talk that showcases your personality and expertise

🎯Work on your internal voice first so that you quiet self-doubt (and get contracts, not crickets!)

🎯Fine-tune your topic and description so organizers see you're a polished pro (and they can easily copy + paste it right into their marketing material)

Her...

There’s long been hype about thinking big and dreaming big.

You know the adage, shoot for the moon. If you miss, you’ll hit the stars.

That’s lovely and inspiring.

But, it doesn't work for entrepreneurs who want more visibility and clients.

Here’s why.

People don't care much about the “big” events in our lives.

The graduations, certifications, weddings, or other "moon and stars" milestones.

Formal events tend to feel staged and predictable.

They're boring.

Same for our introductions, stories, and "About Me" pages.

If they are filled with milestones, people lose interest.

Look, prospects will get to your qualifications.

First, though, you've gotta show up real and relatable.

Like a human being who is easy to connect with.

That's why successful speakers and entrepreneurs pay close attention to ordinary (smaller) moments.

The gold in your story is the seemingly mundane smaller things in life that have deeply affected you.

Ordinary moments often morph into "extra-ordinary" ...

Speaker Rant Here:

You wanna become a paid speaker so you can share your stories and change lives.

That's wonderful.

There's a huge mistake that beginners make that I want you to avoid at all costs.

This is the 3rd time in a few weeks I've heard something like this.

A connection on LinkedIn posted this today and I cringed. You should never experience this!

Look, a keynote is VERY different than a breakout session.

In how you craft your...

💎Stories and the flow of your talk

💎Slides

💎Activities

💎Handouts

💎And your mindset!

A true professional speaker who gets paid to present time and time again asks the right questions from the moment they are hired so that they are absolutely in their power and can blow the doors off their presentation!!

My coaching clients know that walking into a surprise is not professional.

If you're wanting to get serious about becoming a paid speaker, let's hop on a free Story Power Session strategy call. Click this link to apply.

I talk A LOT about how to introduce yourself so you are seen and heard --and grow your business.  

I am obsessed with my work not because people walk away with a concise introduction. 

Something is hiding deep beneath the words. And it has become my mission.  

It’s the real reason I do what I do. It has taken me a lifetime—59 years and torrents of tears—to understand my fixation on other people's stories.

It began when I was four years old. I didn't speak.

My parents thought I was deaf, but the doctor told them I was fine.

He said I didn't talk because I communicated in a way that didn't require words. When I was hungry, I’d bang on the refrigerator.

No words or voice were necessary.  

So, what does a little girl who did not speak until age 4 do with her life? 

I went to college and majored in mass communications.😎 Go figure. 

I quickly found the campus radio station, a place filled with microphones and speakers that amplify voices. 

After graduation, I started my career as ...

I want to get in front of people who can hire me; I want to grow my business! 

That’s what I’ve been hearing these past few weeks on social media and from my own client calls. 

Look, social media gives each of us access to the masses.

So, it’s not hard to get in front of people—even the right people who are your dream clients. 

Still, there’s a challenge that most entrepreneurs and coaches don’t recognize.

🎤It’s this: What do you SAY when you get in front of your peeps? 🎤

If you’re like most of my clients, when we first start working together, they say the same thing.

👀You’re not alone…

• Maria thought her problem was only having a few small clients (and struggling to make money). Then she realized she needed the confidence to talk about herself in a big, bold way.
• Chris thought he wasn’t closing enough sales. Then he realized he didn’t feel worthy enough to speak up. 
• Heidi knew she was doing something wrong. She got crickets when trying to engage potential clients and repor
...

Hubs and I spent the end of the summer at the Jersey shore.

It's fun for us to stay at the beach instead of in San Antonio, where the August heat is incredibly unforgiving.

So, we stroll into a cute local breakfast café in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.

It's our 3rd visit to the restaurant in a week.

[RELATED: FREE GUIDE: HOW TO SPEAK IN SOUND BITES SO PEOPLE WANT TO BUY FROM YOU. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS IT NOW]

We’re practically "regulars." The workers recognize us. 🤣

We like them…and the fact that there are no breakfast tacos. Nope.

In Jersey, we get pork roll, egg and cheese sandwiches, and bagels with a schmear.

As we're paying the check, the woman we've seen every day behind the counter strikes up a friendly conversation.

I tell her we love the place.

I curiously ask if she's the owner.

Her response floors us. 😮

"Oh, no, I'm just the manager," she says with downcast eyes and a slight chuckle.

Hubs and I quickly glare at one another.

At the same time, we say: JUST??!!

I le...

If this wacky Pandemic has revealed one thing about entrepreneurs, it’s this:

Most people don’t feel comfortable talking about themselves online. 

{RELATED: FREE MASTERCLASS: POWERFUL STORIES THAT SELL: HOW TO GET STARTED SHARING YOUR STORY. MAY 24-12 PM EDT CLICK TO SAVE YOUR SEAT!}

Even those with exceptional talents and experience. 

💥They shrink back from sharing their stories. 

💥They say too much…or the wrong things..so prospects click somewhere else.

💥 They “kind of” think they have a story that’s worthy of sharing.

Still, deep down inside they’ve convinced themselves otherwise. 

These are the common themes I’ve been seeing and hearing online and with clients since last March when the health crisis hit. 

It’s especially rampant on Clubhouse.

People are messaging me about their deep fears around what to say when introducing themselves and how to say it. 

Then I get the follow-up DM:

• I need more clients.
• Business is slow.
• Sales stink.  

 And what I tell them is, “...

On Monday night, a young man who calls himself an “unsigned artist” on Clubhouse was in a room (similar to a chat) with me and 250 others.

The topic was speaking with confidence. 

The man raised his hand, asking for feedback on a poem about the ruthless streets and people he’s known all his life.  

Clubhouse is an audio-only app, so everyone in the room could only hear this man’s voice.

A deep baritone enveloped with the thickness of the streets. 

His avatar was a logo; we had no idea what he looked like.  

We went merely by the sound of his voice, his mumbled words, his quick cadence.

It was nearly impossible to understand his words.

He raced awkwardly through his poem and asked for feedback.

He apologized for sounding “so ghetto."

One of the moderators on stage with me asked him respectfully to slow down, enunciate and recite the poem again.🎤

He did.  

The feedback came in heaps of praise and love for this young man who talked about why he’s so unsure—even embarrassed—abo...