Susan Young's
Amplify Blog

 

 

 

3 Easy Body Language Tips to Sharpen Your Communication

 

Are your teeth visible in your profile pictures online? 

This is not a trick question, it's quite important in how people perceive you. And how you communicate.

I share a tip on why...or why not...you should show your teeth in pictures. Especially in professional headshots and branded pix. 

Click the 3-minute video above for the details. 

Plus...I've included something fun for you about why body language is critical in our communication.

Are you smiling with your teeth showing in your pictures? Comment below!

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You Can Have Easy, Casual Conversations on Podcast and Summit Interviews

Ready to energize and impact more people on podcasts, summits, and virtual events?

Whether you’re a host or a guest expert, toss out your list of questions.

You've gotta trust yourself and let things flow naturally.

From my experience, the most memorable interviews are just easy, casual conversations.

They're enjoyable for the host, guest, AND audience!

People remember intriguing conversations, stories, personalities, and takeaways.

When others like what they hear and see, they’ll...

· Recommend and refer you

· Sign up for your stuff

· Join –and engage—in your community

· Hire you

Hosts and guests who trust themselves (and each other) aren't rigid or stuck to a script.

They look forward to something spicy coming up.

They expect to hear a nugget that's fresh and intriguing.

They feel comfortable not knowing each word and question.

They know that they know their stuff without a list of questions.

They prepare--and listen--in a...

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Why the World Needs to Hear Your {Real} Story

She was molested by her father.
 
She was raped. Twice.
 
She suffered a traumatic brain injury and couldn’t leave her house for months.
 
He was teased incessantly for stuttering as a child.
 
She was in a psychiatric hospital many times—against her will.
 
He is an alcoholic who lost his driving privileges.
 
These are my clients.
 
They are speakers, advocates, coaches, therapists, authors, and consultants.
 
Most share their stories because they want to impact others. They want to heal.
 
Infusing personal stories in our businesses—online or onstage—cracks open our humanness.
 
It’s about the revelation.
 
An exceptional story exposes our mic-drop lessons that impact others, emotionally and spiritually.
 
Granted, sharing deep shame is not for everyone.
 
If you do feel called to use your voice and share your story, know...
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Do These 4 Things to Get Paid Speaking Gigs

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...

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Your Big Wins Don't Matter; This Is the Story Prospects Really Want to Hear

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...

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Why 'Scratching the Surface'​ with Content Keeps You From Making a Bigger Impact

If we took our own advice, the world would be a very different place.

I was finishing a post about our willingness to stare down the truth and "go there."

To go deep and say what truly needs to be said.

Scratching the surface helps no one.

I was ready to hit PUBLISH, but something happened.

I threw up a little in my mouth.

Lots of words that scratch the Sue Young surface.

Even the Grammarly app I use deemed the engagement as “Bland.”

Ugh.

So I followed my own advice to "go there." 👀

This is the real deal, Take 2.

I'm days away from finishing a year-long Mastermind program.

I'm a firm believer in learning from people who are 5-10 steps ahead of me.

To do this, I plunked down $30,000 to join Emily's Mastermind.

And I'm not even close to reaching my business goals. 🤔

Surprisingly, I am OK with this.

Because Emily's group turned me upside down and inside out. Not so much as an entrepreneur but as a human being.

As the program wraps up, I’ve done a lot of reflecting.

I'm a...

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This is THE BIGGEST Differentiator Between Speakers Who Get Hired, and Those Who Don't

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.

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The Only Way to Get the Bold Transformation You're Dreaming Of

Your comfort zone is the most uncomfortable place to be.
 
It’s a space with a (BS) story that keeps you from making the impact you dream of.
 
It’s nearly impossible to have an impact on the outside world when self-doubt is affecting (impacting) your internal world. Your thinking.
 
 
Within our comfort zones lies "comfort zone stories." They keep us stuck and frustrated.
 
They are indeed…lies. 👀
 
Comfort zone stories are mental and emotional tugs of war.
 
They yank and pull at our self-esteem every day.
 
You know, the stuff no one wants to talk about but everyone experiences…🤦‍♀️
 
Comfort zone stories keep you from…
 
✔ Cleaning up your messaging
✔ Showing up in a big bold way
✔ Sharing your story and changing someone’s life
 
A longtime private coaching...
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You Have Ideas – but You Believe You Have 'No Idea Where to Start'

Entrepreneurs are rarely short on ideas. 

And then we tell ourselves: I have no idea where to start.  

Let's ban the phrase, I have no idea where to start. 

It’s a familiar and comfortable narrative that has you brainwashed into believing you're stuck.

I’m calling you out on this BS because your internal story is blocking your business growth. 

You insist you're clueless and instead focus on external messaging like ad copy, SEO, and email automation.

Here's the thing. 

Your internal messaging is more important than anything else.

Because marketing rarely works when your internal story keeps hammering that you have no idea what to do.

Our words create our worlds.

 And our communication is “an inside job” that no SEO guru can tweak. 

When you start with Step 1 and commit to cleaning up your internal story, you'll have: 

 Qualified leads and decision-makers joining your list and...

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Your Messaging and Lead Gen Are Still Off Because You're Missing This Key Communication Piece

What do Donald Miller’s StoryBrand book, Toastmasters, and Dale Carnegie have in common?
 
They’ve pretty much missed the boat. 👀
 
You may have read StoryBrand. I loved it—and even interviewed Donald Miller in person in 2018. 
 
Toastmasters helped improve my public speaking in 2002. Big fan.
 
Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People was the first self-development book I read. Timeless.
 
Like me, you've probably invested in top coaches, books, and programs, too.
 
For some reason, though, your lead gen is still lousy, and your copy doesn't convert.
 
🎯The crucial prerequisite that's missing ...is YOU!🎯
 
All the strategy in the world is useless if you are (silently) doubting yourself.
 
👀You see, our communication is an “inside job.”
 
To reach new levels of success, you’ve got to notice AND do something to stop...
 
• Your internal story...
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