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The Changing
Course Newsletter
Issue 110
February 15th, 2005
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The free
newsletter from
http://www.ChangingCourse.com
Dedicated to
helping you:
~ Live Life
on Purpose
~ Work at
What You Love
~ Follow
Your Own Road
In This
Issue:
-
Featured Article: Getting
Paid to Speak
-
Featured Resource: Finding
Your True Calling
-
Guest Article:
The Secret of Life Is to Get On Board
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TODAY’S WISE
WORDS
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Great minds
have purposes, others have wishes.
~ Washington
Irving
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1. Featured
Article
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Before you read this article:
You don’t have to aim to be a professional speaker to benefit from the
following article. Change is change and advice about successfully launching
one income stream can easily be transferred to others.
That’s not the only reason to read this article. A key element of changing
course is getting and giving support to your fellow dreamers. So if you know
someone who should be up in front of an audience please support their dream
by passing this article along.
Getting Paid to Speak: The 5 Biggest Mistakes New Speakers Make and How to
Avoid Them
By Valerie Young
Picture yourself delivering a presentation or workshop to an engaged and
enthusiastic audience. Now imagine strolling to the mail box to find a nice
check thanking you for your time and expertise. Sounds pretty nice doesn’t
it? It is.
I’ve been a professional speaker now for over 28 years. I also frequently
work with clients who want to make their living conducting workshops or
otherwise speaking in front of a paying audience. Over the years I’ve
learned a thing or two about how to succeed as a professional speaker – and
what mistakes to avoid. Here are the top five.
1. Thinking You Don’t Know Enough
The number one mistake aspiring speakers and workshop leaders make is
thinking they don’t have enough knowledge or training to get out there and
talk about a subject. If you find your dreams stymied by the common, but
distorted, notion that expertise means having three degrees and knowing
everything there possibly is to know about a subject then it’s time to
readjust your thinking.
Competence and expertise isn’t total and complete knowledge, but rather it’s
knowing how to identify the resources it takes to get the job done. In other
words, you may not know everything about male-female communication or how to
give a motivational speech, but I bet you’re smart enough to figure out the
researchers, authors, and speakers who do and to learn from them.
A related mistake is the misguided belief that you can’t possibly get out
there and speak credibly on a topic unless you have an advanced degree. Of
course you want your surgeon to be highly credentialed and most universities
won’t hire you without a doctorate. But in the vast majority of fields –
public speaking being one of them – degrees are highly over-rated.
Look at talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Despite regularly dishing out
“expert” (and highly controversial) opinions and advice on human behavior,
“Dr. Laura” as she is known, is not a physician as many of her listeners
presume. Nor is she a psychiatrist, or even a psychologist. Instead Dr.
Laura's degree is a doctorate in physiology where she studied the effects of
insulin on rats.
In fact, one way to counter the pressure to be credentialed is to proudly
proclaim yourself to be the anti-expert. In her book “French Women Don’t Get
Fat,” Mireille Guilano lets readers know right up front that she’s not a
nutritionist, a psychologist, an exercise physiologist or any other kind of
“ist.” Instead, she says, she’s just a woman who happens to have observed
and experienced the French diet and is sharing that knowledge with people
who’d like to eat well and not gain weight.
No one can argue with your own data. Maybe you aren’t a licensed surgeon but
if you successfully cured yourself of some ailment without surgery, have an
interest in non-traditional medicine – and are willing to put in the
research time – you could certainly learn enough to speak credibly about the
latest alternatives to going under the knife.
2. Letting Stage Fright Hold You Back
You’d think that someone who wants to speak for a living would have few
qualms about public speaking or otherwise “performing” in public. Not true.
Barbra Streisand was famous for her chronic stage fright.
As part of a college class, I was videotaped making a presentation. I was a
nervous wreck. My voice was shaking, my hands were shaking. The whole
nervous speaker bit. The amazing thing was no one else could tell – not even
me! The person I saw on that tape appeared calm, cool, and collected.
That experience happened 25 years ago. But, you know, I never forgot it, and
from that point on I’ve managed to calm any pre-presentation jitters by
reminding myself that no one can tell.
3. Not Making Constant Improvement a Priority
Despite my early performance anxiety, I went on to deliver hundreds of
presentations and workshops to audiences ranging in size from 10 to 1200.
Having so much experience under my belt made me pretty confident about my
speaking skills.
That is until a former employer sent me to New York City to a two-day
presentation skills training. The course, which I later became certified to
teach, was conducted by a company called Communispond. Being the only
attendee with a speaking back ground, I felt pretty cocky as I rose to
deliver my benchmark presentation.
Once again, I was stunned by what I saw on the video tape but for an
entirely different reason than before. Now that I was learning about the
specific skills and techniques that make for an excellent speaker, it was
clear there was much room for improvement. By the end of the course I
learned how to use my body, my voice, and even my eyes to become a more
poised and engaging communicator.
Seeing is believing. Even if you’re already an experienced presenter,
there’s always room for improvement. By far the best way to improve is to
observe yourself in action on tape.
4. Not Being Willing to Pay Your Dues
Sometimes a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. For example, a client
with little to no previously paid speaking experience balked when I
suggested he seize any chance he could to get out there and hone his craft –
even if that meant in some cases speaking for free. “That’s not true,” he
said. “Everything I’ve read said you should never give away your services
because your client won’t respect you as a professional.”
While I understood the concern, charging a fee is simply not a black and
white issue. Being willing to speak for free was what launched my career as
an expert on the so-called Impostor Syndrome. Speaking at conferences and at
meetings of professional associations is not only a great way to test out
your material but you’re showcasing your work to potential paying clients –
most of whom have no idea you’re not being paid.
Should you continue to speak for free after you start landing paying gigs?
It depends. When a large Fortune 500 company was looking for external
consultants to potentially train thousands of employees on understanding
issues of sexual orientation in the workplace, I not only delivered a
preview workshop free of charge, but I covered the cost of printing the
attendee workbooks as well. It was time and money well spent. My co-trainer
and I landed the contract and a handsome per diem training fee to boot.
Speaking for free is all about getting better at what you do and about
exposure. Like most things you shouldn’t expect instant results. It’s not
unusual for me to get a speaking offer from someone who saw me speak at a
conference two years earlier. In fact, I’ve recently received a great
contract based on the recommendation of someone who saw me speak 20 years
ago!
Don’t think of it as speaking for free. Think of it as the opportunity to
essentially make a sales pitch in front of dozens of potential clients.
Besides, now in your bio you’ll be able to list all the groups you’ve
addressed!
5. Not Understanding the Speaking Business
When I ask clients who want to get into the speaking business to describe
their ideal day, it usually sounds something like this:
“I see myself spending a few hours a day planning my presentations or
workshops. Maybe I call a few clients to finalize any arrangements. And then
my afternoons are free to do as I please.”
In these moments I always feel a little like Cher’s character in Moonstruck
when she slapped Nicolas Cage in the face and shouted, “Snap out of it!”
First of all, unless you’re a big time speaker, the majority of your
non-speaking time is going to be spent drumming up speaking gigs. If the
very thought of marketing yourself, your topic, and your expertise makes you
want to run for the hills, this would be a good time to consider another
field (or just wait for part two of this article where I’ll talk about
marketing).
Next, when you’re just starting out, you will need to make a heavy
investment in developing your presentation or workshop. In fact they say for
every five minutes of speaking time you should plan to put in about an hour
of planning and rehearsing time.
Keep in mind though, that no one is paying you to endlessly perfect your
material. Once you get a good program down, as far as I’m concerned, the
goal is to be able to walk in and deliver it cold. There’s nothing quite
like the relaxed feeling of heading off to deliver a big presentation
without a care in the world because you just know you’re going to nail it!
If you have something you’d like to share with the world, and you genuinely
enjoy teaching others, there’s no better job in the world than getting paid
to speak. In part two of this two-part series we’ll look at some more common
mistakes aspiring speakers make – like not charging enough, not knowing how
to market themselves, and not clearly identifying their target market.
Valerie
Young abandoned her corporate cubicle to become the Dreamer in Residence at
http://www.ChangingCourse.com, offering free resources to help you
discover your life mission and live it. An expert on the Imposter Syndrome,
she’s presented her How to Feel as Bright and Capable as Everyone Seems to
Think You Are program to over 30,000 people. Learn more about how to make a
living without a job and Valerie’s unique approach to career change at
http://www.ChangingCourse.com/careeradvice.htm
and find additional articles at
http://www.ChangingCourse.com/articles/
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2. Featured
Resource
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You May Be All Grown Up... But That's No Reason You Can't Find Your True
Calling, and Live It
When you really love your work, you don't need an alarm clock in the morning
because you can't wait to get out of bed and dive into another day where the
work feels like play.
Maybe you think it's too late for that. Maybe you believe that you've
somehow missed your True Calling and that, well, you're not getting any
younger. Nonsense. As writer George Eliot once put it, "It's never too late
to be what you might have been."
Discover the work you were born to do... learn how to reawaken the "unique
genius" within you... find out how to redesign your life one step at a
time... and more. This lively and accessible handbook provides proven
guidance from the experts plus real-life stories from average folks who are
already living their dreams.
Learn more about Finding Your True Calling: The Handbook for People Who
Still Don't Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up at
http://www.ChangingCourse.com/findcalling.htm
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INSPIRATION
TO FOLLOW YOUR BLISS
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We’ve got to
have a dream if we are going to make a dream come true. ~ Denis E. Waitley
Whoever
wants to reach a distant goal must take many small steps. ~ Helmut Schmidt
Every exit
is an entry somewhere else. ~ Tom Stoppard
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3. GUEST
ARTICLE
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The Secret of Life Is to Get On Board
By Mary Ann
Bailey
One of this
year's box office hits was the movie, Polar Express. It's a wonderful story
about the power of believing.
It is
Christmas Eve and a little boy waits in his bed hoping to hear the bells of
Santa's sleigh. As he anxiously waits for the reindeer to appear, a
mysterious train pulls up in front of his house and the conductor invites
him on board. The train is the Polar Express, and it is headed to the North
Pole.
As the story
unfolds, we learn that, "It doesn't matter where the train is going. What is
important is deciding to get on.” It is a gentle reminder to us all of how
important it is to believe and follow our dreams.
Standing on the Platform
How many
trains have you let go by in your life because you were uncertain of where
they were going? How often have you found yourself standing on the station
platform watching trains come and go, trying to decide which one was the
right one for you? There you stand, frozen in indecision, as the world
passes you by.
In order to
keep growing and learning, we need to keep our lives moving. Water that
doesn't run becomes stagnant, and the same is true of our lives. We need to
be willing to try new things and be open to new experiences. We also need to
trust that the process of life will take us to where we want to go if we
remain aware and take advantage of the possibilities and opportunities that
are constantly being put in front of us.
Jen was in
the process of finding a new job. She was a college professor who had been
recently laid off. She had been in education for a while, and although she
had several other professional interests, she was having a difficult time
actually visualizing herself in any other field.
As Jen stood
on the station platform, the only trains that she felt comfortable boarding
were the ones that were heading toward the academic world. But is that where
she truly wanted to go? On the other hand, the trains that were headed in
different directions were too scary to board. So, she felt completely stuck,
unable to move in any direction.
Getting on Board
Jen soon
realized that taking any train would serve her better than just sitting on
the platform, so she took a leap of faith and decided to board the next
train that came along. This train took her to an informational interview
with the head of local environment group.
Environmental issues had always been something that interested her, but she
had never envisioned it as a profession. The interview went very well. Jen
immediately connected with the director, and she came away with an extensive
list of people and organizations to call for further information and
possible job opportunities.
This
experience bolstered Jen's sense of adventure, so she decided to jump on the
next train that came by. This train was headed to a job interview at a local
college. The position sounded promising and Jen certainly had all the
qualifications. So, she boarded the train with great confidence, only to
find at the end of the ride that education really didn't interest her
anymore.
The
interview had gone well. They asked her back, but it had become clear to Jen
during the interview process that she no longer wanted to work in the
college setting. The passion and excitement that she once had felt was gone.
It was time to move on to whatever her next career path might be.
There is No Wrong Train
It could be
argued that Jen had boarded the wrong train because it didn't end up taking
her where she wanted to go. Yet, had she not gotten on that train, she would
have always have had questions about whether or not she should leave
education. Now she knows, and she can pursue other interests with her full
and focused attention.
It will take
some time for her to sort out exactly what it is that will rekindle her
passion. But she knows something is out there waiting for her; and she is
excited about all the possibilities and the process of creating a totally
new career path. All she has to do is to hang on to her willingness to take
a risk and step off the platform.
The answers
we seek are not always right in front of us. We sometimes have to take a
longer and more circuitous route than we would like to reach our
destination. Our journey may require many trains; and if we hold ourselves
back from boarding even one of the trains on our route, we may never truly
reach our goal.
So, the next
time a train comes your way, jump on board and take advantage of all the
things you would have missed had you let it go by.
"Even if you
are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." ~ Will
Rogers
Mary Ann
Bailey, MC, is a life coach who specializes in helping professional women
successfully navigate the challenges of midlife career transitions. Visit
her website at
http://www.BaileyCoaching.com to read more of her articles and to
receive a free copy of "How to Make the Changes that Will Move Your Life
Forward."
live
life on purpose
