176: Easing into Speaking: Your Beginner Speaker Roadmap
Getting into speaking can feel overwhelming, so I want to show you step by step, what you should be focusing on to really create your beginning speaker roadmap. Listen in as I share three steps you can take to ease into speaking.
If you loved this episode and it motivated you to work on more polished presentations, I’d love for you to leave a review on iTunes and tell me about your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of you listening on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @jessicarasdall.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Speaking on Stages Isn’t Always Important
Forget about stages. Where you speak doesn’t matter right now. We want to set you up to scale your speaking.
Not all speaking opportunities are created equal.
Make sure our speaking strategy is in alignment with our plan
How to Prepare to Add Speaking to Your Business
If you’ve been thinking about adding speaking to your business, there are a few things you will want to do in order to prepare.
1. Focus on your speaking tier.
It’s important to know the goal of your speaking plan—essentially your speaking tier is the reason you want to speak. What impact do you want speaking to have on your business? What is that motivating factor?
2. Know Your Audience
There are a variety of reasons you would need to understand who your audience is. You can start by asking the following questions:
Who are you called to serve?
Who wants to hear your message?
Depending on what your business looks like, you may serve multiple audiences. If you are still trying to decide the best way you can scale your business with speaking, take my simple quiz at howtostartspeaking.com!
3. What’s the message you want to share?
Oftentimes, people will get hung up on what their message is, because it requires a decision. While there is so much you can speak on, you need to develop signature topics that you can deliver on. By honing in on your signature topics, you’ll:
See your conversions go up.
Deliver it better because you're immersed in that topic.
Experience your referral rate go up.
Be the Expert
Once you know these three, define what difference is this topic going to make for my audience? This means you need to focus on the transformation you’re providing. Then once you’ve done that, become the expert and consistently show up with knowledge for your audience.
If you’re ready to really nail down your plan for speaking to support your business based on your speaking tier, I’ve got a workbook for you! Grab your workbook from the Vault at speaktoscalevault.com and use the code PODCAST for an extra discount..
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Read the Transcript from this Episode
Transcript for Episode 176:
If you're getting into speaking as a business owner for the very first time, things might feel a little overwhelming. So in today's episode, I want to show you step by step, what you should be focusing on to really create your beginning speaker roadmap. Welcome back to another episode of The speak to scale podcast, where we're helping business owners just like you grow and scale their companies by speaking on stages, podcasts, webinars, and more. I'm your host, Jessica Rasdall.
And I'm so grateful that you're here because it means a lot, that you trust me with your message and your business. And you're ready to do some work together to bring that message to life and to bring it to the people you've been called to serve. But I know that when you're getting started, it can feel like speaking success is light years away. That big stages and being asked to be on the platform as you dream about is completely out of reach. But you've got to start somewhere. And I want to be that person to let you know that the timeline can be much shorter than you think. But that's only if you're willing to put in a lot of work. You know, I've been speaking for over 15 years, and have spent the last seven to six ish years, working with small business owners to use speaking to scale their business. And what I've really learned is that this is for anyone, anyone can do this, but not everyone is willing to put in the work. There are many business owners who are still sitting around waiting for that dream opportunity to land in their inbox. And I know that if you're listening to today's episode, you're not that person, you are ready to start creating your own roadmap, your own plan to make an impact with speaking to grow your business with speaking.
So since you're here, I want to show you exactly what to do, when to do it and how to do it. How's that sound? Good? Good. Let's go. So the first thing I need you to know if you're getting ready to add speaking to your business, it might sound counterintuitive. But I want you to forget about stages for a moment. Forget about the big stages. Yeah, somebody else might ask you Well, if you want to speak, let's figure out what stages you want to speak on. It doesn't matter right now. Where you speak does not matter that much right? Now, we need to build a solid foundation so that you're set up to scale with speaking, not just fill your plate with more to dues, or boxes to check. Speaking, events are not created equal. This is not a one size fits all thing. And I firmly believe that as a business owner, who is taking on speaking, we need to be intentional. And make sure that our speaking strategy is in alignment with our business. So just seeking out stages and speaking at these places that feel good, sound sexy, whatever. Those stages may not impact your business and the way you think they will. So we're gonna set you up with a solid foundation to actually use speaking to grow your business. So if we're not thinking about stages, what is it that we do need to be focused on? Well, very first thing is what's your speaking tear?
That's our internal language and lingo. And if you've been around here for a while, you already know that. But if you're joining us today, for the first time, your speaking tear is honestly just the reason you want to speak. What impact do you want speaking to make on your business? What's the motivating factor here? Why are you doing it? Because as a business owner, you may be wanting to speak for different reasons. Maybe you want to increase brand awareness and be seen as the go to expert in your industry. Maybe you want to get new leads and clients and customers and speak in front of a targeted audience. Or maybe you're trying to add speaking to your business as a new revenue stream, paid speaking. Those three different reasons for wanting to speak, come with a very different strategy and a different approach. So this is the baseline. This is the very, very first thing we do today for yourself but also, anytime I'm working with a client or an Academy student or just talking to someone in my DMs I can't give you good advice. I can't give you a next step and feel good about it. If I don't first figure out what it is that you want speaking to do for your business. So if you don't know where you fall in that yet, take a moment today to figure that out first. That is the guiding light for you truly If you're not sure where you fall in the mix, we have a really, really simple 10 question quiz you can fill out. And it's going to tell you not only what your path is, but what steps to take next, I'm going to link that quiz for you in the show notes. But you can also just go to How to start speaking.com. And it will ask you 10 simple questions.
So that's your first step. We've got to know, what is it that we want speaking to do for your business? Why are you wanting to speak? I'm not telling you, there's a wrong answer here. Okay. There's not you can say you want to be more, you know, you want more referrals, you want to be seen as an expert, you can tell me you want to make more sales? There's not a wrong answer. But I just need to know what is that goal that we are trying to achieve, so that I can set you up on the right path. The second thing we got to get clear on in order to build that solid speaking foundation is really clear on who is your audience? Who are the people you've been called to serve? Who are the communities, you want to be in front of the people who want to hear your message, the people that message was designed for, because as a business owner, this can get a little tricky. Depending on what your business looks like, you might serve multiple audiences. And we've got to figure out based on that goal that number one that speaking tear, who is it that you need to speak to? Who is it that that needs to hear this message, so figure that out? First, if you are somebody who has been a done for you service provider, and has moved into a more educational thought leadership role, you likely serve two audiences, right, so maybe you have been a copywriter, and you serve your clients in that way.
But now you're teaching other people how to become a copywriter. Two very different businesses are two different approaches to very different audiences. And if your goal is to get more core students to learn how to become a copywriter, or run a successful copy agency, you want to be targeting people who want to be a copywriter. If you are instead serving maybe a specific niche, have you write copy for realtors, you want to make sure you're speaking in front of Realtors, so you can get new clients for your copywriting services, you've got to sit down and say, Who are my people? Who are the ones that I'm supposed to be speaking to, that's going to help you figure out where you should be speaking, what you should be speaking on what's going into that talk and so many other factors. But again, if we don't know why you're speaking, and who you're speaking to, you're gonna keep saying yes to speaking opportunities that aren't going to move the needle in your business. And you're going to end up at the end of the year wondering why you spent more money on speaking than you actually made from it. I don't want that for you, friend. So if we know our tier, and we know our audience, the third thing we've got to figure out now is what's the message you want to share with them? Right? What does your audience need to hear from you? Now this can get a little sticky. I'm going to be super, super honest here.
A lot of people get hung up here, because it requires you to make a decision. It requires you to be decisive. And that's hard. Because we can often feel like well, if I say that this is the thing I speak on, then I'm closing so many other doors like there's so much I could be speaking on. And I get that, and I hear you friend. But I need you to trust and believe that when you hone in on your signature topics, your key themes that you speak on one, your conversions go up, you can dial that thing in to you deliver it better, because you are rehearsed, and practice and fully immersed in that subject matter. And three, when you get very clear on your area of expertise for speaking, your referral rate goes up, people look to you as the go to speaker on a certain subject matter. So while it may be tempting to be willing to speak on anything under the sun that you have experience in, the more specific you can get with your signature speaking topics, the easier it is going to be for you to really see success and speaking as a business owner. So I have a workbook actually I have three workbooks based on what tier you're in. They're customized.
So if you're a tier one speaker, we have a tier one, figure out your speaking topic workbook. If your tier two, we have a tier to figure out your speaking topics. Because, again, what did I tell you in the beginning, based on what path you're going down, your strategy will be a little bit different. And based on why you want to speak how you select your topics will be a little bit different. So if you're not already if you haven't already joined our speak to skill vault, it's like our resource library worry, we've got those three workbooks in there for you. And I cannot stress enough the value in going through this. It's like sitting down in a coaching session with me. And it asked you the tough question that helps you pull out the answers that are already inside of you. You know the answer to this question about what you should be speaking on, you know it. But sometimes, we've got to clear away the noise, put pen to paper, look at the data, connect the dots and figure out what is that topic. So if you need help with that, you can at any time any moment like, right, now's a really good moment, head on over to the speak to scale vault.com. And that will be the place where you can unlock all of our resources, but use the code podcast for an extra special discount. Okay, and it's less than your Prime membership, you unlock all your speaking goodness, for less than your Prime membership. Okay, so once you know your tier, you know your audience, you know what your signature topics are. This is amazing, this is great, this is golden, you're ready to start taking action. But so many of us are going to drag our feet here. And we're not going to know well, what do I say? If I find an opportunity? What do I say to them?
So here's my like, secret hack for getting out of your own way, and truly showing up to serve your people in your business. Once you know why you're speaking who you're speaking to, and what you're speaking on, take a moment to define what difference is this topic and to make for my audience? Why do they care about it? Why do they need to hear it? Because when we can take a moment to focus more on the transformation we're providing the difference we're making and less on? Am I good enough? Will they like me? Who am I to do this, we start showing up and putting in the work. So I want you to do that too. That's my homework assignment to you. Not only figure out your you know, your tear, know your ideal audience write down those signature topics. But I want you to put pen to paper and write down the difference that talk will make for your people. Because it's easy to sit here and be like just I did the workbook. I know my topics. But if those topics are just collecting virtual dust on your computer, they're not serving you and you're definitely not serving your audience.
I want you whenever you see an opportunity to be ready to apply, to reach out to put your name in the hat to get your name in rooms you never would have been in. And that's not going to happen. If you're still focused on am I good enough? Will they like me? Am I ready? instead? I want you to be focused on it. What difference does his talk make for my audience? Why do they need to hear it right now? How will I leave them better than I found them. When you can keep that front and center, it becomes so much easier to take action. While I'm talking about taking action. That brings me to a very, very important part. Because if you've gotten to here, you've got your foundation, right, you're set up, you're ready to start going. And it's time to take action. This is where most people mess up. But you're not going to do this, okay, you're going to hit the ground running, you're already ahead of the game, tuning into the show, putting in the work, because most people will sit around, and they're gonna wait for that dream stage to just fall into their lap. But not you. I want you to create your own stage. Commit today to start showing up in sharing that message that you wrote down that impact that you said you were going to make without waiting for somebody else to hand you the microphone. This isn't about ego, or spotlight. It's about making a difference. And you can do that right where you are.
So commit to consistently showing up on whatever platform you want. For me, that's right here for you on the speak to scale podcast. But maybe for you, it's a weekly YouTube video. Maybe it's your Instagram Stories. Maybe it is a blog that you put out every week. This is going to help you practice, build confidence and get clear on your messaging. You're going to see what things your audience loves, what kind of fell flat, and it's going to help you really fine tune your messaging, people will start to see you as the speaker as the educator, as that go to expert because if you're still hiding behind the scenes with all of that incredible knowledge and experience in your brain, you're not helping anyone, are you. So I want you to start showing up as if someone handed you the microphone. Now, I might have had to plug in my own mic today, right? I might have had to put my pop filter on and it was very exciting honestly because this is the first episode I've recorded since I had my tonsillectomy. And it just feels really good to be back guys, it fels so good to be back, you might not have noticed I took a break because we batch our episodes, but I haven't sat down to record in quite a while. And to be able to do it today without pain is incredible. So get your own microphone, hit, go live, publish that post, do whatever it is that you need to do.
But commit to doing it every single week, being available, being visible and pouring into your people. And if you're feeling like you're ready for others to start booking, you put a speaker page on your website, because when somebody comes looking, they're like, wow, you know, so and so has been showing up on her stories every week, she's been going live, she's got so much value to share. Let me go see what she speaks on. And then they head over to your website and you don't have any of that information available. It's going to be a little bit difficult for them to feel like they should inquire about booking, you know, in the shownotes. I'm going to link for you our episode all about speaker pages, you don't have to worry or wonder of what what should go on that page, I do a full tear down of your speaker page. I've got it ready for you.
So just head back and listen to that episode. But if you've got this foundation, you're showing up your pages ready now is when you would start looking for opportunities, not the beginning. Because if you say you know what I want to speak today, and I'm going to go search for opportunities, you're going to hit a wall, and you're going to feel like cool, I found an opportunity. But I don't know who my people are. I don't know what my topics are. I don't know what I would say.
But if you lay that foundation, and you figure out all that stuff first and you start showing up, then seeking out the right opportunities for your business becomes so much easier. So what are you going to do today, you're going to figure out your speaking here, define your ideal audience, get clear on the message you'll share with them, what are your speaking topics, and define the difference it will make. If you're ready to start speaking this year. Again, our speak to scale vault is the perfect resource to have in your back pocket to get started and get started the right way. Because it's packed with tons of resources, lessons and templates to help you get started. But they're packaged in the right order, so that you know what to do and when to do it to make speaking work for you. Just taking action isn't enough, there is an order in which things need to happen in order for you to see the biggest impact.
And I want you to just follow the path and do the work. So head on over to our show notes or go to the speak to skill vault calm. And remember, you're an insider here. So use the code podcast for a special discount. All right, friend, I hope this was everything you needed to hear today. For a bit of encouragement that you are enough, you are ready and there are people waiting for your message. So spend some time this month, laying that solid foundation so that this can be the year you start scaling your business with speaking.
Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode of The speak to scale podcast. It would mean the world to us if you could just take a second and head on over to iTunes and leave us a review. Your support of this show allows us to continue creating this content for you each and every week. And we appreciate your reviews and you sharing about the show more than you know. As always, I will be over here cheering you on friend. I'll see you next week for another episode of The speak to scale podcast.
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