I Hate Speaking!

I hate speaking in front of groups, so I couldn't believe it when I said yes to a breakfast meeting of consultants an hour away from home.  Maybe there will be an earthquake between now and July...

We writers are typically introverts and would rather be with books and computers. But sooner or later, if you want to grow your business and promote your services, you are going to have to get out there and spread the word.

One of the great take-aways from Adam Urbanski's Small Business Marketing Summit this weekend was this: When speaking or presenting, don't promote yourself and your services! Nobody cares about who you are at first, so give them information they can use. Deliver an informercial, like "the 3 mistakes to avoid when writing your newsletter or ezine," or "5 money-making ways to turn your information into info-products."

So last night I did a trial run at the San Diego chapter of PCMA. This is an dynamic group of Professional Coaches and Mentors. They asked me to do a 10 minute introduction about my business. So I started with questions for them and an outrageous statement:

Did you know you are in two businesses? Your own business of consulting or coaching, and what is the other one? Right, marketing! (This was a bright group!)

How many of you publish a newsletter or blog? (This response was akin to asking the group if they flossed every day and called their mothers on Sundays).

Did you know that 9 out of 10 independent professionals know they should publish something regularly, but just never seem to get around to it?

And then of course, I said that I understood their pain (I am after all a recovering psychologist), but I had three solutions for them that could make their marketing tasks effortless and automatic. (Call me, email me, and hire me for my services!- just kidding of course. I told them about ezines, blogs, and autoresponders).

Thanks to the great speakers at Adam's Summit, I was able to learn these easy tricks and apply them right away, locking in the learning.

As always in life, things are easier when they are simplified. These speaking tips are great for writing articles as well. Next time you write, think in terms of "5 mistakes to avoid when..." or "3 things you should know about..." or "7 steps to take BEFORE starting to..."

Now if only I knew 5 ways to conquer speaker's anxiety before that breakfast meeting the first week in July...

Comments

[John Richardson]

Hi Patsi, a very interesting blog. I have the opposite problem. I like to speak in public. I just need to figure out how to market myself. As far as your fear of speaking, I would suggest that you join a local Toastmasters club. You'll learn great communication and leadership skills and have great networking opportunities. You can practice that important speech in front of a supportive audience before you have to speak to your real group. Find a club near you at http://www.toastmasters.org .

BTW... The "Blink" book is a great Read!

[Liz]

I second the recommendation for Toastmasters. You'll love it! The people are so warm and encouraging that you'll forget all about how you don't like to speak in public. That's just a story you're telling yourself anyway, right?