Blog Series: Top 3 Mistakes Speakers Make

Avoid the Top 3 Mistakes that Are Costing You Thousands of Dollars in your Offers
(Even Master Speakers Make These Mistakes!)

MISTAKE #1

Speakers painstakingly prepare their content but don ’ t give a thought to their crucial first impression on stage.

Speakers are often most awkward when they first take the stage, either loudly proclaiming their arrival overpowering the room with nervous energy or cautiously mumbling good evening as they fumble with their notes. Painfully, this is at the very moment when the audience is most judgmental. Susan Kerby
Presence defined means to be in a state or FACT of being present, as with others or in a place.
How this applies to Susan’s Mistake #1 is that even though we may be there in the physical presence our mind
is not engage in the situation.
Instead it is flipping out because you might actually have to talk to these people who have come to see YOU
and be in your PRESENCE! You have to own the fact that YOU have something to say. You have something THESE people came and took time out of their overly hectic lives to be with and see you. OWN IT. You have value and people want to tap
into that.
Another great definition of the word presence is to have the ability to PROJECT a sense of ease, poise, or self-assurance, especially the quality and manner of a person’s bearing before an audience. If you are an introvert being on stage can be a horrible, sweaty nightmare of probing eyes, discerning looks and anathema. You will have more obstacles to get to the point of
feeling casual and comfortable in front of a crowd just as quickly as the most popular girl in school but it i
s completely possible.
You have 1 minute to captivate your crowd. You can’t be nervous or fumbling, strange or stone like, flashy and
funny to be taken seriously. You need to walk into a room, survey your kingdom, and act like the sale is already
in the bag. The first 3 minutes are crucial to establishing yourself as an exciting and invigorating person that
excels in your specific area of expertise.

Here’s the solution:

SOLUTION #1: Captivate Your Audience with your presence before you even say “Hello”.
Walk in as royalty. Pause at the front edge of the stage. Let yourself be seen. With your eyes, silently say, “I see you and I am glad you are here.”
The Queen never shouts, “HEY! THE QUEEN IS HERE!” Neither does the Queen enter meekly, questioning if she deserves to be heard. The Queen walks in calm, strong, unassailable. The audience knows from her presence, her vulnerable strength, they are in good hands and in for a treat. SK
In the movie My Fair Lady there is a moment when Eliza Doolittle walked into the ball she had prepared for by
suffering at the hands of Henry Higgins strict instruction. They called her a Hungarian Princess. No one called her or could even imagine that the woman before them was a lowly street seller of bits of flowers. Why? Because she had practiced her speech patterns, her posture which affected how she carried herself and her gracious mannerism that put the others around her at ease. Every single one of them at the ball wanted to be with her.
Remember in the Elizabethan days when Queen Elizabeth walked into the room people would instantly dropped to curtsy or bow, no heralds had to harken her arrival. You too can own that power of presentation by actively engage in using the tools given to you by Susan. You will be amazed at your transformation from wallflower to spotlight attractor.
Another great tip of advice is to remember “the signature thing”. Susan talks about it that first minute in the room. She likes to call it “Captivate Your Audience before you even say Hello.”
It makes such a difference for the speaker and the audience. It’s not the time to get your comfort level up nor is it the
time to find it…you want to come in being that. Try this, walk up to the front of the stage, 1” from edge and engage with audience. Say to yourself, “I am so glad you are here” as you connect eye to eye with each person, one at a time. Being seen by the speaker has the audience happy. We are happy even if you are being with someone 5 rows behind us. You really don’t have to look at every person there. People are just happy when you are being fully present in that moment, in that place
with them, for them.
It is a great pleasure to hang out in this space. Imagine the power of starting your talk from here. How take your stage sets up whether people want to buy from you. Win, win, win. Speaker and audience comfort. Before even say hello, ask two questions that ask them if they want what you are going to offer them at the end this is designed to get them all to say “YES! I want this.”
  1. How many of you want what I am offering?
  2. How many of you REALLY want what I am about to offer you?
Changes the whole tone, they know they are in the right place. They are excited. For the speaker it fills you with such peace and knowledge your people are in your room and they want what you are offering. You could spend hours working on your next script, using these tips, yet still deliver a talk that falls flat because the language isn’t compelling or the delivery turns your audience off. And the worst part is you won’t even know what it was.
Getting expert support so you can customize these tips to your own content and style is vital. Two heads think better than one they say and in this instance it’s true. That’s why she is offering a Master Speaker Strategy Session just for you, the reader.
This is a one hour private coaching call with me.
THIS MASTER SPEAKER STRATEGY SESSION IS FOR YOU IF YOU ARE READY TO TAKE WHAT I SHARED TODAY TO THE NEXT LEVEL SO DELIVER A TALK THAT GETS YOU GREATER SALES In this day and age of technology it is even easier than even 10 years ago to tap into the limitless resources to boost your confidence, give you the feedback you need to im
prove everything from posture, to projecting one’s voice to having a basic script outlined to look at while on stage.
There are so many great tools available to you to help you overcome your need to hide or mumble through a presentation. You are not alone anymore. I’d like to share with you several resources for being able to take command like the Queen you are. Command of your voice, your message and your destiny.
*next blog Mistake #2