In this video, the speaker addresses the common nervousness new or transitioning real‑estate agents feel when faced with a listing appointment. He first reframes the appointment as a "listing presentation" and encourages agents to view themselves as presenters on a stage, even if that stage is a kitchen table. He normalizes the fear by comparing public speaking to everyday conversations and stresses that the anxiety is often blown out of proportion. The core advice centers on deliberate practice: joining a local Toastmasters club to speak regularly, role‑playing presentations with brokers or peers, and using the 10,000‑hour principle from Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers as a benchmark for mastery, while noting that intensive preparation can shortcut the time needed. He also recommends practical tactics such as bringing a broker to appointments for moral support, conducting mock presentations with a "real‑estate bestie," and shifting back to face‑to‑face interactions. The speaker concludes that activity and consistent practice are the only real solutions to fear, that audiences are forgiving, and points viewers to additional resources on his website.
Chapters
How do you get over the nervousness of not knowing what to say, getting tongue-tied on a listing appointment, especially if you are in the process of transitioning into a new career such as real estate? Well, the first thing I'm going to tell you is that you have to remember that there's an important word there. It's a listing presentation. You need to go ahead and embrace the fact that you are going to be on stage, even if that stage looks like a kitchen table, you, and the two people that are thinking about selling that house. Once you embrace the idea that this is actually a presentation, you can put yourself into that mindset of professionalism. That is the key to making everything work more smoothly in your real estate business. Now, for some of y'all, you are a seriously shy, quiet person. You're very thoughtful and very smart, and the idea of putting you on a stage with a microphone makes you throw up in your mouth and you think you're just going to die. Well, first of all, let me remind you, you're not going to die by speaking to somebody else. You do it every day. In fact, for some of y'all, public speaking looks like saying hello to somebody at the gas station or the grocery store. We really do just blow it out of proportion in our own heads so much. All you're doing is sharing your thoughts and ideas with somebody else. Public speaking is really just conversation that somebody else can listen to. So back to that listing presentation, where do you get the comfort to get started on this? I'm going to give you something that I've told so many people who want to get into the speaking space, into the conducting space, and that is to find your local Toastmasters chapter. Now, that sounds like old person advice. And so maybe I should put on my reading glasses to tell you. So let me tell you one more time, go find your local Toastmasters club. I can't stress it enough. The most important thing to do to become a more skilled speaker is speak more. Speak a lot more, do more listing presentations. In fact, one thing that those of us that are long in the tooth in real estate will tell you, the more you do presentations, the more you work with people, the easier it gets. Not necessarily because every transaction becomes easy, but your presenting becomes more fluid because you've practiced. In fact, if you want to learn more about that, read Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers, where he talks about your comfort coming when you are 10,000 hours into something. Now, for those of y'all that are new into this career, you're thinking that's a long way away, and it is, but you shortcut the 10,000 hours by putting more hours into your preparation. Toastmasters can be a way to do that. It is a locally a community-based organization with local clubs where you have opportunities to speak and present in front of other people who are learning to speak and present. So it's a really friendly environment. You'll find that everybody I've met, frankly, in their leadership group is so welcoming and so thoughtful and so encouraging. That can always be a way to get started too, is having somebody behind you that cheers for you. So when you're thinking about that listing appointment and you are panicked about going on it, take your broker. I know that I would go with any of my agents on any of their appointments. And even if I say not nary a word, just having me there may give them enough calm to get the information out and to ask the right questions so they can serve the public in a really impactful way. I know I'm not giving you any magic sauce answers because frankly, there is no magic sauce answer. Real estate is a profession that rewards those who are active in doing the business. And sometimes it is activity that solves this biggest problem that many of us have, the fear of getting something done, the fear of something new. Activity solves that. In this case, activities involve Toastmasters, Take your broker with you and just practice. In fact, there's nothing wrong with calling your real estate bestie and making up a house, do an imaginary presentation, and then present to one another. We used to do that all the time in sales meetings. And maybe, just maybe, if we'll let go of the Zoom world and get back to face-to-face interactions, we could all grow together. I promise you, it's worth getting over your nervousness so you can serve. And for the record, most people in the public will forgive a little bit of nervous behavior because they don't want to do the speaking either. If there's anything I've told up-and-coming speakers, it is that when they take the stage, nobody in the audience really wants to be up there on the microphone either. So they're going to give you a lot of grace and comfort. So accept it, bring your information forward, and just get started. The other secret to all of these presentations is that once you get started, it gets a lot easier. I wish you the best. And by the way, if you need more tips on how to get your listing presentation up to snuff, some data to put in it, I've got some resources. So make sure you go to my website and find them, and I will help you any way I can. In the meantime, keep after it and go serve the public, because they deserve to have somebody great.
