186: On Being Your Virtual Presentation Coach

Hey everybody, and welcome to This Moved Me, a podcast about creating talks that move the world. Episode 186 on my brand new website. Aww yeah! With me, your host, Sally Koering Zimney. Together with some fabulous guests, we will have a casual conversation about the art of public speaking. Good talk can move the world. And it'll be fun. Yeah, I would think making alien cows meaningful, that's not a small task. I love your giggle. Wow. Oh my gosh. Just waiting for everybody to figure out the alphabet. Hey, movers! Oh my gosh. It's time. It's time. I can't believe it. Ah-ah. It's self-promotion moment, team. I'm just gonna put that right up there. And can I just say, I'm from Minnesota and this is weird for me. We don't do this in Minnesota. I was at a podcasting mastermind group thing a few weeks back and, you know, we're all local Minnesotans with podcasts and it was this amazing group of people, it was super cool. And we were all talking and almost all of us universally were like, "It's hard to promote ourselves, it's hard to promote ourselves." I'm like, what is this about? I don't know. There's some stuff to dig into here. Actually, I do know, I think a little bit. We have this humility thing in Minnesota that for some reason is really important to us. And I think humility is generally a really good thing, right? This like Minnesota nice thing, like the real Minnesota nice, not like the passive-aggressive weird Minnesota nice thing, but like real Minnesota nice thing. I think that's a good thing, but you compound that with like, I don't know, we don't talk about ourselves very easily or very well. Now, generally that's not a bad thing, but when you are trying to bring yourself and bring your ideas to the moment at hand, we cannot afford this Minnesota nice baloney. And it's not just a Minnesota thing, it's a universal thing. Right? So, I work with my speakers all the time about this, and I'm always pushing them out front, pushing them out front, pushing them out front, and now it's my turn and I get nervous, and then I start singing, and, whew, yeah, it's a little weird. But I have to tell you, like, as I've been talking about this for so long, and as I've been working with other people on helping them get theirselves out there, and as I've had dozens of conversations with amazing people on my own podcast about this very thing, I feel like I've started to break through a little bit. And that is because I feel really driven by a purpose here. And I, in some ways, I feel obligated to share this with you because after putting in so much time and energy and being so genuinely excited about what is on here, it is stupid of me not to talk with you about it right here. That is so silly. I have an obligation to share it if, if I believe that it can help you, and I do, I really do, then this is what I should absolutely be doing today. So it's gonna be a little different because I'm kind of taking you behind the scenes today, uh, to my business, to what I'm going to be doing, to what is going to be changing, and how things are going to be shifting from here. So it's kind What a big day! And I'm recording this a week or so before it actually goes live. So holy cow, I really hope it's live and ready to go on August 15th, baby! 186, here we go! It's gonna be great. I'm so excited. And you know what? I have felt compelled to really push through on a lot of things in my business right now because it's taken me so long. And, and, and truth be told, like, yes, there is fear for anybody when they're about to do something big, and that is real. But I'm, I'm so tired of that narrative going through my brain. Honestly, I'm just tired of it. Like, oh my gosh, is this gonna work? And I don't know, maybe not. But I also feel a sense of integrity about this because I've been talking about it so long. I'm just like so over myself and feeling disappointed when I can't quite get it to the finish line. And so I— whatever you think about the website, it is not perfect and it's not quite done and there's so much more to come, but I feel a huge like relief and sense of excitement about what it is right now. Because I, and I've talked about this a little bit, but we are, I am shifting my approach here over on This Moved Me. Right now, thismovedme.com has been just a place where my podcast sort of sits. It hasn't been a great resource for you. And I really want to be more of a resource for you, and I want— I have so much amazing content that has been mined through, you know, 3 years of conversations with some incredible people from all over the world, and my 20 years of coaching speakers, you know, as I've gotten older and sort of in— now that I'm 41 now, and it's a process where you go, oh wow, I actually have something to share, which sounds really dumb, but I know that I am not alone in thinking that and feeling that because the speakers I work with have the same realization. And sometimes you need other people to go, "Yes, you do." And many of you have done that for me over the last few years where you've said, "Thank you for being a resource." And I thought, oh my gosh, I, I can do more here and I can help more people. So that's what I'm doing. That's the goal. That's what this is all about for me, because I really feel like my purpose on this earth is to help speakers transform their approach to public speaking so they can create talks that really move the world. I'm really passionate about this art form, but I really also love speakers and the process that we go on. To do this, 'cause it's kind of an incredible thing. And the platform of public speaking is a beautiful thing. It is, it's a crazy, crazy thing. The magic that happens between an audience and a speaker is one of my favorite things on earth to experience and to create and to launch other people into that space, especially when they don't expect to feel the magic and then they're like, whoa, that was awesome and crazy. So today is really about taking all of that passion and energy and offering it up to you in a new way. So this episode is going to give you a little insider look at my business for just a moment and tell you— I'm going to do two things. I want to tell you what's changed and then what you can expect going forward. So what's changed is number one, my website should be working. Oh my gosh, that is huge. So I was the one who'd built my website before, all versions before, you guys, and it was, it was fine, it was fine. I— and every once in a while, even recently, somebody was like, who did your website? It's great. And I thought, oh man, because me, I did it, and I had no business doing that. And if you look at all beyond the first page, it's like broken links and unfinished pages and old layouts and funky things on the blog and pictures that were lost somehow. And oh my gosh, it was a mess. And it reflected my level of expertise as a website person and my lack of time to make it better. And of course, then like one time a year it would just break and I send out an email saying, sorry, super broken, hang in there, right? Ugh, and I band-aided my butt off for these last few years and crossed my fingers that things wouldn't happen, it would just be okay, and I would find the time and blah, blah, blah. And guess what? It was time for me to grow up professionally and finally hire it out. And I am so thrilled about who I found to help me with this website and what an incredible job that they did. It was not a small job, I tell you, because my blog was a mess. So I wanna give a huge shout out to my website people. They are Simple and Soulful Creative, and they moved me from WordPress over to Squarespace. So if you guys out there have your own website and you, or you're thinking about creating one, I'm kind of curious to see how this goes. I'm not yet a Squarespace expert, or I'm not yet jazzed about Squarespace, but I'm sure I will be. They promised me I will be. Because I have just spent my life in the complicated and all-consuming world of WordPress, but it hasn't gone well, so it's time and I'm really excited. So that's the first thing that's gonna change is it's gonna work. Oh my gosh, can you believe that? I'm so excited. And then the second change, which I have alluded to already, is that it is now going to be a resource, not just a homepage. But it is a resource for you. And I've got things organized under 3 key topic areas: content development, delivery development, and mindset development. So depending on where you are at in your process of creating talks, you can find what you need. You'll find podcast episodes, you'll find some tips and tricks, you'll find relevant conversations I've had, downloadables, um, blog posts, all kinds of different things. So There's, you know, like if you come in and say, ah, I'm really stuck on this one piece of, I don't know how to get started, right? You would go into content development and search for some things and boom, there you go, which would be so cool. There's also gonna be a super savvy speakers library where you can find all of the downloadable tips and tricks and content that I've created over the last 3 years and access them 'cause there's a ton. You can find images and inspirational quotes, you can find online courses over at my course headquarters at Movers U. Oh my gosh, I'm so jazzed. Can you tell? I'm so super jazzed. So those are the two big changes. It's gonna work and it's gonna be a resource. Woo! Woo! All right, so now what can you expect going forward? What's gonna— what's— what's— what are things gonna look like going forward? Well, number one, I'm gonna keep giving weekly content on my podcast. Oh my gosh, this is a labor of love for me, my movers, and I do love it. And I found a rhythm that works: interview episodes every few weeks, and then in between those, I'll be bringing you tips and insight in between on my smaller episodes. Now I've called the smaller episodes, the ones that I'm not doing an interview, mini Moved Me episodes. I'm not really gonna use that distinction anymore because Some of them, they're not that mini, and sometimes I'll be doing kind of workshop format kind of episodes, and those really aren't mini. When I first started doing these Mini Moved Me's, they were really mini, like 6 minutes, and sometimes I will have a little mini bonus one, but that's how I'll see them, as little Mini Moved Me bonus episodes. That's not what these are gonna be. You're just gonna be hearing more from me because that has been requested from some of you out there who say, I want to hear more tips and tricks and teach me. So as I step into this role of being your virtual speech coach and your speaking coach, your presentation coach, then you're gonna be hearing a little bit more from me. So you've probably sensed that shift over the last few months, and that's what I'm gonna keep doing. But they'll keep coming to you weekly on Wednesdays for the podcast. And yeah, so that's number one. Number 2, you are gonna see a growing online course library over at Movers U. So if you go to the new website right now, thismoveme.com, you'd see, and you click on the Movers U link, you'll see a few smaller courses that I've had for a while. The Get On Your Feet Challenge, the 7 Speaking Truths online course, Your Talk Development Hacks course. These are really cool courses, really fun. Um, but they're kind of what I call mini courses, right? So you should totally check those out. The Get On Your Feet Challenge helps you take your script and get it into your body and up on your feet faster. It gets you on your feet faster, which is for many people the thing that they are avoiding. So this is going to help you stop avoiding that and to get on your feet so you can learn what you need to learn faster. So that you've got more time for integration and expertise and like just really letting it get in your body. So, uh, the— and then your 7 Speaking Truths course is like speaking inspiration mega dose. Okay, so if you are just stepping into this space and you want to just, um, gosh, get in the right mindset, get your mind in the right place before you move yourself out there more, or or even if you're already out front, this is just like one of those power-packed oomph courses to keep you going. I think it's awesome. Sometimes I just reread them myself even though I made it. I'm like, yeah, oh my gosh, I'm so jazzed. Okay, so that is out there to like get you inspired and jazzed and, and ready to take on the world. And then my Talk Development Hacks course I think is super cool. It's got like some time-saving tricks to get you started faster, right? They— all of those are in there now and you can check them out. And right now there's like a super, super deal happening right now in celebration of this launch. So now is a great time to go check out The Movers U and some of those courses. But my main focus for this next year is to grow this online platform and grow this library of resources for you. So I don't know, I'm even thinking, I'm just gonna throw this out there, I'd love your feedback. I'm thinking about maybe eventually becoming a membership site. I don't know, what do you think about that, Movers? What do you think? Would you be into that? Let me know. Anyway, so the big, uh, new course that's coming that is around the corner is in October. I'm going to really, I asked a bunch of you, "What do you want? What would be— what sort of course would be most helpful for you?" And I threw some ideas out there, and the one that came back strongest, that people were most interested in, is a course that I'm calling Bringing Your Origin Story to Life. It's going to be awesome. I can't wait to share it with you all. So that is October. There's more on that soon. And that is really for not just entrepreneurs, but it's really for any thought leader in business or in the nonprofit sector or us entrepreneurs as we're out there bringing our own ideas to life. It is how do we share ourselves and bring our origin story into our ideas because it's incredibly important and, and really difficult for many, many people. Okay, so that's number 2, I'm gonna grow the online course library. Number 3, the third thing that you can expect as I shift into this new world at This Moved Me is that I'm gonna be looking to create a few live events in 2019. Once I get this online platform going and growing, I'm gonna shift my focus there, and I have a dream of hosting some smaller workshop deep dives, what I call Movers Labs, and And I'm super— that is a dream of mine and it's going to happen. And then maybe down the road I'm singing again because I'm not sure about this. I'd love to do it because I love big events, but that's what I'm thinking about is pulling together maybe an even bigger event that brings speakers together and offers a huge dose of inspiration and awesomeness. That would be so cool. Okay, we can dream, maybe. The fourth thing that you can expect is that I'm probably going to be ending up doing less one-on-one coaching, which is kind of, um, you know, I have mixed feelings about this. I think I need to, I need to create the time and space, but, uh, I love one-on-one coaching. It's exciting. It's meaningful work. To work with people that closely. I get to deep dive with people in a way that you can't do online, but it's an important step in my business. So I'm going to be doing a little less of that, as an FYI. And the 5th thing that you can expect as we shift into this new arena for This Moved Me is that I'm going to be doing more video. I'm going to be playing with Insta Stories and Facebook Live Lives, and let's just say I'm gonna be playing with them a lot. Look for your feedback in terms of other ways that I can bring you resources and virtual coaching, because you guys, you know I'm not super techie and I get kind of stuck and overwhelmed in that world, and I don't always know what I'm doing, but I have to live out what I teach, and that is perfection kills connection. So I'm just gonna show up and go for it, and I would love It's a way for us to connect in a real way, and also it's a powerful way for me to teach and be a resource for you. So I'm pushing myself on that, and that's gonna— that's one of my big focus areas. So, and it's a good reminder for all of us, right? We're just gonna show up and go for it because that is how big stuff happens, and that's what I'm doing right now. Deep breaths, Sally, you got this. So if it is not clear to you, let me just say it right now. I want to be your virtual speaking coach. So I would love for you right now to go check out my new website, thismovedme.com. Check out the super secret library, download some resources, check out content development, delivery development, mindset development. Go to the Movers U link at the top of the page, check out one of my new courses. I would love that. And then of course send me some feedback. I would love to hear from you and hear what you think. What am I missing? How can I be of help to you? That is hugely important to me. And remember that the courses on Movers U right now during this time, you can get them for super cheapy cheap. I'm so excited, you guys. That is it for me. I feel like I've just got like so It's coffee coursing through my veins right now, caffeine, which is saying something because I don't really drink coffee. I would do sometimes, but it really gets me jazzed and amped up. So that's how I feel right now, super jazzed and amped up. So I will see you next week when I'm bringing you another interview episode with the brilliant and amazing Carmen Simon. I've been waiting for this one. It took us forever to schedule it. Carmen is brilliant, and I can't wait for you to hear her insights and expertise. She brings the science to the art, all about how to make our moments on stage more memorable. And it's not just like tricks from the stage. She's talking about neuroscience and how we can use the power of the brain and what the brain can really do for our audiences in a way that helps us be really sticky and memorable for them. So really excited about that. That's next week. Oh my gosh, you guys, go check it out now, thismovedme.com, because if nobody goes and checks it out, I might just flip out over here. Got it? Okay. See you next week. This moved me, really a lot. What is moving you? Go out and move the world with your talk. Yep, I talk for a living.