In this solo coaching episode, Sally Zimney explains why having a clear signature talk is essential for purpose‑driven entrepreneurs and changemakers, then identifies three common mental blocks that keep speakers from defining a concise talk topic. First, she warns against trying to cover every aspect of one’s expertise, urging creators to focus on a single, passionate idea that meets an audience need. Second, she cautions against designing one “universal” talk for all contexts, recommending that speakers pick a favorite audience and a specific speaking format, then later adapt the core talk as needed. Third, she debunks the myth that only dramatic, headline‑worthy stories are worth sharing, emphasizing that everyday moments can provide powerful insights when framed correctly. Throughout, she offers practical steps—choose one audience, one core idea, and capture meaningful moments—to break through these obstacles. The episode also promotes a 5‑day “Jumpstart Your Talk” challenge (Oct 12‑16) in the Move Your Audience Facebook group and announces the upcoming opening of the Signature Talk Studio on Oct 21, inviting listeners to join and develop their signature talks.
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Check, check, check. Check, check, check. Oh man, I hope the sound is better on this. I really, really do. Because that has been kind of dumb. Kind of dumb. Kind of the worst. Let's do it. Let's do this. Let's say that you're a wellness coach and that means that you talk about wellness, right? Well, not exactly. Finding your talk topic is one of those things that really sounds easy, but if you don't get clear enough before you sit down to write, well, you can spend days, weeks, even months— I've seen it— wandering around in the abyss, in the wilderness, in the land of "What am I even doing?" and Should I even speak? And maybe I don't even know what I'm talking about. It's not a happy place to be. If you know that you want to create a signature talk, and I hope that you do, that is step 1. Step 2 is then figuring out what it is that you want to talk about, which sounds pretty easy, but it is not as easy as it sounds. On the show today, I'm going to be sharing with you 3 things that are probably getting in the way of you getting clear on your talk topic. And I'm gonna share with you a few things that might help, including my new 5-day Jumpstart Your Talk Challenge, which opens today, today, Monday, October 12th. I almost said August, that's wrong. It's October. Monday, October 12th in the Move Your Audience Facebook group. So I want you to come join us there, bmoove.com/challenge. Because by the end of the day on Friday, you will have a clearly stated talk topic. Yes! So let's dive in. Well, hello everybody! My name is Sally Zimney and I am your virtual speaker coach. I help purpose-driven entrepreneurs and changemakers like you leverage speaking in their business so they can step on stage with more clarity and courage. They can grow their impact and their influence, and they can finally leave self-doubt and obscurity in the dust. And I'm so excited that you are here with me today. And if you're here, I'd love to meet you. Please hop in the comments, say hello, or subscribe. Subscribe if you're listening to the podcast, because I love to connect with new movers like you. And if you are on YouTube, it's a brand new channel. I would love it if you would click that subscribe button, the bell, it dings, it brings me joy, and I see a new follower. And most importantly, you will not miss a video, you won't miss a thing, and we'll go along on this journey together. Today on the show, we are talking about your signature talk topic. And the reality is that before we can really talk about that, we need to make sure that you understand how important it is to have a signature talk. You, you get this, right? It is a foundational tool in your marketing, in your business growth, in the recognition of you as a thought leader in making a bigger mark and a bigger impact on the world and your audience. Speaking is super powerful. We know that. That's why you're here. If you're watching me or you're listening to me, you're already in this realm in some way or another, and you might be feeling a little tentative about it, but having a signature talk in your back pocket is truly an essential tool for you to grow your business, grow your audience, and grow your impact. So now that we are all on the same page about that, let's talk about what is step 2, and and that is getting clear on your talk topic. And it sounds easy, I know, right? So if you are a wellness coach, you talk about wellness. If you're a small business strategist, you talk about small business strategies. If you're a personal trainer, you talk about personal training things. That all makes sense, but that's not your talk topic. Your business area does not equate your talk topic, and that's a mistake that many people make. It's like, I will just talk about my expertise, and they walk in the room and they sit down. They have no room to walk in, actually, so that's not really— they sit down at the computer and are like, I'm gonna write this talk, I'm gonna write it, and it's gonna be about everything I know, my expertise. I'm a wellness coach, I'm gonna talk about wellness. Showing up to write your talk in that way is setting yourself up for a lot of frustration and spinning in circles for days. I've seen people struggle with this for months, and it's not that they're not trying. They are heads down, really trying to figure it out, but we can't figure it out like that. There's some work we've got to do beforehand. I mean, those months of struggling, it makes us really second-guess ourselves, our expertise, expertise, it can be really defeating. So I just want to save you from that experience, please. I want to make sure that this desire to create a signature talk doesn't get slowed down or get sent into the ditch because you're not clear on what it is you have to say. Creating a signature talk is like telling the world, "This is what I believe about my area of expertise." That's what makes it a thought leadership talk or a signature talk. So knowing that, it's really understandable why declaring your talk topic can feel a little fraught. It can be a bit of a stumper. It can be even a little harrowing, I would say, because it feels so important. That pressure can make the process of deciding this even harder. Before diving into what we're going to be talking about in the challenge this week, on helping you actually get clear, I wanna demystify some of the things that are probably getting in your way of getting clear. The first thing that might be getting in your way is this belief that it has to cover everything. So know this about your signature talk. It does not have to cover everything that you are an expert on and believe in and stand stand for and care about. I mean, it can't. In fact, a talk that does cover everything, that's not going to be a very good talk. We're just going to walk away confused, and that's, that's not good. You are going to need to choose one aspect of your business that you feel really passionate about, one idea that your audience needs, and that they are looking for your help on. Like my speaker, Jen, who just recently finished the Signature Talk Studio with me. Now she is a conflict and communications coach, and she uses the tool of the Enneagram to help people deal with their conflicts and find more peace in their lives. I love it. She's amazing. Now Jen's idea is that conflict is the way to peace. Conflict is the way to peace. And I like how those two ideas don't seem like that's how you find the other, but that is her thesis, that is her idea. Now her area of expertise is conflict management. She is a conflict coach. That's her area of expertise. So of course her talk topic is going to be related to that, but her talk topic is actually her take on that topic. It's a lot of T's. Her talk topic is the take on the topic. Yes, yes, that's what I mean. Now, she could have spoken about all kinds of things that are related to conflict. She could have talked about types of conflict or what gets in the way of conflict, which Enneagram numbers are conflict-y in this particular way, all kinds of things connected to her area of expertise. But she wanted to find one idea that she can say, "This is really the core, my core belief behind this." When we find that one thing, it acts as a powerful filter so that we don't end up saying too much around it. Otherwise, we end up jamming too much in our talks and it's really uninspiring and not effective. And most importantly, it keeps us spinning in circles for months before we finally take action and make that talk. The second thing that might be getting in your way is this idea that this one talk, we're gonna build this one talk and then we'll be done. And so I need to make it apply to every situation and every potential audience. And sometimes I talk to these people and sometimes I talk to these people and sometimes I'm doing it this way. And sometimes it's a 30-minute talk and sometimes it's a 60-minute keynote and sometimes it's a 20-minute TEDx Talk experience or whatever, and it's a mind-bender, and then we're trying to, to make this talk do gymnastics for us. That doesn't actually help us, especially in the phase that we're at right before we begin. Now what we want to do is we want to choose one context with one audience, and we create the talk for that. My recommendation for you is is to choose your favorite audience, the audience that you want to be speaking to more. Because once we create for that, it's more likely to happen. Then once that particular talk is created, then it's your job to take that one talk and adapt it for all the other scenarios, which is much easier once you've got a great signature talk that you believe in and trust it all becomes much clearer. To get rid of all the other possibilities that just cloud the confusing process, and no, no, no, no, no, we're gonna get really clear. One context, one audience, and we create for that. The third and final thing that might be getting in your way as you are trying to get clear on your talk topic is this belief we sometimes have that our story, our idea, it's not big or important or dramatic enough. It's not the headline kind of experience, and I just think that is such baloney. Yes, these talks are built on significant aha moments in our lives, moments that we've realized something or there's been a shift or— I mean, there's all kinds of things that happen in our lives that make us go, ooh, this is important and I'm going to remember this and It shifted my direction and experience. And what happens is some people opt out even before considering doing a talk because they're like, I'm sure I don't have anything interesting to say, or my life hasn't been speaker-worthy or something, whatever that means. And it's just baloney. It's absolute baloney. Some of the most beautiful talks that I have ever seen were not dramatic and profound and headline-worthy kinds of stories. They were people who recognized significant moments in the day-to-day, and they drew meaning and illumination from them for us. We all have a story to tell, every single one of us. Significant These moments happen all the time around us, all the time. If we can really train our eyes to see them, to recognize them, to capture them, which is really important so we don't lose them and forget about them, and then to share their meaning with us. And that is why we create our signature talks, to take something that people understand one way and for you to share your particular insight and point of view and offer it up to us. So what do you in particular have to say? It doesn't have to be about everything and it doesn't have to apply to everyone and it doesn't have to be dramatic or profound or headline-worthy to be significant and meaningful and moving. I mean, isn't that a relief? I think that's awesome. I love that because it means that everybody, anybody can walk into this and create meaning for the rest of us. What that means is you, yes you, I'm talking to you, with your life experiences and your stories and your knowing and your seeing and your point of view, you have what it takes to create a signature talk. A signature talk that can grow your audience, grow your revenue, grow your impact, and to land you on the map as a thought leader. I don't know where this map is. Get on the map as a thought leader. I've said it too. I've been saying it a lot. I don't know where this map is. You need a map to the map. You need a map to the thought leadership map. Get on the map. So are you ready? Are you ready? I hope that you are because over the next few weeks we've got some really exciting things happening and it starts today with the challenge that's happening all week. So if you're listening to this the week of October 12th to the 16th, 16th. Hop on in with us over in the Move Your Audience group. You can sign up at bemoved.com/challenge. I'd love to have you join us in there. And after that, the doors to the Signature Talk Studio open on October 21st, and now is your chance to get in and join us. Well, not quite yet. The doors aren't open yet, but when they open, then you can join And I would love that. So you can move your audience. That's what it's all about. Thanks for checking in with us here on This Moved Me Show here on YouTube and on your podcast app. Click subscribe, come join along with us, and I will see you over in the Move Your Audience Facebook group. See you there. Significant moments. Bumpins. Bumpins. Significant bumpins.
