271: How to Save Time and Avoid Stress In Your Speaking

Speaking can be a real time suck. Yeah, but it doesn't have to be. So today I want you to dive in with me while we look at 3 ways that you can save time in your speaking and get some powerful time back for you in your business. Hey movers, it's Sally Koering Zimney with Be Moved. Let's go create some talks that will move this world. We're gonna talk with amazing speakers, share tips, tricks, resources, and we are going to be moved so that our audience can be moved. This moved me. What is moving you? Hey everybody, welcome back to This Moved Me. I'm Sally Koering Zimney, your virtual speaker coach, and I empower purpose-driven entrepreneurs, coaches, and changemakers. Like you, to leverage the power of speaking on behalf of your business and idea so that you can grow your business and finally leave self-doubt and obscurity in the dust. Today on the show, I am sharing a replay with you of one of my weekly trainings over in the Move Your Audience Facebook group. This free private group is where all kinds of really fun and cool stuff happens. We do like daily inspiration and, Obviously weekly trainings like this one, and every once in a while we'll do some occasional monthly challenges that help people step out front and share their stories and master the craft of public speaking. And one of the biggest reasons why people come to me in that group is they're really holding two truths equally in both hands. One is they know speaking is really powerful and it's a needed, unavoidable part of their business. And the other hand, they're resenting it in some way. And yes, both of these things can be true. They sometimes resent how speaking can kind of take over your life, especially right before a big opportunity or something that you feel like is a high-stakes moment, and all the panic and the stress that can come along with these speaking opportunities. Honestly, what is so, so, so important for you to know is that it doesn't have to be that way. Stress and speaking do not have to be special little pallies that go together. Nerves and excitement, that is to be expected, a part of speaking, and that's not a bad thing. But there are some things that we can do to take the time suck out of speaking. So on the show today, I am bringing you one of the trainings that we did inside the Move Your Audience Facebook group, And I'm gonna be breaking down for you 3 really powerful strategies that will help you save time in your speaking so you can focus more on your business. And of course, before we do that, you guys, have you joined us for the mini series? It's called How to Leverage Speaking and Double Your Business. 3 short videos, and then on the 4th day, we do a live experience all together. This video series is going to show you how to ease the time stress and maximize the benefits of speaking. Speaking's hard enough, let's not make it harder than it has to be. And you can join us over at bemoved.com/leverage. All right, now on to the show. Enjoy this little training, and if you are not yet a member of Move Your Audience, come and join us so you don't miss the next one. I'm feeling super I am super jazzed about this training, you guys. I am so excited about it. It might be that I had 2 cups of coffee this morning. Normally I just have one. Anyway, we are here, we are doing our weekly training, and we're going to be weekly here together doing trainings like this between now and really basically through the end of March. So Get ready, there's a lot gonna be happening inside this group over the next 6 weeks in particular. And I'm— so I'm so excited that you're here. We are talking about saving time. And time is one of the few finite resources that we have. So I wanna start with a question. Are you somebody who feels like you spend too much time prepping? Like you might be prepping maybe in not the most efficient way. You're not super intentional about it. It's super stressful. It's time, time, time. Okay, maybe is that you? Are you in group 1? Or are you in group 2 where you're more in the wing it camp and you aren't spending a lot of time, you're throwing stuff together at the last minute, and, you know, you might have inconsistent results from that. Okay, so I'm curious and I want to see. In the comments which group you would put yourself in. Too much time, not enough time. 1, 2. Either way, it's about time and it's about how we use our time. You're either wasting, unfortunately, you're either wasting your own time or if you are winging it, I want to just be a loving truth teller with you and say you might be wasting your audience's time. Because if we are not intentional with our approach, that can happen. And so that's what I want to talk about today, because although speaking— and you're here because speaking is super powerful tool and you want to be using it more in your business, and you know that— it's really easy to resent the role that speaking plays in our business and in our lives. The better we get and the more consistent we are with our content and the more that we can utilize some of these strategies that I'm talking about today, the more you can wing it. And I even hesitate to call it winging it because essentially you build up this plethora of content that is go-to for you so that it's not actually winging it. It's just pulling it out of your backpack and using in the right moment. So we're going to talk about some of these strategies today. So we do not want speaking to be a source of resentment or panic or stress or frustration in our business because it needs to be part and parcel in our business. It is just a tool that we use every day, and it's a tool that is worth investing your time and energy in if we are doing it in an intentional way. So when we can be intentional, it does a few things for us. It reduces the time suck. Right? So we spend, we're spending our time on the right things in the right way so that we can focus on other parts of our business that really require that time and that kind of attention. Okay. So we want to reduce the time suck and we want to really leverage speaking and we can't leverage it when speaking is kind of wagging the dog, if you know what I mean by that. It's, it's the thing that kind of sends us in a harried, hazy, panicked approach. No, no, no, no, no. We want to be in control of that. And when we are, we can really then leverage it in our business. And last but not least, when we can be intentional on our approach, we can become really masterful in our approach. We can show up present, connected, calm, confident. We trust what we're doing. We trust that we are giving the right content at the right time. And that's when it becomes powerful. So speaking is not like a, oh, I got this thing and I gotta prep for it and then it's done. It becomes part and parcel to what you do and who you are. Woo! How about an amen for that, my friends? So let's dive in. I've got 3 strategies for you today that I wanna share with you. And the first strategy that I want to make sure that you are using so that we can avoid the time suck of speaking is to create what I call pillar content. And here's what I mean by pillar content. Let me know in the comments if you know what pillar content is, but if, if you don't, let me just give you a really quick explainer. Pillar content is, if you think about the pillars, it holds up your business. It is the consistent, content that you want to be known for, that you build all of your content around. You guys know how much I love a good visual. So I want to show you a visual that helps me understand what pillar content really is. So I think of, you think of your business as this umbrella, okay? And, and your business exists underneath this umbrella, right? So this umbrella is really your big idea. Okay, so Tiffany, I know you, so I can kind of pick on you on this. So Tiffany, your big idea is women's wellness. Okay? So it's a really big idea and it's too big. Okay? That— there's so much that you can talk about underneath that umbrella. So the next thing that you want to do is identify those blue spots in your umbrella, and those are your pillars. Those are the core areas that you are drawn to, that you want to talk about, that you want to be known about. And I think the, the pillars themselves are really so essential to identify for yourself. And if you're not sure what they are, I would look back and see what you have already talked about because it likely just takes you to look at some themes that keep coming up for you. So think about it as like what you get asked a lot of questions about and what you really want to talk about. So we want, we want to find that place that hits on both of those. Okay. Cause that's going to be your passion point and also needed from people. And then the last part of your umbrella, those little yellow dots are the stories. So within each pillar, You are going to have stories associated with that pillar. Now, the trick here to, to help avoid the time suck of speaking is to spend a little time on the front end developing and identifying these pieces. So really just owning what are my pillars? What's the big idea of my umbrella that I exist under? And You know, what are the things that are really essential and important to me, the passion points that I have, but also that are especially important to my audience? What are the things that they're asking about that they have needs around that I in particular can address? And we develop those and identify those pillars. And then you develop some stories to go along. And the stories are so, so, so important. Now, this pillar umbrella, doesn't just save you time because once they are, once they're identified, you don't have to come up with content on the spot in the same way, right? When we are in the rush of being prepared for the next big thing that you've got going on, that's not the best time for us to be our most creative selves. I've been in the position many, many times where I'm like, I need a story around this idea. And when we are pressuring ourselves like that, those are not when your stories crop up for you. But if you have identified them beforehand, then you can just look and say, oh my gosh, actually, yeah, I'd forgotten about that story, but that could be really great to use with this audience in this moment. So it saves us a lot of stress, time, energy. Okay. But it doesn't just save you time and energy. And, and that's important. That's why we are here. But I also want to underline the idea for you that, that knowing what your pillar content is helps you become a go-to in your industry. That is why we are leveraging and want to leverage speaking on behalf of our business and our idea, because once we become that go-to, it helps us make more money. It helps you create a funnel of, of people who want to work with you from your audiences. And that consistency in message and consistency in your content helps us say, and your audience say, oh, okay, well, Tiffany is really an expert in wellness. And she, especially around authenticity. I know that's one of her things. And I think of her when we talk about that idea. Does that all make sense? Okay. Now the second strategy that I want to talk to you about. So we've got— oh, I got to move my head a little bit. We've got creating pillar content. We identify what that is and we bring that out front consistently. And part of that is also having what I call a collect and capture mindset. So your pillar content is always going to grow and change. You're going to add to it as you finesse and evolve your own thinking on this as you grow and evolve, as your audience's needs change. You need continued inspiration. And so having a collect and capture mindset means that you are always looking for what intrigues you, what moves you. You're looking for the podcasts, the books, the ideas, your own stories, your own experiences, and making sure that you collect and you capture them in some way. So you've got a resource of inspiration that you can draw on to utilize and leverage in your content when you need it. Okay? This will save so much time and it's going to make what you actually produce so much better. Okay? Now there are two really important parts to this. Yes, you're going to collect and capture it, right? And you need one place. You need one place that all of your stuff goes. Okay? So if you're with me here, tell me, where do you right now, when you find something that inspires you, where do you put it? Where do you collect and capture it? For me, I use my Notes app on my desktop and it's on my phone and it's synced up together. And I love it because it's searchable. Google Docs can be a great thing too, but I want it to be searchable. Maybe it is, but I haven't figured that out yet, if it is. I love the Notes doc because I can say, I know there was something about blah, blah, blah, and I can type it in the search and it pulls up anything where that word exists. And so it's a great way for me. It's my dumping ground. It's my collect and capture. So that's the first part about it, having one place where you can dump all of your stuff. So the first thing is one place to collect and capture it. The second thing is making sure you note why it struck you, why it, in my words, why it moved you, why you want to collect and capture it. And here's why. We are busy people and we move on from that really quickly. And all of a sudden we're like, I'm looking at my notes and I'm like, flight. Why do I have flight written down in my story log? Like, what, what does that even mean? What was I talking about? What was I, what was I thinking of? And I don't remember. Now, that could just be my brain, but my guess is most of us, uh, we're flying through things so quickly that, that it's really easy to lose the thread on that. So just don't lose the thread on it. Make sure you capture it. So when you collect and capture, include the why piece. Aha, hashtag aha on that. Write that down. Now, before we move on to the third strategy, I really want to point out that one of the most important things you can collect and capture continuously all the time in your life are stories. Stories are the engine to your talks. They are the engine to your keynotes. They are the engine to your weekly content. They are the engine to what you do day in and day out as a leader and a speaker and a go-to in your industry. So make sure that you are on the lookout for them. You're attuned to what's happening internally for you as you are experiencing life, like pay attention, what is moving you, and then collect and capture and include the why. Now, the third strategy that I really want you to take with you today is that it's really important that you have one scalable, repeatable, powerful talk. I call this a signature talk. You may have heard that out there. A signature talk is a pretty standard way to talk about this idea, but when you see out somebody out giving a keynote, it is likely their signature talk that they are sharing. Now, what is so cool about a signature talk and why it is such an important tool for us is that it's scalable and repeatable, meaning you build this foundational message and then use it in your business out in front all the time in hundreds of ways every day. It becomes a foundational messaging piece for you in your business so that we can more easily show up in all the ways that we have to and we need to and we want to without the crazy, without the stress, without the panic that so often comes along with it. For all the reasons we're talking about time today and what— how speaking can be such a time suck. When we have a signature talk, it's less of a time suck. Now, it does mean that you put some time up front to develop the message and identify those key stories and your pillars, and you craft the approach and figure out the way in which you want to leverage it. In your business and on behalf of your business, but then it saves you oodles of time on the back end and helps set you up to really do it well, which is important because if we're going to take all this time and energy, or like, we want to get out front more, well, you want to make sure that you nail it when you have those opportunities as you step out front. Now the key here is instead of creating from scratch and creating on demand, from people, you are switching up that power dynamic and you are taking your signature talk and applying it to all kinds of different scenarios. So instead of starting from 0%, you're starting at 85%. And then that last 15% is all about you personalizing, customizing, making it meaningful, for that particular audience in that particular context, in this particular strategy and approach, right? Because we are not one size fits all. Please don't do that. That is not at all what I'm saying here. What I'm saying is we want a consistent, scalable, repeatable message so that we can really leverage the power of speaking and become a go-to. In our industry. That's really what it's all about. Now, people come to me often are like, mm, I just feel a little nervous about repeating the content. And I get that. For many, many years, I did not emphasize this approach. That's what I was helping people do. I've been helping people develop signature talks for 20 years. I didn't always call it that, and I didn't always really own and recognize the power of repeatable content. Because it felt a little like— and let me know if you feel this way sometimes— but it feels a little too short-cutty and like there's something inauthentic about it. But I really want to just pull that off the table right now and call BS on that, because as an actor, we repeat our script, we repeat our content each time, but it doesn't make each performance less authentic or less meaningful or less needed. What it does is allows us to, of course, save time, stress, energy, all of the things that we are here talking about today, but it also allows us to get to mastery. And please trust me when I say that giving a talk enough time so that you can be fully present with what you're saying, and be fully present with your audience is such a powerful, beautiful thing. It is just this incredible place to get to as a speaker, to be able to get to that place where you're like, something happened here. And I was able to invest in it in a way that I couldn't in the first 5 times I gave it, because I was in my head. I was thinking about it more and more. Okay. Sherryann says, I definitely worry that people will have heard what I've already presented and be bored by the content. I, I hear you. And this is, this is a concern that I hear a lot from people. It shouldn't be the exact same. Each situation will require you to adjust something or some things. And that's a really, really good thing. And it's much easier for us to do that when we have core content that we draw upon and, and look to again and again. Does that make sense? It's kind of like getting to this place where we have our favorite hits that we riff on, but it allows us to then, uh, play with it. And we can play with it and evolve it and keep kind of pushing our own boundaries with it once we trust what we have and it is living in us. In a new way. Okay. But it takes a while to get there. And so, you know, I understand that and I feel that and appreciate that, like, oh my gosh, I don't want to become robotic in this. And I don't want other people to be like, I heard this, I've heard this. We have to keep it loose enough that they may have heard it before, but they maybe haven't heard it in exactly that way. And I think we're underestimating the power of repetition. Repetition is actually really needed for us. It is needed in marketing. It is needed in our audience really believing and taking in what we say. And so if you think about some of the most powerful people out there, they're often repeating stories. They are often repeating the same mantras and the same ideas again and again and again. And I need that. I can't tell you how many times I've heard from some of my mentors the same thing again and again and again. It doesn't mean that it has clicked for me. Sometimes we need to hear it more than once or more than twice. So I appreciate that concern, but I want, I want you to try pulling that off the table and investing in this approach. And seeing how it is good for you in how you're able to step into your authority and your recognition and your mastery in a new way. I worked for years, 10+ years at an organization where we were out giving the same talks day in and day out. Now we might have had a repertoire of like 4 or 5 talks, but we were, we were doing, giving the same talks. We got more powerful. We got better at what we did the more we gave it rather than less. Most people don't remember year in and year out what we did. So I would go to the same school and repeat some of the stories, and a few people might say, "Oh, I remember when you told that story last time." That's a very different response than, You told that story before. That's baloney, right? Step into it with intention, knowing that there is strength in the repetition. Now, the solution to the time suck are these things right here: creating pillar content, collecting and capturing, and not only when we need to, but always, all the time. And then having for ourselves one scalable, repeatable, powerful talk, what I call a signature talk. Having these 3 things will help eliminate some of the time suck, but it requires a little time on the front end. Just know that you are investing in messaging that will serve you for the next year or more, depending on how things evolve for you. Most importantly, I'm here to nudge you. I'm here to give you the little kick in the butt so that you can continue to step out front, share your voice, and lead by leveraging speaking. It is the powerful tool that can help put you on the map, grow your audience, and your impact. So, all right, that's it for me. I feel like we need just a little something before we go. How about this? Here we go.