273: 5 Warning Signs You Need a New Approach to Speaking... and why a signature talk is the answer

You know that a signature talk is a powerful tool in your business, but is it time for you to jump in the fray and finally create that signature talk? Well, there are 5 warning signs that might be telling you that it is. Hey movers, it's Sally Z with Be Moved. Let's go create some talks that will move this world. We're gonna talk with amazing speakers, share tips, 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. My name is Sally Koering Zimney and I'm your virtual speaker coach and I empower purpose-driven entrepreneurs and changemakers like you to leverage speaking on behalf of their business or their idea so that they can grow their business and have the impact that they have always dreamed of. And I am so glad that you are here today because today on the show, we're gonna look at 5 warning signs that might be telling you, "Brrp, brrp, brrp, it's time. You need a signature talk." Now, I happen to think that, of course, everybody needs a signature talk, but the truth is that it might not be the right time for you, and that's okay. I hope you have it on your horizon at some point because it is such a powerful tool. But I wanted to give you those 5 mm-mm-mm warning signs because if any of these resonate for you, if you're like, oh sister, that is exactly where I'm at right now, well then a signature talk is gonna make a significant difference to you and for you and on behalf of your business. Now, before we dive in and you're listening to this right now, there might still be time for you to come join us in the Signature Talks Studio. It's open through March 25th at 8:00 PM Central time. So depending on when you're listening to this, if you missed us, don't worry. You can come join the waitlist, but if there's still time and you wanna come join us, I hope that you will. And you can do that at bemoved.com/join. So let's dive into the show. Now I wanna be clear upfront. Some people really aren't ready for a signature talk because you might still be in the phase of your development where you are really finding the courage, the confidence to step out front. And that might be you. And if that's you, that is totally okay. I love you. I'm here for you, and I'm gonna still be here nudging you along the whole way. Because it doesn't mean that your voice and your story and your ideas are any less needed. They are not. They are sorely needed. But you may not be ready to really take advantage of the power of a signature talk if you're struggling to really show up, if you're struggling to even like use your voice or share your story. What might be helpful to you is to come join me in the Move Your Audience Facebook group because there we do daily inspiration, we do weekly trainings, and we do monthly challenges, all to help you truly continue your development as a speaker and help you show up and serve and love up your audience. But if you are in a place where you are feeling that pull out front in a bigger way, if you resonate with any of these warning signs that I am sharing in this show, well then it is time for you to find a better approach in your speaking so you can have a bigger impact. And then you can leave some of these warning signs behind. And that's really what these are. They are like flashing red, uh-oh, I gotta do things differently, things are not working like they should. You are underutilizing the power of speaking and you may be leaving some serious impact on the table. So let's look at them. The first warning sign that you may need a signature talk is that you are feeling overwhelmed and you're over the overwhelm. It might come as a surprise to you, but speaking isn't supposed to feel overwhelming and stressful. It doesn't have to. Should speaking be nerve-wracking? Yeah, I think so. I think the best speaking gets our nerves and excitement going. So that's different. Nerves, excitement, that's okay. Overwhelm and stress, well, it does not have to be that way. And if the last 2 weeks before you have a big opportunity, or those last 48 hours for the procrastinators in the room, that is a major warning sign that you need to approach things differently. If you are like many of my speakers, you're excited to get the gig and then you avoid prepping because it's uncomfortable and it's hard and you're not quite sure what to do and you're still trying to think about what exactly you're gonna do in this big moment. And the last throes of the prep time is just panic and it's painful and you step into that moment a little more frazzled than you would really like to be and you vow you're never gonna do it like that again, except that you do because life is full and it went fine enough and you're busy and speaking becomes such a pain in the butt that you're not really leveraging it and if you're not enjoying it, That's a problem for your audience too, let me just say that. There is a better way. But maybe you are facing warning sign number 2, which is that maybe you don't know what to say or when to say it. Right? If you're someone who questions your content, what story to tell, like maybe message clarity feels super elusive to you and you're grasping at straws and you're kind of swimming around in content confusion, or if you find yourself You might find yourself really coming up empty when it comes to those critical creative moments where you're like, I don't know what, what to create here. I don't know how to make this compelling and interesting and how to make it matter to these people in the room. There's a better way. Doesn't have to be that way. You might not be creating content that is setting up your business, creating content that is meant to really draw in your ideal audience that you want to attract into your business. This. But maybe you are in the zone of warning sign number 3, which is that you haven't mastered the art of speaking yet. And most people haven't mastered the art of speaking. It is a lifelong quest, but maybe it's bugging you. Most of us come into this work not really wanting to be a speaker per se. Some of you, yes, I see you and we're here, but some of you are like, ah, speaking kind of found me and I get asked to speak and I know this is an important message, so I'm willing to. And you know, it's an essential part of your business and your growth, but you also know that if you're gonna put yourself out there, you wanna make sure that it's really good. Mastering Speaking is about trusting yourself. It's about trusting your ability to engage an audience, even and especially in this virtual world. It's about excellent storytelling, crafted words, clear messages that make an impact on people. A wow moment. That's what many of us are going for, and that's good. We should be. But mastery takes time. And if you have more speaking in your future, AKA as you grow your business, you'll be doing more speaking, not less, FYI, then you can't avoid the need to become more masterful at the craft of speaking. Or maybe you are living in the realm of warning sign number 4, which is you're not the go-to in your niche yet. If you're like, Sally, I'm not worried about becoming a master at speaking right now because I'm not getting asked to speak enough yet, because warning sign number 4, I am not yet recognized for all of my awesome brilliance. I feel you. Many of us find ourselves in this space at some time. It's part of the growth process. We wanna be speaking more, but you're not yet on the map. You know you've got something really powerful and unique and needed, but nobody knows who you are yet. If this is you, you're in the phase right now where you're taking every opportunity that you can get to put yourself out front. That's, that's great. That's where we want to be. That approach gives you needed experience and reps and a chance to hone your message and, and really, know better who you're serving and what they need and how you in particular can help them. But that approach doesn't get you known. That approach gets you all over the map instead of on the map. So we need that for a while. But when we are ready to become more known in our niche, when we start shifting out of, I'm just getting started, into, I wanna leverage this tool, I want to become known in my niche around this idea. Well, we have to shift our approach. We become a go-to by pre-creating for the audience that we want instead of post-creating for the audience that's there. Does that make sense? You do not have to run around creating on demand. There is a better way. Creating on demand doesn't get you known for something. We gotta switch that approach. There's a better way. Maybe for you it is warning sign number 5, which is you've hit a revenue ceiling and you need to make more money and grow your audience so you can make more money. Especially if you're a coach, there comes a moment where you're like, I am done trading time for money. I'm done with the hours. I'm done with the one-on-one runaround. And I wanna shift from one-on-one to one to many. Or maybe your revenue in 2020 kind of hit a bit of a bump— thanks 2020— and you could use a new way to make money. We want to leverage speaking to do two things: grow our audience and grow our revenue. And there are lots and lots of things that we are doing in our businesses all the time to do those things. Hashtag hustle. But I think one of the most efficient ways for you to grow your audience and grow your revenue that actually isn't the hustle approach is speaking. If you do it intentionally with a signature talk at its core, well, that is the linchpin to all of this. It is the linchpin of getting over the overwhelm of speaking. It's the linchpin to knowing what it is you need to say and when to say it. Having a signature talk is the linchpin to helping you master the craft of speaking. It's really hard to do that when your content changes all the time. And it is the linchpin to helping you become known in your industry and growing your revenue and your audience. If you've said yes to any of these things, it's time. It's time. The signature talk, when you have one, It simplifies your content approach. It reduces your overwhelm. It clarifies your message so that you become known for one thing, so you can focus on the performance and wow factor that you wanna bring in those moments that helps you build your revenue and your audience. It sounds pretty simple. Of course, the truth is creating a signature talk is not for the faint of heart. I wanna be honest with you on that. Part of the reason it can do all of those things is, and become such a workhorse in your business, is because it's not something that's thrown together and it is not easily created. A process that moves you will ultimately move your audience, and the process of a signature talk will move you. And doing it intentionally with the guidance of a coach and the support of a proven process, Well, that's really important because it helps demystify the approach and helps you trust what you have. And once you have it, you will leverage the, you will leverage the heck out of this signature talk every day, every single day that you are showing up for your audience. You can lean on and trust this content because of the way that you've built it. And of course, that's ultimately what we wanna do is we wanna show up and love up and serve our audiences. We wanna make a bigger impact, leave our mark. Now enrollment closes for the Signature Talks Studio Thursday, March 25th at 8:00 PM Central time. And I would love to help you heed these warning signs. Like get— no, you do. It does not have to be this way. We're gonna help you grow your revenue and your audience. We're gonna help you make the most of each moment that you have out front, and we're gonna ease the way from overwhelm and panic to clarity and confidence. So if it's not too late, come join us at bemoove.com/join, and I would love to welcome you into the studio. All right, friends, see you next week. This moved me. What is moving you?