In this solo coaching presentation, the speaker emphasizes the importance of clearly defining one’s expertise by recognizing both what you excel at (your "superpower") and what you deliberately do not do. Drawing on her 15‑year experience coaching teen speakers in a one‑day program, she illustrates how acknowledging the program’s limitation—its short‑term, high‑impact nature—can be reframed as a unique strength, allowing the facilitator to act as a “rock star” who offers a fresh, baggage‑free experience. She urges listeners to conduct an honest self‑assessment, pinpoint the distinctive strengths of their own niche, and own the boundaries that set them apart from competitors. By embracing authenticity and a nuanced, rule‑breaking coaching style rather than a corporate template, she argues that this clarity enables individuals to step confidently to the front of their field and leverage their expertise effectively.
Chapters
I wanna talk about how our expertise can drive us out front and really knowing what our expertise is. And what I mean by that is getting really clear about what you do and what you do not do. What is your particular superpower? And what isn't. And I think knowing what isn't is the key here. Step into the place where we can absolutely stand with two strong feet. So I spent many years working at an organization coaching their speakers for a long time, 15 years, this amazing organization that went out to schools and So I spent years talking to teenagers, which is a great ground for learning how to speak well because they see right through you. And I coached all of the speakers there as well. And we spent a few years, I was also on their communication staff. We spent a few years trying to say that we were things that we weren't because, because we felt some kind of self-consciousness about being a one-day program that we would come in. And sweep kids off their feet for a day, give them this amazing experience and leave. The youth workers on our team had some concern about that, that it was like, we don't know kids long-term. We are not building long-term relationships. And once we came to terms with that, what it allowed us to do was to say, it's, we do not do long-term. But there is a particular power in the one-day experience. Here is the particular power in us coming in and being the rock star and then leaving. So some of the gifts of being the rock star is everybody starts with a clean slate with us. Nobody has baggage with us. So it's a great opportunity for a restart. A fresh slate. So we, we started to, instead of feeling self-conscious about the limitations of it and really believing that narrative, what we had to do was say, yep, that we are not long-term, but here's the power of what we do do. So what I want you to do right now is actually for yourself, think of that same thing. What What are the strengths to your limits? Does that make any sense? What are the strengths to you in your very particular niche? So I think in order to get there, what we have to really think about, of course, is the things that make you, you, right? Knowing that for yourself, I do this particular thing, right? And knowing that for yourself and then acknowledging all the things that you don't do. So sometimes this is good to think about when you think about about like competitors, and I use that term really loosely, but other people in your area. So they are going to do it their way, and your job is not to do it like them, but your job is to do it exactly the way you would do it, utilizing your superpower gifts. Okay, so we want to acknowledge our limits because there's so much power in doing that. What is one particular strength that you bring in your approach with your audience? What is, what is one thing that you do in your approach, in your work that is very particular to you? Okay. So when I think about me and my approach, there's a lot of speaker coaches out there that take a more kind of corporate feel and a corporate approach. And it's very much like, here is the way. And my approach is much more, here's the way, and we're gonna break the rules as we go, because I want this to be authentic. Okay? So it's a much more nuanced approach than many, many people use. So I have to own the limitations of that approach, but when I get really comfortable and confident about my particular niche, then I can stand on that really strongly. Does that all make sense? Okay. Part of, part of stepping out front and being pulled out front by your expertise is not just knowing what we do particularly well and what our particular strength is in our approach, but also what you don't do. What don't you do? What is the thing that you're like, mm, I don't do that. That's not my thing. I just don't do that. Other people do that. That's great, but that's not my thing. Do an honest assessment of yourself and your particular approach so that you can use that to stand on as you step out front. We cannot, I think, I think it can feel like we're taking on the world when it's like, I speak about this whole huge thing and all of a sudden it can feel overwhelming. Like, who am I? Who am I to get up and talk about speaking as a whole, but when I say, I get up and I talk with people about authenticity, how to stand in their authentic voice. Now that I can talk about. Okay. So, and it's not that I can't talk about speaking as a whole, but when I know that my little particular thing, it's much easier to let that drive me out front. Yes. Okay. Awesome. All right. So you're going to do an honest assessment of yourself. You're going to think about the strengths of your particular expertise and then also your limits, what you don't do and what might, for some people's perspective, look like, like a real limitation. But what you're saying is, nope, I'm going to own this little piece. I'm going to let somebody else own that over there. This is my thing and I am standing strong in it. Awesome. Okay. Perfect. All right. Thanks, friends. See you next week. Bye.
