Public Speaking in Business Series with Dr. Samantha DeLoache and Zaakirah Nayyar Muhammad

Hello, happy Wednesday, happy hump day. I am so glad to have you all here today for our 3rd installment of Public Speaking in Business. And I really have been enjoying the series so far, and I hope you have been enjoying it as well. And if you have not caught the previous 2 episodes, I would suggest you go to my Facebook page and scroll down, and you will see the different episodes because this is the 3rd one. Um, it started this past Sunday, we did one yesterday on Tuesday, and we're doing one now Wednesday, and we have another one coming up this evening as well. So you just really want to stay tuned in. But, um, I'm so happy today I have the pleasure of having Zaakirah here Muhammad, and, um, she's going to introduce herself formally. But I've been doing this series to show everyone the importance of public speaking. You can use it anywhere, and most definitely you can use it in your business. So I wanted to invite different women entrepreneurs here so they could share how they use public speaking and just really to encourage you all, because I do have my Speakers Boot Camp coming up next Wednesday, July 17th. So really, um, a week away is coming, and I really want you all— as you can see the link speakersbootcamp.eventbrite.com— you can sign up to get all of the great information that's going to come. There are our weekly Zooms that will happen for 4 weeks For 1 hour. Just give me an hour and we're able to talk and give you tips and different things that will help you become a better speaker and to help you create your own signature talk. So enough of me blabbing. That's the information, that's the link. But welcome, Zaakirah Muhammad. I'm so glad you came today.

Thank you for having me.

Yes. Now tell the audience about you. Tell us everything we need to know about Zaakirah.

Yeah, so I'm Zaakirah, or Zaakirah, depending on where you're from, north, south, east, or west. And my name is Arabic for the afterlife, the hereafter. And then if you end up Googling me after this and you see the word Nayyar, that's actually middle name for bright light. And the power of the name, right? I was actually saved by a camera flash. I'm a childhood eye cancer survivor, so I can only see you in this one eye right now. So I had a surgical procedure to remove my right eye, and I've been thriving ever since. And so that also includes becoming a TEDx speaker, being a brand strategist, being the author of a book called Seeing Life Through a Different Lens. And my TEDx talk is called Seeing Life from a Different Lens, so you're welcome to YouTube that. And yeah, I'm just so excited to continue to empower other women to confidently tell their story both online and offline.

Wow, that was a mouthful. Well, congratulations, and you are a true testament of not looking like what you've been through. So, you know, you're here, you're thriving, like you said— author, TEDx speaker. I mean, I'm trying to get to your level, so that's amazing. So kudos to you and everything, and again, thank you for being here. So I'm gonna get right into it.

Why do you believe public speaking is a So I also have a different angle, not just as a business professional, but as you, as a woman, as a marginalized human being. Because just like you said, I don't look like what I go through, right? But I feel like the more you hold on to that— one of the reasons why is because I've learned to just kind of put my story out there, to confidently tell my stories, and not from a victim perspective, but from the fact that I've healed from this side of the trauma, and I know that sharing my story with you can help you heal too. So then flipping it over to the business side, you know, as you've heard my talk, my book, and I actually forgot to mention I have a podcast too called See Life Different. All of it is under the same name, the same umbrella. And so when people can then associate you with a certain name aside from your own, that's also super crucial for building your own brand.

Wow, and that's so cool because I love it. There is continuity, and that's how I feel with building my brand, Modeling Pharmacists, and I have my Model Speakers Academy. So I think it's very important for brand recognition, for you being trusted, the reliability, the consistency— that all plays a major part. And then, like you said, using your voice to tell your story, because a lot of what we go through is not for us but it's for someone else. And so if we're not able to speak about it publicly or privately, then we're not able to really help anybody.

Absolutely.

Yes. And so the next question is, can you share a personal experience where effective public speaking significantly impacted your career or business?

I feel like I'll start with what just happened, like how I met you was during Essence Fest weekend. Uh, Lily Mae's Glambitious brand And honestly, I think I was reflecting on the fact that technically I crossed paths, at least digitally first, with Lily Mae was when I was— I wasn't always a speaker, I was a photographer first, but I had to speak up, right? I had to advocate for myself and talk to models and tell them how to, you know, be confident in their poses and stuff. And so it starts with those connections. So the fact that I was able to build that connection with, you know, Glamvicious and Lily Mae and and ended up meeting you and continued to take that from— I'm still empowering women even though I'm not photographing them. I'm still empowering them. And so being able to land on stages because I was consistent enough, you know, Lilly Mae was most likely watching me. That's why she let me in to the club, you know. So being able to be consistent and just realizing that your connections are super powerful.

Right. And I love how you said the connections. And exactly, we literally met each other this past weekend. and already we're doing a talk together. So we have to be willing to open our mouths, like you said earlier, speak up and step out of our comfort zones, because it is a little nerve-wracking, or you're not sure how you're going to be received, perceived. And sometimes we allow that fear to hold us back. But I have learned that the word no means next opportunity or new opportunity. So that wasn't, you know, meant for you. So don't allow the nos or the possible rejection to hold you back, but just press forward. Because if you don't open your mouth, you don't ask, you don't speak up, you don't know what you could, you know, have happen, who you can meet, and what that could turn into. And so you just have to be willing to talk about it. So that's, that's definitely a blessing. Like how you said, it is in real time impacting both of us being able to speak publicly and be willing to connect. So that's so cool. So my next question is What are some common public speaking challenges that business professionals face and how do you think they can overcome them?

Yeah, I think the first one is kind of piggybacking on what you just said when it comes to overcoming the fear of rejection, right? I think if I were to mention, you know, as soon as— I'm sure ears perked up as soon as I said TEDx Talk and the questions in their mind is, how do I become a TEDx speaker? And so what I can also realize is from my group of speakers, There were a lot of people that applied multiple times before even getting accepted to that one. So not having that fear of rejection, um, it can be a challenge to overcome. I think I'll be honest, I feel like for a minute I did have FOMO, or fear of missing out, because I just— I didn't know this until later that I wasn't ready at that time.

Mm-hmm.

Because I was still internalizing that rejection or internalizing, you know, other people's opinions. So there's a certain time and place for your opportunity to show up as well. So just overcoming the fear of rejection, understanding that your time is your time as well. And I think from a brand strategist perspective, I think it's a challenge because especially if you are multi-passionate, you tend to forget what you want people to know you for, what you want your legacy to be.

Right.

And so that tends to be a challenge because when you want to pitch or apply, And then you're like, well, what do I say? I'm undecided. So I think that tends to be a challenge too, of knowing what is that one thing you want people to know you for.

Wow. Now, again, you've been saying mouthfuls all afternoon. Having to overcome the rejection and then having to admit that you're not ready, maybe that was powerful because sometimes we think we're ready, but maybe we're not. Maybe we need to do a little more work, more research, more building, more preparing. And there's nothing wrong with that. So that's cool. And then also being okay to get the rejections. Like you said, many people don't get what they want the first time. It's a journey. And what we see is the final product or the ta-da, the ending, but we have no idea how much preparation, how much pain, tears, sweat, hard work went into people getting that finally. You know what I'm saying? It's a progress. It's a journey. And like you said, what one person's path is may not be the next person. And so a lot of times we want people's results, but we don't want the process that they had to go through to get there. And everybody has a process, everybody has a journey. And, you know, like the saying goes, you know, you see my story but you don't— or you see my glory but you don't know my story. You don't know what I did to get to that, that point. So that's, that's very, very beautiful what you shared. And, um, my last question is, what is one essential tip you would give to someone looking to improve their public speaking skills?

One tip that I want to give for someone looking to improve their public speaking skills is really to get out there. I think I see it a lot too where, um, the introvertedness, the shyness will kind of overcome, and then you're not even speaking just among your, your circle, right? Um, so I think make sure that you put that shyness or introvertedness To the side. Any insecurities that you have about public speaking, about your voice, put that to the side because you got to take that baby step and get out there first. I think I'll be honest because as a part of my cancer diagnosis, the radiation treatment affected my hearing. So I lost— I'm hearing impaired as well. And so if it wasn't for me having speech therapists also too, that kind of boosts my confidence a little bit as well. I've had some training and development, you know, with speaking, especially with being a podcast speaker. And actually, one of the other, other things that I do is I'm a media correspondent. So that means I'm on the radio. So I got to slow down and pace myself and make sure, you know, I used to be a thumb sucker when I was a baby. So I got an overbite. It's still there. So, you know, making sure that you can hear my S's and my Z's and things of that sort. So overcome that fear and insecurity of whatever you have going on about speaking. Um, and then utilize the tools that are out there to kind of get you to confidently boost your speakers, such as the Access to Message program, such as my, my, you know, email series that I got going on. So yeah.

Wow. And like I've been saying, you've been giving us mouthfuls. First step, like you said, was get out there. You don't know what you can accomplish, what you can do until you try. And many people stay in the planning stage, they stay in the brainstorming stage, they stay in that, you know, let me, let me think about it, let me, let me look it up, keep taking notes. And they never actually get from that planning to the actual doing. So you just got to get out there and do it because of course your first try is not going to be the best. But the more you do it, the better you get, the more confident you get. And then also, I like that you said don't be afraid to get help. You said you had a speech therapist. I had a speech therapist when I was in elementary school, middle school myself, because I'm a fast talker and I used to stutter and I would get hung up in my words. And that kind of, you know, took my confidence because, you know, little kids will pick on you or, you know, oh, you stutter. Or what did you say? Or try to imitate you and, you know, make fun of you. But my mom enrolled me into speech pathology in school, and I went, met with the lady, a beautiful lady. Um, her name is Miss Robinson. I can still remember her to this day. And we would go, and sometimes it'd be group activities, and other times it would be one-on-one. But we went through tips and steps of how to slow down, how to swallow before you speak sometimes. or just pause, like just different little pointers that I was able to learn and took through my adult life. And again, my confidence rose, and I don't have a problem, you know, speaking now in front of crowds because I've had the practice, I've had the preparation, I, you know, got the proper training. So it's no harm in asking for help or having somebody who's skilled in the area to help you become better. So if speaking is what you want to improve upon I said in the previous, uh, Zoom that I had, or the message I had, was, you know, YouTube, YouTube University, you know, that's free. You know, there's so much access at our fingertips where you can get information for free. So there's no real excuse where you can't improve. It's just whether you're willing to put the time and the energy in to improve. And then of course, yes, invest in yourself. Like you mentioned, I have the Speakers Boot Camp coming up. You know, you can join that. There are other, you know, great programs and places where you can get help and get training, but you got to make the first step. Like you said, you got to get out there. So are there any, um, things you want to share with the audience on what you have coming up next? Anything going on? Any parting words? Anything you want to share? And also include how we can stay in touch with you.

Absolutely. So I'll start with how you can get in touch with me first, because if you're looking at the screen, my social media handle, my main social media handle is I-L-L-U-M-I-N-O-U-S-O-N-E. Illuminous One. Remember I said that my middle name means bright light? So Illuminous One, that's what that means. But I do have— you'll see other social media handles under my first name and my middle name, Zaakirah Nyar. So you can connect with me on social media. And I have a free email challenge. It's about a 7-day challenge where although the title of it is you'll see when you go to the pages matching your TEDx talk or your first— your talk on your first try. It's mind, body, spirit process to be able to become your own thought leader, to be able to confidently tell your own stories. And so of course there's a little bit of how I overcame and a couple of tips about the TEDx side. But I think what's so amazing about TEDx that people don't realize is it's basically the Super Bowl for public speaking.

Yeah.

So whether you get on the TEDx stage or you do it on your own stages, There's certain frameworks and tools that they help to, you know, make sure that you use and keep. And it really had played a huge role as far as my future speaking opportunities. And so the next thing I want to share, while this is a temporary one, this is going to end August 4th, but, you know, having shared my public speaking journey, my cancer survivor journey, and my hearing impairment journey, I'm also releasing a documentary, but I'm crowdfunding for it. So that I can— I'm crowdfunding for it so that I can continue to tell the story, especially from the accessibility side. I think, Samantha, you were so amazing at the event with being accessible and accommodating because I was hearing impaired, but not all speaking engagements are like that. So being able to have the funds to have the producer, have the videographer, have the editor to share that side of the story, and not just my story, 6 other survivors who have survived the same type of eye cancer that I have. That's only until August 4th. So if, if this is speaking to you and you're like, I want to learn more about it, learn more by going to my website, zaakirahmuhammad.com/documentary.

That is awesome. Wow. A documentary. That's huge. Congratulations. I definitely pray that you get the funding because you're right. Your story needs to be told. And there's so many other people who have disabilities that are visible or not visible that they're struggling with and they need help and they need the support. And we have to just be willing to come together because we're better together and we don't know how we can help each other. We just really don't know, you know, a smile can help somebody, you know. We just have to be willing to—

Right.

Just show up, smile, and be ourselves because we all are uniquely created. And I believe that our stories, our, our past, what we've gone through, everything helps to help shape and mold who we are today. And I don't believe anything's wasted, even though we may not enjoy everything we've gone through. There's purpose in it, and that if we're willing to heal and grow through the situation and go through it and get on the other side, then we have our testimony. And like we know, there's no testimony without a test. So I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation today, um, Zakirah, and I, I hope we are able to work together in the future. I'm gonna put that in the atmosphere, that hopefully our paths will cross again, that we can be, you know, in the same room, same space, and and, um, able to do something with speaking even and, and take it to the next level. So thank you again so much for tuning in. Thank you again, Zakirah, for joining us. And for those who are watching, it's still not too late. Please think about joining the Speakers Boot Camp. That's next week, speakersbootcamp.eventbrite.com, and it tells you the cost there. And if you don't want to pay through Eventbrite, there are other means. And so you can go to my website, samanthadeloach.com, or you can, you know, go to my social media @samanthadeloach, and you can be able to see me. It's spelled just how you see it. But again, this was the 3rd installment of Public Speaking in Business, and we'll have another edition tonight at 7:30 PM. So I hope you tune in then. But as always, just go out, do your best, and, you know, speak confidently so that the world can hear you. All right, thank you.