What’s the biggest fear people have?

You may be surprised, but the number 1 fear is actually a fear of public speaking.

And it’s ok to be afraid of public speaking!  After all, there’s lots of people feeling exactly the same way!  But I want to look at why it’s so important for you to speak from the stage, not just in terms of your career, but in ALL areas of your life!

So, Why Are Some People So Afraid To Get Up In Front Of An Audience?

In a nutshell, people are afraid of being humiliated in front of others.

What if you get up on stage and bomb?

This fear can manifest itself in many ways – butterflies, sweaty palms, shaking, panicky thoughts, your heart beating extra fast.  All the usual pre-stage nerves.

And ALL of these are quite normal reactions! To this day, I still get nervous about going up on stage BUT I see it as a good thing.   It gives me a burst of energy which often results in a more dynamic presentation.   And remember, if you are feeling nervous or if it’s your first time and you’re afraid you’re going to forget stuff, get permission from the audience to feel that way!   Ask permission to be a bit nervous.  Ask permission to refer to your notes.  Do you think your audience is going to think less of you?

No!  They’re going to be even more on your side because you’ve opened up to them.  Ask permission of your audience from the word go and you’ll be working WITH them.

So, what else can you do to overcome the nerves?

Practice!  Practice!  Practice!

Most people don’t want to hear this, but the best way to conquer a fear of speaking from stage is practice, practice, practice.

Facing any fear head on allows us to control it, rather than let it control us.

Interestingly, our over-reactions to our fears are often just our brain trying to protect us from what it thinks is a threatening situation. Feeling faint is a good way to keep us off a stage, saving us from the threat of humiliation.

But, the more we experience the “threatening” situation without the harm (humiliation), the more we’re able to extinguish that fear.

Start Small

The point is to practice speaking in front of others, and feel successful at it.
 Start with a small audience of people who love and support you.  And then start to stretch yourself with each speaking engagement.

Along the way, you’ll probably find out you’re better than you thought you were……AND you might even enjoy it.

Ruling Your Life, Not The Other Way Round

No fear should rule you!

The ability to get up on stage allows you to get your message out to many more people.  It allows you to touch a roomful of strangers and more importantly, move them to follow the cause close to your heart.  It allows you to build your customer base, multiply your sales and it brings you heaps of confidence.

So, why not start practicing this week?  Even if it’s just speaking in front of a group of friends?  Who knows how much confidence you’ll get from simply standing up and shining your light in the world.

I have an incredible gift for you today!  My copywriting Super-star friend, Pete Godfrey (alias the Wizard of Words), has put together this report and as I read through it today I knew you were going to love it.  Which is why I have asked whether he would give it away to all of you!  Luckily he said yes.  Here’s an excerpt…

The ‘X Factor’ 
The Missing Link That Stands Between You 
and Fame and Fortune

“Let’s face it, like it or not, you’ve got to agree we’ve become a celebrity focused
society. People thrive on the Hollywood gossip. Just mention Paris, or Madonna, or Britney Spears and you’ve got many people’s attention. Sad but true. I mean, it’s got to the stage now where Paris Hilton is famous for being famous. Go figure hey.

 
In a perfect world, nurses would be paid more than celebrities. Teachers would be on top dollar. But no; we crave entertainment and stars are paid a fortune….

(let’s face it, speakers - we know its the famous speakers that get the gigs right? - Joanna)

If only you were famous right?!!
 
But guess what? You can be famous. In fact, you can easily dominate your market,
instantly becoming the super hero of your niche. It’s easier than you think. Savvy Marketers have known of this “missing link” for years… have shamelessly exploited this secret and are reaping the celebrity rewards on offer.
 
And no, I’m not talking about “being recognised and mobbed at airports” kinda famous – although some do achieve such fame – what I’m talking about is being known in your niche as THE person to see… THE person at the top of the mountain.
This way, when your prospects think of your business category they automatically think of you.

To get the rest of the report and find out Pete’s recommendations on how to “Increase Your X-Factor” in your market place… a strategy you MUST work on consistently if you want to be a profitable speaker… grab a copy of the report for yourself right here…

For more information go to: www.shiftspeakertraining.com/cashcharacters/blog

This lovely young lady, Debra talks about why she loves the Shift Speaker Training web site.

Thanks Debra!

Jo

Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Audience

There Are 4 Key Questions You Must Ask Yourself Before You Settle On a Niche For Your Speaking. 

In the last blog article we determined if anyone is actually looking for information related to your topic and we looked at strategies such as Google Adwords and speciality magazines.

This week, the second key question to ask yourself before you settle on a niche is….

Are They Spending Money?

Are the people in your niche willing to spend money on your topic?

Here’s another way of explaining it.

In the recent Presentations Secret Seminar in London I had one participant wanting to niche in teenagers because he saw his purpose as helping to empower them. There’s one huge problem with trying to sell to teenagers though.  Do they have the money to spend on your product or service?  Even bigger problem is that this one can become a double sale because (a) you have to sell the teenager; and (b) you have to sell the parent with the credit card!

Therefore, even though you’ve picked a great niche, it’s challenging to get the money exchange happening!  If you do want to work in a niche that doesn’t have money to spend- you may like to niche into another area first for your business, and make this “penniless niche” your charity

It’s the same with doctors.  People have always told me that I should niche in personal development to doctors, but I’ve been a doctor and I know what doctors are like.  They don’t want to be told anything!  So, because I had familiarity with this group I knew they were unlikely to pay for my products or services I had specially created for them.  Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule (before you go writing in and telling me about a doctor you know who loves personal development!) but I want you to base a business on rules NOT exceptions.

Here’s three easy ways you can determine whether your niche has money to spend:

1. Market Research the People: Ask those you know personally. You’ve got your niche, you’re passionate about it and hopefully you have a community around you of other people who also share your passion.  These are your market! Ask them if you sold a product that did “x” would they buy it, and for how much?
2. Market Research the Product:  Are people already selling to them?  For instance (come up with an example, either the menopausal women or something new.)
3. Are People Advertising to Them?:  As a general rule you can assume that if people are advertising to a group – that group is buying the product.  You can measure this easily on the Google Keywords Tool I showed you last time.

Now you’ve got your niche and established you have a market, in the next article we’ll be looking at how you can access this market.

Here are my tips for using powerpoint in a effective way for your presentations:

• Keep your slides simple. There is no need to use different fonts and animations.
• Have only 4-5 points to a slide as a maximum.
• Use a plain white background with black text.
• Use only relevant images that evoke emotion, which allows you to land your points home.
• Use images that are clean and sleek on a white background.
• Use a font size that is a 32 pt or more.
• Test your slideshow thoroughly before your presentation at the venue to ensure the colours can be see and audio can be heard at the back of the room, and that everything works as you intended on the equipment there.

Video is one of the best mediums to get your message across as a speaker and build your list. You would notice on this blog that I use it a lot. It allows people to connect with you at a personal level and start to feel like they know you. Then when you have something to offer them they are ready to join your list or buy from you.

Today is the second in our series of “lazy web celeb” grillings where I am interviewing Gideon Shalwick all about video! Gideon is an expert in this area and one of my mentors when it comes to using video on the web.

There are still places to join me on the call, just go to this page and get the lazy web celeb series including a copy of my new book “Our Internet Secrets”.

www.shiftspeakertraining.com/lazy

4 Strategies for Getting More Exposure
Than Paris Hilton – Bare Minimum Effort
without the Bare Bottom

Internet marketing is not my game, but over the years I have learnt enough to make sure that when people hear about me and go searching online- they find me.  As a speaker I believe this is the bare minimum you must have.

So how do you get enough exposure while still keeping your clothes on?

You need to have 4 simple things:

1.    Blog: Blogging is so simple and easy to get set up, and to do that you would be crazy not to have one.  If you missed Vanessa’s article on how to get your account set up on your own name domain- click here for last edition.

2.    Video: With youtube being such a powerful search engine in its own right, and ours being such a TV culture; you would be a fool not to optimize your natural talents as a speaker and get some video out into cyber space. Make sure you have your own youtube channel!

3.    Social networking: It’s really quite the faux pas not to be on Facebook these days if you are in the information marketing game.  Unless you’re a “conscientious objector” in which case I would have to ask- do you want to make money or be “right”?  Learn to use Twitter and Facebook to your profile-building advantage.

4.    Opt-in page: Ensure every bit of online profile you build is leveraged effectively through opt-in pages that build your list.  Your  own list is always the most valuable asset you can have as a business owner- so mastering this art is crucial.

Join me for the “Lazy Web Celeb” series where I will be grilling 4 International Online Experts for the “bare Minimum effort” to maximise your online exposure.  Find out more here…

• Get your Own name registered as a web site or domain name
• Allows your site to come up when people search for your name
• If you can’t get your own name (eg. if someone already has it) get a variation of your name – eg use middle name or initial, or title
• Check the company’s Terms of service or rules when you register to ensure there isn’t any unfair rule, like they will take your domain off you if there is a spam complaint

This video is one of the videos take from inside my Silver Mentoring Program Training Series.  I have released it so that you can see a sample of some of the types of training tips we have inside. 

We are opening the gates on our “Brand New Launch Offer” for the Silver Mentoring Program in 5 days on July 22^nd.  Make sure you read on below for more information.

One of the things that as the most potential to reveal your nerves on the stage is how you use your body.  Even the most powerful presentation can be undermined by using gestures and body language that do not match the message.

In this free public speaking tip I’ll take you into 4 simple strategies that you can use to make your presentation more effective, by using your body, gestures and stage in the best way possible.

I go into:

1. Why some public speaking tips will not make you money
2. How to use your body in a “neutral stance”
3. How to move around your stage
4. Use of the “Satir Categories” to elicit emotional responses in your audience
5. How to use hand gestures powerfully.

Let me know your thoughts on this video! 

On Wednesday the 22^nd I will open the doors on what I believe to be the most value packed Speaker Mentoring Program globally.  Doors will be open on this “Lifetime Mentoring Offer” for only 7 days.  So if you want me on your team for life- make sure you bookmark this page to get the details on the day.

The Lifetime Access to my Silver Mentoring Program is going to be the most extravagant, value packed, over the top product I have ever created.  Why? Because we want to work closely with a small number of highly motivated speakers who are committed to increasing their profits from speaking over the course of their entire speaking career. We want to make a global impact and partner with a small number of speakers to do this.

What’s more, 1 new Silver Member will be given the opportunity to speak at one of my events – with a guaranteed income for a 90 minute presentation of $10,000. 

How?  Do your talk to my crowd- make your presentation, make your offer.  If you sell anything less than $10,000, I’ll make up the difference out of my own pocket. 

If you sell more than $10,000- well- you get to keep the extra as well!

The Lifetime Access Offer Also includes:

1.      Lifetime Access to the Silver Mentoring Program which at the moment includes 64 classes (increasing all the time) on topics as diverse as:

1.  Getting Speaking Gigs so that You’re Booked Solid within 6 Months
2. Increasing Your Sales So You Never Again Worry About Finances
3.  Building Your List So That You Have a Community of Raving Fans
4. Overcoming Fears of Speaking and Selling so That You Become Unstoppable and Irresistable on the Platform
5. Information Product Creation So that You Can Stop Trading Time For Money and Enjoy the Ultimate Lifestyle Business

And much, MUCH more…

Plus you get 25 powercalls with your own personal coach to help you implement all of the strategies you learn from the program.  You can ask any questions at all that you want!

            What’s more I will personally critique your close of your presentation!

2.      The Complete Seminar Marketing Series: “How to Fill A Room”.  For those of you wanting to run your own events discover my secrets to creating sell out events, that can make you between $500,000- 1 million in a weekend.

3.      The BRAND NEW “Blueprint in Action” Webinar Training Series:  I will be running this live for the first time to step you through the implementation of my recently released “Presentation Profits Blueprint”.  You could become an internationally recognized and sought after speaker sooner than you thought!

And loads of other goodies which I can’t reveal til Wednesday!

Make sure to come to www.ShiftSpeakerTraining.com/silver on Wednesday to find out all the details of this program and why you absolutely MUST JOIN the Shift Speaker Training Community.

Remember- it’s open for 7 days only commencing Wednesday July 22^nd, 2009.  Don’t miss out. 1 New Member will get that $10,000 plus opportunity!  We can only take a limited number of people on this intake- so register early to avoid disappointment.