Harnessing the Power of Small Moment Stories

07/10/18 • 12 min

Make Marketing Suck Less for Expertise-Driven Solo Businesses

Being seen.

We speakers crave it.

And yet, at the same time, we are a bit terrified by it as well.

If we get on stage, Facebook Live, a webinar, or a podcast and tell our story and share our expertise, we wonder what will they think?

Then we worry that they won't show up to hear us speak anyway, and if they do, they will criticize us for sharing our truth.

Sharing what we're deeply passionate about is a scary proposition.

It makes us vulnerable. We lay bare and we worry about the rejection of the unseen “they.”

How do you feel the fear and speak your truth anyway?

How do you not let the they get to you and stop you from sharing your message?

I know the speakers that I work with like to share their story to connect with the audience. But that puts us in a place of vulnerability.

On the podcast today, I give you three questions to ask yourself so that you can speak your truth from a place of strength instead of a place of fear. Plus, one of the most overlooked places to find your story that connects with the audience.

Being seen.

We speakers crave it.

And yet, at the same time, we are a bit terrified by it as well.

If we get on stage, Facebook Live, a webinar, or a podcast and tell our story and share our expertise, we wonder what will they think?

Then we worry that they won't show up to hear us speak anyway, and if they do, they will criticize us for sharing our truth.

Sharing what we're deeply passionate about is a scary proposition.

It makes us vulnerable. We lay bare and we worry about the rejection of the unseen “they.”

How do you feel the fear and speak your truth anyway?

How do you not let the they get to you and stop you from sharing your message?

I know the speakers that I work with like to share their story to connect with the audience. But that puts us in a place of vulnerability.

Previous Episode

Storytelling for People Who Hate Talking About Themselves

Share your soul stirring story.

Your story? It's your legacy. You must share it on the stage.

You are doing your audience a huge disservice if you don't share your story. Heck, the whole world wants to hear your story.

Or, do they?

Telling your story is very popular public speaking advice.

However, a friend of mine did an informal poll on Facebook asking, "What breaks your trust with a speaker?"

The number one answer was fascinating to me, because the number one thing that breaks the audience’s trust with you, the speaker, is talking about yourself too much.

We have conflicting information right?

On one hand, we have all of these speaking gurus who are telling you to share your story, because that's what's important, and that's how you'll connect with your audience.

On the other hand, you have people saying they don't want to hear it.

What direction, as a speaker, should you go in so that telling your story isn't undermining your speaking credibility and hurting your speaking business?

Find out in this week’s episode of the Rebel Speaker.

Next Episode

4 Types of Stories to Tell Even If You Don’t Like Talking About Yourself

I really don't like telling my story.

Part of the reason why is that I consider myself a fairly private person. And while I'll share whatever with my nearest and dearest people sharing with you - the person listening to this podcast right now - makes me rather uncomfortable. Because I wonder if you really would care if I talked more about myself.

I've sat through too many speeches, podcasts, interviews, and panel discussions where the person on the stage just blathers on and on about themselves and they seem to forget about the audience or why we should even care about what they're thinking.

We have all heard the advice that you should tell your story and I give this advice to my clients all the time as well because it is a great way to connect with your people. It's how you develop your know, like, and trust factor.

But for those of us who are hesitant to tell our stories, let's talk about four alternatives to telling your story that can help you connect with your audience.