Speaking at Meetups

I was invited to speak at a Meetup group in Pleasant Hill on Wednesday and I’m fond of saying “Give me an audience and I’ll be there.”

There were about 20 people there, all women except one. The Meetup leader, Rachel Capil had asked me to do my “7 Techniques to Thrive in Any Economy” presentation.

I got there early enough to enjoy a yogurt and sat outside in the beautiful sunshine.

They were so welcoming and friendly. I had a great conversation with several people before the group got started, so I felt very much at home.

I love to weave my stories in between giving pertinent business techniques. It allows the audience to engage better with me and then they’re more receptive to the business skills. They’ll remember the information long and they’re more likely to do something with the information.

I speak at my Speakers and Authors every month, but it’s great to speak at other Meetups as well. The groups are very receptive and I have a lot of fun speaking in front of any audience.

The great thing is speaking at any Meetup group is great practice for getting your stories and timing down.

Rehearsing

The first and only time I went to a Toastmasters group they had me get up and talk for 5 minutes on what travel would be like in the year 2010. That was 20 years ago. The only reason I went to the Toastmasters was my mentor Ed kept telling me I had to get over my fear of speaking and I thought the group might be helpful. It wasn’t!

Then I went to a National Speaker’s Association meeting and I was so intimidated by the stories the members told about their level of success I didn’t return for about five years.

One of my Elite Leads members agreed with me about the lack of professional speaking programs and we started our own group. It was great! We brought in people who had an expertise in various areas like creating back of the room sale materials; getting PR; interviewing on the radio, etc.

Eventually I started my own SpeakEasy group where there was actual structured curriculum. I’ve probably taught more than 100 Elite Leads members how to develop their own professional speaking techniques.

And rehearsing is one of the most ignored techniques of becoming a great speaker. One of my speaking coaches told me when I had delivered my presentation at least 50 times, I would no longer look like I was rehearsed.

When you’re able to deliver your presentation and make it sound spontaneous, you’re well rehearsed.