Latest / She Speaks to Scale / 31. The Speaking Pattern Holding You Back (And The Four Speaker Identities Behind It)
Transcript
- Sarah Collins: Hello and welcome to She Speaks the Scale with me, Sarah Collins. the podcast that empowers women in business to own their voice, be heard and create impact, one communication insight at a time. a former senior television producer for ITV and ITN. It's my mission to bring the communication skills we need to thrive in today's world of business to the generation of women who simply weren't taught them. Whether it's scaling your authority and stepping into thought leadership, scaling your impact on camera on stage and beyond, or scaling your revenue through speaking opportunities, this podcast will help you use your voice to be heard so you're trusted and remembered when it matters most. Solo episode 29.10.26: I know as a listener of this podcast that you're listening because you're a woman in business who is looking to elevate your speaking skills. you've been asked to go on a podcast, or your role is transitioning, and you're being asked to be more visible. Panels and stages are calling, interviews too, Or you may be running your own business and you want speaking to be part of your growth strategy. When you take that leap, brilliant things can happen. More opportunities beckon. You start to be seen as an authority, someone to be listened to, and you step into thought leadership. You're sharing your insights, perspectives, and opinions. People are hearing what you have to say and are resonating or feeling inspired by you. I want you to sit with how you're feeling about those speaking opportunities right now, and this will be different for each and every one of you. Do you talk yourself out of them? You don't feel like you're ready yet. Do you say yes, then immediately start to worry, they are out of your comfort zone, and that feels really quite scary. Or do you give a confident yes and start preparing? The answer to this clearly tells me where you are on your speaking journey. I work with my clients to help them become a consistent voice in their field, or what I call a visible voice, where you say yes with ease. But the journey to get there can often be a long and quite a squiggly one, too. I've worked with enough people now to notice that similar patterns keep occurring on this journey, and that's what I want to share with you today. I'm a speaking coach, but those that know me know that speaking didn't always come easily to me. I was a really shy child that turned red every time someone spoke to me. I wasn't taught how to use my voice and subsequently spent years trying to find mine. Stepping out of my comfort zone and believing and trusting that what I have to say matters have been pivotal learning points for me along my own journey. Becoming that visible voice and being intentional about where I speak has been at the forefront of my mind for the last couple of years. Speaking is very much at the heart of what I do and also drives my business forward with the opportunities I now get. But that journey hasn't always been an easy one. The clients I work with are stepping into bigger rooms on screen and on sages. They are ambitious, but often something is holding them back from speaking in the way they would like. This is why I use coaching as well as media training and mentoring to get to the root of the cause so that you don't just learn how to deliver one interview or one talk. What you learn and the beliefs that are shifted stay with you for a lifetime. If you've listened to any of my recent podcast episodes, you'll have heard me talking about my speaker identity quiz, which takes just two minutes to complete. The link is in the show notes. I created this because everyone's speaking journey looks different. But the self-awareness that you gain when you understand where you are on your journey really, really helps to understand that you can't just speak on social media one day and then by the Friday of that week, you're on a huge stage. It just doesn't work like that. There are steps to take and stages to go through to get to that place, But it is doable and achievable for everyone. That I do believe in. From my many years of helping others speak with confidence, clarity, and conviction in TV, I've seen the different patterns when it comes to reacting to a speaking opportunity. And I also know because I have experienced each one of these stages firsthand too. I've witnessed women in particular, really capable women, saying no to opportunities that would be a great way to raise their visibility. I've seen the physical nerve show up when you really don't want them to. And I've seen someone speak on a stage and then it's months before you see or hear from them again. As a former senior TV producer, and what I'm passionate about in my work now is helping people become a voice that is listened to, trusted, and remembered. That's what gets you an engaged audience. It gets you increased revenue and it gets you into bigger rooms and booked onto bigger podcasts and stages. With the digital world we are in now, more and more audiences are looking to the voices that are natural and authentic as the ones to trust. So, as speaking as part of your business growth strategy, it's this that we need to strive for. Alongside this, a word I use more often than not is consistency. The voices that are remembered and called upon when it matters are those that are consistent with their messaging. Consistent with their stories and consistently speaking to their audience in one way or another. We could easily hide and not share our voices. It's October right now when I'm recording this. The nights are darker, the days are colder. I have even felt myself detached from my own purpose recently and have felt less inclined to share what I want to say. And that's the thing, once you get going, speaking doesn't stay easy. So we think it's better to just not start in the first place. Keep ourselves safe, safe from judgment, from criticism, safe from being scared and from being out of our comfort zones. If I wanted to stay safe, I would never have started this podcast. but the opportunities that have come my way and the authority and the credibility that I'm building because of it, that's what keeps me going. And I want you to have that consistency too. I'm not saying you have to start a podcast, but just finding your own way of what does it mean to speak consistently to your audience. The seasons change, your energy dips, and the voice that felt so natural just a few months ago can feel a bit out of reach again. Self-awareness is key when you feel this way because it really helps to understand where you are right now, what might be holding you back, and how you can move forwards, even if it's just small steps rather than giant leaps There is no one size fits all when it comes to speaking. So please do not compare your step one to another person's step ten. The steps they took might not be what's right for you. It all depends on your goals, your aspirations, and what opportunities feel right for you. And I feel really passionate about making sure that people are choosing and saying yes to opportunities that are in alignment with who they are and also where they want to go and take their business or their own speaking. not every opportunity is going to be right for you. I talk about being intentional, and that means with the opportunities that come your way, or the opportunities that you are perhaps pitching for to Let me talk through the four speaker identities now so you can see which one or two you relate to. So, firstly, we have the quiet expert. The quiet expert has the experience and the credentials to back up what they say, and they may have had one or two speaking opportunities, but mostly they talk themselves out of any that come their way. They are great at what they do, but speaking about it clearly and concisely is another ball game. They don't feel ready to raise their visibility just yet. I've witnessed many at this stage, and what they need is to dig deep and find out what's holding them back. Once they've worked on this and their beliefs have been shifted, they'll start to trust in their voice, and gradually that no will become a yes. This is the first stage I work on with my clients. We identify and challenge the beliefs they currently hold so they can reframe how they think and start making progress towards their goals. Then you have the nervous yes sayer. Saying yes is not the problem. Opportunities come their way and they agree to them, but they worry about it terribly in the lead up, it's over in a blur, and then they overthink everything they have said afterwards, wishing they had said something else instead. That lack of clarity in their messages and stories means they cannot articulate what they want to say. So every time they speak, it feels like they say something different. What needs to happen here is to get really clear on the messages and stories that are relevant for their business and the audience that are hearing it. When you have that clarity, that's when the speaking opportunities become so much easier. Then you have the stop start speaker. This is a person who is reasonably clear on their messages and story, the ones that connect with their audience and help them become known for what they do. They may say yes easily when opportunities arise, but they wait for them to come to them rather than actively seeking them out themselves. Months then go by and their audience hasn't heard from them, they are unable to build that trust and that inconsistency is costing them momentum. There may be a lack of confidence when it comes to the delivery, which is why understanding how to speak on social media, podcasts, panels, and stages can really help with this. But also, how are they holding themselves accountable to speak consistently, even when life gets in the way? And then you have the visible voice. So this is someone who's actively speaking, and no month goes by without them speaking to their audience. They are hearing your voice in some way. Interviews, podcasts, speaking to camera. It feels natural to them now. They are further along in their journey and are now thinking about bigger rooms and stages. That visibility has to turn into tangible impact and revenue. They've built consistency and now it's about the platforms that they're going to accelerate their authority further. As a senior TV producer, it's the visible voice I would be looking for, the consistent voice across all your platforms. When you think about a speaking strategy, this is what we are aiming for. So which one resonates with you, or better still, complete the quiz to be sure? Once you have your speaker identity, I reveal steps you can then follow to take you to the next level. Whether it's building that belief and trust in your voice, identifying your messages and stories, staying consistent or looking to scale your impact and revenue, These are the stages I work through with my clients. It's what my whole business has been built on. if you feel like you need support, my one-to-one services are tailored for your needs. Because as I said, there's no one size fits all when it comes to speaking. It's three months of support to take you from where you are now to confidently speaking, whatever the environment that you are speaking in. Thank you for listening to this episode of She Speaks to Scale. If you like the episode or you think it will be useful for someone else, please follow and leave a review. If you're looking for support to elevate your speaking skills, you'll find a link to work with me in the show notes, alongside some free resources that you may find useful too. Remember to speak with intention, not hesitation, and let your voice be heard.