Signature talk. I like to start out a signature talk with a story designed to connect with my audience and illustrate that I was just like are and have dealt with what they deal with. Here is a story I often start my talks with.
At 27 years old I am a haircutting specialist at one of the top 3 salons in New York City. Monthly, our work can be found in fashion magazines such as Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar. We do fall runway collections for designers such as Donna Karen, Perry Ellis and Ralph Lauren. Famous people come in. People like super models Brooke Shields and Christie Brinkley. And rock stars Bob Seger and Don Henley.
We are planning a big hair show for hairdressers from all over the country. We have famous stylists from England and Scotland coming to New York to join us on stage. In the weeks leading up to the show I am extremely nervous about what I will be saying at the show. I ask 2 stylists who do this type of thing – what do I say? They both tell me the same thing – you just talk about what you are doing, while you are doing it. They make it sound so easy, and I tell myself the right words are going to just fall out of my mouth at the right time.
The day of the show is here. I am dressed for the occasion. I am wearing a royal-purple silk blouse, skinny black leather pants, black high-heeled boots. My hair – is perfect.
I find myself on stage next to the salon owner, Marc. There are several hundred of my peers in the audience.
It’s my turn.
Marc introduces me. I am terrified and I panic. I mumble something and go silent. The people in the front call out – we can’t hear, we can’t hear!
Marc immediately realizes what’s going on. He gently takes the microphone from me and graciously says: “I’ll speak for her – she has a soft voice”.
I am both mortified – and grateful. Mortified, because our salon is a global trendsetter and I just froze and royally bombed in front of my peers. Grateful, because I know that I would have done the haircut completely mute and not given the audience what they came for.
I lost my voice that day. That never has to happen to you. It is my passion to work with women to show up powerfully, speak up confidently and get what they want for themselves and their lives.
What do you want to say in a signature talk to your ideal clients?
For starters, when you are speaking to an audience of your ideal clients, you want to share with them and be vulnerable.
What was your journey?
Why even tell share your story, why does it even matter?
Because it helps the audience connect with you.
Sharing your story helps you connect with others, and helps others to connect to you.
Sharing helps people realize they aren’t alone, that others have been in similar predicaments and have come out on the other side.
The key is to share it effectively.
If you’re going to share your story, you need to write from a place of your truth.
Great stories share the pain and the beauty of an experience.
Sharing your story is kind of like being vulnerable and untouchable at the same time.
You can be vulnerable about that version of you from the past, but you’re untouchable about it because you’ve moved on and come out on the other side.
The secret to that is you can’t have any charge on it anymore and have really come out on the other side of the situation.
Sharing your truth with the world is not necessarily easy.
You want to carefully evaluate what you’re going to share.
Will it be universal to your audience?
We live in a society where most of us are struggling with something -whether it’s parenting, mental health or entrepreneurship, but few are willing to come forth and speak their truth.
It’s kind of scary to say that you don’t have it all figured out.
It can be scary to share that sometimes you’ve had no idea what you’re doing. It can be scary to share that sometimes you’ve had no idea what you’re doing. It can even be scary to admit that your life once looked like a hot mess.
We often feel we are allowed to share the good things and only the good things.
The moments that have gone well and, in our favor…the parts of our lives that we can throw up a pretty picture of on Instagram.
But not the messy parts, the hard parts, the parts that twisted your stomach into knots.
When we share our story, we start to find our people.
The ones who get us.
When we share our story, we step outside of our comfort zones…that’s how trust is built.
People relate to, and connect with, our vulnerability.
When we share some of the most vulnerable parts of our lives, there is no guarantee that everyone is going to love us and our story.
There is always the chance of rejection and judgment.
Because we understand what it’s like, what people are going through and we know what they’re going through because we’ve been there.
These will be your leads. These will become your people.
So, share your knowledge and expertise publicly.
Share your story. It positions you as an authority in your field.
People want to hear what you have to say.