April 3, 2025 • 35 mins
Join Katherine Martín-Fisher as she chats with Leisa Reid about her journey in public speaking and its impact on her business success. Lisa shares tips on overcoming fears, navigating paid vs. free gigs, and avoiding common mistakes. They discuss market opportunities, virtual speaking, handling rejection, and client acquisition. Discover insights on keynote vs. regular roles and virtual vs. in-person formats. Lisa offers advice for aspiring speakers on crafting offerings, event prep, and targeting the right clients. The episode wraps up with Leisa's future plans, contact info, and final advice for listeners.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
I am Katherine Martín-Fisher, and I helpbusiness owners who have lost their vision
because they're struggling with cash flow,sales, and marketing, which also affects their
company culture, by showing them how toimplement proven systems that increase their
revenue by 30% in 90 days, thus allowing themto reignite the passion and that big dream that
(00:27):
they started with.
So the reason that I started this podcast wasto celebrate businesses that have overcome
adversity and have come out on the other sideof it.
And I want you to know that you are not alone.
Good afternoon.
This is Katherine, your host with The BeyondBusiness Podcast.
(00:48):
I'm excited to invite Leisa Reid to speak withus here today.
So Leisa is the founder of Get Speaking GigsNow and the CEO of the International Speaker
Network.
She specializes in training individuals toutilize public speaking as a strategy to grow
their businesses and to attract ideal clients.
(01:10):
This is gonna be a great conversation becauseyou know what?
In business, we always are looking for how toattract our ideal clients.
So welcome, Leisa.
Thank you, Katherine.
Excited to be here.
So tell me a little bit about how you startedin your speed in your
I actually started at 40.
(01:30):
I'm 52 now, and I was invited to work with acompany to help them fill their workshops.
They taught personal development workshops, andthey had been around a long time.
They're still around in many decades.
And the way that they did that was throughspeaking.
You would give an audience an experience ofwhat a workshop would be like that would be
(01:51):
really meaningful and really powerful.
And so for me, I was like, that is an awesomeway to change careers.
I was changing careers, and I've always enjoyedteaching.
I consider myself a teacher disguised as aspeaker.
And I booked 83 speaking engagements that firstyear and brought in hundreds of clients and
just kept rinse and repeating that.
(02:12):
And eventually, people asked me to help themwith that.
And so that's how I started Get Speaking GigsNow.
So, okay.
How about your personal benefits from speakingengagements in your business?
My personal benefits from speaking in mybusiness?
Well, I meet amazing clients and I meet amazingpeople and meet friends.
(02:34):
For me, it's very fulfilling.
A lot of people have that desire to speak.
A lot of people don't.
That's okay.
It's not for everybody.
But for me, I feel like it's like the soberhigh.
You know what I mean?
You can feel so, like, buzzing and giddy andfulfilled through speaking.
(02:56):
And that is a very similar quality.
I'll hear my clients come and tell me, like,before they start working with me, they'll say,
oh my gosh.
Like, I just love it so much.
I could be on stage all day.
I get so excited, and that is a real thing.
Nearly every single person I work with has thatsame experience.
So if you have to do sales and marketing foryour business, why not do something that's
(03:17):
really fulfilling, really jazzes you up?
Whether it's, you know, for other people, itmight be writing or hosting a podcast or
something else entirely.
But for those of us who like to speak, it isreally fun.
So how do you help people to overcome the fearof doing this?
Because, you know, like you just said, youhave, you know, if you're needing to do sales,
(03:40):
marketing, anything like that for yourbusiness, how do you help them overcome that
when you're like, so you say there are peoplewho just love to speak, but there is always a
beginning point of how you get started on thatjourney.
And so did you have any fears yourself when youfirst started?
Well, let me answer the first question.
How do I help people overcome the fear ofspeaking?
Usually, if people are terrified of speaking,we aren't in conversation.
(04:03):
Right?
They find another way to do sales andmarketing.
Usually, the people who are coming to me, theyand they might have some fears.
I call it speaker's kryptonite where they'relike a little like, oh, gosh.
I don't know.
Is anyone going to wanna hear my message?
Who would I speak to?
What would I speak about?
How do I sell?
Is this gonna work?
So those kind of fears, but not your typical,like, fear of public speaking fears.
(04:23):
And so how how we combat that is we start toget really clear.
What is the message you're gonna share?
Who are you going to be speaking in front of?
How do you monetize what you're gonna do thatmatches not only your personality, your
business, but your financial goals and yourlifestyle goals?
Like, how do we match all that?
So that helps to calm the fear and increase theconfidence, which anytime you're more certain
(04:45):
you're feeling like, oh yeah, I could do this.
Then of course it's going to become easier forsomebody to walk through that door.
The other question you said, did I ever haveany fear of public speaking?
No.
I did not.
But I can relate to feeling intimidated.
I can relate to feeling nervous.
I still have that experience of feeling nervoussometimes before a certain kind of engagement.
(05:09):
What I know about our humanness is thatdifferent things trigger us for different
reasons, different timing.
Some people would rather speak in front of agroup of strangers.
Some people would rather speak in front ofpeople they know.
Like, the opposite will freak out the person.
Right?
For me, I often find that I get more nervouswhen I know it's gonna be a larger crowd or if
(05:33):
it's going to be a crowd of my peers, which isinteresting.
Like, I have no issues speaking in front ofstrangers.
That to me is, like, the easiest one.
But as I get closer, like, speaking in front ofmy peers or people that I know, I find that
more nerve-wracking.
I will still do it, but we all have ourdifferent things that make us nervous.
That's so interesting because I feel like I'mthe same way.
(05:55):
I could do anything in front of strangers, butthen when you have people that you know, it's
almost like there's a higher expectation ofoneself.
Yeah.
They're like risk, you know.
Yeah.
So let me ask you.
When you are working with people, would yousuggest doing speaking engagements that are
paid speaking engagements or free speakingengagements?
(06:18):
Great question.
I look at it a little differently than that.
What we do is we figure out what is theperson's business expertise, personality,
lifestyle, like, what are we bringing to thetable?
What makes the most sense for the business?
What makes the most sense for the person?
Because, honestly, you can make quite oftenmore money speaking for free than for paid
(06:39):
speaking engagements, especially if you'renewer in the speaking world.
For some people, it makes sense to do a mixtureof those different strategies.
And so you can take your same message, but justcater it to the different scenarios.
So I think it depends.
Okay.
Now could you give me and maybe give ouraudience an example, just two to three things
(07:04):
that would be key points if they wanted tostart speaking as to what would be the best way
to begin that journey?
So the two or three points of how you wouldactually start to create a talk, I think is
what you're asking.
And the first thing I say is, well, think aboutwhat are three things that people are always
(07:25):
asking you about or three things that you'realways explaining.
It might be myths in your industry or, like,misunderstandings or something that you think
everyone knows, but clearly they don't becauseyou find yourself explaining that to new
clients or people that you're speaking to.
That's a good place to start.
Because often, if people are coming to you withthose questions, a lot of people have those
(07:48):
questions.
There's a missing gap in that information.
So sometimes when we're really embedded in ourindustry, we forget that not everybody knows
what we're doing all day, right?
It's a new thing.
And that can help open up some of theopportunities for people to go, oh, you seem
like you know a lot about this thing.
You could solve my
Okay.
(08:09):
So then what would you say are the biggestmistakes that people make when they're trying
to get a speaking gig?
I think one of the biggest mistakes people makewhen they're trying to get a speaking gig is
they are making it all about themselves, andthey forget that the person who's hosting the
event or putting it on or is coordinating thespeakers has an intent bigger than just your
(08:36):
content.
Like, they're trying to cater to an audience.
They're putting this whole piece together.
And so it's important to come with acollaborative mindset.
So if I came to the table, I would say, like,well, tell me about your event.
What are you looking for?
What is the audience wanting to get?
What's the audience like?
And let's see if something I have to offerwould be helpful.
(09:00):
Would it add to the event?
And a lot of times, people will come and say,like, here's how great I am.
Here's all about me.
Here's my stuff.
Me.
Me.
Me.
And they're not really understanding that it'sa partnership.
And so especially if the speaker coordinator isgetting inundated with requests, emails, social
media pings, you just don't wanna come off as,like, it's all about me.
(09:24):
You wanna come off as this is a partnership,and I wanna try to uplift your event instead of
just I wanna speak in engagement.
Do you find that we are currently in a crowdedmarket or there's something for everyone?
I think there's something for everyone.
There's literally the good news and the badnews is there's plenty of speaking engagements.
(09:45):
There's so many.
And one of the things that I will help peoplewith is determine what's the right fit.
So I'll say, for example, just because you'resingle and someone else is single does not mean
you're a fit.
Right?
That's just one component.
So what we wanna do, kinda going back to what Ihad said originally, you want to figure out
(10:07):
what your talk is gonna be about, like what'shighlighting your expertise that's going to
give the audience a ton of value.
What is going to monetize your talks the best?
Like, are we talking free talks because youhave an offer that's going to lead to
something?
Are we talking paid speaking engagementsbecause you're going to be in the rooms that
fit that type of model?
And then what's gonna be your offer?
(10:28):
What's gonna make sense?
So we have to put all these components togetherto see what would really be the best path.
And once you start to see the best path, all ofa sudden the speaking engagements, it's like,
oh, there could be so many.
I mean, we can't do hundreds and hundreds ayear.
You wanna think like, well, what else do I havein my life?
(10:48):
What else is going on?
What's a healthy diet for me?
Are we doing virtual?
Is it in person?
Like, two to three a month is a really healthyspeaking diet.
That's a very healthy speaking diet, andthere's definitely plenty to go around.
I love that you mentioned the virtual.
Do you find that there are a lot of virtualopportunities out there?
(11:11):
I do.
When 2020 hit, obviously, I had to make someadjustments just like everyone else, and I used
to speak nearly 100% in person.
I did coaching, forget speaking gigs now.
I coached, and I still do coach through Zoom.
And I did workshops through Zoom, so I didvirtual workshops.
But most of my speaking was in person.
(11:32):
And then when 2020 hit, obviously, you neededto adjust.
I remember booking 50 virtual speakingengagements between April and December 2020.
And I still speak about 50 times a year, andit's mostly virtual, like, probably 90% virtual
for me.
Very nice.
(11:52):
Yeah.
Very nice.
How do you help people or, you know, even whenyou were first starting, if you give an example
of how you overcome rejection?
Okay.
How do you overcome rejection as a speaker?
You just need to get over it.
You need to say, next.
Thank you.
I mean, you know, if you want to set a timerand have a pity party, if that helps, knock
(12:13):
yourself out, if you need to vent to a friendor journal or something like that.
But I think you could agree, Katherine, anentrepreneur, you have to have some thick skin.
And if you don't have it yet, put a layer onbecause you're going to get told no a lot.
And it's not about you.
Like, don't worry.
It's not because you're not good enough.
(12:34):
There are multiple reasons why they might nothave chosen you.
They could have changed the event.
They could have changed the budget.
They could have the best friend of the personwho was deciding applied, and that person got
it.
So, you know, don't take it too much to heart.
There are so many opportunities.
Yeah.
And just go back again next year.
If it's like an annual event, then maybe youcan ask for feedback and potentially get chosen
(12:58):
the next time.
Okay.
How about, would you say that by doing thespeaking gigs, you're able to get more clients
and business from doing that?
Yeah.
Do you get clients from speaking gigs?
Absolutely.
I'll give you a story.
My very first, this is my first speakingengagement when I was 40.
(13:20):
I luckily called up a woman who I'd known foryears, so she, you know, trusted me.
And I said, oh, do you have any places?
Do you know anyone who's got a speakingopportunity?
Because I'm looking to go to share thisinformation.
And she said, well, I do.
I'll book you.
And I said, my gosh.
Thank you.
I wasn't expecting that.
That's awesome.
So I go and I speak to a room of about 10women, all business leaders.
(13:45):
I have an offer at the, you know, this was atthe time I have this offer and a piece of
paper, sign it up, sign up for my workshop.
It's, you know, about $300.
You put your credit card information on here,and this is a long time ago.
And three people signed up for my workshop.
Oh, my gosh.
Okay.
Wow.
Three times 300.
So we're at $900.
And then those women went on to spend tens ofthousands of dollars in that company for
(14:11):
several years.
And that was my very first one.
So if you're looking for a permission slip or,like, a letter to come in the mail saying,
like, you can do it, like, it's okay.
Consider permission granted.
I'm just gonna stamp your passport.
Wow.
Can you share an example with maybe someonethat you worked with that was, you know, they
(14:37):
had this moment in, you know, through theprocess of working with you?
And just give us an example of how they wereable to use that to get more business in their
company.
Yeah.
I'll share a time when I had a client go frompretty much speaking once or twice a year to
five times a month.
And she had spent quite a boatload of money ona coach from in the past to help her with her
(15:02):
speaking.
What was missing for her was she was doing itthe way the coach had said to do it exactly.
Like, she's trying to emulate somebody else.
Right?
When it comes to speaking, no one can do yourpush-ups for you on stage.
Like, it's you, you, and you, baby.
And so I do believe you need to somehow embodyand just be you, but that takes time.
(15:23):
I get it.
So a couple of years went by.
She kept telling me how she wanted to speak allthe time.
I said, well, why are you not doing it?
You have everything you need.
Right?
What she didn't have was the surety in herselfand to be herself.
So when we worked together, we started tofigure out she actually could just sell a lot
more and get better results when she justrelaxed and was her own goofy self.
(15:46):
And once we unleashed that part of herself, sheinstantly got booked.
She just got a paid speaking engagement aswell, her first paid, like, big paid speaking
engagement.
And she's booked, like, four or five times amonth now consistently.
She's filling her programs.
She's got her mastermind going.
She's filling her community, and she's willingto say yes to the opportunities.
(16:09):
That's a, like, a huge 180, huge 180 for her.
So what's the difference between being akeynote speaker and being someone who is just,
you know, who has a regular speaking gig?
It depends.
So I think of speaking as like a deck of cards.
So your question is, what's the differencebetween a keynote speaker and someone who's
(16:30):
maybe speaking to get business?
Typically, a keynote speaker is being paid afee and they are crafting a message for the
audience for a specific purpose.
Maybe it's a conference and there's a theme.
It might be inspirational.
It might be educational about leadership,something like that.
And there's a lot of people who use that modeland are more what I would consider, like, a
(16:52):
full-time speaker.
Like, that's their profession.
The people I work with tend to be entrepreneurswho utilize public speaking to grow their
business.
And this isn't to say that the two don't evercross-pollinate.
They do.
But I'm gonna explain it a little differentlybecause people always think of them sort of as
the same thing.
So when you're an entrepreneur using publicspeaking as a way to grow your business, you're
(17:16):
providing value to the audience.
You're pretty clear, like, this audience couldpotentially have some clients in the audience.
We don't know that we're not mind readers, butwe can use our deductive reasoning to say yes
to the right kinds of audiences.
And then we can give an offer to them to see ifthey want to, you know, invite them into that
next step and potentially become a client.
(17:37):
And by no means are we selling the audience.
Like, we don't want anyone ever to feel like,oh my gosh.
This person, all they did is sell, sell, sell.
No.
You wanna provide a ton of value, but you alsowanna give them that easy invitation to the
next step so that they can potentially workwith you.
That is, you know what?
You're just giving so many great tips for ouraudience here.
(17:57):
How can some what would you say are ways thatsomeone can transition from being an occasional
speaker to being someone who does this as afull-time career?
As a full-time career, I think it does take ashift.
You have to be really clear on your platform,your content.
You're going to up your game in terms of havingsome video, and there's certain things on your
(18:19):
site that you're gonna wanna have.
Oftentimes, at that point, someone might have abroker, like a speaker broker agent.
It depends again, depends on their level.
A lot of times I work with people who want tobe there, but they just haven't done the work
yet.
I think you can learn so much in that firsthundred talks.
(18:40):
It's kind of like I want to play at CarnegieHall, but I've never had a piano lesson.
Like, you gotta do something.
Right?
You have to.
And in that first hundred talks, whetherthey're free, paid, whatever, I don't care, you
learn a lot.
You learn a lot about audience management.
You learn about how to shrink, how to expandyour talks, how to work with different people,
(19:01):
different organizers, different tech problemsthat come up.
All that is part of the learning curve.
And I think once you've gone through somethinglike that, I'm not saying you have to have a
hundred before your keynote speaker.
I don't mean it that way.
But that provides so much foundationalknowledge for a person.
So what are your thoughts on the differencesbetween virtual versus in-person speaking?
(19:25):
So my thoughts between virtual and in-personspeaking is kind of like the Ross Dress for
Less commercial next to the designer outfit.
Okay?
So they both have great things about them.
So the in-person, of course, you're gonna getthat more time with people.
You're getting that real easy physical energyexchange.
(19:47):
You are gonna talk to them before the event,during the event, after the event.
So there's some more opportunity forconversations, potentially more opportunity for
sales conversations as well.
You can get video and have that in the, youknow, video of the whole audience in the room
and things like that.
Now virtual is you can still do the energyexchange.
(20:09):
Right?
You can see all the people's names.
Like, even if you're in person, you can't readthe person's name tag at the back of the room.
Right?
In virtual, you get a little insight intopeople's worlds, and you could wear your yoga
pants while you're speaking.
You could literally click the button on andclick the button off, and you could have, which
I have many times, had three virtual talks inone day.
(20:30):
If I speak in person, I'm gone all day.
Like, that's at least one day gone depending onwhere it is and whatnot.
You can still sell.
You can use the chat so they can click on alink and use the chat to generate sales that
way too.
So there's definitely like, there's pros andcons to both for sure.
(20:51):
And you know what?
That's actually really good because for evensomebody who's building, do you feel like it's
easier to learn when you're starting off invirtual for the practice, you know, doing those
reps versus doing it in person?
Where would you suggest they start?
I think it's easier to go warm market.
So the question is, like, is it easier to juststart if you're just starting out?
(21:14):
Is it easier to start virtual or in person?
The answer is, like, it kinda depends.
If your best friend is leading an event andhappens to be, like, you could speak for my
event, then you're gonna wanna jump on thatwhether that's virtual or in person.
So it's not really the deciphering thing.
There's a lot.
I think it's easier to get virtual gigs becausethere's more.
(21:36):
You don't have to worry about, like, drivingsomewhere and it being in your local area.
For example, I have a client who lives in themiddle of nowhere, so she's not necessarily
gonna go for those in-person speakingengagements as easily as she would virtual.
It's gonna be easier for her to do virtual, andshe's got this great tech.
She's really good at tech, so that works out.
I have other clients who are really scared oftech, so we try to, like, okay.
(21:57):
How can we get you okay enough to where you canshare slides, share your screen, not get thrown
off by anything, you know, buttons gettingtouched, and still provide a ton of value.
That's awesome.
What would you say is something that you wishyou had when you first started in the speaking
(22:19):
environment?
I probably would have—there were so manyquest—okay.
Oh, that's a great question.
What advice would I have wanted when I firststarted?
I got so much support and help.
I guess this is advice I wish other people had.
I was lucky enough to work for this company.
They had a talk ready for me and provided a tonof training on how to deliver it and practice
(22:45):
over and over and over and over and over andover again before I ever did it in person.
They already had something for me to offer, soI didn't have to come up with that on my own.
And I think that's one of the challenges a lotof entrepreneurs have.
They're not sure what they should offer.
So that's one of the things we work on when Ido the Get Your Talk Ready to Rock session is,
(23:08):
like, what are we gonna offer?
What makes sense?
What would you love to—what offer would youfall in love with?
And I think I didn't really have to considerthat when I first started because the offer was
the offer.
I didn't—I didn't—that was up for grabs.
But when you're an entrepreneur and you'relike, oh my gosh, I have so many things I could
offer.
What do I choose?
(23:29):
That can stop you in your tracks before youeven get started.
So for me, it'd be like, I want you to be clearon what you're talking about and what you are
offering.
So, you know, do you help people on theirjourney to create the slides and create, like,
how to deliver their message in formatted waysso that it's comfortable, easy, and their offer
(23:52):
is clear?
Because I love what you just said.
It gets very confusing sometimes.
Sometimes you have so many different thingsthat you can offer, but then you get confused
as to what is the best thing to focus on forthe group.
Yeah.
Creating a call to action in a talk is one ofthe most confusing pieces for entrepreneurs
because we're so in our entrepreneurialvillage.
(24:15):
We're building our empire.
We're so in our head, and then we start kind ofgetting weird about selling and being pushy or
being salesy or being creepy.
We don't, and then we start to retract,especially women.
We kinda start to, like, slowly, slowly retreatinstead of being open to receive.
And so it's a very, very distinctive shiftthere.
So when I help people get their talk ready torock, what we do is we start with the call to
(24:40):
action first, because then we wanna say, like,where are we leading the audience?
Because it needs to make sense.
You don't wanna just confuse people.
And I'm trying to remember the rest of thequestion was about, why do I I did forget the
question.
It doesn't matter.
Anyway.
Well, in in in helping them with their slide,they send it.
(25:01):
Yeah.
Yeah.
The slides.
Okay.
Here because we get we sometimes we have somany offers, and then we get confused there.
Yes.
Absolutely.
Sometimes so what we'll do, I don't say that Iteach people PowerPoint because I don't want to
be like a PowerPoint school, but I have hadclients who don't know it at all, and I have a
template that they can easily start to plug andplay.
(25:21):
And then I'll help them, like, how do youinsert a picture or change a color or put the
font in, whatever?
So I'll show them the basics if they need that.
But then I have other clients who arePowerPoint wizards and or Canva, better than I
am at it.
So that's why I don't put that in my programofficially.
What I do have in the program is let's see whatyou have, and let's fill the gaps to get you to
(25:43):
where you want to go.
Because some people will come with some of thepieces.
Some people are coming with none, some peopleare coming with a lot of them, but they just
need someone to, like, get in their businessand, like, literally help me figure this thing
out.
I need help.
I want someone's eyes on my stuff.
And I think that's really valuable.
I mean, you probably know that when you'reworking with people.
It's just sometimes you're stuck doing italone, and you notice that you're not moving
(26:07):
anywhere, and that is really frustrating.
So we want to get, how can I get to the frontof the line?
Like, get me to the fast track.
I'm tired of worrying about this thing.
Let's get this talk done.
Let's get it out there.
Let me get the confidence to do it.
Would you suggest that people start with asmall audience when they're first starting out
or a midsize audience?
What would you think would be the best way asthey're doing those reps?
(26:29):
So what kind of audience should a person startwith?
I think here's what I would say try not to do.
Your first talk ideally is not in front of yourbest, highest, most valuable client audience.
Okay?
Because that's a lot of pressure for that firstone.
So think of your first few as like a dressrehearsal.
Go to a place that maybe isn't your idealtarget market.
(26:51):
Now that doesn't mean you wouldn't get aclient.
You might get a client, but your pressure isgonna be down.
Right?
It's gonna be lower.
And anytime we do something for the first time,our nervous system starts to react and our
breathing is shallow and we may be shaking alittle bit.
We have that nervous energy.
We may be talking a little too fast.
I do this.
I still do this.
(27:11):
So what we wanna do is go, okay.
How can I make this situation as comfortable aspossible?
It's my first time out.
You know, wanna wanna have a friendly audiencepotentially or something where if all things go
wrong, no harm, no foul.
And then you can just ease yourself in justlike swimming.
Like, you don't jump into the deep end withweights on your feet.
(27:36):
You know what I mean?
You start in the shallow, you get comfortable,you learn your strokes, you learn how to float,
all those things, and then you can start movinginto the deeper waters.
So let's say, who would be your ideal clientthat you work with yourself?
For me, my ideal client is somebody who is anentrepreneur who knows that they want to use
(27:59):
public speaking as a marketing strategy.
They just haven't figured out yet what they'regoing to speak about, what their ideal audience
is, what their offer's gonna be, and how dothey get people to let them have the
microphone?
How do we do that and do that again and againand again?
So most people who are speakers, they also haveto set up a speaking package of some sort.
(28:20):
Right?
Is that true or not?
Yeah.
So how do you set up a speaker package or aspeaker one sheet, speaker media kit?
There's all different ways that that's referredto, and some of them have different things
included.
For this conversation, we'll talk about aspeaker sheet.
That's still a fairly standard piece that mostspeakers have.
(28:42):
Like, if I'm talking to someone and they saythey're a speaker, I'm like, oh, cool.
So what's on your speaker sheet?
And they go, oh, I don't I don't have one or Idon't know what that is.
That would be a clue to me going, that'sinteresting.
How do you not know what that is?
So it's nice to have it because it puts allyour stuff in one spot.
It's like a marketing tool for you as aspeaker.
You're not putting all your programs on there.
(29:03):
This is from the perspective of, I'd like to bebooked as a speaker.
Now back in the day, it would be on a piece ofpaper.
Right?
And often called a one page or speaker onepage, speaker sheets, speaker one sheets,
something those those all kinda mean the samething.
Now you can design it.
It can be on more than one page.
It's nice to kinda have it on one page, though,because, honestly, again, we go back to our
(29:24):
original conversation.
It's not all about you.
Like, you need to tell them what they need toknow.
Do not have them read a novel.
Like, make it easy for them to go, she's thespeaker I want.
He's the speaker I want.
And there you know, it looks like theirbackground fits what we're looking for.
They've got their titles all dialed in.
They wrote a book.
Cool.
I see their book title here, their book image.
(29:46):
Oh, they've been on these media outlets.
Great.
Oh, here's some testimonials.
These are I'm all I'm kinda sharing right nowall the things that you're supposed to have on
here.
And and it's branded.
And, wow, when I go to their website, it lookslike it matches, and their LinkedIn, it all
kinda coordinates.
So that's that would be, like, phase one.
You wanna have that speaker sheet done.
And we talk about that in in the speakerstraining academy.
We go through all those pieces because it'seven even though you're putting together one
(30:10):
sheet, that's not the hard part.
The part is like, what is my bio gonna say?
What is my where are my titles gonna be?
How do I get testimonials?
How do I you know, oh, I've never written abook.
Now I can't have a speaker sheet.
No.
Of course, you can.
We have to figure all those things out.
Does it help when you've written a book?
Because you have you have actually, GetSpeaking Gigs Now, and you help people with the
(30:31):
seven steps in booking their system thisbooking system.
When did you write that book?
I wrote that book.
It actually came out January 2020, Katherine.
How crazy is that?
January right before the world is about tototally change.
I did let me go back to the question.
The question is, do you need to have a book, ordoes it help to have a book when you're a
(30:54):
speaker?
Okay.
Yes.
Of course.
It's lovely to have it.
Do you need one?
No.
Is it quicker to get started speaking than itis to write a book?
Potentially.
For a lot of people, yes.
Sometimes people are working on their book forquite some time.
Some, you know, depends on who you're workingwith.
I can write mine pretty quick now, but my firstone was a longer road.
(31:15):
So if you've already started speaking and youwant to create a book, I think that's a great
way to add to your credibility.
What it really comes down to, and, Katherine,you probably agree with this.
I'm assuming here.
You want all roads to lead to Rome, whetherit's your talk, your website, your social
media, your book.
I have an audiobook as well.
Any of your courses, your community.
(31:36):
Like, you are creating the orbit.
Right?
You're creating this place where people canstart to come in and go, oh, yeah.
I wanna learn from that person.
And if a book is gonna do it, great.
Add that to the list.
Do you need one in order to get booked as aspeaker?
No.
How do I know?
Because I've been booked hundreds of timeswithout having a book.
(31:57):
But it's nice to have one.
So what's next for you?
For me, what's next?
What's next is actually, I continue to do whatI do.
I have the International Speaker Network.
We meet once a month.
We've had that group since February
So as of this recording, it's ten years now.
I work with people in the Speakers TrainingAcademy.
(32:18):
I've been doing that since February 2017.
So I'm pretty consistent.
Like, if you
about what you're doing.
Yeah.
It's like, this is what I do all the time.
I'm on podcasts and speak and always have funthings coming up.
I just did a stand-up comedy thing for thefirst time last month.
So that was kinda fun.
That's actually a stand-up comedy?
(32:39):
Yeah.
So you must be pretty funny then.
I think so, but it was my first time.
So I'm learning.
Just like anything, it's fun to learn somethingnew.
So I'm gonna start taking some comedy writingclasses.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Let's say our audience is saying, okay.
She's really cool.
I think I can learn some things from her.
(33:01):
How do I get in touch with her?
Like, I wanna know how to get in touch withLeisa.
Absolutely.
So how do you get in touch with me?
If you want to get some more tips on how to getspeaking gigs now, which if you've listened
this far, you probably do, you go togetspeakinggigsnow.com/tips, and you'll get
five top tips to get more speaking gigs now.
So that's getspeakinggigsnow.com/tips, and I'mimagining it'll probably be in the show notes
(33:27):
too.
Yes.
And so if someone—let's just say there wereanything that you would wanna leave the
audience with, what would that be?
I would say do what makes your heart sing.
There are so many choices that you can choosefrom as an entrepreneur, and it's really easy
to get caught up in.
I should do this.
I have to do that.
I need to do oh, I need to have a book.
I need to have a course.
I need to do all these things.
(33:48):
And just take a moment and think, what wouldreally light you up?
And that would be a good place to start.
I love that advice because as entrepreneurs youdo, you can get caught up in, you know, have
to's.
Right?
And when you're doing something that just singsto your, you know, that you're passionate
about, which I can tell that you are sopassionate about what you do.
And I'm most certain that you, you know, you'repassionate because you're helping people to
(34:13):
find that passion within themselves and that'swhat they are giving.
And I love what you talked about and beingauthentically you and just doing it from your
soul.
Like, what are you good at?
What you know, just be yourself.
And, so I just wanna thank you, Leisa.
You've given us so many great tips today for usto, you know, walk away with and actually help,
you know, to send our messages out into theworld.
(34:37):
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
So thank you.
And, again, this is Katherine, your host withthe Beyond Business Podcast.
So grateful to have Leisa Reid with us heretoday and just have her share all of her wealth
of knowledge.
So please reach out to her, and her website andthings will be in the show notes as well.
And I just wanna thank you for listening againtoday.
(34:57):
Thank you.
Well, if you made it to this point, then youmade it to the end, and you are my star.
And I just want to thank you from the bottom ofmy heart.
I hope that you enjoyed the conversation withtoday's guest.
And if you did, please leave us a review onApple Podcasts and Spotify, and share this
(35:18):
episode with others who may be interested inthis topic.
Also, please feel free to let us know whattopics you'd like to see covered in future
episodes.
Get in touch in the comments or on RocketGrowth social media platforms.
To have conversations with me, my booking linkis in the comments.
See you next week for an all-new episode.
I am Katherine Martín-Fisher, and I helpbusiness owners who have lost their vision
because they're struggling with cash flow,sales, and marketing, which also affects their
company culture, by showing them how toimplement proven systems that increase their
revenue by 30% in 90 days, thus allowing themto reignite the passion and that big dream that
(00:27):
they started with.
So the reason that I started this podcast wasto celebrate businesses that have overcome
adversity and have come out on the other sideof it.
And I want you to know that you are not alone.
Good afternoon.
This is Katherine, your host with The BeyondBusiness Podcast.
(00:48):
I'm excited to invite Leisa Reid to speak withus here today.
So Leisa is the founder of Get Speaking GigsNow and the CEO of the International Speaker
Network.
She specializes in training individuals toutilize public speaking as a strategy to grow
their businesses and to attract ideal clients.
(01:10):
This is gonna be a great conversation becauseyou know what?
In business, we always are looking for how toattract our ideal clients.
So welcome, Leisa.
Thank you, Katherine.
Excited to be here.
So tell me a little bit about how you startedin your speed in your
I actually started at 40.
(01:30):
I'm 52 now, and I was invited to work with acompany to help them fill their workshops.
They taught personal development workshops, andthey had been around a long time.
They're still around in many decades.
And the way that they did that was throughspeaking.
You would give an audience an experience ofwhat a workshop would be like that would be
(01:51):
really meaningful and really powerful.
And so for me, I was like, that is an awesomeway to change careers.
I was changing careers, and I've always enjoyedteaching.
I consider myself a teacher disguised as aspeaker.
And I booked 83 speaking engagements that firstyear and brought in hundreds of clients and
just kept rinse and repeating that.
(02:12):
And eventually, people asked me to help themwith that.
And so that's how I started Get Speaking GigsNow.
So, okay.
How about your personal benefits from speakingengagements in your business?
My personal benefits from speaking in mybusiness?
Well, I meet amazing clients and I meet amazingpeople and meet friends.
(02:34):
For me, it's very fulfilling.
A lot of people have that desire to speak.
A lot of people don't.
That's okay.
It's not for everybody.
But for me, I feel like it's like the soberhigh.
You know what I mean?
You can feel so, like, buzzing and giddy andfulfilled through speaking.
(02:56):
And that is a very similar quality.
I'll hear my clients come and tell me, like,before they start working with me, they'll say,
oh my gosh.
Like, I just love it so much.
I could be on stage all day.
I get so excited, and that is a real thing.
Nearly every single person I work with has thatsame experience.
So if you have to do sales and marketing foryour business, why not do something that's
(03:17):
really fulfilling, really jazzes you up?
Whether it's, you know, for other people, itmight be writing or hosting a podcast or
something else entirely.
But for those of us who like to speak, it isreally fun.
So how do you help people to overcome the fearof doing this?
Because, you know, like you just said, youhave, you know, if you're needing to do sales,
(03:40):
marketing, anything like that for yourbusiness, how do you help them overcome that
when you're like, so you say there are peoplewho just love to speak, but there is always a
beginning point of how you get started on thatjourney.
And so did you have any fears yourself when youfirst started?
Well, let me answer the first question.
How do I help people overcome the fear ofspeaking?
Usually, if people are terrified of speaking,we aren't in conversation.
(04:03):
Right?
They find another way to do sales andmarketing.
Usually, the people who are coming to me, theyand they might have some fears.
I call it speaker's kryptonite where they'relike a little like, oh, gosh.
I don't know.
Is anyone going to wanna hear my message?
Who would I speak to?
What would I speak about?
How do I sell?
Is this gonna work?
So those kind of fears, but not your typical,like, fear of public speaking fears.
(04:23):
And so how how we combat that is we start toget really clear.
What is the message you're gonna share?
Who are you going to be speaking in front of?
How do you monetize what you're gonna do thatmatches not only your personality, your
business, but your financial goals and yourlifestyle goals?
Like, how do we match all that?
So that helps to calm the fear and increase theconfidence, which anytime you're more certain
(04:45):
you're feeling like, oh yeah, I could do this.
Then of course it's going to become easier forsomebody to walk through that door.
The other question you said, did I ever haveany fear of public speaking?
No.
I did not.
But I can relate to feeling intimidated.
I can relate to feeling nervous.
I still have that experience of feeling nervoussometimes before a certain kind of engagement.
(05:09):
What I know about our humanness is thatdifferent things trigger us for different
reasons, different timing.
Some people would rather speak in front of agroup of strangers.
Some people would rather speak in front ofpeople they know.
Like, the opposite will freak out the person.
Right?
For me, I often find that I get more nervouswhen I know it's gonna be a larger crowd or if
(05:33):
it's going to be a crowd of my peers, which isinteresting.
Like, I have no issues speaking in front ofstrangers.
That to me is, like, the easiest one.
But as I get closer, like, speaking in front ofmy peers or people that I know, I find that
more nerve-wracking.
I will still do it, but we all have ourdifferent things that make us nervous.
That's so interesting because I feel like I'mthe same way.
(05:55):
I could do anything in front of strangers, butthen when you have people that you know, it's
almost like there's a higher expectation ofoneself.
Yeah.
They're like risk, you know.
Yeah.
So let me ask you.
When you are working with people, would yousuggest doing speaking engagements that are
paid speaking engagements or free speakingengagements?
(06:18):
Great question.
I look at it a little differently than that.
What we do is we figure out what is theperson's business expertise, personality,
lifestyle, like, what are we bringing to thetable?
What makes the most sense for the business?
What makes the most sense for the person?
Because, honestly, you can make quite oftenmore money speaking for free than for paid
(06:39):
speaking engagements, especially if you'renewer in the speaking world.
For some people, it makes sense to do a mixtureof those different strategies.
And so you can take your same message, but justcater it to the different scenarios.
So I think it depends.
Okay.
Now could you give me and maybe give ouraudience an example, just two to three things
(07:04):
that would be key points if they wanted tostart speaking as to what would be the best way
to begin that journey?
So the two or three points of how you wouldactually start to create a talk, I think is
what you're asking.
And the first thing I say is, well, think aboutwhat are three things that people are always
(07:25):
asking you about or three things that you'realways explaining.
It might be myths in your industry or, like,misunderstandings or something that you think
everyone knows, but clearly they don't becauseyou find yourself explaining that to new
clients or people that you're speaking to.
That's a good place to start.
Because often, if people are coming to you withthose questions, a lot of people have those
(07:48):
questions.
There's a missing gap in that information.
So sometimes when we're really embedded in ourindustry, we forget that not everybody knows
what we're doing all day, right?
It's a new thing.
And that can help open up some of theopportunities for people to go, oh, you seem
like you know a lot about this thing.
You could solve my
Okay.
(08:09):
So then what would you say are the biggestmistakes that people make when they're trying
to get a speaking gig?
I think one of the biggest mistakes people makewhen they're trying to get a speaking gig is
they are making it all about themselves, andthey forget that the person who's hosting the
event or putting it on or is coordinating thespeakers has an intent bigger than just your
(08:36):
content.
Like, they're trying to cater to an audience.
They're putting this whole piece together.
And so it's important to come with acollaborative mindset.
So if I came to the table, I would say, like,well, tell me about your event.
What are you looking for?
What is the audience wanting to get?
What's the audience like?
And let's see if something I have to offerwould be helpful.
(09:00):
Would it add to the event?
And a lot of times, people will come and say,like, here's how great I am.
Here's all about me.
Here's my stuff.
Me.
Me.
Me.
And they're not really understanding that it'sa partnership.
And so especially if the speaker coordinator isgetting inundated with requests, emails, social
media pings, you just don't wanna come off as,like, it's all about me.
(09:24):
You wanna come off as this is a partnership,and I wanna try to uplift your event instead of
just I wanna speak in engagement.
Do you find that we are currently in a crowdedmarket or there's something for everyone?
I think there's something for everyone.
There's literally the good news and the badnews is there's plenty of speaking engagements.
(09:45):
There's so many.
And one of the things that I will help peoplewith is determine what's the right fit.
So I'll say, for example, just because you'resingle and someone else is single does not mean
you're a fit.
Right?
That's just one component.
So what we wanna do, kinda going back to what Ihad said originally, you want to figure out
(10:07):
what your talk is gonna be about, like what'shighlighting your expertise that's going to
give the audience a ton of value.
What is going to monetize your talks the best?
Like, are we talking free talks because youhave an offer that's going to lead to
something?
Are we talking paid speaking engagementsbecause you're going to be in the rooms that
fit that type of model?
And then what's gonna be your offer?
(10:28):
What's gonna make sense?
So we have to put all these components togetherto see what would really be the best path.
And once you start to see the best path, all ofa sudden the speaking engagements, it's like,
oh, there could be so many.
I mean, we can't do hundreds and hundreds ayear.
You wanna think like, well, what else do I havein my life?
(10:48):
What else is going on?
What's a healthy diet for me?
Are we doing virtual?
Is it in person?
Like, two to three a month is a really healthyspeaking diet.
That's a very healthy speaking diet, andthere's definitely plenty to go around.
I love that you mentioned the virtual.
Do you find that there are a lot of virtualopportunities out there?
(11:11):
I do.
When 2020 hit, obviously, I had to make someadjustments just like everyone else, and I used
to speak nearly 100% in person.
I did coaching, forget speaking gigs now.
I coached, and I still do coach through Zoom.
And I did workshops through Zoom, so I didvirtual workshops.
But most of my speaking was in person.
(11:32):
And then when 2020 hit, obviously, you neededto adjust.
I remember booking 50 virtual speakingengagements between April and December 2020.
And I still speak about 50 times a year, andit's mostly virtual, like, probably 90% virtual
for me.
Very nice.
(11:52):
Yeah.
Very nice.
How do you help people or, you know, even whenyou were first starting, if you give an example
of how you overcome rejection?
Okay.
How do you overcome rejection as a speaker?
You just need to get over it.
You need to say, next.
Thank you.
I mean, you know, if you want to set a timerand have a pity party, if that helps, knock
(12:13):
yourself out, if you need to vent to a friendor journal or something like that.
But I think you could agree, Katherine, anentrepreneur, you have to have some thick skin.
And if you don't have it yet, put a layer onbecause you're going to get told no a lot.
And it's not about you.
Like, don't worry.
It's not because you're not good enough.
(12:34):
There are multiple reasons why they might nothave chosen you.
They could have changed the event.
They could have changed the budget.
They could have the best friend of the personwho was deciding applied, and that person got
it.
So, you know, don't take it too much to heart.
There are so many opportunities.
Yeah.
And just go back again next year.
If it's like an annual event, then maybe youcan ask for feedback and potentially get chosen
(12:58):
the next time.
Okay.
How about, would you say that by doing thespeaking gigs, you're able to get more clients
and business from doing that?
Yeah.
Do you get clients from speaking gigs?
Absolutely.
I'll give you a story.
My very first, this is my first speakingengagement when I was 40.
(13:20):
I luckily called up a woman who I'd known foryears, so she, you know, trusted me.
And I said, oh, do you have any places?
Do you know anyone who's got a speakingopportunity?
Because I'm looking to go to share thisinformation.
And she said, well, I do.
I'll book you.
And I said, my gosh.
Thank you.
I wasn't expecting that.
That's awesome.
So I go and I speak to a room of about 10women, all business leaders.
(13:45):
I have an offer at the, you know, this was atthe time I have this offer and a piece of
paper, sign it up, sign up for my workshop.
It's, you know, about $300.
You put your credit card information on here,and this is a long time ago.
And three people signed up for my workshop.
Oh, my gosh.
Okay.
Wow.
Three times 300.
So we're at $900.
And then those women went on to spend tens ofthousands of dollars in that company for
(14:11):
several years.
And that was my very first one.
So if you're looking for a permission slip or,like, a letter to come in the mail saying,
like, you can do it, like, it's okay.
Consider permission granted.
I'm just gonna stamp your passport.
Wow.
Can you share an example with maybe someonethat you worked with that was, you know, they
(14:37):
had this moment in, you know, through theprocess of working with you?
And just give us an example of how they wereable to use that to get more business in their
company.
Yeah.
I'll share a time when I had a client go frompretty much speaking once or twice a year to
five times a month.
And she had spent quite a boatload of money ona coach from in the past to help her with her
(15:02):
speaking.
What was missing for her was she was doing itthe way the coach had said to do it exactly.
Like, she's trying to emulate somebody else.
Right?
When it comes to speaking, no one can do yourpush-ups for you on stage.
Like, it's you, you, and you, baby.
And so I do believe you need to somehow embodyand just be you, but that takes time.
(15:23):
I get it.
So a couple of years went by.
She kept telling me how she wanted to speak allthe time.
I said, well, why are you not doing it?
You have everything you need.
Right?
What she didn't have was the surety in herselfand to be herself.
So when we worked together, we started tofigure out she actually could just sell a lot
more and get better results when she justrelaxed and was her own goofy self.
(15:46):
And once we unleashed that part of herself, sheinstantly got booked.
She just got a paid speaking engagement aswell, her first paid, like, big paid speaking
engagement.
And she's booked, like, four or five times amonth now consistently.
She's filling her programs.
She's got her mastermind going.
She's filling her community, and she's willingto say yes to the opportunities.
(16:09):
That's a, like, a huge 180, huge 180 for her.
So what's the difference between being akeynote speaker and being someone who is just,
you know, who has a regular speaking gig?
It depends.
So I think of speaking as like a deck of cards.
So your question is, what's the differencebetween a keynote speaker and someone who's
(16:30):
maybe speaking to get business?
Typically, a keynote speaker is being paid afee and they are crafting a message for the
audience for a specific purpose.
Maybe it's a conference and there's a theme.
It might be inspirational.
It might be educational about leadership,something like that.
And there's a lot of people who use that modeland are more what I would consider, like, a
(16:52):
full-time speaker.
Like, that's their profession.
The people I work with tend to be entrepreneurswho utilize public speaking to grow their
business.
And this isn't to say that the two don't evercross-pollinate.
They do.
But I'm gonna explain it a little differentlybecause people always think of them sort of as
the same thing.
So when you're an entrepreneur using publicspeaking as a way to grow your business, you're
(17:16):
providing value to the audience.
You're pretty clear, like, this audience couldpotentially have some clients in the audience.
We don't know that we're not mind readers, butwe can use our deductive reasoning to say yes
to the right kinds of audiences.
And then we can give an offer to them to see ifthey want to, you know, invite them into that
next step and potentially become a client.
(17:37):
And by no means are we selling the audience.
Like, we don't want anyone ever to feel like,oh my gosh.
This person, all they did is sell, sell, sell.
No.
You wanna provide a ton of value, but you alsowanna give them that easy invitation to the
next step so that they can potentially workwith you.
That is, you know what?
You're just giving so many great tips for ouraudience here.
(17:57):
How can some what would you say are ways thatsomeone can transition from being an occasional
speaker to being someone who does this as afull-time career?
As a full-time career, I think it does take ashift.
You have to be really clear on your platform,your content.
You're going to up your game in terms of havingsome video, and there's certain things on your
(18:19):
site that you're gonna wanna have.
Oftentimes, at that point, someone might have abroker, like a speaker broker agent.
It depends again, depends on their level.
A lot of times I work with people who want tobe there, but they just haven't done the work
yet.
I think you can learn so much in that firsthundred talks.
(18:40):
It's kind of like I want to play at CarnegieHall, but I've never had a piano lesson.
Like, you gotta do something.
Right?
You have to.
And in that first hundred talks, whetherthey're free, paid, whatever, I don't care, you
learn a lot.
You learn a lot about audience management.
You learn about how to shrink, how to expandyour talks, how to work with different people,
(19:01):
different organizers, different tech problemsthat come up.
All that is part of the learning curve.
And I think once you've gone through somethinglike that, I'm not saying you have to have a
hundred before your keynote speaker.
I don't mean it that way.
But that provides so much foundationalknowledge for a person.
So what are your thoughts on the differencesbetween virtual versus in-person speaking?
(19:25):
So my thoughts between virtual and in-personspeaking is kind of like the Ross Dress for
Less commercial next to the designer outfit.
Okay?
So they both have great things about them.
So the in-person, of course, you're gonna getthat more time with people.
You're getting that real easy physical energyexchange.
(19:47):
You are gonna talk to them before the event,during the event, after the event.
So there's some more opportunity forconversations, potentially more opportunity for
sales conversations as well.
You can get video and have that in the, youknow, video of the whole audience in the room
and things like that.
Now virtual is you can still do the energyexchange.
(20:09):
Right?
You can see all the people's names.
Like, even if you're in person, you can't readthe person's name tag at the back of the room.
Right?
In virtual, you get a little insight intopeople's worlds, and you could wear your yoga
pants while you're speaking.
You could literally click the button on andclick the button off, and you could have, which
I have many times, had three virtual talks inone day.
(20:30):
If I speak in person, I'm gone all day.
Like, that's at least one day gone depending onwhere it is and whatnot.
You can still sell.
You can use the chat so they can click on alink and use the chat to generate sales that
way too.
So there's definitely like, there's pros andcons to both for sure.
(20:51):
And you know what?
That's actually really good because for evensomebody who's building, do you feel like it's
easier to learn when you're starting off invirtual for the practice, you know, doing those
reps versus doing it in person?
Where would you suggest they start?
I think it's easier to go warm market.
So the question is, like, is it easier to juststart if you're just starting out?
(21:14):
Is it easier to start virtual or in person?
The answer is, like, it kinda depends.
If your best friend is leading an event andhappens to be, like, you could speak for my
event, then you're gonna wanna jump on thatwhether that's virtual or in person.
So it's not really the deciphering thing.
There's a lot.
I think it's easier to get virtual gigs becausethere's more.
(21:36):
You don't have to worry about, like, drivingsomewhere and it being in your local area.
For example, I have a client who lives in themiddle of nowhere, so she's not necessarily
gonna go for those in-person speakingengagements as easily as she would virtual.
It's gonna be easier for her to do virtual, andshe's got this great tech.
She's really good at tech, so that works out.
I have other clients who are really scared oftech, so we try to, like, okay.
(21:57):
How can we get you okay enough to where you canshare slides, share your screen, not get thrown
off by anything, you know, buttons gettingtouched, and still provide a ton of value.
That's awesome.
What would you say is something that you wishyou had when you first started in the speaking
(22:19):
environment?
I probably would have—there were so manyquest—okay.
Oh, that's a great question.
What advice would I have wanted when I firststarted?
I got so much support and help.
I guess this is advice I wish other people had.
I was lucky enough to work for this company.
They had a talk ready for me and provided a tonof training on how to deliver it and practice
(22:45):
over and over and over and over and over andover again before I ever did it in person.
They already had something for me to offer, soI didn't have to come up with that on my own.
And I think that's one of the challenges a lotof entrepreneurs have.
They're not sure what they should offer.
So that's one of the things we work on when Ido the Get Your Talk Ready to Rock session is,
(23:08):
like, what are we gonna offer?
What makes sense?
What would you love to—what offer would youfall in love with?
And I think I didn't really have to considerthat when I first started because the offer was
the offer.
I didn't—I didn't—that was up for grabs.
But when you're an entrepreneur and you'relike, oh my gosh, I have so many things I could
offer.
What do I choose?
(23:29):
That can stop you in your tracks before youeven get started.
So for me, it'd be like, I want you to be clearon what you're talking about and what you are
offering.
So, you know, do you help people on theirjourney to create the slides and create, like,
how to deliver their message in formatted waysso that it's comfortable, easy, and their offer
(23:52):
is clear?
Because I love what you just said.
It gets very confusing sometimes.
Sometimes you have so many different thingsthat you can offer, but then you get confused
as to what is the best thing to focus on forthe group.
Yeah.
Creating a call to action in a talk is one ofthe most confusing pieces for entrepreneurs
because we're so in our entrepreneurialvillage.
(24:15):
We're building our empire.
We're so in our head, and then we start kind ofgetting weird about selling and being pushy or
being salesy or being creepy.
We don't, and then we start to retract,especially women.
We kinda start to, like, slowly, slowly retreatinstead of being open to receive.
And so it's a very, very distinctive shiftthere.
So when I help people get their talk ready torock, what we do is we start with the call to
(24:40):
action first, because then we wanna say, like,where are we leading the audience?
Because it needs to make sense.
You don't wanna just confuse people.
And I'm trying to remember the rest of thequestion was about, why do I I did forget the
question.
It doesn't matter.
Anyway.
Well, in in in helping them with their slide,they send it.
(25:01):
Yeah.
Yeah.
The slides.
Okay.
Here because we get we sometimes we have somany offers, and then we get confused there.
Yes.
Absolutely.
Sometimes so what we'll do, I don't say that Iteach people PowerPoint because I don't want to
be like a PowerPoint school, but I have hadclients who don't know it at all, and I have a
template that they can easily start to plug andplay.
(25:21):
And then I'll help them, like, how do youinsert a picture or change a color or put the
font in, whatever?
So I'll show them the basics if they need that.
But then I have other clients who arePowerPoint wizards and or Canva, better than I
am at it.
So that's why I don't put that in my programofficially.
What I do have in the program is let's see whatyou have, and let's fill the gaps to get you to
(25:43):
where you want to go.
Because some people will come with some of thepieces.
Some people are coming with none, some peopleare coming with a lot of them, but they just
need someone to, like, get in their businessand, like, literally help me figure this thing
out.
I need help.
I want someone's eyes on my stuff.
And I think that's really valuable.
I mean, you probably know that when you'reworking with people.
It's just sometimes you're stuck doing italone, and you notice that you're not moving
(26:07):
anywhere, and that is really frustrating.
So we want to get, how can I get to the frontof the line?
Like, get me to the fast track.
I'm tired of worrying about this thing.
Let's get this talk done.
Let's get it out there.
Let me get the confidence to do it.
Would you suggest that people start with asmall audience when they're first starting out
or a midsize audience?
What would you think would be the best way asthey're doing those reps?
(26:29):
So what kind of audience should a person startwith?
I think here's what I would say try not to do.
Your first talk ideally is not in front of yourbest, highest, most valuable client audience.
Okay?
Because that's a lot of pressure for that firstone.
So think of your first few as like a dressrehearsal.
Go to a place that maybe isn't your idealtarget market.
(26:51):
Now that doesn't mean you wouldn't get aclient.
You might get a client, but your pressure isgonna be down.
Right?
It's gonna be lower.
And anytime we do something for the first time,our nervous system starts to react and our
breathing is shallow and we may be shaking alittle bit.
We have that nervous energy.
We may be talking a little too fast.
I do this.
I still do this.
(27:11):
So what we wanna do is go, okay.
How can I make this situation as comfortable aspossible?
It's my first time out.
You know, wanna wanna have a friendly audiencepotentially or something where if all things go
wrong, no harm, no foul.
And then you can just ease yourself in justlike swimming.
Like, you don't jump into the deep end withweights on your feet.
(27:36):
You know what I mean?
You start in the shallow, you get comfortable,you learn your strokes, you learn how to float,
all those things, and then you can start movinginto the deeper waters.
So let's say, who would be your ideal clientthat you work with yourself?
For me, my ideal client is somebody who is anentrepreneur who knows that they want to use
(27:59):
public speaking as a marketing strategy.
They just haven't figured out yet what they'regoing to speak about, what their ideal audience
is, what their offer's gonna be, and how dothey get people to let them have the
microphone?
How do we do that and do that again and againand again?
So most people who are speakers, they also haveto set up a speaking package of some sort.
(28:20):
Right?
Is that true or not?
Yeah.
So how do you set up a speaker package or aspeaker one sheet, speaker media kit?
There's all different ways that that's referredto, and some of them have different things
included.
For this conversation, we'll talk about aspeaker sheet.
That's still a fairly standard piece that mostspeakers have.
(28:42):
Like, if I'm talking to someone and they saythey're a speaker, I'm like, oh, cool.
So what's on your speaker sheet?
And they go, oh, I don't I don't have one or Idon't know what that is.
That would be a clue to me going, that'sinteresting.
How do you not know what that is?
So it's nice to have it because it puts allyour stuff in one spot.
It's like a marketing tool for you as aspeaker.
You're not putting all your programs on there.
(29:03):
This is from the perspective of, I'd like to bebooked as a speaker.
Now back in the day, it would be on a piece ofpaper.
Right?
And often called a one page or speaker onepage, speaker sheets, speaker one sheets,
something those those all kinda mean the samething.
Now you can design it.
It can be on more than one page.
It's nice to kinda have it on one page, though,because, honestly, again, we go back to our
(29:24):
original conversation.
It's not all about you.
Like, you need to tell them what they need toknow.
Do not have them read a novel.
Like, make it easy for them to go, she's thespeaker I want.
He's the speaker I want.
And there you know, it looks like theirbackground fits what we're looking for.
They've got their titles all dialed in.
They wrote a book.
Cool.
I see their book title here, their book image.
(29:46):
Oh, they've been on these media outlets.
Great.
Oh, here's some testimonials.
These are I'm all I'm kinda sharing right nowall the things that you're supposed to have on
here.
And and it's branded.
And, wow, when I go to their website, it lookslike it matches, and their LinkedIn, it all
kinda coordinates.
So that's that would be, like, phase one.
You wanna have that speaker sheet done.
And we talk about that in in the speakerstraining academy.
We go through all those pieces because it'seven even though you're putting together one
(30:10):
sheet, that's not the hard part.
The part is like, what is my bio gonna say?
What is my where are my titles gonna be?
How do I get testimonials?
How do I you know, oh, I've never written abook.
Now I can't have a speaker sheet.
No.
Of course, you can.
We have to figure all those things out.
Does it help when you've written a book?
Because you have you have actually, GetSpeaking Gigs Now, and you help people with the
(30:31):
seven steps in booking their system thisbooking system.
When did you write that book?
I wrote that book.
It actually came out January 2020, Katherine.
How crazy is that?
January right before the world is about tototally change.
I did let me go back to the question.
The question is, do you need to have a book, ordoes it help to have a book when you're a
(30:54):
speaker?
Okay.
Yes.
Of course.
It's lovely to have it.
Do you need one?
No.
Is it quicker to get started speaking than itis to write a book?
Potentially.
For a lot of people, yes.
Sometimes people are working on their book forquite some time.
Some, you know, depends on who you're workingwith.
I can write mine pretty quick now, but my firstone was a longer road.
(31:15):
So if you've already started speaking and youwant to create a book, I think that's a great
way to add to your credibility.
What it really comes down to, and, Katherine,you probably agree with this.
I'm assuming here.
You want all roads to lead to Rome, whetherit's your talk, your website, your social
media, your book.
I have an audiobook as well.
Any of your courses, your community.
(31:36):
Like, you are creating the orbit.
Right?
You're creating this place where people canstart to come in and go, oh, yeah.
I wanna learn from that person.
And if a book is gonna do it, great.
Add that to the list.
Do you need one in order to get booked as aspeaker?
No.
How do I know?
Because I've been booked hundreds of timeswithout having a book.
(31:57):
But it's nice to have one.
So what's next for you?
For me, what's next?
What's next is actually, I continue to do whatI do.
I have the International Speaker Network.
We meet once a month.
We've had that group since February
So as of this recording, it's ten years now.
I work with people in the Speakers TrainingAcademy.
(32:18):
I've been doing that since February 2017.
So I'm pretty consistent.
Like, if you
about what you're doing.
Yeah.
It's like, this is what I do all the time.
I'm on podcasts and speak and always have funthings coming up.
I just did a stand-up comedy thing for thefirst time last month.
So that was kinda fun.
That's actually a stand-up comedy?
(32:39):
Yeah.
So you must be pretty funny then.
I think so, but it was my first time.
So I'm learning.
Just like anything, it's fun to learn somethingnew.
So I'm gonna start taking some comedy writingclasses.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Let's say our audience is saying, okay.
She's really cool.
I think I can learn some things from her.
(33:01):
How do I get in touch with her?
Like, I wanna know how to get in touch withLeisa.
Absolutely.
So how do you get in touch with me?
If you want to get some more tips on how to getspeaking gigs now, which if you've listened
this far, you probably do, you go togetspeakinggigsnow.com/tips, and you'll get
five top tips to get more speaking gigs now.
So that's getspeakinggigsnow.com/tips, and I'mimagining it'll probably be in the show notes
(33:27):
too.
Yes.
And so if someone—let's just say there wereanything that you would wanna leave the
audience with, what would that be?
I would say do what makes your heart sing.
There are so many choices that you can choosefrom as an entrepreneur, and it's really easy
to get caught up in.
I should do this.
I have to do that.
I need to do oh, I need to have a book.
I need to have a course.
I need to do all these things.
(33:48):
And just take a moment and think, what wouldreally light you up?
And that would be a good place to start.
I love that advice because as entrepreneurs youdo, you can get caught up in, you know, have
to's.
Right?
And when you're doing something that just singsto your, you know, that you're passionate
about, which I can tell that you are sopassionate about what you do.
And I'm most certain that you, you know, you'repassionate because you're helping people to
(34:13):
find that passion within themselves and that'swhat they are giving.
And I love what you talked about and beingauthentically you and just doing it from your
soul.
Like, what are you good at?
What you know, just be yourself.
And, so I just wanna thank you, Leisa.
You've given us so many great tips today for usto, you know, walk away with and actually help,
you know, to send our messages out into theworld.
(34:37):
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
So thank you.
And, again, this is Katherine, your host withthe Beyond Business Podcast.
So grateful to have Leisa Reid with us heretoday and just have her share all of her wealth
of knowledge.
So please reach out to her, and her website andthings will be in the show notes as well.
And I just wanna thank you for listening againtoday.
(34:57):
Thank you.
Well, if you made it to this point, then youmade it to the end, and you are my star.
And I just want to thank you from the bottom ofmy heart.
I hope that you enjoyed the conversation withtoday's guest.
And if you did, please leave us a review onApple Podcasts and Spotify, and share this
(35:18):
episode with others who may be interested inthis topic.
Also, please feel free to let us know whattopics you'd like to see covered in future
episodes.
Get in touch in the comments or on RocketGrowth social media platforms.
To have conversations with me, my booking linkis in the comments.
See you next week for an all-new episode.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!