SPEAK YOU Class - a Public Speaking Bootcamp. Huge Success!

 by Sarah Solomon, Social Media, Marketing, SpeakEtc.

 

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of joining Robyn at her first ever Speak You event right here in NYC. During this 4-hour interactive workshop, Robyn dug deep into the world of effective communication, hitting all of its key elements including body language, vocal tone, content writing, eye contact, gesturing and much more.

Participants came from all different backgrounds including a former attorney who teaches Public Speaking; a New York Times accountant; a Military Vet who speaks on Veteran affairs; a Laughter Yoga teacher and more. Each participant had a unique vantage point and story which is what made the class so interesting.

They were all able to visualize, create and present their signature speech in front of each other and receive honest feedback on their presentation styles and left with a clear outline for their Signature Speech.

With Robyn's expertise and creative way of helping others discover their passion, these 8 strangers were able to own their stage with a new found confidence in their content. It was incredible to see how supportive everyone was and see the change in each persons presentation at the end. Empowering and transformative, Speak You was an incredible opportunity to network, learn, create and discover.

If you’re interested in finding out about the next Speak YOU experience - 
Email Robyn! and put SPEAK YOU in the subject line.

Want to get started on your own Signature Speech?  

Download our Speak You E-booklet

Do you have a Signature Speech?

by Whitney Doherty

I'm honored that a colleague at a recent presentation of mine had these great take-aways and wanted to share them in writing. Here's what Whitney had to say:

I went to a networking event recently where the speaker addressed an important topic, “creating your signature speech”.  The event was aimed at women entrepreneurs so it made sense since many of them speak as part of their work or would like to speak more in order to build a bigger following.  I fall into the category of exploring speaking as part of building my business following and would love to be paid to speak so learning about writing that signature speech is a great start.

The speaker was Robyn Hatcher, who is passionate about teaching individuals how to transform their process of communication so that they can express themselves effectively and powerfully.  She is an author and communication skills expert and Founder of SpeakEtc., a boutique communication and presentation-skills training company.

Robyn walked us through what it would take to write a signature speech and I found the information clear-cut and direct.  The outline was easy to follow and it made sense since everything can essentially be broken down into steps if you have a clear objective. At the end, we left with enough information about the hows and whys that I felt excited to give it a try.

The next day, I was sitting in the library and decided to take a crack using the outline to get a draft of my signature speech done.  Within an hour or so, I had a rough draft and I felt pretty good.  Of course, it needs to be flushed out, but it’s a start and that’s exciting.  It was easy to have the steps to follow to show me how to get started.

Many of us may have much more than one signature speech in our repertoire but it felt good to use the outline and try to write that first one.  One of the biggest take aways from the talk was to have something clear to teach – you want to leave people with the idea that at the end of your talk they will walk away changed or with new information. 

While I don’t have immediate plans to speak, it is a goal of mine for a number of reasons.  One, I think it’s good to do something that has a teaching component.  I taught for a few years in the NYC public school system and I think teaching is so important.  I am often inspired by information gleaned from a talk.  I feel if you have been lucky enough to receive an education, it is best to share the information not squander it.

Two, I think it’s good to challenge yourself to speak in front of groups. It helps you improve your communication skills as well as your courage.  It’s not easy to be yourself with many eyeballs on you at once but it’s a very worthy goal and one I have worked on for many years.  And Three, the more you speak in front of people, the more potential customers you are reaching. If done correctly, your speech will give them an understanding of who you are and what you can do for them.  That’s a big win.  In my case, I am a writer and entrepreneur so can see how speaking would support both of these endeavors.

So I’d like to encourage you to learn more about writing your own signature speech. It will help you think about what you have to say and teach you how to say it clearly.  In my case, using Robyn’s guidelines proved easier than I had thought.  So go ahead, give it a try.  What do you have to say?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Dealing with F.L.O.P.S – (Fear & Loathing of Public Speaking)

 by Sarah Solomon
 It’s an often acknowledged fact that the fear of Public Speaking ranks higher than death on the list of people’s worst fears, inspiring Jerry Seinfeld’s joke – “At a funeral most people would rather be in the casket then delivering the Eulogy.”  So where does FLOPS come from and how can we get over it? Some social psychologists think it stems from the primal fear of being humiliated in front of our “tribe.” From an evolutionary standpoint public humiliation could be fatal because it carries the risk of being thrown out of the tribe and forced to fend for yourself. Other people believe that FLOPS stems from a specific  trauma around speaking in public. Wherever FLOPS comes from, there are many encouraging stories of how people have overcome their fears. Here’s an account of how my assistant Sarah Solomon overcame hers. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

I will never forget the first day of my COM 1010 class when my professor handed out the syllabus and for some strange reason I was certain we wouldn’t have to give any speeches

Are You Trying Too hard? Learn the Art of Wu Wei - Effortless Action

Ever watch a presentation or have a conversation and come away feeling like the person was trying way too hard? 

I take a lot of exercise classes at my gym. Recently, we have had a few new teachers sub or introduce new classes. A week ago, I took a new dance based class with a new fitness instructor and found myself NOT enjoying it at all! I felt like I had a perpetual inner scowl and I couldn’t figure out why. I love to dance! I started blaming myself. “Am I just being pissy because the teacher I wanted to be here wasn’t here?” “Am I being ageist”(She was young and I’m not) “Am I being arrogant cause I think I’m such a hot dancer?” or ”Do I just hate and resist anything new?” All of the above could have been true, but midway through the class, the communication skills coach in me wanted to figure out what other dynamic might be playing out here. Maybe it wasn’t all me.

I reflected back on the fact that a few weeks ago, I’d taken the same class with a new teacher and loved her within two seconds. So instead of judging my feelings, I began to question where they might be coming from. As I watched the teacher smiling broadly and trying to encourage us to smile and pose and enjoy ourselves, I realized that she was trying too hard. She was trying to “make” us enjoy what we were doing instead of enjoying it herself and trusting that because she enjoys it, that enjoyment will infect us. Afterward, I spoke to a gym buddy who had also taken the class and she had concluded the same thing.

I decided to write a blog post about the difference between trying too hard and “just being” and then… low and behold, the next day, a friend of mine (I hadn’t spoken to her about this at all) happened to mention an article she’d read in the New York Times that she thought I would find interesting. It was called - A Meditation on the Art of Not Trying (John Tierney, 12/15/2014) and it specifically addresses what I had concluded! Amazing! So instead of having to write this whole post from scratch, I get to use Mr. Tierney’s article to support my ideas! Thanks John wherever you are!