Does it ever feel like your mind is working against you, like your mind isn't your best friend?

For instance, you're about to step onstage and your brain all of a sudden starts saying to you, "Who are you to be up here? You've got to be kidding me!"

Or the moment before you hit send on a big pitch, your brain says, "Oh, you should really stop kidding yourself. They would never want you as a speaker."

The good news is that you are not alone.

We all do this. I do this, but the even better news is that there's something you can do to remind yourself of who is really in charge of your brain.

Today, on the Rebel Speaker podcast, we have Rachel Alexandria, and she is going to remind us of how we are really in charge of our brains and how to silence the inner critic.

In this episode we discuss:

• How our brains can STOP us from sharing our message (and what to do about)
• Why we place so much importance on what the inner critic says
• Discover how to show the inner critic who is really in charge so you can get on stage anyway
• Why understanding the inner critic is NOT the real you is key to challenging it
• Recognizing and disrupting the inner critics temper tantrum

Being seen.

We speakers crave it.

And yet, at the same time, we are a bit terrified by it as well.

If we get on stage, Facebook Live, a webinar, or a podcast and tell our story and share our expertise, we wonder what will they think?

Then we worry that they won't show up to hear us speak anyway, and if they do, they will criticize us for sharing our truth.

Sharing what we're deeply passionate about is a scary proposition.

It makes us vulnerable. We lay bare and we worry about the rejection of the unseen “they.”

How do you feel the fear and speak your truth anyway?

How do you not let the they get to you and stop you from sharing your message?

I know the speakers that I work with like to share their story to connect with the audience. But that puts us in a place of vulnerability.

On the podcast today, I give you three questions to ask yourself so that you can speak your truth from a place of strength instead of a place of fear.

Comparison.

In this online world. it is so easy to compare ourselves to others.

We've all seen that Instagram post of a speaker onstage taking a selfie with the cheering audience right behind him.

Or the Facebook humble brag post about being upgraded to first class “because I travel so much for speaking #speakerslife.”

These posts are enough to send you on a downward spiral into the jaws of the comparison monster, where we start wondering “why am I not on stage? “

“I have just as much to say as that person. I should be on that stage. “

“I must suck.”

And I get it. I do and did that too, especially when I first started my business.

But we all fall prey to that comparison monster.

So how do we stop comparing ourselves and escape the grasp of the comparison monster so that we can stay focused on creating a speaking business that supports us?

Here’s  one lie that the comparison monster tells us and two truths on how to defeat that monster so that you can start getting onstage.

Desire, it's a yearning.

It's a strong feeling that we just wish something would happen.

As a speaker, you most likely desire being seen and heard, making a difference for people, and getting paid to do it.

But have you thought about what your audience desires, what each member of that collective group wants to have happen.

What they're yearning for?

If you haven't, you should, because desire is the key to opening the door to creating a message that audiences want, that organizations who would hire you need, and being a speaker that everyone is talking about.

Let's figure out what your audience desires, based on how you want to get paid to speak.

Happy Halloween, rebel speakers.

Today, on the most haunted day of the year, we are going to travel to one of the most frightening places on the planet.

It is a spooky place where you spend a lot of your time. It's your own mind.

Specifically what your mind is saying to you and how that is actually holding you back from speaking more.

What we say to ourselves is stopping us from trusting ourselves!

If you're in this place right now of doubting yourself and doubting whether the speaking thing is right for you, whether you should be doing it or not, then there are three actions you can take right now to escape the haunted house of your mind!

"Stand out or don't bother." This quotation from Sally Hogshead has always bothered me.  

Although I believe 1,000 percent that standing out is critical to having a successful speaking business that makes a difference in the world, standing out is a process.

You have to find that message that rises above the noise, and lucky for us, today we are talking to Marc Ensign.  

Marc is a role model for how to make an impact with your message, and how to rise above all the noise that is out there.

As a speaker, Marc has shared the stage with the likes of Gary Vaynerchuk, Chris Brogan, Brené Brown, Simon Sinek, (my imaginary boyfriend), and Chelsea Clinton.

In this interview we discuss:

• If authenticity is just marketing babble or still meaningful to seapker
• Why Marc urges other to “be a Dick” (and it’s not at all what you think)
• How story fosters connection with the audience if it’s done the right way
• How an unconventional approach lead to amazing speaking opportunity
• What to do if your audience gets offended by your message

I'm sure you've been there.

You're watching a speaker, taking notes, you're enjoying it, having an "Aha," moment or two, and then wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am, the sales pitch comes.

And it feels awkward.

You feel awkward, like you should buy even though you just met this person, and they want you to spend $1,295 for their latest and greatest program.

And it feels icky for you, it feels high-pressured. Like you’re being SOLD a bill of goods

And while some people buy, that's not you. (Or maybe it is you; we've all fallen for this once or twice.)

But more importantly, that's not the kind of speaker you want to be.

Yes, you want to speak to market your business, to get clients and customers; it's part of how you're getting paid.

But you don't have to be that guy on the stage, you don't have to speak to sell.

You can speak to convert instead.

Find out what makes a speech that converts a better way to turn audience members into clients on this episode of the Rebel Speaker Podcast.

Confession. I fell for the speak-to-sell lie.

When I was first starting my business and struggling to get my feet underneath me, my coach at the time recommended that I look into a certain speak-to-sell course.

It was from one of the biggest names in the industry and it cost about a thousand bucks.

At that time, I was not ready to make that type of investment, so my coach gave me a copy of her own speak-to-sell talk.

I decided to test it out at my Toastmasters club. Now, the content part of it rocked. It was super. It felt great.

But when I got to the part about asking for the sale, I chickened out.

I totally chickened out. I couldn't do it. I couldn't ask for the sale even among friends, even among people I knew.

This was just practice. I couldn't do it.

The reason why, it's because it didn't feel like me.

It wasn't the kind of person that I wanted to be. It wasn't the kind of business that I wanted to run.

I didn't want to be the person who was telling people to run to the back of the room because it's only a limited time offer. I just couldn't do that sleaze.

And, yet, these big speak-to-sell courses make promises of five-figure speaking gigs and six-figure businesses, all from speaking.

For most of us, that's the wrong strategy.

There is a better way to get clients into your business and we're going to discussing it on episode 74 of the rebel speaking podcast.

Over the summer I’ve been working with speakers who want to use speaking to promote their business.

They’ve been out there speaking. It's been fun, the audience loves them, the organizers who booked them to speak loved them.

It all goes really well, and then nothing happens.

No leads, no sales, maybe a few new opt-ins to their email list, but it feels like the audience forgot them as soon as they left the room, and they're not sure why.

The good news is that it has nothing to do with them or their business or what they sell.  

It has everything to do with the speech because it’s the reason potential clients are running away.

If you are speaking for your business and want to increase the number of people that come into your business from speaking, keep on reading.

There are three reasons why your speech might be chasing clients away.

Tune in and find out on the Rebel Speaker Podcast

To make speaking work for your business, you’ve got to dedicate one very limited resource to it.

TIME!

With all of your millions of things to do, how do you fit speaking into the mix?

How do you create time & focus to get the pitching, the writing and the practicing done?

You start by listening to my guest, Jessica Abel, the author of the book Growing Gills: How to Find Creative Focus When You’re Drowning in Your Daily Life.

Jessica’s mission is to help creatives get the work into the world. Yes as a speaker, you are most definitely a creative.

During this interview, we discuss:

• The real reason you're not getting your speaking work done (and it’s got nothing to do with procrastination)
• Why “idea debt” holds your back from making progress
• One action to take right now to make speaking a priority tomorrow
• How to get back to taking action when life has gotten in the way.