Written by: Emanuela Hall, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
If you’re a coach, creative, or online entrepreneur, chances are, you’re always looking for opportunities to speak to your audience. After all, you’ve been called to something big, something that involves making an impact, and your voice is your greatest tool to do that.
The problem is, you’ve never been great at public speaking. You may have been able to get by up until now, speaking on some podcasts or doing a few lives on your Facebook profile, but you know there’s more you could be doing. You want to use your voice to attract and influence others, but you cringe when you hear it and can’t seem to get the thoughts from your head out of your mouth quite the way you want to.
If you’re ready to speak to larger audiences and grow your visibility with your voice, then these 5 tips will help you do it in a way that easily attracts and influences more people.
Learn HOW to use your voice.
Most people never think about the instrument that lives inside their body. They spend their days speaking in a pitch that’s either too low or too high for their natural voice, thus damaging vocal cords. They aren’t breathing properly, they fumble over words, or they speak in a flat tone. There is so much you can do with your vocal instrument to not only maintain your vocal health but to improve the quality of sound and make it more pleasing to the other. If you’re serious about speaking, it’s worth taking the time to learn how to leverage your voice.
Know WHO your voice is for.
Just like your copywriting, you should know exactly who you’re speaking to if you want your audience to be inspired to take action. If your audience does not feel seen, heard, or understood when you speak, they won’t know you’re talking to them. When you know who you’re talking to, you can speak to their heart. You can tell stories that make your audience say, “yes, that’s me!” When you know your audience, you know what their problems are, what their fears are, and what their desires are. This connection with your audience invites them into direct conversation with you, rather than you simply speaking at them from the stage or screen.
Present like a leader.
You can have a powerful voice and know who you’re talking to, but if you show up tired, nervous, or unsure, your audience will feel it. Ask yourself what kind of energy you want to exude when you show up and speak with your audience. More importantly, how do you want them to feel before you even open your mouth? A great leader knows how to take charge of a room while also making every single person feel important. If you struggle with this, start watching other speakers you admire. How do they sit, stand, walk, and carry themselves? What is it about their presence that assures you they are the authority? Then, decide what qualities you’d like to embody and practice trying them on for size. If you can envision it, you can become it.
Work on your inner confidence.
As a performer, I used to get told I “had a lot of confidence.” Inside, however, I never felt confident. Once I became an entrepreneur and had to start speaking my own words, I knew it wouldn’t work if I didn’t first build my inner confidence. You can master all the techniques you want, but you must also know deep down inside that “you’ve got this.” Inner confidence isn’t just about affirmations and feeling confident. True confidence comes from mastering a skill. Sometimes that means you have to fail over and over again before you build your confidence. That’s the double-edged sword here; you have to have the confidence to speak well, but you won’t just magically get that confidence unless you go out there and do it imperfectly. Often, you have to do it scared first. For now, be confident in what you’re saying. Know your material inside and out, and with time, confidence in your speaking skills will come.
Have a powerful WHY.
Many times as an entrepreneur, you won’t want to show up. You’ll have something booked that you just won’t want to do that day. These days happen to all of us. Having a powerful why is going to be that thing that pushes you past these moments. Maybe it’s that you want to help young girls overcome anorexia. Perhaps, it’s helping small businesses get off the ground. Or perhaps it’s improving the quality of life for dogs. Whatever your ‘why,’ you must feel so connected and on fire about it that it gives you the energy, motivation, and adrenaline to speak about it over and over again. This, along with technique, will sustain you and help you make a huge influence, even when you’re not on your ‘A game.’
Speaking is by far one of the easiest ways to attract and influence people in our modern world. Video content, podcasts, and virtual stages are helping us feel that human connection we so long for. If you’re a coach, creative, or online entrepreneur, go out there and leverage your voice. Use it to make the impact you were meant to make in this world. If you need any assistance, hire a speaking coach who can help get you there. Remember, you got this!
Emanuela Hall, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Emanuela Hall is a holistic speaking and presence coach, an actress, a movement instructor, and the CEO of Creative Wellness (a company that facilitates interactive performing arts workshops for people of all ages). Emanuela is also a homeschooling mama of 2 and, above all, a lover of stories. She believes that creativity matters, that stories unite us, and that everyone's got one to share!
Emanuela found her own story when she struggled with post-partum anxiety and breastfeeding. She turned this experience into her award-winning, one-woman play, My Breast Self. From then on, she became obsessed with helping others to heal, create, and connect through sharing their stories.
Emanuela works with executive leaders, entrepreneurs, and speakers to make a bigger impact by helping them to captivate their audience. She uses body, breath, and voice work to help her clients feel empowered and confident when they speak.
She loves music, food, and dancing on the beach.
