Hello friends and welcome back to another episode of the influencer podcast. I am really excited to chat today about this topic as it's one that I have never spoken about on this podcast, which is crazy because this podcast has been around since 2017.

And it is actually we're coming up on our anniversary of the podcast is actually going to be next week. So I have some really exciting things coming up next week for that episode to celebrate six years of the influencer podcast, which is just crazy.

But with that said today, it kind of blew my mind that I have never talked about this, especially over the last few years when I have been doing more and more of it. And that is of course speaking.

So I started keynote speaking back in 2017 and then of course when COVID hit a lot of that went virtually, but over the past couple of years have started to get back on actual stages.

And I have learned a lot from working with renowned keynote coaches to presentation to articulation to voice to pacing to really understanding your audience and the room and who you're trying to serve.

To falling flat on my face, not literally, but figuratively and a lot of this I have been around the block now when it comes to speaking and I do feel that I have a lot to share when it comes to this.

And so today, I'm going to be sharing with you all what my strategy really is when it comes to prepping and planning for speaking what my process is some really important questions that I make sure to ask before I get into a room or on a stage.

And really how I build up the confidence in order to do this because I know that a lot of you are really interested in speaking. And so I thought this would be a fun topic.

Now a lot of what I'm sharing today is actually going to be included in a freebie downloadable that I've created for you all since I know that this is such a hot topic.

So all you have to do is go to the show notes and click that link if you want to download this freebie.

And I'm going to be sharing a lot today and you're probably probably going to want to take a lot of notes. So I just thought, you know what, let's just create a freebie it's going to make it a lot easier.

And that way you have it all in one spot. So if you want to grab that freebie again, just click the link in the show notes.

Or of course you could head on over to Julie Solomon dot net slash podcast and click the link to this episode and you can find that freebie in there as well.

But without further ado, let's get started.

Welcome to the influencer podcast. I'm your host Julie Solomon. If you found yourself here, it means you are ready to unleash the powerful visionary that lives inside you turning you into an authentic leader who creates influence impact and change.

Let's get started.

Speaking truly is my creative passion and my most beloved form of communication and it's where I really feel myself being pushed and for my creativity and my artistry to come to life.

But it wasn't always this way. I used to be terrified to speak in front of people. I would to flood my words. I would always feel like I was going to say something stupid.

But it really took years of fine tuning it just like with anything. It's like a muscle getting yourself uncomfortably comfortable to take that leap. And I'm a firm believer in always going towards the things that scary the most.

And so early on in my career and I think having a career in PR really helped with this, you know, I would have to speak in front of people and I would have to present things at meetings and I would have to do these things.

And then of course, after years and years of having this podcast, it's really helped me hone in on my voice. And I really found this just love for speaking.

And so when I decided to take speaking very seriously and actually have it be a part of my business. And I wanted to start making money as a speaker.

...