Own Your Expertise To Better Communicate Your Message

August 11, 2016

There was a time when the thought of chiming in on a conference call would make my voice small and squeaky while my heart would race uncontrollably (even with a team I knew very, very well). A time when having to present artwork to a client or talk about my services to a new prospect would cause me to awkwardly fumble over my words.

And the networking events… oh the networking events! I can’t count the number of times I would sit there, reciting what I was going to say over and over in my head, only to stand up and be so distracted by my pounding heart and shaking legs that I would sit back down (much sooner than anticipated) and wonder if I even said my name right!

Sometimes just the thought of having a phone call, whether job-focused or just to talk about project collaborations, would render me a useless, nervous wreck! I would spend far too much time wondering what they were going to ask me and then how I could possibly respond… And then when the questions finally came on the phone, I would trip over myself because I was trying to remember what I thought I should be saying!

The importance of living in the moment.

One of the most important things I’ve learned in life and business is to live in the moment. This means being fully aware and present for your life, work, and all your interactions. Listening fully and, more importantly, staying out of your head!

When you’re busy overthinking the conversation in advance, what you want to say next, what you should have said earlier, or even wondering what the other person is thinking about you, you’re not truly present and you’re not fully engaged in the conversation. Whether this conversation is a one-on-one call or you’re speaking to a group is irrelevant. The point is that you’re not engaged and your message becomes clouded.

Additionally, if you’re busy overthinking your appearance, trying to say things the way you “think” you “should,” or if you’re distracted by your own nervous energy, people will feel an immediate disconnect. They either won’t get the right vibe or they won’t understand what you’re trying to say or sell to them. Either way, this is no good when you’re trying to build a business around a very important message!

Step out of your head and into your genius.

Where you’re passionate, you flow.
Where you flow, you sell.

When I finally made the commitment to stay out of my head and just be in the present moment, things got a lot better. I’m able to easily answer client and prospect questions, chime in on conference calls with authority, and get up in front of a group of people with much greater ease! Here are some simple steps you can take to do the same:

Stop overthinking things. If you have a call with a big prospect, yes, do a little research and be prepared, but don’t overthink yourself into a fit of fear! If you spend too much time worrying about every little thing that could be said, you will find yourself stumbling and off beat. Don’t plan out everything you’re going to say! If you need to, write yourself an outline for guidance.
Listen. Then answer from your heart. When you’re really, truly present for the conversation, you’ll find that the words flow with enormous ease. It’s an amazing thing. You’ll hear the question, and before you know it you’ll hear this amazing and powerful response coming from YOU. A response that flows straight from your heart and is more powerful than anything you could have crafted beforehand.
There’s no such thing as perfect. Just be YOU! You don’t have to speak eloquently and sound like the world’s greatest speaker, you just need to be REAL. Living in the moment gives you a direct line to the genius and expertise that you already have inside of you. When you feel called to make a difference and drawn to providing society with solutions, you have a direct line to divine creative energy. All you need to do is trust that you were packaged the way you are for a reason and start spreading your message!
Trust the process. The more you talk about yourself and your work, as well as connect with people in groups or one-on-one, the sooner you’ll hone your message. It took many free consultations before I honed in on my super savvy (and non-salesy!) process for turning consults into clients. And it took even more networking events, meetings, and conversations before I really landed on how to best pitch myself and my work. It takes time… and we need to hear it roll off our own tongues enough time to really finesse our wording. Just keep sharing, you’ll know when you’ve landed on your hell yes.