eCommerce Made Easy - Growing your Online Business

How to Grow Your Online Business with Public Speaking with Juanita Wheeler

• Episode 105

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If you’ve ever wondered how public speaking could help grow your online business — or felt too nervous to even try — you’re in the right place. 

In today’s episode, we’re talking about how public speaking can open doors for your business, how to get started even if you’re terrified, how to choose the right topics, and when it’s okay to say no to speaking gigs. I’m joined by Juanita Wheeler, an experienced public speaking coach and CEO of TEDxBrisbane, who has helped hundreds of speakers share their ideas with confidence and impact. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your speaking skills to the next level, this conversation is packed with practical advice and fresh perspectives to help you find your voice and grow your business.


Connect with Juanita Wheeler

Juanita Wheeler has coached over 100 TEDx speakers in addition to CEOs, entrepreneurs, authors, researchers and change-makers to deliver presentations worthy of their great ideas. Juanita is a public speaking coach, speechwriter, the CEO and Head of Curation at TEDxBrisbane and the Founder of Full & Frank. Juanita has over two decades of speaking experience, is an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Queensland, and a Global Fellow with the Atlantic Fellows based out of Oxford University. Juanita has three Masters degrees (two in business and one in social change leadership). She’s the speaking coach you want if you’re serious about having your voice heard.

 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/fullandfrank

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/juanitawheeler/

Instagram - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fullandfrank

Website - https://fullandfrank.com/


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Speaker 1:

Public speaking may not be the first thing you think of when you think of strategies to grow your online business, but today's episode is going to inspire you to step into your voice and share your message with confidence Whether you're a seasoned speaker or the thought of a mic makes your palms sweat. And we talk about how you can grow your online business through speaking. Grow your online business through speaking. Today, I'm joined by Juanita Wheeler, a powerhouse in the world of public speaking. As CEO of TEDx Brisbane and founder of Full and Frank, juanita brings deep insight into what it takes to become a compelling, confident speaker. Whether you want to land more clients, grow your authority or build real trust with your audience, public speaking can be one of the most powerful tools in your business toolkit, and today, juanita is here to show us how. If you've ever wondered what to say, where to start or whether you're even good enough to speak, this episode is for you.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the eCommerce Made Easy podcast. I'm your host, keri Saunders. When we started this business, all I had was a couch, a laptop and a nine-month-old my main goal To help others. Now, with over 20 years in the ecommerce building industry and even more than that in web development, I have seen a lot. I love breaking down the hard tech into easily understandable bits to help others be successful in their online business. Whether you're a seasoned e-commerce veteran or just starting out, you've come to the right place. So sit back, relax and let's dive into the world of e-commerce together. Welcome back to the show. Today we have a special guest, and her name is Juanita Wheeler. She has coached over 100 TEDx speakers, in addition to CEOs, entrepreneurs, authors, researchers and change makers to deliver presentations that are worthy of their great ideas and help businesses grow as well. So welcome to our podcast today, juanita. I'm so glad to have you on here.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here.

Speaker 1:

So I gave a little brief introduction of who you are, but I know there's a lot more to Juanita Wheeler. So, in your own words, let us know a little bit more about Juanita and how you came to you know being a speaking coach and just anything else you want to tell us about you.

Speaker 2:

Well, I came to being a speaking coach because I am a screaming introvert and public speaking does not come naturally to me it certainly didn't, and so my preferred format was in writing. I wanted to persuade people in writing all the time, and then I found myself professionally in situations where I had to accept not everybody likes to read comprehensive proposals and decisions aren't always made through documents. Quite often, you know, decisions are made not in the boardrooms but around water coolers, as people will make compelling arguments, which annoyed me. But you know, I got to the point where I was, you know, whinged about that for a little bit and then realized that wasn't doing me any favors. So I decided that I would, despite it not feeling comfortable for me to do, if I cared about my ideas, if I cared about my business, if I cared about my career, then this was something I was going to have to learn to do and step outside my comfort zone. I knew that the type of public speaking I wanted to do which, by the way, if you step outside of your house, you're public, and speaking in public, you're public speaking. So it's not preserved just to stages. So if anyone says, you know, oh my gosh, I'd never public speak. I'm like do you talk while you're in public, outside your house? You're public speaking. Let's just learn how to step it up a little bit so you can also do it in discussions with your boss or with your team, or in pitch meetings or on stages, or with your team or in pitch meetings or on stages. So the type of speaking I knew I didn't want to do was that dramatic monologue glee club speaking. You know all arms. It's not a dramatic monologue that I was interested in. I'm not looking to be a Shakespearean, you know theatre performer.

Speaker 2:

I wanted to do persuasive speaking, speaking that results in somebody saying yes to my idea or my plan or my proposal or to buying a product or a service or investing in my company, whatever it was at the time. And so, being a screaming geek and nerd, I dove into all the neuroscience I could find. So I was looking into studies about neuroscience, neuroeconomics, the science of decision-making, behavioral psychology, advertising politics anything I could find about what makes people go from hearing a message to truly listening, taking it on board, being persuaded and saying yes. And so then I applied that as a guinea pig to myself. At the time. I had different roles, but one of which was working in a multinational based out of Texas, and I just kept finding that my ideas, if I wasn't prepared to stand up for meetings and champion them, then they weren't being heard. So I used myself as a guinea pig.

Speaker 2:

It started working, and then other people would come to me and say, can you teach me how to do that? And so I was doing it internally while still in working in corporate, and then, about 12 years ago, I decided to go and start my own company, which is called Full and Frank, because I am and that's more catchy than comprehensive, but blunt, which would be the other way to describe my style and so now that's what I'm driven to do Along the way. I also started. I was a TEDx speaker myself and a volunteer, and then I started running TEDx Brisbane here in Australia. So all of these things came together, and so now I'm just dedicated. You know the reason I do what I do, and my purpose is to help other people who have great ideas, great research, great products, great services, great businesses that they're looking to champion, to learn how to articulate that and present it in a persuasive way that gets their target audience to say yes to whatever their strategic objective is.

Speaker 1:

Wow, like that is just like I just can't even believe, like everything you said there that is so useful, and like it's just you kind of blew my mind there, juanita, because I hadn't really thought about needing to learn how to do public speaking in in a facet like that in your job, talking to your boss. You know doing sales, you know talking to your customers. I mean I know we do a lot about. You know how do you communicate with your customers verbally or not verbally, but in written form on a website. But to be able to do it in a verbal form, I mean it makes total sense, of course, because you know you do need that neuroscience behind it. You do need the strategies and the techniques and the steps you know to follow to make your what you're saying persuasive. But I hadn't really put it all together quite like that. I just I love how you really put that together and made it such a valuable, useful tool for business owners and I love how you're sharing your knowledge with others.

Speaker 2:

I think that's just perfect and an underutilized, I feel like skill that a lot of business owners aren't learning or using 100 percent, which and I understand why because, like I say, that was the last thing I wanted to do, but reluctantly and begrudgingly I had to get to the point where I realized this is not an optional skill. If you are serious about being heard, about building your personal brand, about championing your company or your products or your services, or trying to get distribution deals, or trying to get your product into a department, your services, or trying to get distribution deals, or trying to get your product into a department store, or trying to get investors all of these things you need to be out there championing your ideas. And that's going to require persuasive speaking, whether you like it or not. But don't panic, it is not something. You were not born a good speaker.

Speaker 2:

You know there's this misconception out there that some people are just born good speakers and some people aren't. That's complete rubbish. It is a skill. It is a skill just like any other skill. It's like plumbing.

Speaker 2:

If you wanted to be a plumber, I would go and find the best plumber I could to teach me exactly how to do it like a master, and then I would practice and practice and I'd get it wrong a few times and then I'd practice some more until I got really, really good, and that is how I would learn to be a really great plumber.

Speaker 2:

And public speaking is just the same. I think the only really big difference is the fear that's associated with public speaking, and so that really holds people back, and there are a whole range of reasons, but the most important takeaway is and I'm biased full disclosure. But public speaking is one of the best ways to grow your business. For a range of reasons, and I can talk a bit about those, but we're not doing it. The vast majority of people are not out there championing themselves and their business through public speaking, and yet it is one of the best ways to establish yourself as a leader in that field, as a knowledge expert, as somebody who should be the first person people think of whenever they think about what your business or your company, the field in which you work. And yet the vast majority of people aren't doing it.

Speaker 1:

So then, playing off of that, then how can could you give us some examples? How can public speaking help us grow our online businesses? Because we have a lot of online business entrepreneurs that listen and traditional e-commerce listeners. So how can they use this skill and grow it? Because it's certainly not something you normally hear about. So I feel like, for a lot of people listening, this is going to be a new concept to them. So how do you go about doing that?

Speaker 2:

So first of all, I will put a link in the show notes because there are a couple of free guides on my page that I think will really help people. One is how to get started in public speaking and the other one is how to grow your business with public speaking. That talks exactly about all the ways in which you can do it. But to give you a couple of examples of how this works really well, first of all, if you are smart and strategic about where you speak, then you get a pool of target audience, of your ideal target audience, your ideal customer avatar, in a particular room that you didn't have to organize. So if I go and speak at a conference and these are my people and I've done my research you know and I know exactly where they are. So a lot of people talk about you know I'm doing these great, you know lookalike audiences and my social media advertising is all extremely targeted. And then I will say to them great, what are the major conferences and events that your target audience attend each year? And they don't know the answer and I'm like, hmm, somebody else who is not you is marketing to those people, is selling them tickets, is bringing them together, is organizing their accommodation, dealing with their dietary requirements and bringing them all into the same room. So, instead of pitching to one person or 10 people, if you get to speak to someone somewhere where there's 50 or 100 or 1,000 people in a room, you've immediately dramatically increased the number of people in your target audience that you are speaking to from a stage. So, first of all, scale is one of the immediate values getting those people in the room and you didn't have to deal with the drama of getting them there.

Speaker 2:

Secondly, anytime somebody invites you to step on a stage and talk about what your area of expertise is, they are immediately elevating your status as an expert in that field. And the more reputable the organization is that's hosting that event assuming it's not you, because then it doesn't really work but if it's the peak industry body or somebody who is incredibly reputable, when they put you up on that stage, you know the peak industry body or somebody who is incredibly reputable. When they put you up on that stage, then everyone in the audience goes oh, this person is incredibly credible, they absolutely have expert status, because they wouldn't have put him or her on that stage otherwise. And there are many, many reasons.

Speaker 2:

But the other great thing is that when you get up and you get the opportunity to champion your ideas and, by the way, if you think about public speaking as selling, it's not going to work you immediately have to reframe and think of public speaking as serving. It's a chance to serve your audience and then they will, as they say, know, like and trust you, your audience, and then they will, as they say, know, like and trust you. Give them something of value, show them you, understand them, show them your expertise, give them a taste of it. And then everyone in that room, the next time they need X, y, z services, the first person they're going to think of is the person who another entity had said was an expert, put up on a stage and helped them.

Speaker 1:

I love that. That totally makes sense. And like, as you were speaking, I realized I accidentally did this earlier this year. I actually spoke at an ad summit and it gained me so many like newsletter, new newsletter subscribers and new people into my Facebook group. I was a bit blown away. I didn't really expect it and they stayed. Like that was like the more shocking thing. You know, I had like 50 or 80 people join my newsletter list and I kept an eye on the numbers and majority of them did not leave my newsletter. You know, after you know the event was over and so I think those the listing I think you know think about outside the box kind of like I accidentally did earlier this year.

Speaker 1:

I spoke at an ad summit and for mine it was a bit it could be a and you can talk to this too, anita, but for mine it was a pre-recorded one and it was virtual.

Speaker 1:

So that's kind of a bit maybe easier way, cause I know some people have a fear of speaking and we'll talk about that next, but you know that might be a good way to get your feet wet. If you're a bit afraid of doing it live, you could do a prerecorded virtual summit Like I did. What do you think about that, especially for people? I know some people get so afraid of speaking in public. I still get nervous sometimes, even though I've done that a lot, for you know, in my career and in my schooling, with being an engineer, we would get up and talk a lot about our projects and stuff. So what, how do you help people come over the fear of public speaking and do you think think something like I did, where it's a virtual prerecorded, might be a good first step? Or or do you think they just should dive right in and just go ahead and do a live type of event?

Speaker 2:

They're both really good questions. First of all, in terms of fear, I think there's something that we really need to just call out straight away. People assume that fear of public speaking is bad. Fear is just completely normal. So if you're you know, they say glossophobia, which is the fear of public speaking. Experts say up to 75% of the population have some level of glossophobia, so you're in good company. But I think the important thing is to know fear of getting up and speaking in front of people is absolutely normal.

Speaker 2:

Fear to me, what you don't want. You don't want paralyzing fear. You don't want fear to the level where it incapacitates your ability to do it. That's not what we're talking about. We want to get rid of that. But healthy nerves, which is how I frame it healthy nerves is a good thing. Healthy nerves is natural. Healthy nerves says I care about this issue and I want to do a good job. Healthy nerves says I understand the importance of me speaking and what potentially will come of it. Healthy Nerves says I respect the audience and I want to do a good job for them. And Healthy Nerves says I care about this topic when people.

Speaker 2:

I am far more concerned and often don't work with speakers if they tell me I have no fear or no nerves about public speaking, because what that says to me is you're not, you know, dialed in to making sure you deliver for that audience. You are no longer excited about the work you do and you are just dialing it in. You know, the opposite of fear is complacency. So that's what I find far more worrying in potential speakers. So if you have fear first of all, totally normal, and we'll talk about, like, the different stages of fear in a second but completely normal but what you want to do is make sure you transition that from you know, paralyzing fear if you have that to healthy nerves, which is very, very good. It can help you, you know, get a jolt of you have that to healthy nerves, which is a very, very good. It can help you, you know, get a jolt of adrenaline before you walk on the stage. It helps you, you know, do a good job. It means that you care and it also can help give you that shove to do the preparation that you should and that your audience deserves prior to going and speaking. So, just in terms of fear, that's a really important preface.

Speaker 2:

There are lots of different ways that you can tackle fear, which, again, perfectly normal. But some of the things. The first thing is you've got to own the fear. People say I have a fear of public speaking and I try to shut that down as soon as humanly possible when I'm working with clients or TEDx speakers. Speakers, because the fear is not of public speaking that's a really vague term and it just when people say that. It sounds like it's final, it sounds like it's forever, it sounds like it's absolute and it sounds like it can never be changed. And none of those things are true. Typically, when people say they're afraid of public speaking, they're not really afraid of public speaking. They're afraid of what will come as a result of them public speaking. So you know some really common ones. I usually I have 10 that I most commonly see in people.

Speaker 2:

I won't go through all of them but for example, there's, you know, imposter fear which is I'm not good enough to be here, and that is actually not a fault of you. The actual original research you might be really familiar with. This was done by a couple of two fabulous researchers who these women were investigating why women, more so than men, who were extremely high performing, didn't think they were good enough and kept downplaying their achievements. And it was called imposter phenomena is how they labelled it, and that's really important, because the reason they chose phenomenon and not imposter syndrome is A it's not a psychological condition. And B the problem is not you, the problem is society. The problem is that society has put all these pressures on you since before you could talk in full sentences, saying don't speak unless you're spoken to. You know children should be seen and not heard. Don't take up space, don't interrupt. You know be smaller, take up less space. None of these things say jump up on a stage and share your ideas. So you know it's really important to own your fear, but to understand that's. You know, imposter fear.

Speaker 2:

You've got people who are afraid that they are going to be exposed as a fraud. You know people are going to find out I'm a fraud People. You've got people who have credibility fear in that they have spent 10, 20, 30 years building up this credibility in the industry and they're worried that if they get up and make a mistake, that they're going to lose all of their credibility with one mistake. So you know their fear isn't public speaking, their fear is losing their credibility. You've got people who are afraid of being judged based on a whole range of factors. They don't like how they look. You know they're not currently happy with their appearance. So many people I understand I've been there and they're worried they're going to be judged about it or people will be cruel. The trolls online are going to go to town.

Speaker 2:

You've got people who are legitimately afraid of success, and they have success fear like what if this goes really really well? And I'm just not ready for what comes next? I'm not sure I want my life to change really well and I'm just not ready for what comes next. I'm not sure I want my life to change. You've got people who have, you know, fear that the opportunity fear which is, you know it's like eight mile M&M. You know I only get one shot ever, and so do I really want to blow my one shot on this particular thing if I'm not ready? And that's not true. There's not only ever one shot, but there. So there are all these different types of fear.

Speaker 2:

You're not afraid of public speaking. No one I have met or worked with has ever. Really, when we get into it, are they afraid of public speaking? They're afraid of something else that public speaking might potentially expose and once we go through it, work through it, name it and then we go. Excellent, there are strategies for all of these things that we can work on.

Speaker 2:

So, for example, someone who says and I get them to do like we do a spreadsheet, I'm a nerd and we have two columns and one is okay. What are you legitimately, very specifically afraid of? And then what are you going to do to minimize that happening? So, someone who has credibility fear. They're worried, they're going to blow their credibility with a single line or an error. I'm like great Not great that you have fear, but great that we're now enabling it. And they might say I'm worried, I'm going to use an incorrect reference or a piece of factually incorrect information and then all my credibility will be blown. I'm like great, col, know, column one, use an incorrect source or an incorrect piece of data and lose my credibility. Okay. I'm like great and column two what actively are we going to do with the time we have between now and then? It's, you know, 40 days away. You can get up half an hour early or an hour early every day and make this work. What are we building in? We're going to fact, check this out, the wazoo. You're not going to use a reference unless you've got two peer reviewed source reference data. You're going to also give it to people who you trust in the industry to also double check you. Cool, now we have a plan, so we don't have to, like, have this vague thing permeating our brain whenever it wants to walk in, you know, inciting fear about the public speaking. No, no, now you have a plan, you're in charge. So, yes, fear you can. You can overcome it, you know. You need to know what you're afraid of. Then we need to formulate a plan and then we need to put it into action.

Speaker 2:

And in terms of your second question about you know, is a recording a good place to start a pre-recorded thing? Absolutely. There are a variety of things, you know. I talk about mindset shifts as a real starting point for if you're going to do public speaking. And the first one is no inane fear, like really like we just talked about. But one of the others is let them, you know if you're worried that people are going to judge you. Just you know, let them is. Let them, you know, if you're worried that people are going to judge you, just you know, let them. Let them do that and do it anyway. But there are some things you can do that are going to help you make you more comfortable. If you're just not there yet, you know one of which don't get a really great outfit. You know, just one that makes you feel good. You know, and for some of us who you know, that's going to mean a horrendous trip to the shops and you know bad lighting and, in your face, mirrors. But you know, if you can find one outfit that makes you feel good, then that's going to help.

Speaker 2:

Podcasting is a great way to start if you are really, really nervous, because, particularly if you're concerned about how you look or you're worried about being in front of an audience, you're not there yet. You know, because that's a very personal journey. Start with audio only podcasts. They don't even have to see you, but you can practice articulating your message. Then step up to video podcasts. I mean, we get to record, we get to decide our lighting, what we wear, and you get to do it in comfortable pants, which is also a bonus. So you know, choose that.

Speaker 2:

And doing pre-records for a conference is exactly the same. You get to do your public speaking. You're honing your message. It's not out there in public yet. That's going to be your goal, but you're just if you're not there yet. This is a really great way to start honing your message and then work on the steps that you need to take to feel comfortable getting there. And I think the other thing on that journey is to know if you're uncomfortable, don't have your first thing necessarily going and speaking on a stage in front of 400 people. You know, start some small things. Ask your boss. Hey, can I present a 10-minute workshop or a 10-minute update or a five-minute update at the next staff meeting? There's lots of small little things that you can do. Or can I talk at the next parents and citizens meeting or my next, you know, mum and tots group about a particular topic? You know, create opportunities to start speaking small and then grow the size of the audience and also the importance of the topic as you feel more and more comfortable.

Speaker 1:

Well, and so you really broke it down there and I, as you're talking, I could totally visualize, okay, what would be my fear in talking in front of people and how do I, you know, overcome that. And so I love how you really break that down for people who work with you, because I feel like that's so important and so empowering for them to have, you know, a real solution that they can use to feel more comfortable and feel more confident and just know that they can get it done and can do it. So I love how you nerd out there because I'm a total nerd too, as I know, you know, and I'm actually a total introvert too. So we're kind of pretty similar there, although I can be extroverted sometimes but I love how you really look at your client's perspective and look at the person you know trying to learn how to speak more and and pull, pulls apart a little bit about their brain and and how their brain works, so that you can help them, you know, accomplish this wonderful goal and get past those fears.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I think it's really interesting because I'm all about evidence-based. So you know everything evidence-based and I'm like there has to be a formula, there has to be a framework that will work and I'm going to test it on me and then, you know, as it turns out, help others with it. But in the original, when I was first doing it, I was looking at persuasion techniques and strategies and articulating the argument, and all of that is incredibly important If you, you know what you actually write and then say, so the actual persuasive arguments that you make, understanding your audience where are they? What do they need? How can you help them and then articulating that in a way that is clear and compelling, while also making them care and being authentic, is incredibly important.

Speaker 2:

What I didn't realize when I first started doing this work was one of the things you know when we're talking about fear and we're talking about all this hesitancy speaking is I tell my clients and the people I work with okay, we need to start with owning your awesome, because you have awesome. That's why you're going to speak. You don't have to be awesome. Everything doesn't have to be perfect, but here, in this particular aspect of your life and the thing that you do, and you do extraordinarily well. You are awesome in terms of you inspire awe. People see what you're doing and think, oh my gosh, I wish I could do that in that way. I wish I had that skill. So, you know, in the literary sense, you inspire awe. And what shocked me was that as soon as I did this work with people which was not how I started it, you know, took me years to realize okay, this is actually a really a personal and professional development has to happen first, before we can get into the technicals of this is how you write a speech. You know, that's like you know, six steps down the road, but everything gets easier. They are much better at writing speeches, they are much better at finding their voice and they are much better at memorizing, presenting the stagecraft tools that we teach them.

Speaker 2:

If they can get over this very first step of owning their awesome, which is all about addressing their fears, naming it, changing their mindset, understanding that when you step on a stage or when you step up in a boardroom or when you speak to your boss, it's not actually about you, it's about the audience. What do you need them to say? Yes, to Get into their head, think about. What are they thinking? What do they need to hear to be persuaded? And as soon as you start realizing that it's about serving them and helping get them to yes, you become far more confident because it's not all focused on you.

Speaker 2:

And I always say look, I apologize to the narcissists in the room who think that public speaking is all about them but it's not Persuasive. Speaking done well is all about serving your audience and getting to that yes, and that takes off a lot of pressure. But everything about public speaking becomes easier if you do that work at the beginning to really understand what is holding you back from doing it, because it is one of the hands-down best ways to grow your business, build your personal brand and champion your ideas. So why aren't you doing it? And for far too many people, you know, one of the fears that holds them back is fear of the haters, and I'm like you. Just, you just have to let them hate and do it anyway, because they don't get a vote, they don't get to hold you back from being the absolute best person that you can be, from growing your business as robustly, as quickly, as fabulously as you possibly can, because the haters are holding you back. Nope, they don't get a vote.

Speaker 1:

It's not okay. So I love your owning, your awesome. I think we need to make a quote, a social media quote, out of that one. I just love that little phrase you came up with of owning your awesome.

Speaker 2:

That might be a book title and I might have it on mugs.

Speaker 1:

Oh, but really that's awesome. I didn't realize that. Yeah, so that's awesome, so, like and I use, actually use the word awesome myself, so I find it funny. So when somebody is ready to own their awesome, how about let's go there? You know, how do they know what they should be talking about?

Speaker 2:

Yes, that's a really, really great question. Actually, I get it a lot. I have a workshop coming up calling how to Find your Big Idea, because I get this question so much and there are lots of different ways to do it. But typically, when I sit down and talk to people, some of the first things that we'll talk about is what do people come to you and ask you about? Whether that's your sister, your brother-in-law, a friend, somebody at the local school, people will be asking you about how did you do this? Or what you know, and maybe it's in a professional setting, it might be in a personal setting, but people will say, oh nothing, no one ever asked me about anything. And you actually, you know, apply a little full and frank, tough love and we keep asking. I'm like, well, I've had a look at your stuff and this is what I see that you are particularly good at, and this is what I've seen people ask you about on social media, or this is what you know I've seen you write papers about, or you know it's amazing how belittling particularly are of their, of their, their value and their experience.

Speaker 2:

There's a an amazing first of all, the dunning-kruger effect. If you don't know about this. It was a really interesting study that said people who are really un incompetent they are not good at all, they think they're great, they think they are absolutely fabulous and yet people who are really competent and highly talented they have a very solid understanding of exactly how much there is to know in the world, how much there is to know in their particular area of expertise, and so they think they're really ordinary, they think they're not competent, and actually the reverse is true. If you're the person thinking I don't know enough about this, chances are that's an indication that you're smart enough to know how big a scope that topic is and you actually probably are almost certainly the person who should be speaking. It's the people who are like oh my gosh, I've got this, I know everything about this topic that are the concern, and that's done in Kruger. So that's one of the things that holds people back. So naming that and knowing that is good. There's also another study that was recently done here in Australia, but it replicates studies that have been done overseas by Dr David Riley which you're all going to have a heart attack and die when I tell you this but showed that when they explained to a group of people how IQs work and gave them the stratification of typically who falls into which IQ bracket, and then they actually gave each of them individually an IQ test and asked them separately to giving them the results. What they estimated their IQ was Shocker. Men dramatically overestimate their IQ compared to their own individual IQ actual and women dramatically significantly underestimated their IQ based on that and we see this consistently throughout things. So women are far more likely to downplay that they have an idea that is worth sharing, but they do. I am yet to work with someone or have someone come through my door that we do not find here. Is your idea worth spreading because you have one?

Speaker 2:

I was talking to a woman a little while ago and you will hear things like I'm nobody, which hurts my soul every time it happens because it's not true, or I have nothing but I'd really like to speak, or I think I have 27 ideas and what is my one? That's really quite common. But there was this one woman I spoke to and it's just stuck with me, and she was American and she said you know, I don't, I didn't finish school, I don't have any qualifications, I have nothing, but I've gone out and I've started my own business where I am coaching people how to get out of financial debt and fix their finance scores. And she's like but I just don't know, I feel like an imposter, I don't feel like I have any credibility. And then I talked to her for a while and asked her questions.

Speaker 2:

And you know, in truth, the woman had been working in the sector on the other side, with debt collectors for 20 years. So, you know, by the end of it I'm like cool. So you're telling me you have 20 years' worth of experience on the dark side of debt collection and you know all of the secrets that they don't want people to know. And so now you've come across the light side and you're helping people, using all of your 20 years of knowledge, wisdom and experience to help them get themselves out of debt. And she's like oh, like, yes, then that's your great idea. You might have 20 others, but at this point in time, because you don't have only one great big idea in your life, most people don't, most people will have several, but at that particular time, you know her friends, her family were asking her hey, you know, hey, you know, I'm having a little problem with debt or my credit score. Have you got any tips and she had heaps of tips. So that's one way.

Speaker 2:

Is A what do people ask you about? B what is something that you know? If I lined up 10 people in a row that would be different about you and your experience that you could add value to to somebody in need? And three, what are you passionate about that you would like to help and you also have expertise in that area in some form, and that expertise doesn't have to be three degrees. You know my family laughs about me liking to collect degrees as my hobby. I've got three masters, but you do not have to have degrees. You know you might have lived experience. You know people who have cared for elders. You know with degenerative illnesses, or people who have lived experience. You know people who have cared for elders, you know with degenerative illnesses, or people who have lived in five different countries and have experiences being multilingual and living overseas, or people who can cook an amazing vegan, whatever. These are all experiences and skills and qualifications they have that they could share. It doesn't have to be degrees on the wall.

Speaker 1:

I think that you gave quite a few really good nuggets and reminders in there too for us listeners and even myself and I can even think of some of my friends and my business friends that really need that reminder that there is something in you that you're really great at and you don't have to have a degree for it. You don't have to have X, y or Z certifications or anything. You just have to have experience and passion for it, and I think that's a great reminder for us, for you know, what can we speak about? You know what are. What are you passionate about? What are you know? What do people ask you?

Speaker 1:

I just love that how you remind people and lift people up, because we need that, and I feel like it's really easy in society, especially for women, to get minimized and to get, you know, told we're not as smart and we, you know, shouldn't be speaking up and things like that. So I just I love how you're just so supportive of others, no matter their gender, but also especially of women, who are in our typical society. You know is told we're not as smart, we're not as bright, we're not as successful. So I just love how that you use your job to help others, you know feel good about themselves, and in a healthy way.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much and I think you know I'm a great example of exactly what I just said, in that you know I've come from. You know I've previously worked in biotech and I've worked in other leadership roles and I've worked in nonprofits. But when I got to the point where I said, well, you know, what should I be focusing on, and then thought, you know, applied to myself, what are people most asking me about? You know, what does it make me happy when I lay my head on the pillow at the end of the day and I feel like I did a really good job and it was helping other people find in themselves what is their big idea and then being able to champion it in a way that was strategic and persuasive, because otherwise you're just flapping your gums. I'm not interested in flapping your gum. Public speaking I'm interested in and you know people go. I'm like how did it go? And you know I talk to people. They go, I'm a great public speaker. People always applaud at the end and tell me I did a good job. I'm like, yeah, I don't really care about that. Did they say what was your strategic objective? Like were, were you looking to add people to your funnel Like what did you want them to say yes to? And did they? Because that's the success metric I care about.

Speaker 2:

So when I worked out, well, what am I going to focus on? What am I going to go out there and speak on? What is my big idea? And there were so many things I could have done my TEDx talk from a decade ago it has nothing to do with this. It has with what I was working on at the time, which was, you know, funding models for nonprofits. But if you ask me today what is my big idea, well, my big idea is all about how to help every single person find out what is their big idea that could make their neighborhood, their community, their industry or the world better, and how to help them champion that idea, whether that's big or small. Because you know, oh my gosh, even when I approach people to give TEDx talks for my event predominantly, overwhelmingly, women and I will say and, by the way, we've watched them for two or three years and read everything they've ever written before we approach people, we have a very serious vetting process and then I will reach out to somebody and invariably 50% will say, oh my gosh, I've always wanted to give a TEDx talk, I'm so excited. But 50% will say I think you've emailed me by mistake and I haven't. And overwhelmingly they're the women, not all, but overwhelmingly.

Speaker 2:

And when you go and speak to them, for example, someone will say you know, I think this is and I'm like, well, my understanding of what you're doing. This is somebody who runs a medical innovation. I'm like I understand that you found an extract of an Australian native plant that in your lab, if you introduce it to mammalian cells that have the Zika virus in the lab setting, it's killing 100% of the Zika virus without any damage to the cells. It's not in human trials yet, but if it happens and it works, then there's not going to be any more birth defects around the world for kids with Zika. And she's like yes, I'm like you know what? Yes, you are the person that I wanted to speak to.

Speaker 2:

By the way, you need to come and speak on my stage.

Speaker 2:

But you know, people seem to think you have to either have cured cancer, gone to Mars or done something incredible.

Speaker 2:

You know that no human has actually achieved. There is no human who's ticked those boxes. But that seems to be the metric of what people think, and predominantly women, unless I've done one of those things I have no awesome to share which is so wrong but yet so prolific. So you know that's my purpose. My purpose is to use all the skills that I have to ensure that people understand public speaking is an amazing tool that you should be using to spread your ideas and grow your business and make things happen and establish yourself so everyone knows you're an expert and hears your voice, to help them overcome their fears and channel it into healthy nerves so they can be absolutely fantastic and make compelling arguments, and to totally change the way that they champion and speak about their ideas, not just on one stage, on one day, but going forward, for the rest of the career and the rest of their life, so they never, ever feel this diminutive or self-doubting way ever again.

Speaker 1:

So after listening to you, I feel personally more empowered and more compelled to pursue this and to do this more myself, and I can totally see the value in it, and I'm hoping our listeners too are feeling this from your passion and your energy behind. You know everything that you do. So if somebody is listening and they want to get started on public speaking in some format and you know whatever that might be comfortable for them to start off with, how, how should they get started? What are the first few steps they should do to get started on that journey?

Speaker 2:

Well, I think there's think there's a couple of guides that are going to help them. It will really walk them step-by-step through starting. So if they're interested, they can find that at fullandfrankcom forward slash tools. There are some free tools there. Just grab them. They're very good. They're the things I wish somebody had told me 20 years ago.

Speaker 2:

But the thing you need to do to start is, if you're just going to start with one thing like grab out some pen and paper, find yourself some quiet time and just really ask yourself what are you afraid of? You haven't been doing this. You haven't been out there public speaking to champion your business, your products, your services, your ideas, what is holding you back? What you know? Because we hate that guy, that guy in your head who tells you you're not good enough or there are reasons not to do that. You know, beep, that guy we're not. He has no place here.

Speaker 2:

So write down what are you actually fearful about and then own it and then go. Excellent, there are things. What can you do to stop that happening? So you know, is it that you don't feel you're worried that you're not going to be able to memorize it? There are totally things you can do to help you memorize. Are you afraid that you know you're going to be exposed as a fraud? Well, let's you know, talk about all the things you know. Or you know you sit with yourself like all the things you know. Or you know you sit with yourself like how many things you know.

Speaker 2:

What do you know that somebody could, that it would make a difference to somebody, and I think, like so, write down what you're actually afraid of. Just naming it has incredible power, because you're not afraid of public speaking. You're afraid of what that might, you know, result in. And then I think the other thing to do is you have to completely change your focus about public speaking being about you, because it's not.

Speaker 2:

I want you to sit down and write down who would benefit from your big idea today if you told them and your big idea, by the way, might be just something that saves somebody 10 minutes in the morning when they're making their kids' lunches, but that's 10 minutes every day for the rest of while their kids are at home. It doesn't have to be curing cancer, it doesn't have to be going to Mars. Who needs to hear your idea and how is it going to make their life better? And then if you do have an idea and you do or an experience or a piece of knowledge that could help somebody in this world and it's going to make their day, their week, their life better, then don't you have an obligation to share that with them? And given that you do, isn't it worth it to put in the work to A get that information to them, which has the completely fabulous by-product of helping to establish you as an expert and grow your business?

Speaker 1:

So, in summary, what I'm hearing you say is we are speaking to serve others, and I just I love how you wrap that all together is it's not about us, we're speaking to serve others, and I just I love how you wrap that all together is it's not about us, we're speaking to serve others?

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. We get the lovely by-product. We will, at the same time, elevate our status as experts and grow our businesses. But speak to serve and I think you know if there's one thing that you absolutely, I finish with every person when I do a first initial consult. We talk and every single time it ends with you know two words just start, just start. Put all the excuses over here. We're not, you know, we're not listening to that guy. Before somebody can convince you in the back of your brain of all the reasons why you shouldn't do it, that guy, they don't get a vote. Just start, Start, small Start with a podcast, Start with a pre-record, Start with a team meeting, five-minute briefing, Whatever you have to do, but start.

Speaker 1:

I love that just start. That's how I got, honestly, how I got started on the podcast. We just celebrated two years just a few days ago and I just had to start because I had some of these fears I had. I didn't really have fears about what strangers thought about me. I actually had more fears about what is my family and friends who might listen to the podcast going to think about. So it was more of that than I could care less what a stranger thinks about me personally. I mean, obviously I want them to like me and get value out of what I say on the podcast, but it has less emotional connection than like your family and friends, and so I completely agree we just got to get started and don't worry about that.

Speaker 2:

No, and that's actually really common. That people will care about family. They'll care about colleagues. No, and that's actually really common, that people will care about family. They'll care about colleagues. They'll care about colleagues thinking they're uppity.

Speaker 2:

Sometimes, with our TEDx speakers, we'll be booked and once it's announced they're speaking, they've actually had colleagues come and say well, why on earth would they want you to speak? And then I have to sit them down and remind them all the reasons why we want them to speak and why what they have is value. But yes, there's so many different types of fears. And the other is, you know people are like well, what if I, through this process, discover that my idea isn't as good as I think it is? Or you know what if I prove everybody who said a bad thing to me my entire life and unfortunately this is really common People who have said to people, often when they're children or in inappropriate and coercive domestic situations, that they've said you're nobody, you don't speak correctly.

Speaker 2:

We have problems with people who've had stutters, people who've been told they're ugly their whole lives, amazing things, and we just we're going to kick that to the curb and we go through the process. But the diversity of the reasons that people are held back and aren't public speaking are incredibly diverse, because no two human beings are exactly the same way. So any kind of cookie cutter approach that says this is exactly how every person should progress through public speaking it just doesn't work, because people are diverse. The reasons holding them back are diverse, but the reasons that they should be out there doing it and the brilliance of their individual ideas are just as diverse. So embrace it, just start Own your awesome and get out there and start sharing it with the people who you can serve, who will be valued by what you have to say.

Speaker 1:

I just love that, juanita, and I just hope that you have greatly inspired those listening to our podcast to just get started and serve. So thank you so much for being on our podcast today. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and learned so much from you.

Speaker 2:

Well, thank you so much for having me. I truly appreciate it. I love all the work you're doing.

Speaker 1:

Thank you, juanita. So you can find all the links that Juanita mentioned in our episode at our show notes at ecommercemadeeasypodcastcom forward slash 105. Again, that's ecommercemadeeasypodcastcom forward slash 105. I hope one of these words today gave you that little spark to just get started and own your awesome. Whether you're gearing up for a keynote or simply sharing your story on a podcast or live video, your voice matters more than you think and if this episode resonated with you, hit that follow button and make sure to rate and review us on your favorite podcast players, such as Apple podcasts, so you don't miss out on upcoming interviews and episodes designed to grow your online business, and we appreciate you joining us and we will see you next week.