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Do you consider yourself a good presenter? Maybe you’ve worked hard at it— or maybe you were born with natural talent.
Maybe you wouldn’t classify yourself as “good” when it comes to speaking to audiences (but you’d like to).
Either way, the important question to ask yourself is— what measuring stick are you using to make that evaluation? Chances are it’s all just— feeling.
And while emotion is critical when it comes to speaking, it isn’t the best assessment tool 😉
Truth is — it’s difficult to measure our own skill of speaking when there isn’t always numerical data to pull from. I mean, sure, when we use speaking for growing our online businesses, core metrics like leads and sales will tell us if we’re on track.
But if you are “off track”, how do you self correct to know exactly WHAT to work on?
Speaking is a SKILL.
And in this episode, you’re going to learn how to evaluate yourself on the 5 levels of speaking. I’ll also walk you through my matrix for identifying skills to lean into in your business (and which to stop trying to learn).
Episode Highlights:
- Understanding and owning your skills in your life or business — evaluate whether or not you should be doing them
- Pinpoint exactly where you’re at on the skill of speaking (and figure out where you go next)
- How natural talent can be a blinder
- Five Levels of Speaking Skills to help you assess where you are right now
Episode Show Notes:
When you start something new, it’s uncomfortable and in some cases pretty painful (one time I tried CrossFit and couldn’t walk for a WEEK! ?) You might not necessarily see progress before you feel progress.
I want to help you get clarity around growing a skill (when you start feeling stuck), here’s what to consider when you’re trying a new skill:
(1) how good you are at it and
(2) how much you enjoy doing it.
I walked you through this powerful matrix (listen to the episode now if you still haven’t) that gives me clarity around is this something I actually want to be working on. To simply put this:
→ If you SUCK and you DON’T ENJOY it → QUIT
→ If you you’re GOOD and you DON’T ENJOY it → QUIT
→ If you SUCK and you ENJOY it → WORK ON IT
→ If you’re GOOD and you ENJOY it → become EXCEPTIONAL
You can apply these principles, of course, to anything in your life or business, but this really is about speaking in your business. So let’s think about this in the context of speaking.
Think about your current speaking skill level. Where do you fall in it?
Do you suck?
Are you kind of good?
Do you enjoy it?
Are you an absolute rockstar?
I want you to answer this question and be really honest with yourself.
Own where you are right now. And I encourage you to embrace being a work in progress even if you classify yourself as good.
Why?
Well, when we feel naturally talented at something or consider ourselves “good”, we tend to put it on autopilot and focus our energy on working on the things we’re NOT so good at.
The problem here is that even if you are “good” at speaking— do you think that will take you to your next level in business?
Chances are, if it would— it would have already happened.
Leverage the 5 levels so you can honestly assess where you are, and set a 90 plan to grow.
5 Level of Speaking Skills
1. You SUCK
I know, so direct. But I call it “suck”, in a cheeky way (if we can’t laugh and have fun with this, learning mode definitely WILL suck!)
At this level you’re in the stage of not knowing what you’re doing. Take the pressure off yourself and make your goal to develop the muscle of showing up to get confidence.
2.You’re FINE
This is the safe zone. You’re probably still nervous, but you’re showing up. You probably tell a lot of stories, but you’d consider yourself ‘fine’ because, well, you can do it when needed.
Though, you don’t get results from speaking (growing your audience or sales) or if you are, they’re not the results that you’d like.
3. You’re GOOD
This is the level I would say that a lot of people enter with natural talent. You’re most likely have this entertaining quality factor about you. You bring interesting content that gets people thinking and audiences give you good feedback (even praise).
It is a great place to be in. However, if you want your voice to be a tool to drive more interest and desire for your programs and products, good is not good enough.
4. You’re GREAT
You are really embodying an entertainment factor and you use a variety of emotions. You start bringing in strong content that seems like perfect timing for your audience.
The nuance of this between level three is not only do you get your audience thinking, you get them into ACTION.
5. You’re EXCEPTIONAL
When you’re exceptional, you leave a lasting impression that has a ripple effect on the people you speak to because you have impacted their life.
Ok — I know this summary speeds through this, so listen to the full episode for additional context and to pinpoint where you are.
Hope this helps you pinpoint exactly where you’re at on the skill of speaking so you can start making meaningful strides to become an exceptional speaker if that’s your vision for yourself.
Did you enjoy this episode? Here is some related content that you may be interested in:
- My 5 Best On Camera Speaking Tips – Ep #121
- Creating Powerful Presence – Ep #119
- How to Audit & Improve Guest Speaking Results – Ep #109
- The #1 Reason Your Message Isn’t Attracting Your Ideal Client – Ep #101
- A Seemingly Invisible Disability – The Real Story Behind My Hearing Loss and How it Led to My Superpower – Ep #17
