In today’s episode, you’ll hear from my Speak Up to Level client Milan Kowalewski, an online marketing strategist for aesthetic providers and MDs in New York City. As a marketer and podcast host, he has experience behind the mic, but found himself spending hours each week preparing notes before hitting record. He wanted to find a way to prepare more efficiently while feeling confident that his message would have high value to his audience.
Listen in to learn the exact steps he took and how his speaking style has evolved over the last few months as he’s leveled up his speaking skills.
Episode Show Notes
Milan shares reaching a moment of plateau in his skill set and what was it felt like
“I came to this realization that I really plateaued in where I could take myself. It felt like I was not able to produce fast enough and I was always catching up. I wasn’t able to batch anything. I wasn’t able to grow in my own business because I was so focused on my delivery skills. I was constantly looking back at what I had recorded and doing the take several times.
My first podcast episode took me five hours just to actually speak it and say it. I’d gotten better at that for sure but I wasn’t able to take what was in my brain and make it much shorter, and deliver it with the same impact. It always had to be detailed and I knew that while I could act as if I wasn’t reading something, I knew oftentimes I was reading something.”
What shifted for you from doing such a detailed outline and a lot of prep before every podcast interview? What did you start doing?
“This is something I know you speak on other podcast episodes as well but this one specific exercise literally changed everything for me. Word vomit exercise.
I’ve had literally word vomit what I would be wanting to talk about on that podcast episode in the shower. It would sound like crap in the very beginning but as I went over it and ironed out some of my thoughts, it started to come together more clearly. Being able to do that and then take those sort of bullet points and putting them on post-it.
This is now what I do. I put them on post-its. It’s been a total game changer in terms of the speed I can do it at, the delivery, the way I sound, sounds better because I sound more genuine versus un-genuine.”
Talk about the time difference it now takes you to prep and create an episode versus what it was before.
“Now it takes anywhere between an hour to an hour and a half to prep because I still do want it to have value. Obviously, this is what we all want in our content but it’s smoother – the prepping process.
I still word fumble every once in a while. I mean, I think that’s normal. But you know, to go from spending maybe six, seven hours sometimes, to narrowing that down from the entire process to an hour and a half, huge difference!”
How are you now using that freed up time for other things in your business?
“I’m definitely working with more clients which I think that probably would have been more challenging to do without having that time.
I have more confidence as well. It wasn’t even just with the podcast. Not that I wasn’t confident before but I knew what I wanted to say, I knew how the certain points that I wanted to hit on, I knew what stories to bring in from my origin story and how it would be relatable to those clients. So it was while yes, it definitely helped me with the podcast, just communication as a whole became a lot smoother and easier.”
Can you talk about that piece of you doing the work? What does that look like for you?
That’s why every time there was an opportunity to workshop something out with you or to come prepared with some of the lessons, some of the exercises that we did through ‘SULU,’
“I thought to myself, I need to do it and this is the only way that I’m just going to become better at it.”
I just trusted in the process is basically what it came down to.
And was I perfect at it all the time? No, I got a little behind and that was okay. But at the end of the day, just trusting in the process and going through those exercises, and making time to actually do that. That’s how I was able to get to where I am now compared to where I was before.”
What are some of the changes that you’ve made personally or to your business? What’s different now?
“Well, I’ve been talking about launching this program for years. I was looking at it from a completely different perspective and once I realized that, that was when I was able to develop my framework. Something that was loosey-goosey before that I didn’t really have.
I’ve heard the word framework and what that means but I didn’t realize the extent of it…that the idea of creating this framework is really to give people a sense of what my business is about and what I bring to the table and the transformation I can achieve”
Can you talk about that light bulb switch when you realize that you actually did have a process and you were able to put a label on?
“The framework that I was able to develop is really five steps which I now refer to as my conversion marketing framework.
To be able to categorize them and that, it took work but I’m really happy I did it because now not only am I using this framework for my program, but when I do podcast interviews. I use that accordion effect that we talked about. I take a sliver of what it is so this way people actually get to know me for who I am and can start to get to know me I guess, for what I want to be known for.”
Think about life now for you versus six months ago, where are you at now? How are you feeling about pitching yourself being on podcasts or showing up?
“I think overall just the confidence of being able to pitch other people whether they’re gonna say yes or no, and that’s okay, however, that looks.
I’ve actually had people come to me and asked me to be on their podcast, which was a huge surprise as well because when that happens, it’s just sort of a special moment.
The way I got there, was exuding what I was learning. Confidence was a part of it, but I think people can see it in your marketing. They can see that sort of transformation when you’re making a transformation. They can see when you’re quote-unquote leveling up.”
Do you have any advice for somebody who maybe was sitting where you were six months ago? What are some tips you might have for someone related to getting their message down?
“First off, I think we have to have awareness of that. If we’re not aware that we’ve sort of hit that plateau point, we really have to do some soul searching. That’s number one.
Once you’ve had that, maybe this is the right time for you to invest in a program, maybe this isn’t the right time. It doesn’t matter. The fact is, you’re going to have two choices.
You can either level up on your own, which is totally an option. I think it’s gonna look different for everyone. If you want fast acceleration, and you’re willing to do the work and you’re willing to put in the energy, then I would say this is just a no-brainer to hire a coach to help you get there because that’s someone who’s already been there. They’ve gone through that journey.”
About Milan Kowalewski
Milan has been working with clients, as a coach and as a marketing consultant for the last 10 years. He helps aesthetic providers stand out from their peers across all of their online marketing, so they can build trust and ultimately convert their followers into new leads.
He believes that it’s not enough to just say that you’re the best, you have to show that you’re the best. His signature promise revolves around this concept:
“When you’re able to visually and verbally articulate who you are, how you can help and how you’re different from your peers, and then sprinkle it across all of your marketing, that’s when you’re able to start converting your followers into leads holistically. That’s how you’re able to start standing out from your competition.”
If you enjoyed this episode, please give Milan some love on Instagram and check out his podcast, The Online Marketing & Media Podcast. It’s an excellent resource to learn what’s working in social media, content marketing, & online marketing strategies to propel your business to the next level!
Tune into the episode with the player on the top of this page, or read the full episode transcript here.
Links mentioned in episode:
Embrace these 4 Pitching Truths to Land Your Next YES – Ep #23
