MWD 074: Claim the Stage with Angela Lussier

This week on the Moms With Dreams podcast, we’re talking about the hot topic of public speaking.

Women often tell me how they want to speak and get paid, but they’re afraid to put themselves out there. I remember how scary it was the first time that I spoke in front of an audience. So I thought it would be neat to have Angela Lussier, an award-winning speaker, three-time author, two-time TEDx presenter, and trainer join me on the podcast.

Angela is the founder of the Speaking School for Women, an online program that trains women to become paid speakers. She is also the founder of the Speaker Sisterhood, a network of speaking clubs for women, and the host of Claim the Stage, a public speaking podcast for women.

You’re going to love Angela’s bubbly personality and gain a ton of value from our conversation.

During this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Angela became a speaker on purpose but a paid speaker by accident
• What she did during her first 6 months in Toastmasters
• The truth about what you must do to become a great public speaker, get over your fear of public speaking, and improve your presentation skills
• The steps Angela took to book 16 workshops in 5 minutes and 32 workshops on her 2nd day in business!
• Why Angela thinks rules shouldn’t apply to brand new speakers
• What you can do as a new speaker to get comfortable on stage
• The #1 reason why business owners (especially new ones) should be speaking
• How to find speaking gigs (thanks to my listener, Cheranissa Roach, for asking this question)
• Why you should start out with unpaid speaking gigs that add value for your target audience
• What should be included on your speaker one sheet

Angela’s Tip for Improving Your Presentation Skills

Videotape yourself then watch it in 3 different ways:

1. Watch without sound so you can see your facial expressions and body language.
2. Listen without watching so you can hear what you’re saying
3. Watch and listen at the same time to see how it all comes together

Angela’s Recommended Reading:

Purple Cow, by Seth Godin. According to Angel, this is “a great book about marketing, standing out and taking risks so you can become that person or company that people remember.”

Angela’s Parting Words of Wisdom

“Stop waiting - start creating. The longer we wait for opportunity, the longer we wait to start, and the more time we’re wasting. We need to get started now. Then you can start experimenting and the adventure begins. We’ll get to learn more about ourselves and about the world.”

Resources Mentioned:

https://www.toastmasters.org/

http://thumbtack.com

Speaking School for Women (you can get on the waiting list for the upcoming February session)  

Angela’s website: http://angelalussier.us

I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Moms With Dreams Show. I love to hear from you, so please leave your comments below.

Have an idea or topic for an upcoming show? You can email me directly at [e-mail].

As always, keep pushing forward to your dreams. Get out there, do what you love and make a difference.

I’ll be back next week with a special end-of-the-year episode to close out 2016 with a BANG!

xoxo

Erica