Episodes
The other day I had a talk planning call with a potential client, and he said: “I just want to get consistent results. Sometimes I start my talk and I can feel the energy shift, and I know I’ve engaged them. But other times, I just can’t get their attention, and I want to understand how to do this consistently every time I speak.” The truth is that grabbing your audience’s attention in the right way, (or ‘hooking’’ them in, as I call it), is one of the biggest stumbling blocks for a...
Published 03/21/24
Quick tips to build your speaking confidence, skills, impact, business or engaging talk content. These tips originate from issues that come up for students, and questions from my audience. If you want to get your question answered DM me on Instagram or LinkedIN @Saraharcher15. This quick talk tip will help you attract people into your world and build a deeper connection with them, so that you will be able to get them engaged and into action.   In this show I’m covering: Why your own...
Published 03/07/24
Not too long ago I heard one of the gurus in my space say that one of the big factors in his success is that when everyone else ‘zigs’, he ‘zags’. You can see ‘zigging’ going on all around you, suddenly everyone wants to be a neurodiversity expert, or an AI expert, because that’s what’s hot, because they are chasing the trend.  But what if you don’t do that? What if you go your own way, and stay true to who you are and who you want to help?  That is the path that Becky Benfield-Humberstone...
Published 02/22/24
Itunes Summary (45 Words): Quick tips to build your speaking confidence, skills, impact, business or engaging talk content. These tips originate from issues that come up for students, and questions from my audience. If you want to get your question answered DM me on Instagram or LinkedIN @Saraharcher15. SHOW NOTES If people believe that you can deliver what they want and need, they will book you to speak, or buy your products or services. But in showing them that you can deliver there's a...
Published 01/30/24
Most of us have experienced sales ‘tactics’, and likely we’ve either recoiled against them and scarpered (physically or digitally), or have gone ahead with our needed purchase, even though a little bit of shine has worn off the relationship with the person that used them on us. Our experiences have made us sceptical of anyone with something to sell, and allergic to feeling ‘salesy’ ourselves.  But whether we like it or not, we’re all in the business of selling something to someone, whether...
Published 01/18/24
SUMMARY: Getting a clear understanding of how to properly protect the IP and assets you’ve created as a speaker can be a struggle. But doing nothing could leave you and your business at risk. Worry no more, that’s where my guest Heather Pearce-Campbell comes in.   SHOW NOTES: Let’s face it, trying to navigate how to protect the IP you’ve created in talks, books and courses, can make you feel like Frodo trying to get the ring safely to Mordor … confused, scared and worried about people...
Published 01/05/24
As we leave 2023 behind and start making our plans for 2024, I’d like to offer you some suggestions for tools and techniques which you might want to add into your planning process. These have worked to help me achieve my goals in the past and have also helped many others to build the future they desire.  Some are a little ‘out there’, but I’ve tried them all out myself and I do believe they will give you more purpose, drive and clarity to supercharge this new year. Whether you want to...
Published 12/28/23
I had a similar issue come up with two clients this week, and it’s a mistake I see people making regularly, not just with their speaking, but in other critical content too. This mistake can result in people not paying attention to you, lost business opportunities, and normally leads to frustration and the question, “I just don’t understand what I’m doing wrong!” What they are doing wrong is not leading with the problem.  That’s why in this episode I’m sharing: What leading with the...
Published 12/21/23
SUMMARY Is it possible to brag in a way that attracts people to you, rather than turning them off? Lisa Bragg, author of Bragging Rights believes so, and she is here to redefine bragging and share exactly how to do it the right way.     SHOW NOTES We have been conditioned since childhood to keep quiet about our achievements. We are taught things like, ‘nobody likes a show off’, ‘stay humble’ and ‘self praise is no praise’. And the majority of us conform, stay quiet, assuming that our good...
Published 12/14/23
Quick tips to build your speaking confidence, skills, impact, business or engaging talk content. These tips originate from issues that come up for students, and questions from my audience. If you want to get your question answered DM me on Instagram or LinkedIN @Saraharcher15.  I come across many speakers who are struggling to connect with their audience, and as a consequence their talks fail to get them the results that they want. One of the biggest reasons they struggle is because they are...
Published 12/07/23
How often, when it comes to writing in your business, has the blank page beaten you? I’ve seen so many people get stopped, or never share what they have written because they don’t think it’s good enough, or they are worried about being judged.  Just like when you speak, in your business writing too, you get an amazing confidence boost from knowing that your message is good, that your content will make you stand out and connect with your target audience.  When that happens you’re excited to...
Published 11/23/23
It’s often said that the real experts are the ones that can make the complex easy to understand, and Ros Atkins is an expert on making things easy to understand … so I guess that would make him the expert’s expert!  As a journalist, and BBC News' Analysis Editor, Ros Atkins has presented and reported on the biggest stories around the world for twenty years . He's also the creator of the critically acclaimed 'Ros Atkins on...' video series, which has become a phenomenon, garnering millions of...
Published 11/10/23
Waking up paralysed in 2014 completely turned Jamie McAnsh’s life upside down.  He lost his job, and his independence, but he was determined to forge a new path and purpose for his life.  That included becoming a top disabled athlete, and fulfilling his dream of climbing Mount Everest in 2022. What he realised was that he had a great support network around him, helping him to achieve his goals, and he wanted to create something so that other people could experience that support too. That...
Published 10/27/23
One of the most important parts of your talk is the opening, because you have to grab the attention of your audience and show why the talk is relevant for them. What I’ve noticed recently with some of my clients, is that their ‘hook’, (or ‘lightning bolt’ as I call it), is good, but they aren’t fully committing to it, and that is weakening the opening and the connection with the audience and the topic they’re speaking about. So … I thought I’d share the coaching and feedback I gave them with...
Published 10/20/23
Still one of the most prolific tools around, Powerpoint can literally make or break your presentation, depending on how you use it. That’s why I wanted to get Philippa Leguen de Lacroix on the show.  She started life employed as a graphic designer, and was increasingly tasked with creating powerpoint slides for the different organisations she worked for. But … Philippa had a yearning to become her own boss, and after a hockey match with another designer pal they decided to start their own...
Published 10/07/23
This quick talk tip is in response to a situation one of my client’s found herself in, that could be an obstacle for you too.  In this show I’m covering: Why you need to be able to flex your talk.  Why it works How I used it and you can see it in action Tips for building this skill Enjoy! Leave a rating or review for The Speaking Club (Take a photo of your review, email it to me at [email protected] and get a free e-copy of my book Cracking Speech Mate - How to Use Humour to Make...
Published 09/13/23
It wasn’t until I embarked on my marketing, influencing and sales odyssey, that I discovered the concept of ‘audience sophistication’ as I call it.  It’s something I’ve often shared with marketing clients, but although I used it myself in my talks, I’ve not taught it to speakers until recently.  And the feedback when I have has been so positive, that I thought I’d better share it with you too!  In this episode, I’m going to break it down for you, so that you can level up your talks and get...
Published 09/05/23
As a speaker you need to be like the director of a movie, using your talk content and delivery to captivate the audience. Your talk should contain moments that challenge them, make them ponder, create desire and yearning and move them towards your intended destination. All in a way that feels natural and aligned. In this episode, I’m going to share the levers you can use to achieve those things.  If you want to increase the impact of your speaking then you will definitely want to grab a...
Published 08/24/23
As you may know in addition to teaching people how to become awesome speakers, I am a writer, and that’s how I first discovered Jo Gatford. I was writing my second play, and needed some concentrated time to focus on getting it written, queue Writers HQ. Jo Gatford is an award-winning writer of short and long fiction and the co-founder of Writers' HQ. It’s an organisation dedicated to providing low-cost writing courses and resources to arse-kicking writers with no time or money.  In the past...
Published 07/07/23
With technology now able to doctor images, people and chatbots pretending to be who they’re not and the advent of fake news, it might feel like it’s going to be harder than ever before to get people to believe new ideas.  That doubt can hold us back from sharing our message for fear that we might not be able to get it across in the right way, causing damage to our reputation and confidence.  But I want to let you know that it is absolutely possible to overcome skepticism and get your...
Published 06/29/23
Adding the label of speaker to your bio is becoming more common, but calling yourself a speaker and actually being able to deliver your message in a way that educates, inspires and motivates are two very different things.  There are lots of people boring the pants off audiences, when they don’t need to, and this is a belief that my guest Tina Bakehouse and I share in common.  Tina is a communications coach and soon to be author of a new book called ‘Discover Our Magnetic Speaker Within’....
Published 05/18/23
Ross O’Lochlainn is a former engineer-turned-copywriter who has blended his talent for problem solving and building systems with his ability to engage an audience with his storytelling flair.  The result of this combination is a new way of looking at marketing that is getting incredible results. Ross was so confident in his model that he built his entire business by getting paid on results rather than charging up-front fees – which is something that is very unusual.  Today, his company...
Published 05/12/23
It’s hard enough to cope with the grief that follows the loss of a friend or family member, but add in the pressure of being responsible for the eulogy for the person you cared for and maybe some anxiety around public speaking, and you have a recipe for huge overwhelm. If you find yourself in this situation, my hope is that this show relieves a little of the pressure. I’ll be sharing some ideas and tips for putting the eulogy together and delivering so that you can honour their memory, keep...
Published 04/10/23
When you have a big idea and message to share, and you want to get it out to more people you have so many more channels available today for achieving that.  Regardless of the number of platforms at your fingertips, your choice really comes down to two options - do you communicate one to many using speaking or writing? For business, two of the best options available are creating a talk or writing a business book.  Over recent times, with the advent of the internet and self-publishing, both...
Published 03/30/23