If you are a tennis teacher, club owner, or retail store manager, you are undoubtedly among the best communicators in the world. Why? Because you hone your communication skills daily by speaking with customers. Through years of experience, you are refining your skills at the nuances of expressing enthusiasm, commitment to service, and concern for the well being of the customer. You are a friend and often a counselor to hundreds, if not thousands, of people.
Here's how to turn those skills into greater profits by increasing your reputation and credibility. All you have to do is speak. But before going out to speak, there are three things to consider.
1. Need to hone your skills?
The first is just in case you need help honing your skills. If that's the case, contact your local Toastmasters International chapter (www.toastmasters.org) and join others who are also working on public speaking skills. Once your skills are refined, you also may want to attend some regional meetings of the National Speakers Association (www.nsaspeaker.org). NSA consists of professional speakers, and organizes workshops and resources to help speakers market themselves and further perfect their skills.
2. What will you speak about?
The second consideration is to decide what you will speak about. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to help with the process. By answering these five questions, you will get a feel for a topic or topics that will interest you and therefore interest your audience.
- Did you play competitive sports?
- Do you know something about diet, health, and fitness?
- Do you teach young children and have an interest in the most effective ways to teach them?
- Do you work with teenagers and see the benefits of teens being involved in organized sports?
- Have you traveled internationally through your involvement with tennis?
3. Who will you speak to?
The third area is to pinpoint which groups you will want to address. Here are five choices to get you started:
- Local service groups - Lion's Clubs, Rotarians, Kiwanis, Women's Clubs, Seniors Groups, and literally hundreds more are found throughout every major city in the United States. Many of them meet weekly, some monthly, and they are all looking for interesting speakers.
- Radio talk shows - Practically every area in the country has local radio talk shows. In fact, there are literally thousands of them from coast to coast. Every single one of them invites guests on the air. Develop your topic, become an expert, and contact a local radio talk show host. It's really that simple.
- Lead classes at local fitness centers - At the fitness center where I work out, they offer dozens of classes each week free of charge. I was curious how the instructors get compensated for their time and found out they don't. They conduct the classes free of charge to build their reputation and grow their own business. You can do the same.
- Teach at a local community college - Another target audience is students at community colleges. Every area has one or more and all of them are on the constant lookout for new classes to offer. Yours can be one of them. It offers great exposure, and a chance to work on current ideas and to develop new ones. Plus, it enhances your credibility since you now teach at a local college.
- Guest appearance at a local school - Preschools, kindergartens, elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools are in the same boat as community colleges when it comes time to welcome guest speakers and professionals to teach a class. You might get paid and you might not. In either case, like all of the engagements listed above, you will be able to promote your programs and therefore generate more income.
Does all of this sound simple? It should, because it is. Get started expanding your own horizons and you are guaranteed to meet many interested and interesting people on your speaking journey. At the same time, you will benefit your bottom line.