This is a personal and professional milestone and definitely a reason to celebrate. Funny thing… I almost missed it. I was working on my new ATP website (another celebration to look forward to in a couple of weeks) and had to print out all of my newsletter articles so I could categorize them by subject. And there it was… 99 sheets of paper. I almost missed this milestone—and the opportunity to celebrate that comes with it!
If there’s one thing that’s become crystal clear during my 7½-year ATP journey, it’s that when you speak to an audience, your talk has to be all about them because everybody’s default setting (whether they know it or not) is WIIFM… you know… “What’s in it for me?” My goal with ATP has always been to help you answer the WIIFM question for yourself, and to help you figure out the WIIFM of the audiences you’ll be speaking to.
My newsletters are written with something similar in mind… to share perspectives about some aspect of public speaking so you have opportunities to think or visualize ways you can grow and expand, and serve your peeps better as a result.
So… what speaker accomplishments and milestones have you reached or are looking forward to reaching? They are all so important! Without reasons to feel good, we’re just too hard on ourselves. Why? Because we’ve been taught not to give ourselves a pat on the back no matter how well-deserved it might be.
Well… the heck with that! We are speakers sharing our expertise and our valuable content for all the right reasons and have every right to celebrate. Here’s a short-list of some great reasons to celebrate. You:
• Completed your new signature talk and are ready to hit the stage
• Just booked your first (or a milestone) speaking gig
• Got your first speaking referral
• Got your first 5-star testimonial
• Wrote and published your first book
• Were hired by someone in your last audience to speak to their audience
And let’s not forget all the milestones there are to celebrate, such as:
• Being a speaker for X years
• Successfully delivering your talk X times
• Signing up your Xth client/customer as the result of your signature talk
• Making your first $X as the result of speaking
• All the other personal speaker milestones that have meaning to you!
When I started At the Podium, a newsletter wasn’t even on my to-do list. Then I began talking with my editor, Valerie Utton, about it. Back then, I said, “Let’s do a weekly newsletter.” Valerie said, “Let’s start with twice a month,” and in May of 2017, I emailed my first newsletter. I’m proud that I’ve never missed a Tuesday deadline, but truth be told, I have to give Valerie a pat on the back for that because she refused to ever let me miss even one deadline!. And now, I get to celebrate my 100th newsletter with all of you as a result!
And, of course, I wouldn’t have reached this milestone if it wasn’t for you too, so thank you for reading and commenting! And now, I’d love to hear about something you’ve achieved. As always, you can reply to this newsletter. But even better would be you sharing a post on ATP’s Facebook page with your fellow speakers, because:
Every time you celebrate your accomplishments with us, all of us—you included—feel our speaker momentum and motivation kicking up a tic or two.
Every time you share your speaker accomplishments, you’re proving to your fellow speakers that it is absolutely possible for them to reach their own goals of sharing their problem-solving solutions with more people too.
And now that you’ve helped me celebrate my ATP milestone, it’s time for you to start sharing your speaker accomplishments and milestones so we can celebrate with you! In the meantime, it’s on to the next 100 for me.
’Til we speak again,
~Beth
The Pressure of Perfection
