Whose Shoes are You Trying to Fill?
August 28, 2020
Turning a “No” Into a “Yes”!
September 22, 2020
Truth be told, when I considered writing an article about testimonials I thought: What the heck is there to write about? We want them. We need to get them. We need to ask for them. That’s it. Done. What else is there to say? Plenty…. Good testimonials can increase conversions by up to 34%~ SpeakerHub In addition to that nifty little statistic, there are other reasons why testimonials are important to both our personal and professional growth as speakers. Personally, as speakers, we need testimonials because no matter how nice it is when a friend or family member tells us what a great speaker we are, we want and need the honest opinion about how we did from the people who sit in our audiences. Here are a few more reasons why testimonials matter so much to us personally.
- Testimonials are important to our speaker self-esteem and confidence. As much as we might want to walk up to people after we speak and ask, "How did I do? Was I good? Did you like what I talked about? Do you want to work with me now?” we can’t. The testimonials we get will help us answer those questions though.
- Testimonials from people who heard us speak and thought we did a great job carry far more weight than the verbal “atta boy” pat on the back people say just to be nice. Verbal kudos are gone as soon as they’re spoken. But written/video testimonials are there to provide us with a confidence boost whenever we need a reminder that people really do benefit from what we’re doing.
- Testimonials are also proof that our presentation and delivery were good. Obviously, there’s always room for improvement when it comes to speaking, but, at the very least, a good testimonial means we don’t have to go all the way back to the drawing board.
Testimonials Build Our Credibility and Our Reputation Professionally, testimonials are an important part of how we build a positive reputation as a speaker. One article I read referred to testimonials as a form of “social validation.” Testimonials also validate our expertise to people who don’t know us well enough to accept us as the expert we say we are. They want proof beyond our words and who can blame them! Testimonials provide:
- Confirmation that we are the subject matter expert we claim to be.
- Other people’s opinions about whether or not we’re the “real deal.”
- Proof we can effectively deliver and present our information with clarity.
- Proof of our ability to connect and engage with our audiences.
- Proof that there are people who trust us and the problem-solving solution(s) we offer.
Okay… so now that we all agree how important testimonials are to us as speakers both personally and professionally, why do we have such a hard time asking for them? Maybe like me, you were taught that it’s wrong to “fish for compliments.” Maybe you feel pressured when someone asks you for a testimonial because you don't know what to say, so you don’t like to ask other people for them as a result. The worst is when someone doesn’t want to ask for testimonials because they’re so hard on themselves that they never think they do a good enough job to deserve one. Any way you look at it, testimonials can be a welcome shortcut to building your credibility and establishing your reputation, while also boosting your speaker confidence at the same time. So, this just might be the perfect time to take a look at how you feel about asking for testimonials. If there’s something holding you back, now’s the time to dive a little deeper and figure it out. Like I said, there’s plenty to talk about when it comes to testimonials.