Parenting Coaches & Consultants: Discover my 9-Year Old’s One Big Speaking Mistake

“So, honey do you feel nervous?” I asked my 9-year old daughter, Grace the night before her first ever business networking speech.

“Nah. You had me speak to a way bigger group at church lots of times, plus we talk in front of the room at school too. But…” she added tentatively, “I do have some butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.”

She finished her notecard and got ready for a good night’s rest before her big day.

At the networking breakfast meeting, the all-adult audience was gracious and welcoming to her, laughed at her jokes, and a few even placed an order on the spot. Overall, it was a successful speech.

In the car on the way home I asked her, “How do you think your speech went?” That’s when she confessed what I already knew.

“Well, it was good I got a couple orders, but I forgot what I wanted to say a few times and I wasn’t sure how to end.”

Here’s what happened and how my daughter’s mistake can help you, too.

After Grace decided to start her pet portrait drawing business earlier this summer, the leader of the networking group I’ve been attending for the past 5 years was kind enough to put Grace on the speaking schedule right away. She had 3 full weeks to prepare.

During those 3 weeks we went on an 8-day family vacation, she had her birthday, went swimming, played lots with the neighborhood kids, and kept busy. I’d remind her every other day or so that we should work on her speech and to tell me when she wanted to do it together. Over and over she’d say, “I’ll do it later, Mom.”

Day after day passed until the night before her speech when I handed her a notecard and a pencil and said, “You’re speaking tomorrow. Maybe you should write a few notes.”

As we discussed her speech afterward she realized all her problems she had while she was speaking boiled down to one thing: not practicing. Problems like:

Continually looking down at her notecard, losing eye contact with the audience.
Repeatedly saying “um, uhhhh, aaand…” with long pauses in between thoughts.
Feeling uncomfortable with the awkward silence in the room as the audience waited for her to find her next thought and continue.
Was confused about how to present her offer and forgot to mention her summer special until after she came over to me to whisper, “What next?”
Had to backtrack a few times.
Added irrelevant details that left the audience confused.
Was unsure about how to share her portfolio.

No, I’m not picking on my daughter. In fact, she gave me permission to share this story. Overall for her first time she did well and made money. Now she’s learned that in order to feel comfortable in front of an audience and to have her speech flow, she needs to practice.

So do you!

Too many business owners make the same big mistake: decide they are too busy to practice, make excuses (real or imagined), and figure they’ll just wing it when they get in front of an audience for an informal chat. Or they wait until the night before to get anything together and the next day feel unsure of themselves.

If you have an opportunity to showcase your business, why would you not properly prepare? For many it comes down to fear, plain and simple. Fear of speaking, sometimes. Fear that if they prepare fully and the audience still doesn’t buy, what next?

You can feel confident in your preparations when you know you’re following an established speaking system and strategy to represent your business. You’ll come across as credible and solidify your expertise. The Signature Speech^(TM) is a system that can get you fully prepared and ready to make money by sharing about your business.

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Communication consultant, author and speaker Felicia J. Slattery, M.A., M.Ad.Ed lives life on her terms – full of energy, passion, and enthusiasm. With a background in communication and training, Felicia uses her knowledge and experience to give experts and entrepreneurs the tools they need to effectively communicate their messages and reach their goals. Felicia lives near Chicago with her family. Learn more at http://FeliciaSlattery.com