10 minute read
MESSAGES THAT MOVE PEOPLE:Three Ways Dental Professionals Can Use Speaking Skills To Build Their Practice And Advance Their Careers
By Katherine Eitel Belt
Has anyone ever said to you, “No one has ever explained that to me so clearly,” or “I get it now, the reason this is so important,” or “You inspired me today”?
Have you ever introduced an idea at a team meeting, trained your team in an area that caused the feeling in the room to shift, inspired the team to get better, and propelled patient care a giant leap forward in your practice?
Have you ever listened to a dental speaker and thought, “I could have said that better” or “I wonder if I could do that someday”?
If you are a dentist, hygienist, clinical assistant, or administrator, you may never have considered yourself a public speaker. As a matter of fact, you may have run screaming from the very thought! But I’d like to offer a different perspective on this career-enhancing, lifechanging skill.
Whether you’re introducing new technology to teammates, leading a local community event, promoting a new idea, speaking at an industry study club, addressing a board of directors, sharing best practices, or rallying your team around the company vision, your ability to create clarity and inspiration with your communication skills will determine your success as an in-demand, highly-paid dental professional.
Warren Buffet once said, “Public speaking is THE most valuable business skill any professional could have.” And that includes dental professionals. Here are three reasons you should consider enhancing your ability to confidently step to the “front of the room.”
Passion. If you are passionate about any aspect of dentistry, one of the best ways to spread your expertise is to speak and educate other dental professionals at study clubs, association meetings, or on webinars or podcasts. Not only can you spread your message, improve patient outcomes, and upgrade the collective consciousness about your subject, but you can also elevate your own career and income without giving up your “day job.” Every speaker on the dental circuit started with a passion to educate and motivate their fellow constituents. Some turned it into a full-time speaking career while others augmented their clinical career with speaking as a side gig. Either way, you can expand your career, travel to exciting places, and meet other like-minded professionals to enhance the enjoyment of your dental career if you master the art of public speaking. Now, I know what some of you are thinking! “I’ve got plenty of knowledge and passion, but the thought of stepping onto a stage makes me want to throw up!” Not to worry, you can conquer the fear of public speaking quicker and easier than you ever imagined. Trust me, I know! There are some new, quick, and innovative ways to conquer your fear of the stage once and for all, so don’t let those old mental gremlins keep you from reaching your dreams. More on that in a minute!
Alignment. “The confused mind always says no.” If you are an owner or manager of a dental practice (or any business related to dentistry), you need alignment—alignment for your team with your future vision, goals, and cultural standards; alignment with the use of new technologies; alignment of verbal skills and organizational systems. The best way to gain this alignment is to address your team, department, or even individuals with a crystal-clear message, request, or standard coupled with a heavy dose of inspiration. Clarity helps them know exactly what to do, and inspiration helps them want to take a step in that direction. Otherwise, it’s just one more thing to add to their long to-do list. Having the ability to present your requests, ideas, and aspirations to your team in a clear and compelling way is key to gaining the team alignment you seek and accomplishing your goals and objectives. Public speaking skills are nothing more than that: presenting ideas clearly and inspirationally. Learning how to do it every time you address your team will not only catapult your practice to new heights but also make your practice one that retains its employees over the long term. Good employees love working for someone who is clear and inspiring.
Career Advancement. If you are already a team lead or someday aspire to hold a leadership position within your organization, mastering the art of public speaking is an essential skill and one that will put your name at the top of the list of candidates. As a leader, you must have the ability to rally your people around a clear set of objectives and inspire them to action. This is the number one skill that owners and C-Suite executives look for in an emerging leader. Get it now and use it to build your career, expand your opportunities, and grow your value and income.
Okay, so now that I’ve convinced you that you are, will be, or should be a great presenter, how do you do it? I promise you that it is easier than you’ve been led to believe.
I’ve been speaking for over three decades in the dental, veterinary, and healthcare industries. I’ve spoken on small stages to client teams, medium-sized convention stages to hundreds of attendees as a breakout speaker or workshop trainer, and large stages to audiences of over 2,000 people as a keynote speaker. Last year, I received my C.S.P. (Certified Speaking Professional) from the National Speakers Association, which is a coveted, earned designation. Speaking is one of the most rewarding parts of my career, and I still consider it an honor to take any stage, no matter the size. But for years, I feared it. The path to delivering a concise, organized, profound message that was interesting to listen to and inspired my audience to action seemed impossible to master. But it’s not.
Today as a speaking coach, I’ve used my front-of-the-room experience and narrowed the art and craft of presentation skills down to four essential parts: speech construction, storytelling, physical delivery, and preparation/practice. If you master these, anyone can become a compelling and interesting speaker. In this article, I’ll share my formula for how to construct a great presentation and my best tip for managing those pesky nerves and jitters.
Speech Construction Using The Bookshelf Formula
The Bookshelf is our proprietary framework for organizing your thoughts, information, and content. It works like this:
The Shelf: A foundational sentence that clearly explains the “One Line Bottomline” of your presentation.
The Books (1-5): These represent the containers for your supporting concepts. There are many ways to structure your books, such as problem, solution, recommendations or mindset, skillset, and toolset. They might have chapters and subchapters and may all be different sizes and lengths, but they will organize your content so your listeners can follow your train of thought and not get lost or confused in your presentation.
The Opening Bookend: This is not content but rather a powerful opening that captivates your audience from the moment you take the stage and the moment you open your mouth. It can be a story, analogy, staggering statistic, bold claim, powerful quote, or even an exercise, but whatever you choose, it must do two things: 1) grab the audience’s attention in a powerful way and 2) foreshadow what’s coming on your bookshelf.
The Closing Bookend: Amateur speakers just run out of time, but skilled presenters always close with power and punch. They would rather cut content than ever cut their closing. This important bookend provides a quick review of the books presented, gives a clear call to action, and leaves its audiences with a heavy dose of inspiration and hope.
Now that you’ve organized your thoughts, how do you muster the courage to take the stage or step to the front of the room? A lot of speaking coaches will tell you to breathe deeply, do some jumping jacks prior to presenting, or repeat a relaxing mantra in your mind. While all of these well-intentioned tips definitely help, they only address the symptoms of the problem and not the problem itself. The problem is adrenaline, and the reason for that problem is the mental frame we have about our audience.
It’s essentially our fight-or-flight response. If we have framed the audience in our mind as a “body of judgment,” our primitive brain senses a threat to our well-being and automatically pumps adrenaline to help us “fight, flee, or freeze.” None of them work very well on stage.
Because we can’t run or fight, this unused adrenaline causes our bodies to shake, our mouths to go dry, and our stomachs to feel nauseated. But if we can re-frame the audience in our mind as a “body of need,” we now engage the pre-frontal cortex of our brains, which is responsible for empathy, logic, and executive function… great tools for owning the stage!
And the audience does need us. We wouldn’t be up there if we didn’t have something to share that would make their lives easier, better, more productive, more satisfying, more successful. There is a need in the room, and when we speak to that need, we put the emphasis on the audience and not on ourselves or how we will be judged. When we seek to soothe the pain, fill the gaps, present solutions, and administer hope, our bodies release endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin—all feel-good chemicals that calm and soothe us on stage.
Of course, there is much more to learn to become a great presenter and speaker, but it can be easier, quicker, and way more fun than you might have expected. You can deliver great presentations to your team, your industry, and beyond, and you should. Great presentations chase down big ideas; targeted interactions deliver breakthrough moments; and impeccably told stories prime the emotional pump to crystallize your message and create unforgettable moments of clarity and inspiration for whoever is in your audience.
People need our voices, expertise, and inspiration to make their jobs, careers, practices, patient outcomes, and overall lives better. You have something to share, and I encourage you to consider bringing your message to a larger audience that needs you and your unique perspective. The world is waiting for your unique brilliance, so get out there and shine!
GOOD NEWS!
There’s good news about getting these skills quickly. You don’t have to wait. You can get better now! If you’d like some help to improve your speaking skills or the skills of your entire team, check out the Inspirational Speakers Video Training Course. It’s an affordable, on-demand video series with 15 short modules to help you quickly organize your thoughts, engage your listeners, craft better stories, move with confidence, and manage your nerves.
Use this link (https://www.lionspeak.net/speakingskills/) to order and save $100 on the full course using code DEW100.
If you’d like a copy of our free resources for speakers, which includes articles on the bookshelf formula, storytelling techniques, and other amazing resources, go to this webpage: https://www.lionspeak.net/ speaking-resources/
Don’t forget to sign up for Katherine’s complimentary inspirational blog called Monday Morning Stretch. It’s where over 5,000 team members get their weekly inspiration, communication tips, and leadership reminders. http://www.lionspeak.net/blog/
About the author:
Katherine Eitel Belt and LionSpeak Communications Coaching provides training services designed to help dental teams access their own instinctive greatness and their full potential. If you’d like to dramatically improve your communication skills for frontline patient interactions, leadership conversations, team culture, and speaking skills, then visit our website www.LionSpeak. net, for a look at how we can help you master consistently excellent, unscripted communication. You’ll find audio programs, workshops, virtual and on-site team training, team culture retreats, and mystery shopper call services. Call us at (800) 595-7060 and identify yourself as a Dental Entrepreneur Women member and we’ll give you an extra 10% off!
