Every once in a while, something happens out of the blue that surprises me – in a good way. Before I started writing, I had another life. Some of you know I started out in broadcast news but joined a PR firm in Chicago when I moved here
Eight years later I started my own business doing what I’d done at Burson-Marsteller, which was training corporate executives to be better speakers. My programs included platform speaking, presentation skills, media training, and crisis communications. Here’s the front page of my brochure from 25 years ago, and yes, that’s me behind the table.
So last week, out of the blue, I got an email from a woman who asked, “May I interview you?”
I replied, we started talking, and it turns out Sue Begent is a Women’s Business Coach. She’s holding a Women’s Speaker Summit over the summer and was interested in what I might be able to contribute. It’s called The POWERFUL, CONFIDENT and VISIBLE Summit.
One thing led to another, and I agreed to do a podcast with her. Out went all the research material for the next book. In came all my files and materials from Speaker Training, which, happily, I’d kept.
In fact, did you know that the fear of public speaking is the Number 1 fear for Americans, according to the Book Of Facts? If you are a woman in business, or a woman entrepreneur, and public speaking is one of your fears, I invite you to check out the summit over the next few weeks. You will pick up some tips and techniques for you and your business, and you might want to explore further. If you do, let me know, and I’ll try to find the resources and/or people to help you.
Who knew my past would catch up to me thirty years after the fact? Not me. Then again, if you would have told me I’d have published seventeen novels over the past twenty years, I wouldn’t have believed that either.
Details for the summit will be here starting in June; I hope you’ll attend. It’s free. And bound to be useful no matter who you are or what you’re doing. And if your past catches up to you, be kind.