Have you ever heard this old saying... "If you're nervous about speaking, just picture the audience naked!"  Personally, I believe that if you want to connect with your audience and make a lasting change you need to speak naked!

What do I mean by that? Well, let me tell you about my friend Elaine who has given me permission to tell her story. Elaine is a bubbly comedian and speaker from New York. When I met her a year and a half ago, we become instant friends. At the time, she was an emerging speaker trying to find her voice. Giving her some guidance, I asked a few questions. They led to her telling me that she had overcome an addiction and had been molested. Ouch.

Wow. She was so passionate about helping others through her experience... it was very clear to me what her "speaking subject" should be. There was no question in my mind at all. As I said, that was a year and a half ago.

Elaine was in Las Vegas this week attending a seminar. While we were catching up, the subject naturally turned to speaking. She was telling me about her progress and bragging on my Get Paid to Speak by Next Week® program. She was laughing about how we typically fool ourselves into thinking that we'll go back and do exercises "later." That's the most important part! She said that I had made it so simple and straight forward. It helped remind her of our discussion when when we first
met. Then she told me about her huge "ah ha" success.

Elaine is a persistent hard worker and has been getting "stage time" any where she can. New York is a tough place to do comedy. She has also been working hard to "showcase" for National Association for College Admission. NACA showcasing is the key to getting to perform at colleges around the country. It's a big investment to showcase -- but if it pays off, it can make a comedy career.

Although her main goal was to do "comedy" in the college market, Elaine ended up booking a $1500 speech to talk about overcoming addiction without hardly any effort! She's SO excited about it that I tried to inspire her into parlaying that into much more. She confessed that this was where her passion was, but she was getting caught up in what "everyone else" thought success was. At the convention she was attending, there was so much 'hype' of what she should be speaking about or where the money is, that she got overwhelmed.

Elaine's advice to other speakers, "Take some time to sit quietly and listen to your heart about what you should be speaking about."

Elaine is willing -- even excited --  to reveal her story to others. She says that there are so many people out there who've been molested, but no one is willing to talk about it. People need to talk about it to heal. Revealing yourself and being willing to "be naked" in front of an audience can be powerful. Remember, it's not about you. It's about how your story helps the individuals in the audience.

Are you willing to "speak naked" to truly inspire your audience? What will you reveal?