The sound of your voice, the words you choose, your body language–they all work together giving people a sense of your intelligence, your professionalism, your energy.

People base their perception of you on what you communicate and most importantly, how you communicate it. The question is,

“Is the delivery of your message complimenting your personal brand or hindering it?

According to Dr. Carol Fleming, speech pathologist and personal communication coach, how we say what we say matters more than we know. In her book, It’s The Way You Say It: Becoming Well-Spoken, Articulate, and Clear, she says:

While  your expertise and skills are, of course, essential, it is your personal verbal communication that transmits your expertise and confidence to other people.

She also shares that

….your body, words, and voice must ideally communicate the same thing at the same time for [you] the speaker to come across as professional, trustworthy, and appealing.

Personal Assessment

So, do you sound like a leader?

• Are you attracting those you have been called to serve?
• Are you attracting those who could possibly partner with you in a business venture?
• Are you attracting those who might contribute to your mission?

The Interview with Dr. Carol Fleming

Answer those questions and then listen to the in-depth conversation I had with Dr. Carol Fleming on Tuesday, April 2nd. She has 30 years of experience in the field of speech pathology and it is evident in her very detailed responses to the questions that I ask. We even went over our 45 minutes a tad because she had so much to share and I had so much to ask. In fact, she didn’t even get to answer all of the questions I had. You know me….my inquiring mind wants to know.

Listen Now 

About Dr. Carol Fleming

Dr. Carol Fleming has been working with people on refining the sound of their voices for over 30 years. As a speech and language pathologist, she uses education and skills developed for the clinic and apply them to the more subtle needs of the business and professional world.

While others may offer public speaking training, speech therapy, or theater skills, Dr. Fleming takes a holistic approach helping people address any concerns they may have about the impression they make by the way they communicate both verbally and non-verbally.

The second edition of her book, It’s The Way You Say It, was just released in March 2013. She is also the author of two bestselling audio programs–The Sound of Your Voice and The Serious Business of Small Talk. You can learn more about her at www.speechtraining.com.

I was the valedictorian of the Class of ’89 at Cresset Christian Academy in Durham, N.C.

Although, I had always loved school and did my very best since kindergarten; I’d worked extremely hard to “prove” myself once my mom enrolled me in a Christian school my eighth grade year. I was the only student of color in my class, so I felt this insurmountable pressure to show my classmates that I was just as smart as or even smarter than they were. I never imagined that my hard work would position me to have the highest GPA. It never even crossed my mind.

So, when I found out that I was valedictorian, I was so shocked. You might say I was flabbergasted.

Well, you may have thought that I would have gone on to some Ivy League College or at least gone to one of the larger more competitive public universities in North Carolina or some other state.

You may have thought that I would have pursued a career that would have paid me six figures, easily, in the mid ’90′s like law, accounting, computer technology, marketing and advertising, or even medicine; but, I didn’t.

In fact, when it came time for me to choose a career and an institution of higher learning, I settled.

I settled because I did not go to the college that I really wanted to go to and I did not choose the career path that I really wanted to choose. I chose to play it  safe in both regards. I chose to go to a very small HBCU (historically Black College or University) in North Carolina and I chose to major in elementary education.

SAFE. SAFE. SAFE.

I now know that what fueled my logic, what fed my sense of inadequacy, even though my entire scholastic record said I was highly capable,  is something called the Impostor Syndrome. It is the reason I literally talked myself out of taking risks and really pushing myself after high school.

But, don’t cry for me.

Even though I  may have short-changed myself to some degree, this post is not about obsessing over the past. It is about acknowledging a mindset that is very prevalent in successful people–particularly women.

The Impostor Syndrome is a very real phenomenon that successful women, professional women, and women who are climbing the-bring-home-the-bacon-fry-it-up-in-a-pan-I-am-every-woman-ladder struggle with in spite of their abilities, education, salaries, and accolades.

This post is about resetting our minds so that we do not allow this syndrome to overtake us and keep us from joyfully fulfilling our divine purpose.

Assess Yourself

Do you suffer from listening to the “private voices of self-doubt” even though you are an accomplished leader in your field? 

Have you obtained the education, accolades, awards, and salary of  an expert in your industry but yet you struggle with believing that you really deserve any of it?

Do people consider you a role model or look to you for great counsel and advice; yet, inside you are still asking yourself questions like “What if they find out I’m not as smart as they think I am? or “Can I really pull this off?”

If so, you may be suffering from the hidden fears and insecurities that millions of successful people struggle with known as the Impostor Syndrome and it is time that you are SET FREE.

Interview with Dr. Valerie  Young 

On Friday, March 29th, I had a wonderful discussion about this subject with Dr. Valerie Young, author of The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How To Thrive In Spite of It. She shared strategies that will help you transform your thinking so that you can “reach new heights” and “positively thrive.”

Dr. Young is an accomplished speaker and her career-related tips have been cited in publications around the world including The Wall Street Journal, USA Weekend, More magazine, Woman’s Day, Redbook, Psychology Today, The Chicago Tribune, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Mail, The Irish Independent, and Entrepreneur to name a few. You can learn more about her at www.impostorsyndrome.com.

Listen Now

Thoughts From You

• What Do You Think About This Phenomenon?
• Have you experienced it or do you know someone who has? Please share your thoughts below. I love to hear from you!

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Do you know exactly who you have been called to serve?

I mean, if I were to ask you to list all of the characteristics of your ideal client, would that be easy for you to do?

And if you can do that, do you know how to position yourself  as the authority in your field so that when your ideal client is looking for a solution to the problem that you solve, you are their ultimate problem solver—without reservation?

Well, yesterday’s show is entitled How to Dominate Your Niche and I was blessed to have Ms. Stephanie Chandler, author of Own Your Niche, on Books That Transform for 47 minutes.

Stephanie shared some of the incredible, results-oriented tips and strategies in her book that focus on choosing the right audience, demonstrating authority in  your field, showcasing your unique skills, and bringing value to your audience.She talked about building loyalty, community, and brand recognition, giving more than receiving, and about growing your business.

All About Stephanie Chandler

Stephanie Chandler is an author of several books including Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business, From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur: Make Money with Books, eBooks and Information Products, and LEAP! 101 Ways to Grow Your Business.

Stephanie is also founder and CEO of BusinessInfoGuide.com, a directory of resources for entrepreneurs, and Authority Publishing, a custom publisher specializing in non-fiction books. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, she has been featured in Entrepreneur magazine, BusinessWeek, and Wired magazine, and she is a contributing blogger for Forbes. To learn more about her, visit stephaniechandler.com.

Listen Now

Share Your Thoughts & Spread the Word

Wasn’t that some great, applicable content? I had so much fun talking to Stephanie, but more than that, I know that the information that she gave in that short amount of time is really simple, powerful, and effective.

Share your thoughts on the interview and go tell a friend (who wants to sustain a relevant, profitable business enterprise but needs a little direction on how to increase visibility and loyalty with the right audience) all about it.

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• Next show: Friday, March 29th at 12:00 p.m. (EST), The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women with Dr. Valerie Young author of The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer From the Imposter Syndrome & How To Thrive In Spite of It

Questions I Asked Stephanie

Stephanie, since your book is entitled Own Your Niche and the show is entitled How to Dominate Your Niche, I’d love for you to “educate” us on a couple of things—

• What is a niche?

• How does a small business entrepreneur or solopreneur choose a profitable niche by which he or she can dominate?

Now, that you have defined niche for us and we have a clearer understanding on how to select a profitable one, how then do we establish or niche identity and why is that so important?

Stephanie, on today’s show, I promised the listeners that they would learn online and offline methods that would get them the kind of exposure that will establish them as leaders in their industries. I am counting on you to be our tour guide on this journey. So, let’s divide our discussion into two parts—online strategies/tactics and offline strategies. Is that okay with you?

 Great! Well, let’s start with online tactics first.

 One of the things that made me want to really get into your book was when you began by addressing some of the unethical behaviors that are going on online these days. Stephanie, explain to us the difference between the kind of marketing tactics that most of us are bombarded with today and the kind of marketing that you advocate?

Stephanie, I’d like to share a website with you and the audience and that is www.guzymusic.com. It is the website of a music producer in the Greensboro area where I live named Luguzy Atkins. Now, Luguzy just created his website this year and he is open to any advice you might give him. So, let’s use his site as our model for this portion of the show.

Share with us specific online strategies that he could implement that would—

• Establish his authority as a producer

• Build his audience & engage his community

• Turn his website into a “client conversion machine”

• Increase his website traffic

 In chapter six which is entitled Blogs Rule, you say that “A blog is hands-down one of the most important elements of a successful website.” What are entrepreneurs who do not consistently blog missing out on?

 While we are in this vein, let’s talk about content marketing. If you were starting your business from scratch in 2013 what would be the top two types of content marketing you would implement consistently to establish yourself as an authority in your industry and why?

 Stephanie, I love the fact that you devote an entire chapter to internet revenue streams—multiple streams of income. Give us an example of a client or an entrepreneur in your book who has mastered the art of creating multiple streams of income online.

 Stephanie, now it is time for us to delve into becoming a rock star offline. Professional Speaking is the first offline method that you address. What would you say to the person who 1) does not know exactly how to create interesting speaking topics, 2) needs pointers on how to actually get on the speaking circuit?

 Another method that you address is event promotion. Betty Brand Specialist is only interested in hosting paid events. What are the pros and cons of having this kind of perspective?

 Stephanie, there is no way we could touch on all of the offline strategies that you cover in your book, but if I gave you an apple pie and I asked you to divide it into pieces that represent the fresh new marketing plan of a start-up or start over entrepreneur, how many would go to online strategies and how many would go to offline strategies?

So, you have several social media accounts.

You interact with your network on a regular basis, but still you aren’t receiving enough traffic from those sites to your home base from the people you have been called to serve.

You need a strategic social media marketing plan that will attract clients & increase your bottom line.

To learn more about effectively using social media as a solo entrepreneur, I interviewed Gail Z. Martin, the best-selling author of  30 Days to Social Media Success: The 30 Day Results Guide to Making the Most of Twitter, Blogging, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Listen Now

Interview Questions for Gail Z. Martin

As usual, I asked Gail the questions that I thought you might want to ask her if you had the opportunity–questions that would get right down to the root of using social media marketing in the best way.

1. So, Gail, your bio is so impressive and it is apparent that not only are you good at what you do, but you are passionate about it. When did you realize that being a marketing expert is what you were called to do?

2. Gail, you are known as the “Get Results Resource” for marketing that works, helping small and start-up businesses, consultants, coaches, authors, and solo professionals succeed through affordable publicity. Tell us about a specific client you coached who had more time than money to invest in his or her marketing budget but were still able to meet their business goals.

3. Gail, I love the fact that you refer to your book as The 30 Day Results Guide. You say that we will see our social media marketing go from zero to full speed if we apply the RESULTS approach for the next 30 days. Please break down the RESULTS approach for us while we take copious notes.

4. Gail, I think it is so important that we now go back to the basics and by that I mean we need to discuss what you call the most powerful marketing tool—the business plan. Unfortunately, there are small business and solo entrepreneurs who are in business without a plan. Give us your take on what should be included in our business plan.

5. The next important document that you layout in the book is the action plan. On page 41 you say, “Your action plan is the key to the rest of your 30-day success because it’s your map and your to-do list.” Let’s say that one of Molly Marketer’s business goals is to increase her list of subscribers to her ezine from 200 to 2000 in the next 12 months. What would her to-do list possibly look like for just the next 30 days?

6. Gail, you have been selected to be a member of my debate team. We affirm that social media is a marketing essential for the small business or solo entrepreneur. What would be three of our arguments to support this stance?

7. Gail, you cover the gamut of social media in your book, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Squidoo, Digg It, YouTube, Flickr and blogging. Now, Pinterest, Instagram, and several other new sites can be added to the list. What would you say to the entrepreneur who feels pressured to be on as many sites as possible?

8. Gail, one of the most intriguing concepts that you explain is the “touches and trigger points” concept. What are touches and trigger points and how do social media play a role in them?

9. Gail, this is my favorite part of the show—the part where the expert gets to consult with an entrepreneur live. Today, we have Stevii Mills, the Shepreneur’s Best Girlfriend of www.juststevii.com. Stevii would like to get your help with developing her social media marketing plan. Would you take her through the process you outline in chapter 2 and then give her some advice on how to best align her social media marketing efforts with her business goals?

10. Gail, after that amazing mini-consultation I am sure that someone listening would love to work with you or have you speak to their organization. How might they get in contact with you and what kinds of programs, products and services do you offer?

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