What is Your Communication LifeStyle?

By Carolyn Finch

As I waited at the stop sign for the children to
get off the bus, I noticed a mother with a stroller and a sleeping baby waiting at the bus stop. I was only about 15 feet from the front of the bus and could see parents standing around. This mother was holding her smart phone with her head bent downward and at times would stop and then text  or enter a number and then the phone went back up to her ear. I never saw her check on the baby in the stroller nor did she look up. Soon a cute little light skinned boy with curly brown hair about 5 or 6 years old jumped off the bus and waved a paper with a painting at his mother. Mom paid no attention to the boy so he grabbed her leg and shouted "look mom look mom"
She looked down at him and shouted "I told you not to talk to me when I'm on the phone."

My heart sank and I wanted to cry as I'm sure that the little boy wanted to do. What an ideal time for communication. This amazing transition time when a child is enthusiastic about something he has created and at the same time happy to be getting home from school. Was this a dysfunctional communication moment?  It certainly appeared that way. Would this be the base to poor communication for the next few minutes, hours and maybe even days?

The  one major aspect of being a human being is that we are able to communicate orally. Have we forgotten to be thankful for this gift of true conversation? With the advent of smart phones we have a new addiction. Research shows that the average person with a smartphone texts an average of 100 time a day wow! This type of communication determines our lifestyle and our lifestyle determines our communication.

If we have an addiction of any kind such as shopping, drinking, drugs, sickness, foods whatever,
our typical conversation will include words, phrases and stories related to our addiction. Doesn't sound like a learning listener and quality conversation to me. Therefore my challenge to you as a Blog reader is to look at everyone you speak with, eye to eye and belly to belly. This way you will be listening to the other person and as a reward you will learn something from what they say. So add to your communication lifestyle the ability to listen with your eyes.

You can improve your communication by helping yourself become more enlightened after hearing me speak at your next conference. Call now for more information or for  a one on one Speech Coaching session.203 405 3972.

Carolyn Finch Body Language and Communication LifeStyle Expert TM
Professional Speaker who will put a SPARK in your next meeting!       carolyn@carolynfinch.com

How To Build A Community With Your Podcast

One of the most powerful benefits of podcasting is that it allows you to build a global online community of raving fans. When you share your voice, you will attract the people who most need to hear your message. However, one of the limitations of podcasting is that you can't have a two way conversation with your listeners! Unless you are doing a live call in show, your listeners will hear you, but you won't hear them. And even if you do a call-in type show, you will never speak to the vast majority of people who are listening. Here are four tips for building an online community from your podcast:

#1) Name your community: My global community is called Stand Out and Be Heard and it represents my vision, which is to help coaches, authors and speakers to stand out and be heard through the power of podcasting. Give your community a name that will be enticing to your ideal listener.

#2) Give them somewhere to go: You want to invite your listeners to take a "deeper dive" with you and connect via email or on social media, where you can follow up with them. Until you convert your listeners to social media followers or email subscribers you can't have a two way conversation with them.

#3) Give them a reason to join: Be clear on the benefits of joining your community. People are invited all the time to all sorts of things. Why should they join you? What will they get out of joining the community? Will you offer free trainings? Will you provide networking opportunities? Make sure that you communicate the benefits of joining your community.

#4) Stand for something: In my experience, most people don't want to join yet another online group or be on another email list, but they do hunger to be part of a movement. I encourage you to connect with your "big why" and invite your listeners to join you on your journey. When you stand for something beyond yourself, it creates magnetic attraction and listeners will want to be part of your community.

About Doug:

Doug Foresta is a veteran podcast producer and host who has interviewed over 800 guests, including NY Times Bestselling Authors and Academy Award winners. He has helped over 1200 worldwide launch their own podcasts and offers a free 30 minute Expand Your Reach consultation where you can learn how to expand your reach with a podcast. To contact Doug call 413-883-5518 or email him at dougforesta@gmail.com.

How to Get More Clients With a Podcast

If you're a coach, author or expert you've probably heard the term "know, like and trust." This is the concept that people have to get to know, like and trust you before they will buy from you. What I want to share with you is some ideas to build YOUR know, like and trust factor with a podcast, and how that can help your business.

How many listeners do you need to your podcast for it to be successful? When I ask my clients this question, they often say 5,000 or 10,000. But what if just one person listened to your podcast? Would it still be worthwhile?

I would argue that it is. If you think of a podcast as a way to build a deeper connection with your audience and as a way to serve, then even if one person gets lots of value out of your podcast it can be worthwhile.

Take the following scenario: You are talking to someone who is thinking about working with you, but they have a lot of competing things going on in their life. They are not certain if you are the person that they need to work with, and they have so many challenges going on that they don't know where to start.

Here's what I suggest: Ask that client what their biggest challenge is, and what they would they would like to know more about. Then do a podcast addressing that challenge and possible solutions. If it's a solo podcast it can be you talking about it, and if you are doing an interview based podcast you can bring in an expert who can speak more in depth about the topic.

After you finish the podcast, you can follow up with an e-mail telling the person that you just finished a podcast addressing their very challenge and ask them for their feedback. You are not asking or trying to convince that person to do anything, you are simply providing a solution to their problem via a podcast.

If that one person becomes a loyal client and tells other people about you, was it worthwhile to do that podcast episode? (Of course I think the answer is YES!) The nice thing about podcasting is that there will be more than one listener and your client's challenge will be one that other people have, and you'll be able to serve and connect with those people to.

My challenge for you is to ask your potential clients about their biggest challenges and think about how you can create a podcast that helps them solve their problems. Do this over time and you will be their go to person for your specific topic!

About Doug:

Doug Foresta is a coach who helps coaches, speakers and authors expand their reach and build their platform with a podcast. He has helped hundreds of people from all over the world start their own successful podcasts. For more information visit www.standoutwithdoug.com or call 413-883-5518 for a free 30 minute Expand Your Reach session.

5 Ways to Boost Your Book Or Business With a Podcast

I often get asked whether creating a podcast is worth the time and effort. My experience both as a podcaster and helping speakers, authors and coaches create podcasts is that it is worth the effort, but you have to be strategic and know what you're doing. Here are 5 ways to boost your book or business with a podcast:

1) Expand Your Reach Through Interviews: If you do an interview based podcast you can reach out to leaders in your field. What I recommend is to make a list of 5-10 thought leaders in your field, as well as influencers who can connect you with the people who most need to hear what you have to say.

2) Increase Your Credibility and Visibility: Whether you are doing interviews or a solo podcast (where it's you speaking without a guest) podcasts help position you as an authority. When you are the authority in your field, it helps you enroll people in your programs and services, and paves the way for people to read your books and other content. 

3. Create a Journey for Your Listeners: Many people will start podcasts, but few will stay with them, because they won't see results from their efforts. An important part of successful podcasting is creating a "journey" for listeners. Invite your listeners to join you on a teleseminar, or email you, or sign up for a free gift. It's not enough to create a podcast. You have to create engagement and an conversation, and invite and inspire your listeners to join you. Figure out what your "journey" is and give listeners a way to work and connect with you in a deeper way.

4. Get Listed on Industry Websites: A great way to boost your visibility and get the word out about what you do is to get listed on industry websites. A powerful way to do this is to interview leaders of organizations that are related to what you do. If you are not doing an interview based podcast, you can still get the word out by using a "curation" strategy. Mention the organizations website or events and put the links to their website on your show page. Then send the podcast to the organization. There is a very good chance that they will send your podcast out to their list and put it on their website. After all, it's an endorsement of them. 

5. Be consistent: A big part of what makes podcast so powerful is that it allows you to project yourself and your message to people all over the world. Make sure to release your podcast at a regularly scheduled day and time to build trust with your audience. Soon, your ideal listeners will be excited and looking forward to your new episodes. Those are the people who will be hungry to read your new books and buy your programs, products and services. 

Want to learn more about how podcasting can help you expand your reach and get your message out in a big way? Call me at 413-883-5518 for a free 30 minute consultation, or reach out at www.dougforesta.net