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Episode #122: Terri Trespicio
173 Plays7 years ago
Terri Trespicio is an award-winning writer, speaker, and branding pro, and works with individuals and organizations to help nail their messaging and engage clients, customers, and fans. Her TEDx talk, “Stop Searching for Your Passion” has earned more than 3...
The post Episode #122: Terri Trespicio appeared first on PolicyViz.
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Transcript
Welcome and Spring Greetings
00:00:11
Speaker
Welcome back to the Policy Vis podcast. I'm your host, John Schwabisch. I hope we're having a lovely beginning to the spring.
From Data Viz to Presentation Skills
00:00:18
Speaker
Over the last few weeks, we have talked about mostly data visualization, some data visualization research. We've talked about visual trumpery with Alberto Cairo. And this week, we're going to switch gears a little bit and talk about presentation skills, presentation techniques, and how you can do both a better job of presenting and also how maybe to market yourself a little bit.
00:00:38
Speaker
to get those big speaking gigs you've always wanted to
Introducing Terri Trespicio
00:00:41
Speaker
get. And so to help me talk about that, I'm very excited to have Terry Traspeccio, who is a brand advisor, speaker, writer, coach, all the good things that help people communicate their content, their analysis and their work. Terry, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thank you. So excited to be here. Yeah, it's
Terri's Career Journey
00:00:57
Speaker
great to chat with you. Um, I thought we would start simply by just having you talk a little bit about your background and how you got into this. And then we can talk about all the great stuff you do about helping people present.
00:01:06
Speaker
Yes. Well, I began my career as a magazine editor at Martha Stewart Omni Media. And so I basically spent my life, a better part of a decade there, creating and assigning content for a specific brand, for a magazine inside of the Martha brand.
00:01:21
Speaker
That magazine is since gone, but it was a wonderful magazine. It used to be called Whole Living. And I got to do content printed for the print magazine, but also hosted a live daily radio show on SiriusXM. Did a lot of presentations in a lot of media. So I got to learn how to be kind of an omni editor, which means you're creating content for lots of platforms. And so when I left there, AKA I got laid off like a lot of editors,
00:01:45
Speaker
and that magazine went away, I realized that this little bag of skills I had would be useful to anyone who's looking to communicate and attract an audience. So for a long time, I kind of hired myself out as an external editor in chief for different content campaigns and that kind of thing. And I still do quite a bit of copywriting for some high profile clients. But what I also do and what's become very exciting for me is to help people shape what they do,
Effective Communication Strategies
00:02:12
Speaker
and be able to present it, whether that's online, whether they want to present from a TED stage. I actually had a very successful TEDx talk of my own, and that was not only fun, but has given me the chance to work with other people who want to do the same.
00:02:27
Speaker
So the way I explain what I do, and of course, you know, when you're an entrepreneur, you're sort of making it up as you go and creating and finding what you're good at. But I found that the one thing I'm really, really good at above everything else is being able to distill someone's identity down to a line or two, help them figure out, help anyone, business owners, executives, figure out what it is they do and why it makes them different. And that's really important whether you're trying to redo a website or you want to do a big talk, no matter what you're trying to communicate.
00:02:57
Speaker
It's interesting because it sounds like over your career, you've had to think about communicating in these very different platforms. When you work with people, are they often looking to go through these different platforms of speaking and also writing, print, digital, audio? So how do you talk to people about all these different channels?
Platform Focus for Thought Leaders
00:03:17
Speaker
And I mean, how do you help people manage it? Because it seems like
00:03:20
Speaker
You know, every five minutes, there's like a new social media platform that we're supposed to be on. Yeah. Well, the short answer is you shouldn't be doing everything. And I'm not doing everything. Like I beat myself up regularly for not being like more active on Instagram. And I'm like, you know, we know, I think inherently which platforms we gravitate toward. And there's so many.
00:03:39
Speaker
in so many emerging ones, and video, of course, is becoming so huge, it's really hard to get people's attention without video. So I don't say you have to do everything, but you have to know what content platforms, what will serve you best. And in fact, helping people go from doing what they do to being known for it, which is what I do, like helping people become thought leaders and really establish themselves as thought leaders, whether they want to do that in media or in TV, you know,
00:04:05
Speaker
Whatever, it starts with content. I really believe that. Granted, I came from a content editor standpoint. But I think if you don't have something valuable to say, you don't figure out a way to say it. It's going to be very hard to get attention.
Rich or Famous? Guiding Content Focus
00:04:18
Speaker
I don't care how much money you dump into Facebook ads. People, I'm going to buy a lot of Facebook. I'm going to buy this. You can't funnel your way to success without something valuable that people want.
00:04:29
Speaker
And so to my mind, it's someone will tell me, I wanna do a talk or I want my website to be better. I can't help people do everything because I don't do everything. You have to pick and choose what's most important for your particular business.
00:04:43
Speaker
So when people come to you and they say, I want to be a thought leader in my field, do you start by saying, okay, what's the content that you have and let's find the right channels for that and the right audiences for that for you to become a thought leader so that you can, you know, get the good book contract and go, you know, give the big Ted talk.
00:05:03
Speaker
Yes. In fact, my work has become really focused on the consulting part on the early end of this because I barely have time enough to do my own stuff. I can't write people's books and create their courses and do this, but most people get overwhelmed about thinking of the different ways they can manage their platform. John, this is what I ask everyone. I say, do you want to be rich or do you want to be famous?
00:05:22
Speaker
That's the question. But most people want to be both. But you know why I ask that? Because if you say you want to be rich, it's usually because you have a lot of expertise, but you haven't figured out how to monetize it. And if you say you want to be famous, it might be that you have enough money or you have money coming in from your business, but no one knows who you are.
00:05:41
Speaker
Those are two different problems to solve. So I ask someone, what is the priority?
Thought Leaders vs Business Leaders
00:05:46
Speaker
Let's be honest. I mean, the work I do gets very personalized. I say, how are you doing in your business? Are you making money? Because if you are not, that has to be front and center. Because investing in the platform it takes to be a thought leader, you don't do it to make a quick grab for cash. And if you do, people will see right through you and they will not like it.
00:06:02
Speaker
So, I say either you have to have substantial business and income coming in, so we can think about how you're going to elevate yourself to thought leader, but you don't go from having nothing to becoming a thought leader. There are several stages, iterations of that.
00:06:15
Speaker
Yeah. Let me ask, do you hate the term thought leader? No. I think it's really important. I think people, it does trigger an eye roll because it's like, okay, everyone's a thought leader. I actually said in an event recently, I said, what is the term thought leader mean to you when I say that? And someone raised their hand and said, a boring blog. And I said, my God, that's the wrong way to look at thought leader. The way I separate it is this way.
00:06:35
Speaker
There's business leaders and thought leaders. You can be both. But a business leader is known as a business leader because they have mastered the what. They know what to do to make money and to build a sustainable business. A thought leader asks why. A thought leader provokes us and challenges ways of thinking. So if you're really good at what you do, the level up to thought leader is, okay, now teach us how you think so we can learn from your perspective and apply to our own businesses.
00:07:04
Speaker
That's hard to do if you're like, I don't have two cents to rub together. I think the problem is not enough people are seeing themselves as thought leaders. They're just running themselves into the ground doing their job. Now you speak to a lot of people who are, some of them are kind
Presentation Tips: Avoiding Assumptions
00:07:19
Speaker
of research people and policy people, people who know a lot of stuff. The challenge is to think above that and say, okay, you know what you know.
00:07:27
Speaker
But why would this be compelling to someone else? And if you don't know, then you have not landed on the thing that will attract an audience. That's what I do. I always say to people, I'm the smartest dumb person. That is why you need me because I'm ignorant too. I am not of any one person's industry. But I can go in, I listen to you. I'm an expert, like interpreter of your thoughts. I can spin it right back to you and say, is this what you're saying? Because I'm like the interpreter between you and the world.
00:07:52
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Which I think a lot of people who are especially experts in different fields, they're like... They're too close to it. They're too close to it. Yeah. Too close. But the way I look at it, John, is you cannot worry about the leaves on the trees. They're like, what about courses? What about paid offerings? What about my blog? What about my podcast? I say, you've got to establish the trunk of the tree first. That's the work we do.
00:08:12
Speaker
What is the trunk of that tree? Once we know that, you can go off into blog world or you can do a podcast or create a paid offering. But the key, as you probably know, is you can't do any of that without an engaged audience. And of course, one powerful, I find one of the most powerful ways to attract a following for me has been speaking. And I do a lot of different stuff. Speaking is the way and so many people do it in ways that hurt them rather than help them.
00:08:37
Speaker
Yeah. So on that topic, in your view, what does nearly every presenter do wrong? Or maybe what could they do better? Well, both. Every presenter gets up and assumes that the audience kind of knows what they know. It's the
Three Essential Presentation Questions
00:08:49
Speaker
worst assumption to make. You must assume, even if you're presenting to an industry event where people are from your background, when you make assumptions and you succumb to the curse of knowledge, meaning you think everyone knows what you know, you will make assumptions, you'll make leaps and logic and jumps that people go, what? They won't follow you.
00:09:05
Speaker
And when I say that to someone, because I've helped lots of people put their talks together, put their pitches together, and they say, oh, no, no, no, these people know. They're really smart. They know what I'm saying. I'm like, nope, because I don't. If I don't understand it, no one does. Because you're paying me to listen to you and try to understand it. And if I don't, then you're in trouble. So the first thing I say is, don't make any assumptions and start in the moment.
00:09:28
Speaker
I can't tell you, if I could strike one phrase from every single person's talk, it would be, for those of you who don't know me, never, ever, ever say that from a podium. Because what you've already done now is split the room up into the people who know you and the people who don't, and you've made us feel that we're late to the game. Always start and assume that no one knows you and no one cares. You never start with biographical information. I will never get up and go, hi, my name is Tara, let me tell you about myself.
00:09:54
Speaker
Because no one cares. Nobody cares. You've got to start right into what their problem is. So actually, that brings me down to the things you should ask yourself before you give any talk. Here are the three questions you ask yourself before you give any talk before you dare to step foot on a stage. You say to yourself, why are they here? Why are they sitting here?
00:10:13
Speaker
Why am I here? And why are they paying me? And if they're not paying me, then ask yourself again, why am I here? Because that's important. And by the way, there are sometimes I'll speak for free if I am, you know, maybe I'm promoting a course or a program or something. But the first question is, why are they there? And when I'm hired to speak, I say to the organizer, tell me why they're there.
00:10:34
Speaker
No, they want to be entertained. Nope. Tell me why they're really there. Did they pay $5,000 a plate to be there? Are they there because their boss is making them be there? Are they unhappy in their business? Are they looking to become thought leaders? Why are they there? Your talk, even if you give the same talk everywhere.
00:10:49
Speaker
you must customize for every audience, especially in the way you talk to them. Then you have to say to yourself, why am I here? Do I want to be in with this crowd? Do I want to hopefully meet some clients here? Do I want to establish myself in an audience full of my peers? They are not going to hire me, but they just want to know what I do. And so you have to ask yourself that and shape the entire talk around that.
00:11:10
Speaker
And then remember, by the way, John, sorry, but the people who are paying you, they have a different need than the people in that audience. People in the audience might want to be inspired and be bored of their jobs. The people are paying you to get
Building a Speaking Career
00:11:20
Speaker
those people inspired, but not so inspired that they quit. I had someone actually tell me that. They said, we want you to motivate them, but not so much that they leave their jobs.
00:11:27
Speaker
So remember, don't do something anti the people who are paying you. Yeah, right. Now let me ask you this about paying. I think a lot of people struggle with that part where they're giving a lot of talks, they feel that they're good speaker, they want to move from giving free talks to getting paid for it. And I often feel like a lot, especially a lot of conferences are still reluctant to pay speakers, even though it's a skill and you're being invited for
00:11:52
Speaker
your knowledge, your content, right? So, yeah. So, so how do you, this is a big question. Yeah. How do you get paid? Yeah. Yeah. I saw on a Facebook group for speakers, I saw someone post, how do you convince someone to pay you? And I said, you will never do that. You cannot convince someone who's an event organizer to have a budget they don't have. And the fact is, look, I do standup comedy too, kind of in my spare time. But, uh, listen, no one's paying people to do that either. You know why? Because if you don't do it, someone else will.
00:12:22
Speaker
Those spots speaking at conferences are highly coveted. And if you demand a huge speaker fee and they didn't ask to pay you, they ain't going to hire you. They're not bringing you in. They're going to pay you with stipend maybe, look, for $500 maybe to speak. This is not life-changing money. However, I have done them and sometimes will selectively do events for nothing. Why? Because I need to get in front of that audience. Because the goal as a speaker is not just to get paid for that day and go home. That's short thinking.
00:12:51
Speaker
Even if you get paid $10,000, $15,000 a talk, if you did five of those a year, great, that's money. But if it doesn't go anywhere else, you're done. So number one, you've got to be really good to get paid. You better be that good.
00:13:06
Speaker
And I know that there's skill involved in speaking and people should pay you, but guess what? Writing too. But a lot of people don't get paid to write either. So my point is this,
Leveraging Speaking Gigs and Content Sharing
00:13:14
Speaker
if you're a speaker, you must be collecting email addresses at every event where you speak. If you get up there, tell people to email you or go to your website and see you later, you've wasted your time. And you won't see me ever speak. Even today, I'm going to give you an opt-in because I want people to decide, oh, I liked her talk. I liked her. I'd like to say a touch with her.
00:13:33
Speaker
You give them a way to opt in, you have their emails and you keep talking to them. You cultivate them as your audience. They may not all hire you, most of them won't, but you need to have them in your world. If you did 10 talks for nothing and you got 2000 names out of it, you just got paid. So start thinking about it's not just in money, it's an opportunity. If I don't do an event and get invited to two more events as a result of that event, then something's wrong.
00:13:59
Speaker
And if you're doing a bunch of events, not getting paid, no one's inviting you to speak again, then you've got to revisit what you're presenting. Um, so, and by the way, let's move into the, how do you get paid more? One of my friends and colleagues is Dorie Clark, who if you haven't interviewed her, it'll be great when I'm on, she's the author, entrepreneurial you that woman gets paid to speak. And you know how she did it. She wrote for Harvard business review. She tried and tried and tried to get in there to write for them. Finally, she got it. I mean, she was persistent and she was writing
00:14:26
Speaker
For them and a few other publications, up to 15 articles a month for free. She had to prove that she had the content and she did. And you know what happened? People see that content and they invite you to speak. No one's going to pay you when you ask to speak there. That's why I don't really apply to many conferences. Most of the stuff I get paid for and I get paid well to speak, people reach out to me. And why? Because you've demonstrated your expertise online.
00:14:52
Speaker
So you're not writing about your expertise and what you want to speak about. If you're not writing articles about a LinkedIn and sharing content about that and always pumping out content, at least a new article, like twice a month, at the very least, how are people going to know what you're good at? Right.
00:15:08
Speaker
So that content, that thought leadership platform, you can't sit at home and wish someone would call you and pay you a lot to speak. I put enough stuff out there. By the way, TEDx is another great thing.
The Impact of TEDx Talks
00:15:17
Speaker
I had that TEDx talk I did. I got over 3.5 million views to date. That is my calling card. I don't even have a speaker reel yet. I'm like lazy putting it together. That TEDx talk is my reel.
00:15:26
Speaker
because watch it and I go, boom, we know we've seen her in action. P.S., if you don't have video on your site and no one knows what you look or sound like, good luck getting paid. You need to have a little bit of zhuzh on your resume and on your website so people go, oh, this person's a speaker.
00:15:42
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. To actually demonstrate that you've done it and you know how to do it, what you look like, what you sound like. Absolutely. You mentioned you do in your, in your, what I assume is just your copious spare time. You're doing a stand-up comedy. I want to ask about
00:15:57
Speaker
how let's talk about that. Yeah, speakers can can wrap humor into their talks. But I also want to ask you, how do you push the difference between a talk you're giving, where you are talking about content versus stand up comedy, which is a very different type of presentation?
Speaking vs Comedy
00:16:15
Speaker
Oh, completely different. I mean, there's actually a very clear line. When you're paid to do stand-up or you go do stand-up, you do it at a comedy club, you go in there, no one cares who you are, no one cares about your resume, they will boo you off if you're no good. I have always loved comedy. I always had a fantasy about doing comedy. And when I would do public speaking, I would always work in what felt like natural comedy to me. And finally, I was like, look, I've been flirting with this forever. I need to go do it. So I took a class.
00:16:41
Speaker
And then I started getting, you know, booking myself to do it. I would bring her shows, I'd bring friends and I did it. And you know what it did is it didn't make me, it doesn't help your content necessarily on your thought leadership. That's a different world. What it does make you is learn to write jokes and learn to master a solid five minutes set in front of people.
00:16:58
Speaker
It is terrifying. It's way scarier for me than doing a conference. I can get up at a conference for a thousand people, not nervous. I'm getting up at a comedy club. You're on equal footing and no one cares. They didn't reach your bio. You know what I mean? But let me tell you, you can get laughs.
00:17:13
Speaker
During your talks, if you understand how laughter works, you do not have to be a professional comedian. You do not have to be a professional joke writer. In fact, if we try to write jokes, chances are they're not going to go well. And I would never risk lame jokes or slightly edgy, could turn people off jokes on the spot, never. But I will tell you, if we have time for it, a few ways to get laughs during your talk.
Using Humor Effectively
00:17:37
Speaker
Yes, absolutely. So first understand this, when people laugh, when you're on a stage teaching or talking or whatever you're doing, laughter is how people connect with you. It's a community response. It's actually a sociological thing. It's not laughter is what happened when you tell a joke. That's something that we made up. Laughter is a tension reliever. People laugh at things that are true, not necessarily funny.
00:18:02
Speaker
And people laugh at what is very specific. So I realized that early on and I wasn't trying to be funny. I would just be me. I'm incredibly honest and unfiltered. Not everyone will say things that I would say and that's fine. But when you're talking about a serious topic,
00:18:18
Speaker
and you make a little light joke, like a little light references, you know, you lighten it up a little, people will laugh because they, oh, thank God they needed that release. If it's very serious, if you're up there talking about something sad, you'll actually get a laugh when you make a little self deprecating joke during something serious because you allow the audience to connect with you.
00:18:36
Speaker
how to get people to laugh. If you say, well, the other night I was watching TV and I was thinking this, no one's going to laugh at that. But if you say, you know, it really struck me other night. I was in my pajamas watching reruns of Say Yes to the Dress. People will laugh because it's a specific pop cultural reference. For whatever reason, you make a specific joke. Don't say, oh, I love this. Just make reference to your normal life. People love it. And they laugh because they go, oh, my God, we can connect to this person. Oh, my God, that's just like me.
00:19:06
Speaker
The more you can connect to and be just like the audience, the better too many people do the opposite. They humble brag. They try to make themselves look bigger and better. In fact, the best advice I could give you a TEDx organizer and largest TEDx event in the country gave me. He was line editing my talk and he said, why'd you put this in here? And I was talking about something I'd worked on.
00:19:25
Speaker
And I said, I just thought it'd be good to know. He goes, nope, you're putting it in there because you think it makes you look good. Take it out. And I was like, oh, that's true. He said, you're already high status when you're on a TED stage. You're already high status on stage period. You don't need to make yourself look good. Because the fact is, if you brag about stuff you've done, people feel more distant from you. What you want and how you get laughs is to make them realize that you're just like them.
00:19:49
Speaker
The more you do that, the better. And guess what? Anyone could do it. You could do it. Anyone who says, well, I'm not that funny. Yes, you would be, especially the more you are yourself. You've mentioned the TED, the TEDx stage a few times. How do people, aside from being a thought leader or, you know, rich and or famous, how
Getting a TEDx Slot
00:20:08
Speaker
do people get on the TEDx stage? I think that's like a dream goal for a lot of a lot of presenters.
00:20:14
Speaker
doesn't have to be a dream goal because you do not have to be rich or famous. In fact, the TEDx people are very leery of anyone super slick. If you're a slick sales presenter or corporate speaker and you do lots of these things and you're super slick, they are more dubious of you. TEDx is not about status. You don't have to be a thought leader to give one. TEDx has become the gold standard of public speaking
00:20:35
Speaker
and totally democratizes great ideas, meaning you could get up there as a waitress and share a powerful story and a lesson you learned from it and blow someone out of the water who has a PhD. So let's get rid of that idea right now. Anyone within the sound of my voice can give a TEDx talk. A TED main stage talk? That's a lot harder. I have not done that. They are way selective, but they also look at their TEDx presenters to see if there's any ideas there that they might be able to feature.
00:21:03
Speaker
But to my mind, TEDx is the way to go because there are so many. And you can actually just look it up on the TEDx website, the TED website. TEDx is an independently organized TED event. They are franchises of the main TED event. So that means they have very different organizers of varying skill levels and tastes, but they do have to adhere to certain
00:21:24
Speaker
rules that stick by the TED branding and the way they approach a TED talk. So this is something I teach. I have a course on it. I use the TED model for like everything. But for speaking, you need to have an idea, an original idea and an original personal story. Not too personal if you don't want to get too personal. But if you have a unique take on something and a lesson you learned from it, you have the making of a TEDx talk.
00:21:48
Speaker
So all these ideas about things you need, nope, not at all. So you go online, you can see what 10x events are happening, you can apply to any and all, you can have someone nominate you, but they're going to want to see like what if you're giving a thing like, Oh, you should really love yourself. Well, that's been done. Tell me what made you learn to love yourself.
00:22:06
Speaker
There needs to be something that's, it doesn't have to be like Brené Brown because Brené Brown is busy being Brené Brown. What you have to do is find what's really unique about your story and it can be done.
00:22:18
Speaker
It's great, all great advice for people. And I think what I'm hearing really from you is to be an individual, both in your content that's unique to you as a person and also your personality, let both of those come through. But it's not just, you don't just get up there and do it. It takes development and takes time and it takes strategic thought to promote that.
00:22:39
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, you know, I think speaking is, you don't have to be perfect to go do some speaking. In fact, it's crazy to think you should be commanding high phases as a speaker if you're new or you don't quite know what's of value. Start speaking and do it for little or nothing to open mic your talks. Like basically go around and see what's hitting people, what isn't. Hold an event yourself, a small event for free and see, hey, I'm going to teach this thing. Let's see. And say it's free, but your only requirement is to give me feedback on what you thought was helpful.
00:23:07
Speaker
Talk is always evolving. I'm always evolving mine too, but I've been doing it longer, so it's quicker for me. You also teach courses, right? So if people want to learn more, I'll put the link to your site, but if they want to learn more, if they want to take a class. Well, I have a specific thing I want to tell you, and that is that I am actually hosting my first in-person event called Tap to Speak Live. My course is called Tap to Speak. I teach you how to create your signature or TEDx talk.
00:23:36
Speaker
But I'm doing a live event June 7th and 8th is going to be fantastic. You're actually going to learn to do this and create your talk in two days, not finished, but you're going to break the ice on it. You're going to hear from TEDx organizers, other TEDx speakers. And so because I don't have a sales page up for yet, I'm telling people to text this. So text the word Terri T, T-E-R-R-I-T, and my name Terri T, to the number 44222.
00:24:02
Speaker
So 44222 is where you'd put the phone number. And Terry T is the only thing you put in the text that don't write anything else. And that will get you into my loop. And then I will reach out and make sure you know about that event and others. I'm also having some other trainings. I'll keep you up to date on all of that.
00:24:18
Speaker
Very good, so that's great. So I will link to your site. If you're out there listening, interested in learning how to create your keynote signature talk. Oh, I have a giveaway too, by the way. It's 25 questions to find your TED worthy idea. I have a list of 25 questions I've carefully curated to help you identify. You'll find one that works for your idea so that you can help dig down and create your TED talk this year.
00:24:44
Speaker
Lovely. This is great advice, and I think people can put this in their back pocket, and they should definitely check out your site to learn more. Terri, thanks so much for coming on the show. This has been great. Thank you. And thanks to everyone for tuning into this week's episode. Please do check out Terri's site. Please do text her. No words, just 44222 to Terri T, which has a lot of T's in that. Terri T is the only words. Yes, that's it.
00:25:10
Speaker
So thanks for tuning into this week's episode. If you have comments or questions or suggestions, please do let me know on the site or on Twitter. So until next time, this has been the Policy Vis Podcast. Thanks so much for listening.