Tag: #speakingrevenue

The Power of Unplugging: Why “Me Time” Isn’t Selfish—It’s Necessary

Posted on by Lisa Copeland

Girls Trip.

Eight days. More than 40 years of friendship.

Recently, I spent eight days at the beach with women I’ve called friends for more than four decades.

Think about that for a minute. Forty-plus years.

We’ve known each other through different careers, relationships, families, moves, successes, disappointments, celebrations, and more life changes than any of us could possibly count.

And yet, when we get together, something happens.
We pick right back up.

There were long days at the beach, cocktails, late nights, a ridiculous amount of laughter, a few more wrinkles than when we first met—and definitely a LOT more stories.

But there was also something else.
I unplugged.
And I was reminded how important that is.

When Did “Busy” Become a Badge of Honor?

Like many professionals and business owners, I’m used to moving.

There is always another email to answer, presentation to prepare, client to coach, call to return, social media post to create, or idea bouncing around in my head.

Even when we technically aren’t working, how often are we still working?

  • We check email while drinking our morning beverage.
  • We answer a text from a client while sitting by the pool.
  • We tell ourselves, “I’m just going to take care of this one thing.”

And suddenly, work has quietly joined us on vacation.

Technology has made it incredibly easy to work from anywhere. The problem is—it has also made it incredibly difficult to stop working anywhere.

You Can’t Recharge If You Never Unplug

We talk a lot about charging our devices. When our phone hits 10%, we immediately start looking for a charger. But when we are running at 10%, what do we do?

We keep going.

We push through.

We add more caffeine.

We convince ourselves we’ll slow down when things settle down.

Here’s the problem: Things rarely settle down on their own.

We have to intentionally create the space.

That’s what these eight days gave me.

Time to laugh without watching the clock.

Time to sit on the beach without thinking about the next item on my calendar.

Time to reconnect with people who knew me long before the titles, credentials, business, and professional accomplishments.

And that kind of time fills a bucket that work simply can’t.

Sometimes You Need People Who Knew You “Before”

There is something wonderfully grounding about lifelong friends. These women knew earlier versions of me.

They knew me before Communicate With Influence. Before speaking stages and coaching clients. Before many of the roles that define my professional life today.

And after 40+ years, they know the current version too. That perspective matters.

Because our careers are an important part of who we are—but they aren’t all of who we are.

Sometimes we need to step away from the professional version of ourselves and simply be the friend sitting on the beach, laughing about something that happened 30 years ago.

No agenda. No deliverables. No strategy. Just connection.

Stepping Away Can Actually Make You Better at Your Work

There’s an irony in taking time away from work.

We sometimes worry that stepping away will cause us to fall behind. But I believe the opposite can happen.

When we allow ourselves to disconnect, we create room to think again. We return with more energy, more creativity, more patience, and often a clearer perspective about what actually deserves our attention.

Rest isn’t the opposite of productivity. It supports it.

And “me time” doesn’t have to mean an eight-day beach trip.

It might be an afternoon on your bike.

A hike.

Dinner with friends.

Reading a book without checking your phone.

A weekend when you leave the laptop closed.

The activity matters far less than the intention: Give yourself permission to be unavailable.

Same Girls. New Stories.

After more than 40 years, our lives look very different than they did when our friendship began.

We have changed. Life has changed. Our responsibilities have certainly changed.

But eight days together, experiencing sunrises and sunsets,  reminded me that some of the most important things haven’t.

Friendship. Laughter. Connection. Shared history. And making time for the people—and the experiences—that make life bigger than our work.

Yes, I came home to emails.

Yes, my to-do list was waiting for me.

And yes, there was some serious catching up to do.

But work waited.

Those eight days mattered more.

So here’s my challenge to you:

  • Look at your calendar.
  • Not for your next meeting.
  • Not for your next deadline.
  • Look for you.

If you’re not somewhere on that calendar, maybe it’s time to put yourself back on it.

Because sometimes the most productive thing you can do is close the laptop, put down the phone, find your people… and go make some new stories.

If you are ready to use speaking as a growth strategy for your consulting business, schedule a speaker coaching call today. Let’s turn your expertise into a message that connects, converts, and creates new opportunities.

Book Your Session

Ready to level up your leadership?
Visit CommunicateWithInfluence.org or connect with me on LinkedIn to learn how I help dental consultants grow.

#CommunicateWithInfluence #LeadershipDevelopment #SpeakerCoach #ConfidenceSpark

In case you missed it.

Watch the replay, “Leading With Presence: Ways to Influence Every Room You Enter.

Preparation Doesn’t Prevent Problems—It Changes How You Respond

Posted on by Lisa Copeland

I had it all planned.

After a successful business trip, my flight landed on time. As I drove home, I was already thinking about dinner with my husband, catching up on the week, and sleeping in my own bed. Everything had gone exactly according to plan.

Until it didn’t.

Without warning, my rear tire exploded.

One second I was driving down a four-lane highway at highway speeds. The next, I was gripping the steering wheel, carefully guiding my car onto an almost nonexistent shoulder while traffic flew past just feet away.In moments like that, your priorities change instantly.

Dinner didn’t matter.

Being on time didn’t matter.

The only thing that mattered was getting safely through the next few minutes.

I immediately called my husband. Then I contacted Utah Emergency Road Assistance and AAA. Within 30 minutes, both arrived. They parked in front of and behind my vehicle, creating a protective barrier between me and the speeding traffic while they changed my tire.

As I sat safely inside my car, in the passanger seat with my seatbelt on (a tip the roadside assistant gave me), watching complete strangers work together to help me, I couldn’t help but think about how quickly life can change.

We Plan. Life Responds.

We spend so much of our lives making plans.

Business plans.

Travel plans.

Career plans.

Retirement plans.

Planning is important. It gives us direction and purpose. But life has a way of reminding us that not everything is within our control.

  • Sometimes the unexpected is inconvenient.
  • Sometimes it’s frightening.
  • Sometimes it’s life-changing.

Not Every Surprise Is Negative

When we hear the phrase unexpected event, our minds usually go to flat tires, medical diagnoses, canceled flights, lost jobs, or broken relationships.

But some of life’s greatest blessings begin unexpectedly, too.

  • An unexpected phone call.
  • An introduction that becomes a lifelong friendship.
  • A career opportunity you never saw coming.
  • Meeting your future spouse.
  • A client who changes your business.
  • A simple conversation that opens a door you never knew existed.

Looking back over my own life, many of my greatest opportunities arrived completely unplanned. If I had been too attached to my original plan, I might have missed them.

The unexpected isn’t always something to fear. Sometimes it’s exactly what we’ve been waiting for.

Preparation Makes the Difference

Although we can’t predict unexpected events, we can prepare for them. On that highway, I wasn’t prepared for a blown tire.

But I was prepared with resources.

  • I knew who to call.
  • I had roadside assistance.
  • I had AAA.
  • I had a husband who answered the phone immediately.

Preparation didn’t prevent the problem. It made the problem manageable.

The same principle applies in business and leadership.

You cannot prevent every challenge.

You can’t anticipate every difficult conversation, staffing change, economic shift, technology failure, or unexpected obstacle.

But you can build systems, relationships, and skills that help you navigate them with greater confidence.

Preparation doesn’t eliminate uncertainty. It reduces panic.

Unexpected Events Reveal Who We Are

Pressure has a way of exposing our character.

When plans fall apart, we discover whether we lead with fear or focus. Whether we panic or problem-solve. Whether we freeze or move forward.

As a speaker coach, I often remind my clients that the presentation rarely unfolds exactly as they rehearsed.

  • A microphone stops working.
  • Slides won’t advance.
  • The projector fails.
  • A participant asks a challenging question.
  • The room responds differently than expected.

The audience doesn’t judge you by whether something goes wrong. They remember how you respond.

The same is true for leaders.

Your team isn’t looking for perfection. They’re looking for confidence, composure, and someone who can guide them through uncertainty.

The Flat Tire Wasn’t the Story

Looking back, the flat tire wasn’t really the story.

The story was about preparation. It was about the people who showed up when I needed them most. It was about staying calm, thanks dad, when circumstances changed in an instant.

Unexpected events are inevitable. How we respond to them is a choice.

The same is true in business and leadership.

A presentation won’t always go as planned. Technology will fail. A key employee may resign. A client may ask a question you weren’t expecting. A meeting may take an entirely different direction.

The leaders who thrive aren’t the ones who avoid surprises.

They’re the ones who are prepared to navigate them with confidence, communicate clearly under pressure, and adapt without losing their composure Ready to strengthen your leadership presence before the next unexpected moment? Join me for my upcoming webinar, Leading With Presence: Ways to Influence Every Room You Enter, and discover practical strategies to lead with confidence, clarity, and influence—no matter what comes your way.

That evening reminded me of something I often tell my clients: Preparation doesn’t guarantee everything will go according to plan. It gives you the confidence to handle it when it doesn’t.

Life’s greatest opportunities—and its greatest challenges—often arrive without warning. The question isn’t whether unexpected events will happen.

They will.

The question is: Will you be ready when they do?

Let’s Be Ready Together

Whether you’re preparing for a presentation, leading your team through change, or navigating an unexpected challenge, your ability to communicate with clarity and confidence will determine how others respond.

Preparation isn’t about expecting perfection. It’s about developing the confidence, presence, and resilience to lead when life takes an unexpected detour.

If you’re ready to strengthen your leadership presence, become a more confident speaker, or communicate with greater influence when it matters most, I’d love to partner with you.

Because the moments you prepare for are important—but it’s the moments you never see coming that define your leadership.

If you are ready to use speaking as a growth strategy for your consulting business, schedule a speaker coaching call today. Let’s turn your expertise into a message that connects, converts, and creates new opportunities.

Book Your Session

Ready to level up your leadership?
Visit CommunicateWithInfluence.org or connect with me on LinkedIn to learn how I help dental consultants grow.

#CommunicateWithInfluence #LeadershipDevelopment #SpeakerCoach #ConfidenceSpark

Speak, Connect, Convert:  The Revenue Power of Speaking

Posted on by Lisa Copeland

A few months ago, I watched a brilliant consultant stand in front of a room full of potential clients and completely disappear.

Not physically, of course. She was standing right there.

But her message disappeared.

She had the experience. She had the expertise. She had the stories, the strategy, and the kind of insight that could genuinely help the people in that room.

Her slides were overloaded, her delivery was rushed, and her call to action was so soft it barely had a pulse.The audience was polite.

They nodded. They took a few notes. Then they left.

And I remember thinking, “They have no idea how good she really is.”

That is the painful part for so many consultants. You can be excellent at what you do and still miss the opportunity if your speaking does not help people feel your value, trust your process, and know what to do next.

Speaking is not just about getting in front of more people. It is about making the right people want to take the next step with you.

Speaking Is Not Just Education. It Is Business Development.

Consultants are often told to network more, post more, email more, and “stay visible.”

That advice is not wrong. It is just incomplete.

If you are a consultant, one of the most powerful ways to reach a larger number of potential clients is to step onto a speaking platform. Whether that platform is a conference stage, webinar, podcast, panel discussion, lunch-and-learn, study club, association meeting, or team training, speaking allows people to experience how you think, how you communicate, and how you can help them solve a problem.

And when done well, speaking does more than build visibility. It builds trust, creates authority, and opens the door to revenue.

Many consultants make the mistake of treating speaking as a one-time presentation instead of a business development strategy. They prepare the slides. They deliver the content. They answer a few questions. Then they leave the room hoping someone follows up.

Hope is not a strategy. It is a very weak follow-up plan wearing comfortable shoes.

A strong speaking platform should be designed to move the audience from interest to action. That does not mean turning your presentation into a sales pitch. Nobody came to hear a 60-minute commercial dressed up as education.

It means your message should clearly position you as a trusted guide. Your audience should leave understanding the problem more clearly, seeing the cost of staying where they are, and recognizing that you have a process, perspective, or solution that can help them move forward.

Your Audience Needs More Than Information

Consultants usually have no shortage of knowledge. The challenge is not having enough information. The challenge is knowing what to leave out.

A common speaking mistake is trying to prove expertise by sharing everything you know. That leads to crowded slides, overloaded content, and an audience that may respect your knowledge but feel too overwhelmed to act.

Your audience does not need everything in your brain. They need the right message, in the right order, with the right level of clarity.

This is where speaker coaching can make a significant difference.

Strong speaking is not about sounding polished for the sake of sounding polished. It is about helping your audience follow your message, stay engaged, and know exactly what to do next.

Speaker Presence Builds Trust Faster

People decide quickly whether they trust a speaker.

Before they ever hire you, refer you, or invite you back, they are asking themselves questions:

Do I believe this person understands my problem?
Can this person communicate clearly?
Would I want this person working with my team?
Do they seem confident without being arrogant?
Are they practical, credible, and relatable?

That is speaker presence.

Speaker presence is not about being theatrical or pretending to be someone you are not. It is about showing up with clarity, confidence, and connection. If you’d like to learn more about speaker presence, join this upcoming webinar:  Leading With Presence:  Ways to Influence Every Room you Enter.

For consultants, presence matters because your audience is not only evaluating your content. They are evaluating what it would feel like to work with you.

If you appear scattered, rushed, overly scripted, or disconnected from the room, your expertise may not land. But when you speak with confidence and authority, your audience begins to see you as the person who can help them create change.

Engagement Turns Listeners Into Leads

A speaking platform gives you access to a room full of potential clients, but engagement is what keeps them leaning in.

Engagement does not mean forcing awkward audience participation or adding gimmicks. It means creating moments where your audience sees themselves in the message.

Ask thoughtful questions. Use relevant stories. Include examples that reflect their real challenges. Build in reflection points. Give them language they can repeat later.

When the audience feels seen, they listen differently.

They are no longer thinking, “This is interesting.”
They are thinking, “This is exactly what we are dealing with.”

That is the moment your speaking begins to generate opportunity.

Hear It From One of My Clients

It is one thing for me to explain how speaker coaching helps consultants clarify their message, engage the audience, and create more opportunities.

It is even better to hear it from someone who experienced the process firsthand.

In this short video testimonial, you will hear how speaker coaching helped turn ideas into a clearer message, strengthen delivery, and build the kind of confidence that helps an audience lean in and take action.

Your Call to Action Should Be Clear and Easy

One of the biggest missed revenue opportunities in speaking is a weak or missing call to action.

Consultants often end with, “Thank you,” and hope people come find them.

That is leaving money on the table.

Your call to action should tell the audience exactly how to continue learning from you. It may be to schedule a discovery call, download a resource, attend a workshop, scan a QR code, join your email list, book a team training, or connect for a strategy session.

The key is to make the next step simple, relevant, and aligned with the presentation.

A strong call to action is not pushy. It is helpful. It gives people who are ready to move forward a clear path.

Speaking Can Become a Revenue Engine

When you learn how to structure your message, engage your audience, and deliver a clear call to action, speaking becomes more than a visibility tool. It becomes a revenue engine.

One strong presentation can lead to consulting contracts, coaching clients, referrals, podcast invitations, future speaking opportunities, and partnerships.

But it does not happen by accident.

It happens when your presentation is intentionally designed to connect, educate, and convert.

Ready to Turn Your Expertise Into Opportunity?

If you are a consultant, your next client may already be sitting in your audience.

But they need to do more than hear your information. They need to feel your confidence, understand your value, trust your message, and know exactly how to take the next step with you.

That is where speaker coaching changes everything.

Through speaker coaching, you will learn how to structure your message, simplify your content, strengthen your stage presence, engage your audience, and deliver a call to action that does not feel salesy — it feels natural, clear, and compelling.

Whether you are preparing for a conference presentation, webinar, podcast interview, panel discussion, workshop, or client-facing talk, coaching helps you speak with more clarity, confidence, and authority.

Do not leave future clients wondering what you do or how you can help them.

Give them a reason to lean in, listen, and move forward.

If you are ready to use speaking as a growth strategy for your consulting business, schedule a speaker coaching call today. Let’s turn your expertise into a message that connects, converts, and creates new opportunities.

Book Your Session

Ready to level up your leadership?
Visit CommunicateWithInfluence.org or connect with me on LinkedIn to learn how I help dental consultants grow.

#CommunicateWithInfluence #LeadershipDevelopment #SpeakerCoach #ConfidenceSpark