From Fear to Flow: Overcoming Fear of Public Speaking for Business Owners | 013

Welcome to the profit connections Podcast. I'm so glad that you're here, and I have a very special treat for you today, because our guest is phenomenal. She is amazing on every level, and I'm just really excited to have her here. Her name is Monique McDonald and she is an award winning, award winning, Grammy nominated opera singer, international speaker and life coach. And through her mastermind and signature courses, Monique inspires speakers and entrepreneurs to craft their signature talk, unleash their stage presence and turn their voice into their super power. Everybody. Welcome Monique McDonald. Say hello, Monique.

Hello, Sharon. I'm so excited to be here with you today. I have to

tell everyone I am a super fan girl of Monique. So, yeah, she is. She's simply amazing. And what I what I love about her is not just her personality and her joy and the absolute connection that she brings to everything. And you know, here at profit connections, we are about the connection, right? It's not just me in my little office on my little all alone business Island. If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to build a business, and we are all connected. And so that's one of the things that I love about Monique, is her heart of really connecting everyone and connecting to and being present with and it's a really powerful lesson as business owners that you can learn just by being in Monique's presence. And she has a lot of really cool things to share with us today, so she has given me free reign. So first of all, Monique, I want you to talk a little bit about yourself. Tell us a little bit more about your background and how you got to be where you are now.

Okay, first of all, thank you so much for that. I think you're amazing, and so it's a lot of fun to hug you and connect with you. So So I appreciate that you see that it is something that means a lot to me. Deep connection is something one of my highest values. So I appreciate that you noticed that. So how did this all start? Well, I was singing all over the world, living my dream. I had wanted to be a singer since I was a little girl, and my mother was my voice teacher, and I'm an only child, and she was, you know, that person that believes in you when you don't, you stop believing in yourself, and you're like, am I really supposed to be doing that? She was not a stage mother, but she was really fully present and holding my dreams for me when I when I couldn't. And, you know, before there was zoom, there was Skype and right? And I was working all over the world, and wherever I was, she would warm me up before my performances. And we would have these amazing sessions working on whatever role I was working on, you know, the trouble spots before I went and sang the rehearsal or the performance. And she would always end the session by saying, and remember when you sing, God smiles. I know, right.

I know, wow, wow, to have, I just want to acknowledge, to have someone in your life that holds your dreams for you and lifts you up whenever you get low and discouraged. What a powerful, magnificent gift that your mother gave to you. Wow, that's and and explain so much of who you are and why you are the way that you are. I love that that's so so beautiful. And there are a lot of us who don't have that, that person that's there to hold dreams with us and to dream with us and help us, you know, through the rough patches. So that's why we that's why we have the community. It might not be your mom, it might not be your your spouse, it might not be your best friend, and that's why, that's why we're a community, because there is someone out there to do that with you, exactly,

your why. It's so often that we that we talk here on this podcast about how important that why is you lost your why and your center and everything, and then could take that gift that you had been given by your mother, the skill that you had honed over years, and then be able to turn that into a reason to get out of bed. That's so, so beautiful. I love that. And I what I, I love that you are talking about, and I will as as an as an actor, I we this is what we call your instrument, your body, and your voice is your instrument. So that's, that's a lingo term. If I say you're in absolutely, I love it. Um. Um, so your instrument is, you know, is, is really important. And I think that it's, it's becoming way, way more popular. And we haven't actually talked about it on this podcast yet, so we will today about how speaking, no matter what you do, you could be a plumber. You could be the guy that runs the video through the plumbing system to videotape. I mean, I know this is a real job. You could be the woman who makes headliners to go in cars, also a real job. You could do anything. You can make your business stronger and better if you stand in front of people and talk to them, speak to them, tell them, talk to them about how you can solve their problems. And the number one fear of human beings is what public speaking, speaking, right? So if you could, if you could take that really, first of all, I want you to talk about the importance of of speaking to build your business, and then talk about what you do and how you can help a business owner create an environment where they are actually they're they're not burning out their voice, they're able to stand with confidence, and they're able to do all of the things that You just described, that you're able to do.

Well, thank you. This is, this is my passions now. So it's kind of just so exciting to be able to talk about it, especially to your audience. Most people are catching on, but I don't, I still don't think they really get it that Tony Robbins, you name anybody that has inspired you or that is successful right now. They are successful not because of what they do or what they bring to the world, but because they are speakers, and so as a business owner, right now, it is just a fact that speaking is the fastest path to cash and the fastest path to growing your business exponentially, because the more that you are seen and heard, the more you are top of mind, the more it increases your know, Like and Trust factor, the more you are showing up as an expert and a leader in your field, the more credibility you have when you're sharing stages with very big entrepreneurs, which happens a lot when you're speaking on in person. I, you know, I, I, I can't believe some of the people I've I've shared stages with that are just big names in the business, and I'm not going to name drop, but every time I speak, I'm always sharing the stage with somebody else that I really looked up to that I so it not only grows your business, it grows you because the microphone is the great amplifier of your voice, and also all Your stuff, yes, and

it's, and you don't want to be the best kept secret, and the there's so much noise out there, and you might be going, Oh, everybody, it doesn't matter the person who Okay, so when my husband and I had our our brick and mortar business, we had a whole conversation. He would about, about getting clients, and he would say, Oh, I lost that job. And I would say to him, we're going to have, we're going to do business with the people that we're supposed to do business with. I firmly believe, yes, you did not lose that job. That wasn't our job to have. So you know, know that you're going to get those people. However, if they can't find you, they, they will not come to you. You, you cannot be the best kept secret. Can't be the best at what you do, and nobody knows, nobody knows about you. And there are so many outlets to get your voice out there that you can do social media, you can speak on stages. You can do all kinds of stuff. You can do webinars. You can do so many things to get your get your visibility out there, and you might still be sitting there going, I am afraid to speak in front of people. And that's why we have Monique.

That's why yes and, and that is, that is actually one of my specialties. Because here's the thing, when you. Understand that speaking is all the things we just discussed. Everybody's like, give me a stage. I want to become more visible so the people that need me can find me. However, most speaker trainers are not talking about the fact that visibility is a double edged sword. So although we say we want visibility, most people haven't prepared to be seen and heard, and so they either show up in one of two ways, they shrink away so that, and that absolutely affects their voice, by the way, so that they're not they're afraid of being too big, so they make themselves smaller, which is what a lot of people have done because of their life experiences, right? Or the opposite of that, where they're performing and they're bigger than life, and nothing they say sounds authentic at all. It's all a big performance. And so what I help my clients understand is that it's, it's, it's about biology actually, because if you look at our human history, the most dangerous place to be is apart from the herd. That's where you're gonna get killed. That is where all the bad, the worst things that could happen to you, happen is when you are not with the rest of your tribe. And we carry that in our DNA. So even though we want to be seen and heard with our minds and our understanding, our bodies aren't always on board.

That is such a great point that right, that's really very Yeah, because we want to be out there, but that means we're out there. That means we're outside of the herd. That means danger. So how, how can we, how can we bridge that gap?

Well, that's something that I work very closely with my clients about. There There are many different things, and in fact, I have a gift for your listeners that I just created. It's hot off the press, and because I I love helping my clients with this, it's a it's a bundle, and it's going to be coming to you in emails for about 10 days. Little, well, little, they are simple, but they're very powerful exercises to get ready to be seen and heard as a speaker. And it's called the magnetic speaker visibility kit, so I'm going to drop it in the chat for you, and there are many ways to do it. I'm going to share with you one of my favorites. I call it the ABCs of magnetism.

Let's hear it ABC. It's just ABC.

A. Adjust your thoughts. What are you thinking when you step out, when you're about to step out in front of people? What are you thinking? One of the one of my favorite things that I do is I start thinking about gratitude, about love, and about being of service. Those are the states of mind or the the thought atmosphere that you want to create for yourself, because that raises your vibration the quickest,

as opposed to, oh my gosh, I'm going out here. I'm nervous. I'm going to forget what I'm going to say,

Oh, my PowerPoint isn't good. What are the you know, all the things, all the things that you know, and you know who you are, and you know what those thoughts are. No judgment, no but know that you decide what you think. Right? A lot of people don't know that. Sharon, most people feel victim to their thoughts. B breathe when you do deep belly breathing, as I had to learn as an opera singer, that deep belly breathing not only sets up expansion within you and your body, it also sends the message to your diaphragm and your nervous system that you are safe.

I. Like that,

yes and see, connect to the part of you that is divine power that acts as a natural magnet to those who need your expertise.

That is so beautiful. Thank you so much. Oh, there is so much about you. You might have to listen to this one two or three times. Thank you so much. Monique, you are a powerhouse, and you are like she is the most chill powerhouse I think I've ever met. She just is Zen, and she's amazing, so thank

you. I think you're amazing, Sharon, and I really want to thank you for your voice and your courage and the way that you help and serve your community. Abundance is one of the greatest messages, because money is energy, right, right?

Absolutely, absolutely. So thank you so much for being here. Thank you everyone for listening. Just so you know that what we're going to do is we're going to put Monique's amazing gift 10 days, 10 amazing days to get yourself ready. Oh, this is beautiful. We're going to put it into the show notes. We're also going to put it into our community, which is profit connectors. Dot club. That's profit connectors. Dot c, l, u, B, because you are our profit connectors. And inside you will find Monique's information, how to contact her, bio, her gift, all of those amazing things out how you can be in her community, and also all of our other episodes and gifts from our other speakers that'll all be in the profit connectors, dot club portal. It's free to join. You can just jump in there and get all of that information. And I thank you so much for listening. Monique, thank you for being here. This has been enlightening and connected and full of love, and I just appreciate you tremendously. Thank

you, Sharon, thank you. It's been a pleasure. You.