Holly Dowling On The 5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Start focusing on bringing your light to your message so you can shine a light on everyone else. To be a highly effective speaker, ask yourself what was the most effective take-away from a speaker you recently saw. And you will realize it was not the way they memorized something, it was how they made you FEEL and made a difference in your life. I always pray before I go on stage, that if just one person’s life can be impacted and changed for the better, then that is why I am here.
At some point in our lives, many of us will have to give a talk to a large group of people. What does it take to be a highly effective public speaker? How can you improve your public speaking skills? How can you overcome a fear of speaking in public? What does it take to give a very interesting and engaging public talk? In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker” we are talking to successful and effective public speakers to share insights and stories from their experience. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Holly Dowling.
Holly Dowling is a highly sought after award-winning Global Keynote Speaker and Top Ten Inspirational Thought Leader as well as founder of the “Extraordinary Leader” program and creator of the “Extraordinary Speaker.” For the past 20 years, she has addressed thousands of Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies around the world including Facebook, Deloitte, PaloAlto Networks, Disney, Wells Fargo, Cisco, Home Depot, Google, Hilton, and IBM, among others and impacted the hearts and minds of millions in over 120 countries worldwide with her “A Celebration Of You” podcast.
Holly is honored to be featured as a Top 10 Global Inspirational Thought Leader among other honorees Deepak Chopra and Dr. William Wilson, President of Oral Roberts University. She is also a member of the United Nations Girl Up, a two-time Stevie Award winner, a recipient of The American Riviera Women Entrepreneur of the Year Award, a global speaking member of the AICET Council, and she was recently featured on the cover of The Excelligent Magazine as a SHERO of the year, women “thrivers” making a positive impact in people’s lives. As creator of Hollyisms Daily Dose Of Inspirations App based on her well known book “Hollyisms,” Holly’s mission is to continue to inspire hearts and minds all over the world!
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
As the oldest of four, I grew up a very shy, overweight little girl in central Pennsylvania. Although I had no confidence as a child, I had always had an entrepreneurial spirit with a passion to entertain as well as help people. As young as seven years old I was ringing neighbors’ doorbells on the weekends trying to sell them literally anything — from entertaining them by dressing in a tutu and dancing in front yards for 75 cents to taking empty baby food jars and filling them with shaved soap from around the house and trying to sell it. It all came down to how I always had a sense of fearlessness. I wanted to try new things by combining entrepreneurship and entertainment, all with the ultimate goal of helping people and spreading joy. Who you are as a very young person can tell a lot about who you are later in life. Little did I know my childhood would play into my lifelong mantra of “Tell me no, watch me go,” and would be infused into every chapter of my life!
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I did not seek out this particular career. The call to be a global messenger of hope and inspiration found me! When we are open to walking through the doors that open for us, instead of forcing things to happen, magical experiences are awaiting us!
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
The most interesting story is centered around how my career began! A woman I met through my women’s group asked me to speak to a class of high school students in Denver, CO. I asked her, “Are you sure they want to hear some of these hardships and how vulgar my life was?” Her reply was to tell the story like I am speaking to adults. It ended up changing my life forever. There was a line of boys and girls after the talk saying things like, “I never want to give up. I want to have dreams again.” Several days after I spoke, I received a letter from one of the students in the audience. The letter detailed how the morning of my talk this student was prepared to end her life because she was being sold by her father for cocaine. The letter went on to say how much listening to my story, and what I had to say, changed her perspective and she discovered her life is truly valuable. That day changed her life forever, however, the impact I made on her changed my life forever! It made such an impact that I have carried that letter in a small plastic bag to every speaking engagement I have had for the past 25 years.
That engagement turned into the school principal asking me to speak at an assembly with parents. Afterward, I was approached by several parents with business cards, asking me to come and speak at business and corporate events, and the rest is history.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I have many comical stories related to the extensive amount of travel I have done all over the world however, I have learned to laugh off the most common travel debacles; everything from lost luggage and buying clothes in every city to overhearing sensitive information in the cockpit delaying the plane. But perhaps the most relevant story for this article was when I was in the middle of a ballroom serving a high-end client with hundreds of leaders in the audience and the power went out! I asked the audio team to crank the music, and everyone got up and danced! Always give a shout out to audio and visual teams behind the scenes who make it all happen. From travel nightmares to speaking hiccups, I have truly learned to just go with the flow!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Peggy Calhoun was the name of the teacher at the Denver public school who took the God nudge from above and asked me to share my story with her students. It had a dramatic impact throughout the entire school, school district, and then my life.
In addition, Gina and Kirk Shrek were the people who heard about me through Peggy, and they gave me the opportunity to start delivering and facilitating for the IBM circuit. They were really the first people outside of my circle who said I was phenomenal and have a gift. Which led to the incredible introduction to the amazing Marcus Buckingham who saw my light and empowered me to shine brighter than ever before, catapulting my career to a global audience!
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging and intimidating. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
I would sum it up this way: I broke all the rules and created this career my way! I would tell others to stop thinking you need to follow the world’s way of doing things. I do not have a bestselling book and I do not have a TED Talk. I chose to create my career without taking the traditional path many speakers take which means, the best words of advice I can give would be … if you have a burning passion in your heart to make a difference in other people’s lives, being a global inspirational messenger speaker means that it is not about “Holly.” I have constantly had a burning desire from my soul to serve this world and bring hope and inspiration. Know what your message is and know why it matters that you care enough. If this is about your ego and about you being on stage, choose a different career path. I have never seen anyone successful in this business without the right heart and message of servanthood.
What drives you to get up every day and give your talks? What is the main empowering message that you aim to share with the world?
What drives my spirit every day is that I am a messenger of joy, hope, and inspiration, as well as truth and healing. I love knowing that I am following my soul’s highest calling and it is not work. It is pure joy! Most importantly, as I have grown and evolved, my spiritual divine calling has escalated to such a degree that it is time for me to really own this part of myself and share with others on how to let their light shine!
You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?
I feel so blessed that we have a global platform. We have loyal clients who have engaged with us for over a decade, and we are privileged in that they continue to bring us back all over the world. We are unique in that we do not work with a speaker’s bureau or manager, and all our business is repeat and referral, which speaks volumes in this business. Exciting projects are currently aligning as I am honoring the spiritual gifts I have been blessed with. This is the first time I am sharing this publicly because I am finally at a place in my journey where I can honor these gifts and truly help others awaken their light within. In line with this calling, the best way for me to share these gifts is through my Extraordinary Speaker program which is an exclusive circle dedicated to people who want to learn how to be a successful speaker through non-traditional methods. People are fascinated by how I have thrown the rules out the window and flipped everything on its head in this business!
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Give without remembering, receive without forgetting.” This is so relevant because I dedicated time to “values work” with a dear friend a few years ago. I discovered that my number one value was spirituality, number two was appreciation, and number three was joy and fun. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that it was such a life affirming experience. Always come from a place of gratitude!
Ok, thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker?” Please share a story or example for each.
- The number one suggestion to be a highly effective speaker is to lose your ego. Truly get out of yourself and get out of your ego.
- Find your “why.” Why do you want to be a speaker? There are so many different types of speaking positions and I think it is so important that people figure it out. For example, do you want to be a corporate trainer? There is a whole different skill set that drives the success of corporate trainers. Or do you want to be a facilitator? Being a facilitator is totally different than a trainer and it is important to know the difference. Or do you want to be a presenter? A presenter is someone who stands at a podium and reads. Typically, you see this in a more academic environment; people who are delivering information. Or finally, do you want to be a highly sought after, global inspirational speaker and thought leader like myself? To do this you must know your “why.” If your “why” is about you in the limelight, your ego will never connect with anyone; an audience will see right through this. It must be about serving and supporting the world and following your soul’s highest calling. I would then say, “Pray and get out of your way. Let go and let God.” That’s how you figure out if this is truly your destiny!
- Throw out the script and stop memorizing! A highly effective speaker is a messenger and does nothing out of a box. Our presentations are customized to our audiences. This is how we are so sought after and have repeat clients. People will know when you are presenting a keynote that is “canned.” When you memorize a script, you are speaking from the head, and a truly effective speaker speaks from the heart. This is how people will believe you, trust you, and connect with you.
- Be relatable, be trustworthy, and be empathetic. Do your research with your client so you can relate to your audience. Find that key message by talking to your clients prior to the presentation. The most important way to communicate this information effectively is to have a story and metaphor or analogy. For example, if I am speaking to a ballroom of highly technical people, I know my audience by bringing in stories provided by the leaders of the company prior to the engagement in order to relate and connect. We are sought after because we take the time to get to know their people. It is important to know your audience so you can relate to them, and they know they can relate to you. In addition, dress appropriately to the culture of the organization and be sure to get out there and shake hands …you will never catch me hiding in the green room!
- Start focusing on bringing your light to your message so you can shine a light on everyone else. To be a highly effective speaker, ask yourself what was the most effective take-away from a speaker you recently saw. And you will realize it was not the way they memorized something, it was how they made you FEEL and made a difference in your life. I always pray before I go on stage, that if just one person’s life can be impacted and changed for the better, then that is why I am here.
As you know, many people are terrified of speaking in public. Can you give some of your advice about how to overcome this fear?
A secret trick is to break Crayola Crayons and sniff them, but they must be “Crayola” brand crayons. It has been proven that there is a chemical that is in the scent of the Crayola brand crayons that has been proven to reduce blood pressure and eliminate stress. When I teach and coach for my Extraordinary Speaker program, this is one of my top five recommendations for nerves. Just don’t leave it in your nostril or a pocket when you put your clothes in the wash!
Next, find out what brings out your confidence. Your confidence is what delivers your message and that’s what your audience needs from you. One of the other things I coach people through is about how your brain works through negative thoughts. The brain does not know how to think in the negative so if you keep on thinking to yourself about an action that you don’t want to do (trip, stutter, lose train of thought) it actually has the opposite effect. You will start doing it! Your brain will start manifesting because the brain doesn’t know how to not do this action because your brain is seeing it as a visualization. Instead, picture yourself in flow, everything going amazing as you confidently deliver your message. The greatest way for me to get out of a fear is to pray before I deliver a message. I always ground myself, take a deep breath, and pray. Find what brings you confidence, what brings your soul the most relaxed, comfortable feeling and stop worrying about pleasing everyone out there. Remember, they want to connect with you! Think about how you are going to serve them, bring them hope and healing and something of value.
Another tip to overcoming fear is to greet people before you speak. Take a moment to walk around and shake hands. You have now created friends and eliminated this fear and are able to be yourself. This leads me to the final tip as to another reason why I do not memorize scripts is because the moment you forget something, you go into shock and fear steps in. Just tell a story to the friends you just made when you were shaking hands!
You are a person of huge influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Choose joy! Joy is a universal language, and I would call the movement, “Let your light shine.” It is my passion now to create a movement. I am on a “Spiritual Quest Called Blessed” because I believe no matter your gender, your age, your race, your level of education … we are all human beings, and we are given a light within our spirit to shine. How can we bring that light to the world? It’s like when you walk into a room, and everyone is holding an unlit candle and one person lights their candle and they start sharing the flame. The whole room lights up from one single candle. Let your light shine, so we can help others shine! It all starts with joy and one person.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
Deepak Chopra! I have listened to his meditations and books for over thirty years, and he has made a massive impact on my life and how I deliver my messages. Last year was the biggest honor of all being selected alongside Deepak Chopra as one of the top ten inspirational thought leaders in the world! It would be an honor to meet him and thank him for following his soul’s highest calling.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
Website: http://hollydowling.com/
Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/a-celebration-of-you/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Holly DDowling/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollydowling
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hollyddowling
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channe l/UC5KNjsxzYn8D5QRbYrBbtIw
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly.dowling/
This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
