Christie Love Of ‘Be Seen Be Loved’ On The 5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
… To serve. Your goal should be to get the focus off yourself, redirecting your attention back to serving your audience with your message. Once you can do this automatically, you’ll soon get into the zone of delivering your message, and the nerves will dissolve away.
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 Christie Love.
Christie Love is the owner of Be Seen Be Loved. She is an expert in the communication and connection industry. She is an award-winning international speaker, public speaking and confidence coach, executive trainer, author, and global women’s empowerment visionary of The Powerhouse Women’s Collective. She is also a podcast host and TV show host for Win Win Women.
Christie supports female leaders who strive to provide excellent service through enhanced communication, which is directly associated with increased professionalism, career advancement, better relationships, and stepping into their power. Christie brings her keynotes and workshops to organizations and corporations of various sizes, including Stanford University, Stanford Medical, and Stanford Valley Care. She is known for her dynamic and motivating presence on stage that captivates and engages her audiences, leaving them with the tools they need to go out and immediately increase their level of success.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
Of course! I was originally born in Detroit, Michigan. That’s where most of my family still lives now. My parents divorced when I was a baby, and my mother remarried when I was three. I have three half-siblings: an older sister with my father and a younger brother and sister with my mother. Life was a bit rough as we moved quite a bit, and I had to adjust to new environments. However, when I look back on it, experiencing new people and places made me who I am today as a lover of all cultures and diversity. I saw life as a struggle growing up, not fitting in, being bullied in school, and not getting the best grades, but I still tried to do my best. The struggles were real, but the journey was worth it.
I spent far too much time in my life and career, allowing limiting beliefs to hold me back. I didn’t feel “good enough” to speak with high-powered business professionals. I was sitting in the back of the room, avoiding others at all costs. I didn’t want to be seen or heard. I tried to remain invisible, even though I had a deep desire to do more with my life.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I suffered from glossophobia, which is essentially stage fright on steroids. It’s the fear of speaking in public that ended up being the motivation for writing my book, From Stage Fright to Super Star. It took a lot for me to finally acknowledge that I had a problem that needed to be fixed. When I decided to do something about it, I joined Toastmasters International. At first, it was the most frightening experience of my life, but I kept going back and doing it again and again because the feeling I got every time I ended a speech was liberating. After 19 years of perfecting my craft as a speaker, I can’t say enough about the doors and opportunities that open once you become a better communicator.
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’d have to say that the most interesting thing that happened in my career was when I transitioned to doing more virtual presentations. I have been speaking in front of local audiences for years, and speaking online is a totally different ball game. When I started public speaking, Facebook and LinkedIn, and camera phones were just a thought. I started on social media by joining a challenge to do three videos a day for four months. I created over 400 videos and gained a new skill that allowed me to become more visible to my market.
During the first speech I gave in front of a group of people, I nearly passed out. I experienced all the different types of nervous discomfort included in the definition of stage fright within five minutes. After the speech, I felt a rush of adrenaline and euphoria. I was eager to do it again! I know that sounds crazy, but I realized that on the other side of fear is your ability to shine. I also learned that every time a sensation of fear stands in my way, that’s usually the exact thing I need to do to reach my next, higher level.
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?
I am blessed to be surrounded by some of the most amazing and supportive people. Specifically, regarding public speaking, there is a dear friend whom I am eternally grateful for, Mr. Tony Whatley. I had been speaking on small, local stages and mentoring people to become more confident speakers for 15 years. Then, I ran into Tony. I mentored him to become a more engaging speaker, and he ran with it, going on to become a best-selling author and speak on stages around the world. He heads a large community of business professionals, offering coaching, masterminds, and hosting retreats. When I told him I had a vision to become an influential speaker and coach like other powerhouse women I saw owning it in their field, he said, “the only difference between you and those women is that they put in the work. You can do every single thing they did. I know it! You can do that. I believe in you!”
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?
The best advice I can give others is to follow their dreams. Some days will be hard. You will fail, feel discouraged, want to quit, and want to believe the people who laugh at you and feel bad when people close to you don’t support you. But through it all, you need to stay committed, resilient, and keep moving forward. Remain visible and put yourself out there. Connect with new people every single day. Always show up at your best and do the work. Practice your craft, get better, and make your accomplishments known. Lastly, serve, serve, and keep serving at your best.
What drives you to get up everyday and give your talks? What is the main empowering message that you aim to share with the world?
My mission is to guide millions of people to break out of their shells and share their messages with the world. There are too many people whose lives are stuck feeling invisible because they don’t believe their voice is heard. They have allowed the negative words of others to push them down into living a life of complacency, scared to be their most authentic selves. On the other side, they know that they are made for more, deep down. There is a spark within them that is ready to ignite, but they don’t know how to own their voice and step into their power confidently.
My message teaches and inspires people that they can overcome whatever is holding them back, just as I did. They have a message to share. The world needs to hear their message because someone else’s life can be transformed thanks to them showing up and speaking from their heart.
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 am excited to have recently launched my TV show, Be Seen Be Loved TV, on Win Win Women. It airs on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, WinWinWomen.com, and Mintwave Radio. My show allows me to give back by sharing my knowledge to empower other women. I also get to interview powerhouse women who share their journey to success along with tips and strategies to help my viewers.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My motto is, “never give up and never quit.” It’s a quote taken from the Navy Seals. My husband is a retired Navy Seal, and reciting that motto keeps us going. To me, that quote means that it doesn’t matter if fear or a self-limiting belief is holding you back, continue to move forward no matter what. Don’t stop until you’ve perfected the skills you need to help serve others in a greater way. Becoming a servant to others is the best way to continue improving your craft.
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.
- Maintain Your Mindset.
Becoming a confident speaker starts with your mindset. People who think they can simply conjure up a speech and then go out and deliver at their best with no preparation are in for a rude awakening. There are a few things you can do to prepare your mind for a great speech. The first is to disregard negative thoughts about yourself, and those you believe are imposed by the audience. When speaking, you want to get your focus off yourself and on serving your audience with your message.
2. Know Your Audience.
Before speaking to any group, ask questions to find out as much information as possible about who you will be speaking to and the purpose of the talk. For instance, you wouldn’t want to give a technical speech to a group of real estate agents. A more cohesive and results-driven talk would be to provide a motivational speech geared to inspire real estate agents to go out and sell at their best.
3. Deliver a Dynamic and Engaging Speech.
If anyone has heard me speak before, one thing they know for sure is that I don’t give a dry and dull presentation. My mission is to inspire, impact, motivate, and persuade the audience to take some action to benefit their lives. So, when delivering any speech or presentation, be sure to involve the audience. Mastering certain public speaking skills such as vocal inflection, body movements, and eye contact can significantly improve your performance.
4. Become an Expert in Your Craft.
Remember, you are being called to speak in front of a group because you are known as an expert on a particular subject. As the expert, make sure you know your stuff! Continue to learn, research, read, and talk with other leaders in your industry to gather more information about your subject. The more you know, the more value you can provide your audience and establish yourself from others in your industry.
5. Practice, Practice, Practice.
I cannot emphasize this topic enough. To improve at public speaking, you must practice your craft. For each of my clients, I encourage them to find multiple places, both online and virtually, to speak a few times each week. On top of that, you should be creating videos to share your message. The idea is not to only get visible but to practice various public speaking skills that make presenting seem effortless so you can focus on making an impact with the audience you are called to serve.
As you know, many people are terrified of speaking in public. Can you give some of your advice about how to overcome this fear?
I have a few tips to share with anyone experiencing the fear of public speaking.
- The main reason why most people experience stage fright is that they think the audience will criticize, judge, or make fun of them in some way, or they are comparing themselves to others. Remember, the audience is there to support you. They want to hear the information that you’ve prepared for them and are eager for you to help them through your subject of influence.
- One thing that helped me initially was creating an alter ego. I named it after a movie star from the show, Get Christie Love. I used the image of my superstar name to create the confident and dynamic person I wanted to be on stage. Now, I can’t seem to turn her off! Beyonce also created an alter ego called Sasha Fierce, which helped her perform on stage. Think of your best self performing on stage, and step into that person whenever your name is called.
- As cliché as it may sound, breathing is vitally important to master as a public speaker. Most people speak from their throat area, which is shallow and can restrict your airways. On the contrary, you want to speak from your diaphragm and relax your stomach muscles as you inhale to allow enough air in to relax your body. You’ll also find that diaphragmatic breathing will enable you to have better control of your vocal cords and a stronger vocal inflection, which is needed to sound more engaging on stage and calm your nerves.
- As stated above, it’s imperative that you practice your speech. For each 20–30 minute presentation, you should strive to practice the delivery, including eye contact, body movements, hand gestures, and vocal inflection, at least ten times. You don’t have to practice your speech word for word, but knowing your speech inside and out will be a tremendous help if you happen to forget your spot during your talk; you’ll immediately be able to pick up where you left off.
- Lastly is to serve. Your goal should be to get the focus off yourself, redirecting your attention back to serving your audience with your message. Once you can do this automatically, you’ll soon get into the zone of delivering your message, and the nerves will dissolve away.
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?
Funny you ask, as I am currently building my community called The Powerhouse Women’s Collective. This is also the name of my new book, which will be a collection of powerhouse women, their stories, and their successes, as they share tips along the way to help others going through similar struggles. I plan to host more women’s empowerment/speaking events and retreats throughout the year, so definitely look out for that. Women have come so far, but we still have a long way to go. I want to be the person who inspires them to break out of their shell and helps them understand that they are made for more. I believe all women can own their voice, step into their power, and create the life they desire while supporting other women along the process. I’m living proof that it can happen, and I’m surrounded by so many other women with amazing journeys who are also willing to help. I’m so excited about the amazing things that are coming soon.
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!
I would love to have lunch with former First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah. My inspirational attachment to Michelle is her inner strength. As a young girl, she used the attacks by others on her race and gender and her father’s failing health to fuel her to keep doing the work to achieve the highest level of prestige in her career. I would like to hear her speak on the importance of women supporting women as we strive to rise to greater heights in our profession.
To me, Michelle is the epitome of strength; once telling President Obama about a conversation she had with a restaurant worker who stated he was madly in love with her. Barack Obama told her, “So if you had married him, you would now be the owner of this lovely small restaurant,” to which Michelle Obama responded, “No if I had married him, he would now be President of the United States.” To that comment, I say, “Heck yeah!” That’s what valuing your strength as a woman is all about!
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
Sure. You can go to my website at www.beseenbeloved.com. I’m also all over social media. Here are links to the main platforms I’m on.
https://www.facebook.com/christie.love.509/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/powerhousew
https://www.instagram.com/iamchristielove_/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christielove/
This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
It was my pleasure!
Christie Love Of ‘Be Seen Be Loved’ On The 5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
