Predictions for 2024: Recap and Forecast for the Speaking Industry | Ep 184

“If you don't decide where you want to go, don't be upset where you end up.” - Laurie-Ann Murabito

It’s time to look back to move forward: powerful lessons and predictions to help you succeed in 2024.

As we enter a new year, it's time to pause and reflect on the lessons of this year before setting future goals. In this thought-provoking episode, you’ll hear the impactful lessons from my life and business in 2023, along with insightful predictions for the speaking industry in 2024.

Get ready to learn how you can set better goals for the new year and achieve them. Learn the tips and strategies from my executive leadership coaching days and use them for a hugely successfully 2024.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Why setting clear intentions is crucial for achieving your 2024 goals, otherwise you’ll end up somewhere you didn’t want to

• How micro changes will have a big impact over time, so that you stay on course for your goals and achievements

• The importance of developing and sharing your thought leadership, so that you’re not “vanilla”

• People are inundated with distractions and the best speakers need to learn how to be more powerful than that text bing

• Ideas for follow-up sessions for each of your engagements to provide more value

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Learn more about IN Demand Signature Speech TODAY!

• Grab the FREE resource Go from Unknown to Visible.

• Grab the FREE resource Take the Stage

• Follow me on Instagram: @laurieann.murabito

• For more about me and what I do, check out my website.

• If you’re looking for support to grow your business faster, be positioned as an authority in your industry, and impact the masses, schedule a call to explore if you’d be a good fit for one of my coaching programs.

Transcript:

[00:00:02]:

So welcome back and happy New Year. This episode is coming out on New Year's Eve. How very exciting. So whether you're listening to it on New Year's Eve or a few days into the new year, I just wanna say happy new year. And how is 2024 going to be different for you? This time next year on December 31, 2024, what will you be proud to say happened this year? Let's get onto the show. So it's kind of a thought pondering question, because if we don't really set the intention about how we want to end up, you know, where we want to end the year, then don't be surprised when you don't get to where you want to be. Because if you don't make a decision about where you wanna be, you can't be upset about where you are. You're exactly where you were meant to be.

[00:00:56]:

And if you didn't set the intention, you know, and that's why I'm a big advocate for, let's set the intention. Let's decide so that when we look back, it's like, wow. Like those are all the things that I really wanted to do this year. So I just wanted to sort of, like, have one of those episodes where you could just, like, grab a cup of coffee and let's just chit chat. And I want to share with you some things that I've learned this year. Things that I learned and what I see happening in the speaking industry, both conferences, meetings, in person, and virtual. So let's get started with, I fell in love with in person events as an attendee. Most of the time as a speaker, I'm usually showing up at events as the speaker.

[00:01:47]:

And I always feel like my job is to also is to make the event planner, the meeting planner, whoever's hosting this event look like the rock star. So sometimes I have to maybe speak a little bit longer or speak a little bit shorter, or they asked me to like, we're changing rooms. You know, like that's just my job as a speaker is to work with them and not to be like a prima donna or anything like that. And you know, like I've heard of a lot of, lot of stories. And one of the things that makes me very happy is when a meeting planner says you were so easy to work with. And then I feel like, oh, good. I did my job because that's what I wanted to do. But I fell in love with in person events because in the audience, you can still build relationships with people and nothing builds relationships faster than being in person.

[00:02:42]:

Being able to extend your hand, being able to do exercises together or we're at the coffee break just to say, hi, you know, like I recognize you or tell me where you're from and just building those deep connections. That is something that I totally fell in love with this year. So building relationships, quality over quantity. Micro changes have a huge impact over the long run. When you think about like airplanes, when you're in a plane and you're traveling across the country. It's a 6 hour flight. It's never a direct line from a to b. You know, the pilots are making tiny micro changes because the wind is gonna push.

[00:03:26]:

It's gonna push the plane in in various directions. And so they're constantly making little micro changes so that they end up wherever they need to be. So micro changes will have a big impact on your business as well. Over the course of time, the more you write, the better you will be as a speaker. And the reason why I say that is because the better you get at articulating your thoughts, you are going to be able to do that in person when you are speaking, whether it's, you know, impromptu, you're talking about something new, or even just, you know, you're like you're in a networking group and you're answering questions or somebody asks you a question to be able to share. That gets better with writing. So if you feel like you don't know what your message is, wanna encourage you to start writing so that you can articulate that a lot better. Saying no is good for me.

[00:04:25]:

And saying no, I also believe is good for others. We don't always have to say yes. Your path is not my path. So what's working for you may not work for me. And this is brings us back to there's so much advice, good and bad online about how you should be building your business. You should be doing it this way. And if you're not doing it this way, you're doing it wrong. What I've come to realize is that I'm here to run my business my way.

[00:04:57]:

You are here to run your business your way. Are you enjoying the way that you're running your business? If not, now's the time to make some changes. I mean, like really think about that as we enter into the new year. How do I want to run my business? And make sure that there's you enjoy the process. So what works for 1 person may not work for you. So find what works for you, which also means you sometimes you gotta try something out and do it repetitively for a certain number of days over a certain period of time, like 30, 60, 90 days before you have enough data. And I'll talk a little bit more about that after. Enough data to like, is this working or is it not working? Because if it's not working, let's find something else.

[00:05:47]:

Let's edit what we're doing, but numbers don't lie. With my mother's passing, because she passed away this past year in March, the end of March. And I would say I was on a, a networking group and we were talking about like, what was the most memorable moment of 2023? And when it got to my turn, I said, Not all of your favorite moments were happy moments. And I shared about my mother's passing. Was it my it was a favorite moment because it brought me and my sisters all together. Like, I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else, but in that room with my mom, when she, when she took her last breath, she was surrounded by her 4 daughters. Like how beautiful is that? So it wasn't a great moment in hindsight, but it is one that I will treasure for the rest of my life. And I would say lots of miracles happens with death.

[00:06:51]:

And the 4 of us, like, we have this like daily texting chain that constantly, like, we're chatting with each other. So my mother's passing, my mother's illness actually brought all 4 of her daughters together again. Lots of beautiful miracles happen. If you don't review your goals, don't be surprised if you don't make them. You really need to see your goals on the regular. Whether you have them written down, whether you have an appointment, whether they're digitally written, you know, and you're reviewing them during that appointment, or you have a vision board. And are you looking at this frequently enough to know that that's what I'm, that's what I'm aiming for? That's what I want, that or something better. So here's a little tip on what I do.

[00:07:41]:

I will make digital vision boards, and I'll make them in Canva. And then from Canva, after I'm done, I will, you know, export it as a JPEG. And then I take that JPEG, and I upload it to my Amazon photos, because from there I can actually make pictures. So I can take my digital vision board, turn it into a photograph. And from Amazon photos, I can order multiple pictures. So I usually make, like, a 5 by 8, and I'll order, like, 5 or 6 of them so that I'll have them, like, in books that I'm reading. I'll have it on my desk. I can put 1 in the car if I want, on the visor.

[00:08:27]:

All these different places that I know that I look at frequently so that I am constantly looking at my vision board and being reminded of the things that I am working towards. So that's just a little tip, and I've been sharing that with, with some friends of mine. And, you know, like, here's another here's another way to do your vision board. It doesn't have to just be in your office, ask and you might hear yes. Now, this was something that I started doing, and I know this, you know, like just to ask people, but sometimes we get caught up in the, what if they don't say yes? So I started asking about collaborations, asking some people like, Hey, besides, would you be on my podcast, but, or would you share this podcast episode with your audience, but like, Hey, let's do an email swap. Let's, you know, like you've got my audience, I've got your audience. Let's share lead magnets so that you're growing your list, and I'm growing my list. Don't be afraid to collaborate with people.

[00:09:31]:

Ask and you just might hear yes. Rest more. Definitely rest more. And have boundaries. Have better, stronger boundaries around your business, around personal relationships, you know? And with the rest more, I'm just thinking of this now, you know, as we're entering into 20, 24, if you haven't marked off the dates when you're going to be out of the office or you're going to be on vacation, I want to encourage you to do that. Because if we don't mark down when we're going to be taking time off, what happens is that we'll just keep working because that's what entrepreneurs do. We're high achievers. We're inspired easily.

[00:10:14]:

We're motivated. And we love what we do, so we can just keep going. Step into the greatest version of you now. Even if you have to have that imaginary picture of who you are stepping into, well, like a persona, figure out what that is. Because I find in some of the work that I do with my clients and asking them like, what do you want for the next year? What do you want over the next 5 years? A lot of times they have a hard time answering that question. And it might be for a couple of reasons. One, I've tried that before in the past and I didn't, I failed. So I really don't want to, like, put myself out there again and disappoint myself.

[00:10:58]:

That's one reason. The other reason is we're not that person. So I want to reverse engineer this for you. I want you to step into that highest version of yourself. And when you're that person, when you step into that person, what does she or he want? What are some of the things that they're working towards? What are some of the new habits that they want to implement? Go be that person and write what your goals are for 2024 from that perspective, not from where you are, because what got you here won't get you there. I've said that for years, but go be that person. Go be there. Look back and just like, hey.

[00:11:46]:

If I'm a person of this stature, of this achievement level, these are the things that I'm gonna be aiming for. I I also want to say experiment. Experiment and be playful with your business. Experiment and try something new. Experiment. Try something bold. Try writing in a different persona. Try writing from an edgy profile, if you will.

[00:12:13]:

You know, like try something new to almost like stir up your audience. Because as a speaker, this is what I sometimes have to do. I have to tell a story. I have to get into that story to really like engage with the audience, but or just to catch the audience off guard. See if they're still paying attention. That's what you can do with your social media content. Let's see if people are still paying attention. Let's do something edgy.

[00:12:38]:

Let's do something sarcastic. Let's just, you know, stir up our audience. When I say stir up, just like, hey. I know. Like like, just make them like, wow. Wait. What did I just read? Makes them pay attention a little bit more. So don't be afraid to play with different, different styles.

[00:13:01]:

You might have fun with 1 or 2 of them, and you might see that. Wow. Look at how my audience reacted. Which kind of brings us to about the data. Numbers don't lie. But you have to try something new long enough to get the data so you can see if it works or if it doesn't work. You know, I always say you gotta write the 1st rough draft in order to have something to edit. And the same thing is true, like, with your marketing plan.

[00:13:32]:

Like, whatever your marketing plan is, it's like you reach out to 2 meeting planners a day. You're writing a social media post. You're doing a reel. Like, you have to come up with this pattern. This is your your pattern or your strategy. And you've got to do it long enough and then be able to look at the data. What happened as a result of this? Which ones are getting more likes? Which one's getting more reach? Maybe I need to do more of those. Maybe I need to do less of that.

[00:14:00]:

This is how I decide on what my strategy is moving forward. But you've got to look at the numbers. And if you're not collecting data, I want to encourage you to start collecting data. It's from your data that you will then realize, oh, this is where my audience is growing. This is where the leads are coming in. I'm going to do more of what works and less of what doesn't. And now for some of my predictions for next year, for how the speaking industry is changing. And I think it's changing because the audience is changing.

[00:14:36]:

And the audience is changing because we are a distracted species now. Too many people if you if you if you just walk in a crowd, if you're at a restaurant, you can just see how many people are on their phones. And sometimes they're sitting next to people. They're on their phones. Their children are on their phone. I mean, like, we're teaching children to be on their phones constantly. So we're very distracted. I mean, you can see, like, when a Bing goes off, like how many people around the Bing check their phone because is that my phone? Oh, maybe that was your phone.

[00:15:13]:

But maybe it wasn't my phone. I mean, like, you just see people just, like, instinctively, like, out of habit, are just checking their phones. So we're very distracted. And because of that distraction, the speaker that is going to make it in 2024 is going to take their audience on a ride. It's going to like their speech is going to be an experience. You draw your audience in. Audiences need to be engaged. They need to be asked questions.

[00:15:44]:

So I see speakers asking their audiences more questions. Stories that really pull them in. Storytelling that is told in such an art form where you can just see. And the best way to do this as a speaker is to relive your story as if it's happening for the 1st time. That's when you like really can oh, in your audience. So so it's gonna come down to engaging with the audience because we need to be better than their distraction. And meeting planners want to see this. They want to know that the speaker is making a difference.

[00:16:23]:

What homework, what call to action are you giving the audience that they are going to take away with them? What sort of follow-up do you have with the audience or the meeting committee to find out what worked, what didn't work, what did they like? What did the audience have to say? But I also see more audience follow-up. And I think it's just a great way, especially if you are speaking in person or you're speaking virtually to have like here, go off and implement this. And in 1 or 2 months, we're going to all going to come back together. We're going to have a follow-up session and I'm going to answer any questions that you might have. What stumbling blocks did you have? Like when you try to implement these changes into your work, into your life? And I think audiences are really going to appreciate that since we only take away x amount, a certain percentage of what we hear and learn. But then it's through using the material that we really learn it, and then can then from there, have questions about it. So I think follow-up sessions is going to be a beautiful bonus that you can be adding to your proposals for speaking. And the best way to get rebooked is to be outstanding on the stage, is to have a signature speech that you are so confident in, that you just feel good sharing with your audience.

[00:17:52]:

That's how you get rebooked again and again and again. And the best way to do that is to come inside in my signature program in demand signature speech. You can learn about it down in the show notes. I'll have a link to it, but you can come and experience. Like, this is a program that I help you week by week by week craft your signature speech that you were gonna be so proud to deliver. And when you're proud and you feel confident, that's what's gonna get you rebooked. The audience is just going to fall in love with you. There'll be no more questioning whether or not you should be telling this story or sharing that tip or am I over delivering? Because I will answer all of those questions inside in demand signature speech.

[00:18:39]:

So that link is down below so that you can take a peek and get on the wait list so that you know are the 1st person to know when the doors are opening come this spring 20 in 2024. The other thing that I see changing is thought leadership. You cannot get away with being vanilla anymore. Live events have come back more than ever. They're just a little different, you know, in this engaging with the audience of being, being the speaker, being bigger and better than the distractions, but to prevent us from being vanilla, we've gotta have thought leadership. And you're probably thinking, yeah, but I don't have anything new to say. All more reason why you ought to get out there speaking. Get on Instagram stories, get on Instagram lives, Facebook lives, creating videos, sharing with people your thought leadership, creating your thought leadership.

[00:19:42]:

And another way to help you craft your thought leadership is to get out there and talk to customers. Talk to clients. Talk to other people and just find out, what are you seeing? What are you noticing? What do you think about this? You know, and offering your perspective and just really sharpening the saw, as Stephen Covey would say, honing and practicing your skill. So those are some of the changes that I see coming in 2024, and I would love to hear what's changing in your industry. Feel free to hop on over to Instagram and send me a DM. I would love to know what's new and what's changing in your industry. I love learning about different people and their industries and a lot of the changes. And what are some of the things that you're doing in your business next year, that maybe you're, you've got the idea from another industry.

[00:20:34]:

It's like, let me try and see this. See how, what, let me, sorry. Let me try and see what happens if I implement this and this in my industry, you know, that's thought marketing is, is about trying new things. So till next week, when we actually are going to talk about how to do this year differently, and I am going to be sharing with you the tricks and the tips that I actually we used to use with the high level executives that I was coaching when we were planning for the next year after a conference, you're like, what were we going to do next? How am I going to approach this new year? How am I going to approach my leadership development? I have a beautiful way that I'm going to share with you so that you don't get overwhelmed with trying to do all the changes all at once. So till next week, be in demand.