We’re back with another exciting interview from a million dollar course creator, Jono Petrohilos.

I had the pleasure of being a guest on Jono’s podcast, Course Creator Community Podcast: Craft Your SIgnature Talk with Heather Sager.

Jono’s storytelling ability and strong communication skills impressed me from the start. When I heard him share his signature story (from being ranked as the worst fitness bootcamp instructor to creating a million dollar digital course business TEACHING other fitness instructors), I knew I had to have him on the show.

In this episode we’re doing something a little different. Instead of digging into Jono’s expertise on building a digital course business (though he drops some great gems in the episode), our conversation was designed to be a case study for crafting a strong Signature Story.

You’ll hear Jono share his story (like he would from a stage), then we have a candid conversation around why it worked, what process...

Over the years I’ve learned many tips and strategies for speaking on stages and today I’m sharing my absolute best tips for on-camera speaking. 

I’ll share with you 5 tangible and tactical ways to be more engaging, effective and entertaining when you hit record.

LISTEN to the full AUDIO of this episode:

Subscribe to Heather’s YouTube Channel here.

5 Tangible and Tactical Ways to Show Up Best on Video

 1. Preparation

Preparation means a lot of things to a lot of different people but what quality preparation is, it is essentially this idea of doing your homework and your research. It is actually more about getting relevant information to equip you to be in the moment so that you'll be prepared to be able to have quality conversations.

Your version of preparation might look different from mine so you need to define what that looks like for you and know what's your comfort zone. Be intentional with your planning and ask yourself, ...

Have you ever been around someone with incredible energy that you just want to be around? I call it magnetic presence and it goes far beyond the words they say. The question is: are some people just born with it? Or can you cultivate the skill of presence?

 Today I want to expand our typical conversation about speaking to a broader talk around how we show up in business AND life. Because creating a magnetic presence will not only help you attract your ideal customers, it will enrich your personal relationships.

 This episode is about awareness and intention for how to show up as your best.

 Episode Highlights 

• The 7-38-55 Rule of  Communication
• Speaking is more than just our words
• How video / voice messaging can quickly elevate how you speak to people
• “Presence Challenge” you can try to create inspired actions to help you take ownership of your presence and how you show up

Speaking: It's more than just our words

When it comes to...

It is often said that practice is the key to attaining high levels of skills in any discipline. And while true, if spend all your time practicing without ever actually putting the skill into real situations— you won’t grow. This is particularly important when it comes to your voice. 

So today, I’m sharing with you exactly how to get results from practicing your speaking skills. 

Inside this episode you’ll learn:

• Why practicing on your own isn’t going to cut it
• The big challenge that happens when you’re practicing in a vacuum
• What are the benefits of starting to speaking now even before you’re ready
• How does one get better
• Building the resiliency in your speaking ‘muscle’ and trusting your own voice

Episode Highlights

Practice alone does not make perfect

It is often said that practice is the key to attaining high levels of skills in any discipline. We hear people say that the secret is you just need to practice...

A lot of times as we're growing in our businesses or in our careers, we have a tendency to shy Have you ever felt uncomfortable calling yourself an “expert”? On one hand, you have incredible experience and knowledge with your topic, but on the other, it feels there are so many more people who are qualified. Leaving you with the question, who am I to… 

...speak on that stage. 

… Post that video. 

… Create that program.

… call myself an expert.

It’s likely you’ve felt this before. You know that you have a great deal of expertise and know that your experience is valuable that it can help and teach others, BUT you still second guess yourself at almost every turn. 

So the question is, do true “experts” feel this way? Is it possible to own your authority AND feel like you’re not qualified enough?

We dive into this today in a real, unscripted conversation where I share my perspective on why calling...

How do I find opportunities to speak? How do I get noticed and chosen to be a guest on the right podcasts and events?

These are some of the questions I hear most often, entrepreneurs who understand that guest speaking on other people’s platforms is one of the best ways to quickly grow an engaged audience.

But the question is, is it really about finding MORE opportunities?

Sometimes yes, but what I find is that many business owners grossly underutilize the opportunities they already have, missing out on previous connections (and results).

Maybe you’re here because you’ve been doing the work to put yourself out there.

You’ve identified a topic or two that you’re pitching to podcast hosts. You’ve most likely already taught a workshop or webinar, you’ve pushed past the fear or speaking in front of groups (mostly) because you’ve accepted that getting visible and putting yourself out there is part of growing your online business.

You are...

Have you found yourself saying something that doesn't sound like you and you've literally never said before then you have a moment where you realized that you were talking just like your mentor or someone else that you follow?

We all tend to mimic gestures of the people we like and are influenced by the voices of the people around us (it’s a proven sales tactic for professionals!) But it might become problematic if you don’t realize that you’ve lost your own unique voice in exchange for industry jargon and just regurgitated words.

Today we're going to dive into one of the traps that I see happening a lot in the online space—the MARKETING PARROT TRAP. Listen to this episode and give yourself the gift of uniqueness to ensure that when you do show up, it is truly YOU coming out. 

Episode Highlights (full transcript below):

• What exactly is Marketing PARROT Trap?
• Why do we continue to mimic and parrot other people? (even if we're aware and we don't...

Have you noticed how the mentors you follow online seem to have this magnetic pull? That podcaster in your ears has become a trusted biz bestie that you rely on each week, you find yourself saying the phrases of your fav business coach, you jump at the chance (or at least pay attention) when you see that they’re speaking at an upcoming virtual summit even if you’ve heard them speak many times.

Whether that’s Brendon Burchard, Amy Porterfield, Lewis Howes, Anthony Trucks, Rachel Rogers, Brene Brown, Gary V, or whoever is on your online mentor list, it seems that whenever they open their mouth, it’s pure gold.  Each has their own distinct personality, communication style and many different business models. So the question is - was there some kind of unicorn magic passed to them in utero? Or are there commonalities that we can use as a road map for becoming more influential?

Today I’m going to share with you 3 distinct behaviors adopted by the highly...

I'm joined this week by a real estate specialist, entrepreneur, podcast host and Speak Up to Level Up member, Paige Schulte. In this conversation she shares her unique perspective for how speaking has played out in both business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) worlds.

We also talk around how speaking can help be an accelerant for your business not only to get exposure but more so how can we be more intentional around all of the micro opportunities that are around us every day whether it's in a service-based business or a coaching business and looking for the opportunities to practice and get more confident.

In this episode we dive into...

• The importance of practicing and using stronger language on Instagram stories and live streams
• What happens when you approach one-on-one meetings and sales presentations like mini speeches
• How to leveraging Clubhouse to test the waters in speaking and position yourself as an expert
• Managing filler words, boundaries… and so...

Recently my 6 year old has decided he wants to become a YouTuber.

He turns on an old flip cam he found in our junk drawer and talks to “his fans” about… randomness.

The other day he showed off a “cool trick” he did with a connect four game and said “give me a thumbs up and be sure to subscribe if you think that was super cool”.

To be clear… he does not actually have a YouTube channel, he just thinks all videos just magically appear on there.

Unlike my kindergartner, I’m still working on boarding the YouTube train, but I love the idea that my content can be searched and found when convenient to business owners who need it, and by just posting on social (or even hosting an audio podcast), I’m missing a big opportunity to serve.

So enter 2021 being the year I consistently show up on YouTube as my next virtual stage.

But since I’m a total novice on the platform, I brought in my friend, client YouTube go-to, Tasha Cochran...