Book promo update – the inclusive speaker

Some of you might be aware that I’m currently in the process of writing a book about inclusive speaking. Actually, considering that I’m finalizing the manuscript this week so I can send it over to the editor by next Monday, I guess I should stop saying that I’m “in the process of writing a book”. I’m almost done writing it! It’s kind of scary to think that I started on that journey about 4.5 years ago. I never thought it would take this long to get to this point! But what a journey it’s been. I can’t wait to share it with everyone.

Over the next few weeks and months, I’ll be sharing occasional updates here about the book’s progress, but also what I’ll learn along the way as a soon-to-be published author, discovering everything there is to know about publishing my first book. So stay tuned if you’d like to know more! Today, I’d like to tell you a bit of a story about how my book came to be.

An unexpected revelation

It all started when I joined the Quebec Chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) back in April of 2017. CAPS’ tagline is “the place to be for Canadian speaking professionals” and truer words have hardly ever been spoken! To my delight, I was elected that same year as our Chapter’s “Rising Star”. For context, back then, each Chapter would designate a new member that would go and represent the group at the National level, during our annual convention taking place in December. I was nominated to be that person in 2017.

If memory serves me well, there were about 9 or 10 of us that took turns, walking up on the main stage during our Convention that year, to show an audience of hundreds of speaking professionals what we were made of. It was a tremendous honour, but also quite an intimidating experience, speaking in front of such a large group of people who spoke professionally for a living. By then, I’d already delivered hundreds of speeches in front of audiences, but it was my first time speaking front of a room full of speakers.

Oh, and did I mention there were also judges? Yeah, there were judges involved, and our performance was going to be dissected live, in front of everyone. No big deal.

We were all given 5 minutes to deliver a talk in front of that panel of judges, who would then take turns commenting on our performances, for the benefit (and sometimes, amusement) of the audience. Of course, the feedback was meant to be constructive, and the judges’ role was to extract teachable moments from each Rising Star’s performance, so that everyone could learn a thing or two about some of the things that were done well, and some of the things that could have been done differently.

Though I still didn’t know that then, my own 5-minute talk was about some of the content that would end up being covered in my book: how speakers typically exclude a part of their audience due to unconscious biases related to disabilities, how much money they were leaving on the table annually, by neglecting to include this elusive part of their audience, and some actionable tips and tricks that they could put to good use, to start their own journey on the path to becoming a more inclusive speaker.

Back then, I still had no idea I had this book in me, though I’d been dreaming of writing a book for as long as I can remember. My talk was about the false sense of reach and engagement we feel we achieve from the stage. About the barriers we unknowingly create for some of our audience members, as they listen to our presentations. About some of the ways through which we can overcome those barriers. About how to become aware and mindful of a few key aspects of our delivery that lead to more systemic inclusion.

The talk itself went really well, especially considering how intimidating the audience was, and the length of the presentation. As anyone who’s ever had to summarize their entire expertise and life’s work in a highly impactful message in under just 5 minutes will tell you, every second and word counts!

By then, I’d already been covering the general topic of digital inclusion for a long time. But it was the first time that I addressed it from the perspective of professional speakers. I was floored by some of the comments I received that day from the judges, and the people who walked up to me in the hours that followed the event.

Most of the comments could be summarized as follows: “I’ve been speaking professionally in front of hundreds and sometimes even thousands of people for over (insert a certain number of years here), and I’d never given any thought to how disabilities and ‘special needs’ might get in the way of my delivery and my message. Thank you. I’ll need to do something about that.”

What struck me that day was the sudden realization that as speakers, we spend a preposterous amount of time crafting our message, yet so very little time, if any at all, thinking about what might prevent some of our audience members from truly connecting with our message or our brand. It got me thinking about the differences between what we might think our audience wants, and what it is that our audience actually needs. Oftentimes, there is a clear disconnect between the two.

So, I’m asking you…

Had you ever given any thought as to how disabilities might be affect your delivery and your message? Had you ever considered how these barriers could get in the way of your business goals as a speaking professional? How disabilities can end up impacting your revenue stream? Is this something you’d like to know more about? Is this something you would want to address in your own delivery and communication style? Maybe even make changes to the way you craft your message, so that you can truly reach a broader audience?

Becoming an inclusive speaker is a journey. And like any journey, this one begins with a single step. For you, that first step may very well be to pick up my book as it comes out in early 2023. I hope you and I get to walk this path together.

So, if you want to be kept in the loop about the book’s progress, and maybe even get additional materials and free handouts to look into before everybody else, be sure to let me know of your interest, by dropping me an email, or filling out the form below, and I’ll add you to a mailing list dedicated to the book’s progress. I’m putting this mailing list together as I’m writing this post. Of course, I promise not to spam!