How to Get Picked for the Stage and Grow Your Business with Aurora Gregory

Have you ever wondered how some entrepreneurs seem to effortlessly secure high-profile speaking gigs? As a business owner, you know the immense power of networking face-to-face with your ideal customers. Yet traditional networking events only allow you to make a few meaningful connections at a time. 

Visit Aurora Gregory’s' social media pages:

Website: https://auroragregory.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/auroragregory/

Create Your One Sheet Now: https://getpickedtospeak.com/checklist 

Katie Brinkley: [00:00:00] Oh, the joys of public speaking, whether or not you love taking the stage or prefer, you know, stepping a little bit behind the scenes or talking from behind the curtain. Speaking is a great way to grow your business. And during COVID in 2020, I spoke on a lot of quote unquote, virtual stages in my clubhouse days.

And when I was speaking on those virtual stages in clubhouse days, I, I got the bug. I got the speaking bug. And I said to myself, when the world opens up again. Man, I'd love to start speaking on stages and I've been able to make that happen. I've actually spoken on numerous stages all over the country. I absolutely love doing it and it's grown my business tremendously.

And if you're listening and saying like, well, good for you, Katie, I'm still a little nervous about it. Or maybe you're saying that sounds great, Katie. How do I do it? [00:01:00] Are you in for a treat today? Because we are going to be sitting down with one of the best people that I have met, uh, when it comes to the world of getting on stages and getting those big stages, today's guest is none other than Aurora Gregory.

And she and I have actually had the opportunity to sit at poolside together in Palm Springs at a good friend, Sean Quintero's retreat earlier this year. And she actually spoke at the retreat and. All of the different tips that she shared were things that I realized that I wish I would have known these before I started doing all the work because I was, man, I was hustling and I did not know how to send out these pitches.

I didn't know how to get on stages and I kept seeing people get on these stages and I was like, man, how are they doing that? And Aurora has the secret sauce. So Aurora, thank you so much for joining me on Rocky Mountain Marketing today. 

Aurora Gregory: It [00:02:00] is so great to be here. It's so great to see you again. Um, not only were we at the retreat together, but we shared the stage.

Your presentation was awesome. I loved hearing everything that you shared. I've implemented some of the things that you've shared. Um, um, I'm super excited to see you and to be able to have a conversation today. 

Katie Brinkley: Well, in a row, I mean, before we even dive into getting onto more stages, I know let's just talk about the elephant in the room, which is.

The fear of public speaking. And I know that that's not what today's podcast episode is about, but being a speaker on stages. Really can elevate and grow your business. Like really like nothing else I've ever seen. Like just being able to go and speak at events that I, I fullheartedly believe helped me grow and scale my business.

If someone's saying, man, if I have to go speak on stages, how do I even find these different stages to, to go and speak on, like, there's, there's a big elephant in the room here, help us move this elephant out of the [00:03:00] way here, Aurora. And, and tell us how we can find some of these events. 

Aurora Gregory: Well, you are so right about public speaking.

One of the reasons I love it so much is because I really do believe it's one of the most efficient marketing tools that you could ever hope to use in your business. It's probably one of the only tools where you can meaningfully network and showcase your personality, what you do, um, how you do it, your expertise.

You get to do that with a room full of people. All at the same time, and that's really hard to do, you know, you and I have both attended events, big and small, um, thinking even about the retreat that you and I were both that we were a small, intimate group, very focused, driven group of entrepreneurs, but even across the days that we were together.

We didn't get a chance to spend meaningful time with every single person who was there. Now, you and I had the benefit of being on stage, so we got to be able to [00:04:00] share with everyone who we were and how we work, but we didn't have a chance. A chance to spend time with every single person and every single person there didn't get a chance to do that either.

So that's what I love about public speaking. It's so efficient. You get to share who you are and what you're about with a room full of people all at the same time in a way that you couldn't possibly, if you were just attending an event now finding events is that's an interesting process. I always like to tell people that the, the jewels of public speaking are really Found in your network.

You need to, you need to make it known to the people that one, that, you know, that hosts stages of all kinds, the beauty of what happened after COVID is that the word stages expanded when before COVID, we were really talking about live on stage, you at a podium or at a microphone that was considered a stage, but now that we've got this virtual world, that's available to us.

Stages are really broad. Even what [00:05:00] we're doing today. is considered a stage. So I tell people, finding opportunities are found in your network. I, one of my first bits of counsel to people is Make a list of all the people, you know, that host a stage of any kind of virtual conference, a live event, um, a monthly coffee, a podcast.

Who do you know that can, could offer you an opportunity to be on their stage. Then I want you to make a list of all the people that, you know, that could introduce you to people who have a stage. Using your network fast tracks the opportunities. You can certainly do a great Google search. You can join Facebook groups where hosts come in and ask for guests or looking for people to come into their summits and things like that.

But your network fast tracks everything. And so that's always my first word of counsel. Use your network to find out who's hosting stages. Who do you know that's hosting stages and get those introductions made. 

Katie Brinkley: And it's [00:06:00] really blown my mind as to the importance of networking. You know, you said this, you know, when you were talking about how you and I got to speak on the share a stage at, at the retreat and it was a very intimate group.

It was a small setting. I, and I want to say there was maybe 20 of us there and there's, yeah, there's, there's still people that I'm like, man, I wish I would have gotten to know a little bit more about what it is that they do, but you're so right. Everyone in that room knows exactly what you do and exactly what I do, whereas I still don't really know what.

So and so does I know maybe she does a little bit with this, but am I sure 

Aurora Gregory: right when 

Katie Brinkley: when people are thinking about getting using speaking as part of their marketing strategy. I think that that's one of the biggest shifts is, yeah, it's, it's great to speak on stages, but you have to go into it as a strategy.

You can't just be like, ah, I want to speak on that stage and have no [00:07:00] goal behind it. And one thing that I know you have that, that great tool, um, it's tell me the, the website again, where people can build out their own. Um, uh, lead their own, their own personal one sheet. 

Aurora Gregory: Oh, yes. So I have, um, a great tool.

It's, um, free to everybody. So I'm going to tell you about it. Everybody take a note. Um, uh, it's called the one sheet wonder. One of the first marketing assets that a speaker should have is a speaker one sheet. It's literally what, um, what it sounds like. It's, it's a one sheet PDF that talks about you, your The topics you can talk about places you've maybe spoken before and how to get in touch with you.

And I'm really, I'm sorry, go ahead. 

Katie Brinkley: No, I was gonna say, yeah, the one sheet wonder, tell us where to get that because the next question I want to ask you is all about having a one sheet. 

Aurora Gregory: Yep. So I want you to go to getpicktospeak. com forward slash checklist and [00:08:00] you will be able to sign up and get it. I just re, um, just reinvented it.

It's so much better than the first one I created inside. You'll also find, um, a free canva template for your one sheet so you can be assured it's going to look amazing. And you'll find samples of one sheet so that you can be inspired to create your own. 

Katie Brinkley: And having a one sheet Is extremely important, whether you want to speak on IRL in real life stages, or if you want to just speak on podcasts, and I shouldn't say just, but I think that having a one sheet for me allowed me to get on a lot more podcasts.

It allowed me to get television booking. So whenever people wanted to talk about social media, uh, you know, I could send my one sheet to the station, having a one sheet. Really makes a world of difference. Now, for anyone that's sitting here is thinking like, okay, well, what all would I even have on a one sheet?

Do people even really look at it? Just talk to us really quick about what a [00:09:00] one sheet is and how it can be that differentiator. 

Aurora Gregory: Um, people do really look at them. So let's answer that question first. People really do look at them and they, they differentiate you because not everybody who speaks has a one sheet.

Not everybody who wants to be on a podcast has a one sheet. If you have one, you are immediately ahead and you, you've now positioned yourself as someone who is a speaker. Super important. You're going to, on a one sheet, you're going to have, Um, a photo, maybe two photos of you. If you've got a photo of you speaking even better, you'll have, um, a short version of your bio that talks about who you are and what you're about, what your business is, who you help.

You'll have a list of what we call your most requested topics or the topics that you most want to talk about in kind of a bulleted list. You, if you've spoken before, you want to have a quote, a short testimonial quote about how awesome you are. Um, and then [00:10:00] if you've got some, um, some little logos of past stages, you've been on other podcasts, you've appeared on those little thumbnails.

That also is helps that little mini as seen on bar. And then you want to be able to list all the ways to contact you and check you out. Your social media handles, your email address, your website, all of those things make it super easy in one place for someone who's interested in you to be able to see and know and learn what you're about.

That's, it's important to be so strategic about what you include so that they can see. Okay, this person is different. I see exactly what they're about. And now I know, okay, I want to move to the next step of having a conversation with them, inviting them onto my show, um, having them submit an application to speak on my stage, but now it's not an application that they're receiving blindly.

They're receiving an application that they're actually looking for and they'll, and they're, they're ready to receive it and can, you know, [00:11:00] it's almost like you get flagged as someone who, um, They want to really seriously consider before anyone else does. 

Katie Brinkley: Well, that's the thing right there. Someone that is a serious speaker.

It makes you look one step above the rest of the competition when you have that one sheet. And so true. And, and I think that it's, it's a very simple thank goodness that you have the, so again, tell us the website again really fast so people can go and get that after this podcast episode. Absolutely. Go to get 

Aurora Gregory: to speak.com/checklist and you will be able to, um, sign up for it.

It'll come right to your email and honestly. It will not be hard for you to put together, especially with that Canva template, it will be so easy for you to put it together. And it really does, you know, differentiate, differentiate you. There is something about, um, someone who is serious about their speaking, who invests the time and energy to create marketing assets that are just [00:12:00] focused on them as a speaker.

I like to call it speaker branding. And it's so important that you brand yourself in a distinct way as a speaker. It's different than your, than your branding as a business owner. Um, it's important to talk about and be able to showcase how you offer a transformational experience from the stage for an audience.

That's what every stage host is looking for. What can you offer their audience as a speaker? Not necessarily as an entrepreneur and. Fill in whatever, you know, entrepreneurial efforts that you're in. You're gonna be talking about what you do, but your goal is to offer a transformational experience for your audience, and that's what draws them in.

That strategy of, of showcasing that transformational effort is what draws them in and makes them want to step closer to you. It's like, Wow. If I can experience this type of aha moment, this kind of transformation that you just solved a problem for me in 30 to 40 [00:13:00] minutes, what could, what could happen if I worked one on one with you?

What could happen if I bought your course? I need more of that. And so that's the goal. That's why you want to position yourself strongly as a speaker who, who can create some magic. For, for the audience from the stage. 

Katie Brinkley: And that's what you said, position yourself as a speaker and not everybody might be thinking of themselves as a speaker first, business owner second.

How do we, I guess, how do we set ourselves up for success so that we are able to get on more stages? You gave a great, and it was almost just an aside Aurora, you know, when pitching these people and you're, you're asking to. Be a speaker at their events. You have your one sheet. You're giving them the topics that already is having them say, Oh, I want to hear more.

And that's really, it's, it's not a copy and paste sort of application process. You have to really look as a speaker. [00:14:00] The audience sitting in, you know, sitting, sitting out there, listening to you speak on your expertise, your expertise is what you're a business owner in, but you're speaking on it. So how do we differentiate, differentiate ourselves from being that business owner into being that business owner?

Speaker that's getting booked on stages, 

Aurora Gregory: you know, it's so, um, easy to, you know, most of us have, have, have some success as business owners. So it would seem that we would naturally just use that same branding and positioning, um, when we move into speaking and where we want to make that subtle shift is.

How are we creating transformation in that, in that moment that we have with an audience as business owners, we are very used to drawing, um, potential customers leads to us, and then we nurture them and then we sell them something. And then we, the relationship evolves over time. But when you're a speaker, that relationship is going to happen.

That, [00:15:00] that relationship cycle shortens. Considerably, because now they're meeting you, you're speaking and they're deciding in that 30 minutes, do they want to be with you? And so it's important that you position yours. It's a subtle shift. As I talk about myself as, um, as a public speaking coach, right?

That's my business is as a public speaking coach and a brand strategist for speakers. But when I'm pitching myself. As a speaker, what I'm offering them is a, as, as I'm offering myself as someone who transforms experts, entrepreneurs and authors into unforgettable speakers, that's what I'm going to be able to do from the stage.

I'm going to help you see how you transform from. Being an author to being an unforgettable speaker, I might, and the topics that I talk on, help them get some traction, make some progress in becoming that unforgettable speaker, which is very different than how I talk about it when I'm selling my [00:16:00] services.

Katie Brinkley: I love that's a great way of putting it different when you're on stage. Speaking to masses versus when you're on a one on one call. Now, actually for those listening, your beloved Dodgers are about to go into the world series against the New York Yankees, uh, man, the television gods. They could not be happier.

I'm sure. 

Aurora Gregory: I could not be happier. I gotta say, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a tried and true Dodger fans. I'm so proud of them. Super excited. 

Katie Brinkley: Well, I'm a Rockies, uh, in Colorado and I've abandoned the Rockies. Um, so, you know, I'm, I'm rooting, rooting for the, the West, the West coast here, but, um, I wanted to talk a little bit about when you're trying to find those stages, how you're able, cause I mean, you live in Southern California.

I feel like all of the events are in. California or, you know, are in [00:17:00] these bigger cities. How, how does someone, how does someone find some of these smaller events or how can you really help your clients find the events to get started? I mean, for me, Again, it was clubhouse. That was how I started getting my confidence so that I could speak on more stages.

You gave us some great tips already with getting the one sheet, crafting the pitch so that people are, the person reading it says, I want to hear more. Let's put, we put the cart before the horse here. How do we even find these events to send our one sheet and our pitches to, 

Aurora Gregory: you know, there's some great, um, databases out there.

Some are free, some are paid. I would probably say that one of my favorites is, um, um, Is something called Speaker Hub. Mm-Hmm. They have an incredible database of events, both paid and, um, what do they call the, I think the new term that the kids are using is uncompensated, um, which we can have a long conversation about whether paid or, you know, to speak for free or to get paid is, um, is a [00:18:00] strategy.

We can certainly talk about that. Um, but it's probably one of my favorite ones now. I also think like much like Clubhouse was, um, a great networking spot. I love networking groups for, um, for finding and showcasing yourself as a speaker. There's some amazing groups on LinkedIn. Um, some focused on keynote speakers, some that are focused on, um, speakers who focus exclusively on speaking for associations, industry associations.

Um, LinkedIn is probably one of my favorite places. Um, Because that professionalism, professionalism is leveled up there. Um, but there's some amazing groups in, um, Facebook communities. I would follow hashtags for, for specific types of events. If you have deep clarity on the audience that you want to serve, you need to be following those hashtags out there because they're gonna, your audience is gonna tell you where they're going.

And when you know where they're going, guess what you're going to do once you [00:19:00] know what events are happening. You go find out how do they pick those speakers? Who's the contact for selecting speakers for events? Um, it's a big event happening right now. The high level summit for all of our tech friends out there.

I've got some great friends that are speaking at that event this week, and those of you who are tech folks, you need to be following what's going on at high level this week and find out, like, how do they pick their speakers? When does a call for speakers open up? That's your research. Follow your audience and they will lead you to the events that they're going to and the events and stages you want to be on.

Katie Brinkley: Okay, we found some of the, some events, we've crafted our pitches, we have our one sheet, and we got the gig. So, what advice would you have to somebody that maybe they've spoken on a number of podcasts, they've done some virtual events, they're, maybe they've even spoken at a handful of in person events.

What advice would you have for some do's and don'ts that [00:20:00] people that are new to really embracing the speaker, uh, lifestyle as part of the marketing tool, what are some do's and don'ts that you would have for them? 

Aurora Gregory: So for me, it always comes back to having a great experience on stage. So I've got three things that I really encourage speakers to do, especially when they're trying to learn.

Take that next step up. You're going to be taking a fresh look at your topics and your presentations, especially. So the first suggestion that I make to everyone is for each of your presentations, solve one problem, talk about one thing. It's so natural for those of us who know so much to feel like, okay, I've got this captive audience.

I have to spill out everything that's in my head. I've got to spill it all out in 30 minutes. And what happens is, You have too much to accomplish. You end up having to rush through your material. Your audience can grasp none of it because you're moving too fast. And [00:21:00] at the end of it, you are exhausted.

They don't know what to pick up and it's a missed opportunity altogether. So solve one problem. and solve it well. That gives you the chance to go through your material and your process in a way that's really comfortable for your audience. They get the transformational experience that you want them to have.

And don't worry about what they aren't going to learn about you. Focus what they are on, what they are going to learn about you. So that's, um, Item number one, you won't have to rush if you cover one thing. The second thing is I want you to relax and breathe while you're on stage. It's so easy. You know, there's a lot of nervous energy that comes with getting on stage.

And I read someone recently, um, you know, share that it's good that we get nervous around things like public speaking, because it means that we care and you do, you care deeply about serving this audience. Well, but I want you to learn to relax. I want you [00:22:00] to. You know, take, um, a tip that I'll share you share with you about how to get comfortable with the people that you're going to be talking with, go make some friends with the audience as they're arriving to hear you speak, introduce yourself to a couple of people that you haven't met before.

Let them know I'm your speaker today. I'm excited about sharing with you when you get on stage. Chances are good your breathing is not going to be, you know, is going to be kind of out of whack your breathing pattern. I want you to take a moment and just normalize your breathing again. And then when you get started, start speaking to those brand new friends of yours so that you can get that little bit of nervous energy out, get yourself into a good flow, and then now you're in a position to propel into a great delivery and a great performance.

Well, last thing I want to tell you, well, and I was going 

Katie Brinkley: to say so many of these tips, I think that one, thank goodness, this is what you do. Um, so people should definitely reach out to you and, and, and have that, have you help [00:23:00] them if they're interested in getting on more stages. I, like I said, I was able to sit through one of your presentations about how to get on more stages.

And it was really the, the, the, the fast track I think of that I wish that I would have known about. Um, and these tips that you're sharing Aurora are the right type of, are things that I think that people might not necessarily be thinking about when they step onto the stage of, cause so many of us, when we're, we're on stage, we just want to make sure we're giving value.

I know I want to make sure that I don't stutter and I don't forget what I'm trying to say or anything like that. But these are the things that you have to know what your end goal is. And if you go in again and you're speaking on stages as part of your marketing plan, You need to know these things. All right, let's hear tip number three.

Aurora Gregory: And you're so right about that. Giving a good performance is part of the marketing strategy. It's part of why it's part of what you need to incorporate to having a great experience. So my last tip is this. [00:24:00] Do not stuff your slides full of copy. I cannot tell you how many times I have You know, sat through a presentation, and I wish I could say I didn't judge presentations when I watch them, but I do, um, where I'm watching a, um, a speaker who is clearly brilliant, read through paragraphs of content that's on their slides.

You don't need that much content. There's a little space below all every slide program. That's for speakers notes. That's where you put all of the talking stuff. We stuff, we put a lot of content on our slides because we're afraid we're going to forget something. And the truth is, is you're not going to forget because you're brilliant.

You just need practice and you can put all of that content in the notes section. But my tip for what should go on your slides, as far as the copy goes is. What is it that you want your audience to write down if they're taking notes? What do you want them to write down? What do you want them to raise their camera up and snap a [00:25:00] picture of a particular slide?

What, what do you want to be on it? Those are the copy points that should be on there. Three bullets max. They're just guide points for your audience so that you can move them along. Put everything else down in the notes section. I promise you less is more. Your audience will thank you. 

Katie Brinkley: Well, now this is a question that I just have, you know, and I'm, since I'm sitting with one of the experts here, what do you think about gifts on?

In presentations, I mean, I, I definitely love me some gifts. Um, you saw my presentation, um, and I definitely, uh, feel like it kind of can break things up a bit, but I mean, using things like videos or gifts or stuff, stuff like that to kind of break up the slides. Yay. Nay. Do it. Don't. Yeah. 

Aurora Gregory: I think that if they fit and match your personality and your presentation, I think they can be great.

Um, so use them so that they amplify who you [00:26:00] are. And again, these are, you know, using GIFs and little snaps of video. Those are, those, Those give people some insight into who you are and what it's like to hang out with you. If you're a one on one coach, um, you're giving people some insight as to what it's going to be like to spend time with you.

The only tip that I would suggest is that it be a single point in a presentation and then you move on. Don't let it sit up there too long while you're talking because that little gif or video that's on a loop, then all of a sudden becomes distracting. The one thing that you don't want to do is distract your audience from listening to you.

You are what you want them to focus on, ultimately. So use them if they're, if they're natural to you, just don't leave them up there too long. 

Katie Brinkley: Well, Aurora, this has been an amazing conversation and I'm so glad that you had that awesome conversation. Uh, one sheet that people can go and grab. Uh, tell us the website for that once more.

You're getting ready to launch. I don't know. [00:27:00] Can we, can we talk about it? I know you're getting ready to launch. I'm 

Aurora Gregory: super excited. So I'm getting ready to launch, um, a new course plus coaching program. It's called the speaker brand Academy, and it is all about helping you brand yourself as a speaker.

Helping you create not just your one sheet, but some other marketing assets that That are super helpful in making you look like a speaker who belongs on stages. So I'm getting ready to launch that later this year. If you sign up to get the one sheet wonder you are automatically on the list to be able to get first notice when it's ready.

So grab the one sheet. You can already, you'll be getting a headstart on the work itself anyway. Um, so go to get picked to speak. com forward slash checklist. Grab the one sheet wonder and then stay tuned for the details on the speaker brand academy. I'm so excited about what I'm building and putting together.

I know it's going to be huge for people who want to use speaking in their business in a really [00:28:00] more strategic way. 

Katie Brinkley: 1 million percent. And like I said, uh, Aurora, you are just a wealth of knowledge when it comes to getting on stages and making sure that it's, uh, uh, worth your time. And you know, you're, you're, if you're speaking on a stage, you're away from the business.

How is this generating revenue? How is this helping you grow? And, um, you, you're full of knowledge on that. So Aurora, this has been an absolutely. Amazing conversation. I can't thank you enough for joining us on Rocky mountain marketing and for, you know, giving everybody that amazing one sheet. It, like I said, I have a one sheet.

I send it everywhere and I swear that is one of the reasons why I get picked so often. So, uh, be sure to get your one sheet and I, it will be in the show notes as well. Aurora, thank you again so much. 

Aurora Gregory: Great to be here. Thanks again, Katie.