Blog #303
Becoming a Certified EO Speaker “I provide speech coaching to many people including Tony Robins and Damond John.”
As I sat in the sunny room on the fifth floor of the Bay Side Hilton in San Diego, the man at the front of the room, Pat Quinn, who would be teaching an immersive five-day course, was introducing himself. I was one of 26 people in the room and nine virtual attendees. I sat back and thought, “Holy smokes, this is the real deal.” After Pat provided the intro, he then introduced his team of four additional coaches who would help us as well. As we then went around the room, introducing ourselves, I began to realize what an amazing group of people this was from around the world. There were participants from the US, Mexico, Canada, Columbia, England, Switzerland, Saudi Aribia, India, Singapore, South Africa, another great guy from my Nebraska chapter, Joe, and I am sure I am missing some other places. Roughly half the people were men, and there was a wide variety of racial backgrounds. It was a diverse, small group but an amazing group and it was humbling to be a part of the EO Global Speakers Academy.
The Entrepreneur Organization (EO) is a group of roughly 18,000 members worldwide and is comprised of business owners who do a certain dollar volume, are vetted, and are invited in. The purpose is threefold: One is to provide a place where established peer groups known as “forums” offer an intimate, confidential environment for peer conversation and help; the second is to provide experiences and events with like type of people; and the third is to provide education. This education typically happens in the form of speakers and workshops. The EO Global board also provides elite, executive-level, immersive training with the best of the best in places like Harvard, Wharton, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the London School of Economics and Political Science. I was privileged to be able to participate in the Entrepreneurial Strategy course at Harvard. EO has been instrumental in my personal and professional development.
I have experience with professional speaking and thousands of hours of experience facilitating, so when I heard about this opportunity, I jumped at the chance. All applicants are required to fill out an application and submit a video of ourselves. Even though it is a fairly expensive course, the number of people applying was massive. Candidly, I did not think my chances were very good to be accepted. But I know I challenge the people I coach and the teams I work with to be willing to get comfortable being uncomfortable. So, I took some of my own medicine and applied anyway. I was elated and a bit surprised when I found out I had been accepted.
In five days, we learned the psychology of what makes a great speech, the mechanics on how to create a great speech, and ultimately the real value in blending these attributes with being genuine. One of the best side products of this course was the lifelong relationship that will come out of that experience.
I returned home to Colorado armed with a great speech. It had been critiqued, reworked, shredded, and reworked again, and my head was spinning. I had a great speech, but I needed to practice. A lot. So, I set up my Zoom studio and hammered on it up to 15 times a week. It was still rough but coming along. I finally got to a point where I felt comfortable with it. The next step was to record it, fill out another application, and submit it to the EO Speakers board, then let them review it (including Pat Quinn) and wait for approval or feedback. I recorded several versions, none of them perfect, and got comfortable being uncomfortable again. I uploaded the video, hit “submit,” and then had to wait for almost a month.
Anthony, the guy driving the process, is in the UK. Early on Monday morning, I checked my emails and was again elated and surprised to see that I was one of a couple of handfuls from our class to have been approved as a certified speaker for EO. Holy smokes, what a ride it had been to this point. There was additional coaching available to those who did not get past that first round, and I have no doubt that they will be successful.
The point of all this is to say that in 2022, I would encourage you to get comfortable getting uncomfortable. You never know what might happen.
And if you or anyone in your network is looking for a speaker, live or virtual, I would love to talk.
The topic: Three Secrets to Finding Balance and Alignment with Your Partner
About the talk: This sixty-minute presentation will provide three simple, specific action steps to help you discover and obtain balance and partner alignment.
Keep smiling,
Kris
