Episode 5
Season 2
How to Shine Instead of Shiver When You Face a Audiance
Welcome Ernie Boxall, Keynote Speaker, Coach, and Mentor, to Saturday Soundbites!
Ernie shares his expertise as a storyteller. He helps coaches, consultants, business owners, and performers tell their stories clearly and confidently so they can secure speaking opportunities and enjoy life without limitations.
Veronica and Ernie will dig deep into the strategies and techniques that will help you show up and improve your visibility strategy!
Join us on this episode and let Ernie help you:
• Turn Up Prepared!
• Stand Up Confidently!
• Speak Up and Perform!
Follow Ernie at www.facebook.com/vigilantestories
[00:00:00] Veronica: Hello. Hello and welcome to Saturday soundbites. I'm your host, Frontica Sofer. And I'm so excited to be here with you again on another fantastic episode where we talk all things, visibility strategy, we talk about marketing, advertising, branding, public relations, networking. All of those things are going to help you build your visibility that are going to reinforce your brand, and that are going to set you apart in your knee.
[00:00:24] Absolutely. One of the most important things you can do to grow your business. And I bring on experts and guests that are going to help you with techniques and strategies and show you new and innovative ways to do that. And sometimes that means getting onstage. Sometimes that means getting in the media or building partnerships and collaboration, but no matter what it is, you're doing, you have to show up and you have to show.
[00:00:46] Brilliantly. So if you're watching on the podcast or on listening to the podcast, make sure you hit subscribe. We want to make sure you don't miss any episodes. And if you're watching on Facebook or YouTube, make sure you put some comments in there. So my guests and I can come back and engage with you and put hashtag replay.
[00:01:02] If it's something we need to go back to, cause we want to know when it is, you can catch the show. So we'll go ahead and get started. I have a phenomenal guest today. You guys are going to absolutely love him. He brings just so much wealth of information. An expertise that this is really going to be an episode that you're gonna want to take notes and go back and read the show notes whenever you can and click on those links.
[00:01:22] So with that, I'm going to bring up Ernie Bach's wall to the stage here. Ernie, did I pronounce your name correctly?
[00:01:30] Ernie: The American pronunciation. I would shave bok shul box. Gotcha.
[00:01:36] Veronica: Very good. I love it. Well, I love the English way of saying it, so I will go with that. Well, thank you.
[00:01:41] Ernie: So Andrew Onica, I am actually an American at heart.
[00:01:46] Veronica: I love it. I love it. Yes. I did see your, your signature line on your email. So I love that. Well, thank you so much. And tell us a little bit about yourself and some of your expertise.
[00:01:57] Ernie: Well, I am and I am a story. And that means I tell a story stories. I tell my own stories, but I also help people tell their story.
[00:02:11] I do it in two ways. I have a webinar program called how to shine instead of shiver, when you face a live audience. And I also have a interview program very much like your own, but it's called no story stagnates where I take my guests through that life from before they were born by asking the question, do you know how your mother and father met.
[00:02:40] Hmm, because if people know how their mother and father met, they know that story from before they were born. And then we go through the decades with the story and the lesson taken from each story. So just the end of the interview, we have a virtual life story and lessons learned.
[00:03:01] Veronica: I love that. That's fantastic.
[00:03:04] Ernie: It's been phenomenal. Yeah, I am a storyteller and basically Veronica. It started way, way back in the 1950s. When in our house, we weren't allowed to talk at the dinner table at all. We ate in silence. When my father came home at work, we weren't allowed to talk because he was very tired. When I went to bed or she had a room and my brother who was five years younger.
[00:03:36] So we didn't talk. When I went to school, I kept being told to shut up. And when I went into the factory, nobody could hear me. So I tell people that I didn't really start to talk until I was about 21 years old and best man, I do say best manner to Hawk as well.
[00:04:00] Veronica: Now you got me there now. I'm I want to know more.
[00:04:04] Ernie: It was a rugby player, a New Zealand rugby hooker, and I was best managed to wedding. He was marrying the daughter of the local chamber of cha chamber of commerce chairman. So my first presentation was to 140 business owners and their guests in a market. And I did then unconsciously, what I try to mentor people to do now, which is my four PS of perfect presentation.
[00:04:43] I, I prepared it. Veronica, you can bet that I spent three months preparing that presentation and then I practiced. And I practiced it until I could say it down with bullet points and on the day, because I pretty much nailed the first two. I was able to stand up shoulders back tall with the posture of someone who's confident now inside my stomach was churning, of course, but my posture was confident and the fourth.
[00:05:22] Is I performed, it was a performance and I received a standing ovation. And that was the first time in my life that I felt that I'd found something that I was really good at. That's remarkable that that just that performance has allowed me to be a semiprofessional shocker coach with. Lash ability than any of the players, but I could speak to them on their level.
[00:05:57] I've been a supply teacher with no teacher training because I could speak to the lower form children on their level. In fact, I went through some of your earlier podcasts, Ronica, and there was one Brianne Hennessy, the voice coach. Yes. In business. I started in business about 20 years ago going to network meetings.
[00:06:27] And after a very short time, I noticed that many of these new business owners would stand up in front of the crowd. They would walk to the front chairman. Put the hands in the pockets or behind the back or start to rub them together. And it would be, um, uh, good morning. I am, uh, John Davis from Davis works management.
[00:06:57] I am a, uh, a speeching, uh, a business coach. And I will, um, take your business from the, um, where you are. Um, um, um, um, And I thought you're not going to be my business coach. And that's where I know that this ability to prepare your presentation, practice it, then stand up with the right posture and perform was going to be vital for business owners.
[00:07:31] And of course now post the virus, people are having to be confident looking into the camera. Because it's a different technique altogether, but you still have to be confident with using your voice. Yes,
[00:07:47] Veronica: absolutely. Absolutely. And I can see definitely where CEOs and, um, people who are in the sales space, they would engage those, someone with that expertise.
[00:07:58] But you mentioned something that was very poignant and that is that business has changed. And, and talk to us a little bit about how. You have seen the need for this in, in an exchange, just like ours, we're literally across an ocean, but we're still engaged. Talk to us a little about that. Cause that's so important for business owners.
[00:08:18] Ernie: It has been so important to my, not just my business, Veronica, but my life because I was running a storytelling group. As a business where we would bring storytellers, authors, poets, and musicians to a live audience in Lemington spa, where I live and they were performed to a live audience. And I did that for four years and it was very successful then of course the virus closed the venue.
[00:08:52] So I believe I thought that that was the end of my story. Business. And then I found a group called the worldwide virtual storytelling Guild in America, which I joined. And instead of telling my stories to 20 people, 30 people, 40 people in a room, I was telling it to the same number of people all around the world through these little boxes.
[00:09:23] But again, it just takes that technique of being comfortable with your preparation. The fact that you've practiced your story, that you can perform your story with, uh, an authoritative posture. Very much, as I say, I think coming into where Brianne was talking about the use of the voice. The, where I would perhaps differ a little a bit, is that what the storytelling Guild offered me was the chance to keep practicing my voice.
[00:10:10] So that last year I actually obtained the role of willful. The warden. And I'm a ghost guy guide you saying Monica, or take people around the most auntie house in England
[00:10:32] country. I can do that. I'm also airing the wizard. When I talk to children about the dragon. And the headless nights that wander the streets of Warrick and Stratford. And I'm also center.
[00:10:56] Veronica: Of course, I can see that
[00:10:58] Ernie: I show this ability to change my role and with every role change my voice, my actions, but still be authentically.
[00:11:10] I think me. Which was very much what Brianne was talking about, but it does take preparation and practice the business owners who go into a network meeting or into a meeting and say they, they wing their presentation. When I go to a network meeting, I sometimes ask. Uh, business owner when he entered the room.
[00:11:38] When did you come in and they'll look at their watch and they say five minutes ago, 10 minutes ago, I actually came into the room three days ago when I prepared my 62nd presentation. If I'm doing a 14 minutes. Um, what do they call it? Stage? Yeah, keynote, but I'm doing a 40 minute keynote then that will have been practiced two weeks ago and prepared if I'm doing workshops that would be practiced a month ago.
[00:12:14] It's all about thinking about that presentation beforehand. And then preparing it and practicing it so that you can deliver it to the room. And I think this is where stories come in, Veronica, because you know yourself, you can go to a network meeting with your business cards and one meeting will be full of bankers lawyers, accountants, and you'll hand your business card over with your details on the next meeting will be tradesmen plumbers, building.
[00:12:51] You hand over your same business card. But with this, what I call my audible business card, you can change the words you say to each group to match the group.
[00:13:07] Veronica: Yeah. Know your audience. I love that. That's fantastic.
[00:13:14] Ernie: That's what I try to bring over to my client. And to the people who come in relation to mission Creek.
[00:13:23] Veronica: And what about when you're working with a client, especially a business owner who says Ernie, I that's great and I can practice and I can build my confidence in my posture, but I'm not a performer. How do you, how do you help people find the inner performer when they're pretty much stuck in the mindset?
[00:13:40] That they're not one,
[00:13:42] Ernie: if we can meet one tomorrow, Then obviously it's a lot easier because we can go through role-play. I can video that presentation and then we can look at tips, body posture. I often favor when you're talking to an audience being sideways on, because a camera man, a photographer told me that when you're like this.
[00:14:17] The, the lens bounce you're bouncing straight back. So that's almost confrontational. Interestingly, if you sit like this, then it's more circular. Ah, yes. So you very often see when people have their photos taken they're most often short of one shoulder forward sideways. Because she's much less confrontational than this.
[00:14:48] Veronica: Yes, it absolutely is. I, I definitely, you can see the welcoming and the flow, uh, for those of us who, who, who like the flow of energy and, and. All those kinds of things. That's absolutely important. And so do you feel like when we're on video, that those same techniques apply when we're zooming with people?
[00:15:09] Or do you feel like in person, the body language is just different? No,
[00:15:13] Ernie: I don't. I love when I interview people, I love to be when I remember, you know, that I don't know everything there is to know about their business. But yeah, I do know quite a few things very well. And I do like to interview people and to talk to people like this, to be honest, Veronica, I I've been a boxer.
[00:15:43] I've been a fighter. I've been confrontational for quite a few years of my life. And it was 20 years ago when I, I hit rock bottom. The business that I was in had failed. My partner had left me because I was not a very good father. I've become too concentrated on my work. And I put this the family second.
[00:16:13] Now I'm the luckiest man alive because my partner still talks to me and my kids love. I know so many business moaners, many in particular, who've lost that. And so my attitude changed then I actually found Tai Chi and shiatsu therapy, which pretty much dead in that competitive edge that forced me or that made me didn't force me.
[00:16:44] I did my own volition that made me go out four days a week. Coaching football life became much, much more flowing. Yes. After, and I still do. Tai-Chi still do shiatsu, which kept me more flexible now than I was in my thirties, in my mind. And in my body.
[00:17:11] Veronica: Yeah, that's amazing. And I think a lot of business owners think that reading leadership books and, and going to workshops and building all of this, um, while yeah, absolutely.
[00:17:22] It's important. There are other parts of developing, uh, your, your leadership and your, your ability to incorporate your body into that really affects your voice. And I love that example.
[00:17:35] Ernie: Yes, very, I'm listening to a lot of American podcasts now, and particularly I've been drawn to Jocko Willink and his message that a leader really doesn't, shouldn't be after shout at the people in the organization, it should involve.
[00:18:03] That should be part of the scheme part of working out what needs to be non next. And that's very much how I like to work with my clients and my friends. Yeah. If people looked at my, if I gave the story of my business life, it's very much a roller coaster. Right. But now through zoom, uh, through been able to connect with people around the world, particularly in America, I have so many people who are willing to help, and I think that's another benefit of us going online, as well as you say, connecting across the.
[00:18:52] Veronica: Absolutely. And commerce is global and corporations have been doing it for many, many years, but entrepreneurs and small business owners, we haven't had the luxury because we didn't have the tools. And now we do. And the tips you've given us really speak to how you can leverage your voice, leverage your authenticity, um, to grow your brand.
[00:19:14] And, and I love the way that. You've got strategies for storytelling development, because that's where a lot of entrepreneurs get stuck. Yes. The development stage
[00:19:25] Ernie: to, for the people who watch us Veronica, I mean, as I go back to know story stagnates, it can be used for life or business. If we were being interviewed now, I would say, Veronica, do you know how your mother and father met?
[00:19:42] Or I could say Veronica, what were you doing? One week before what you're doing now. How did what you're doing now? Start, could you tell us how you started? What were you doing one week before you started doing what you're doing now?
[00:20:03] Veronica: Yeah, that's an interesting question because it really makes you think back and you almost have to, because if it was not.
[00:20:13] Strategic or written out or there was a plan. You have to really go back into your mind to think about that. Yeah. Cause I, I don't know that. I mean, thinking about a week, um, I was definitely recording and going live on Saturday soundbites. That's exactly what I was doing a week ago and get me prepared for now.
[00:20:33] There was probably some processes that I wasn't cognizant of.
[00:20:37] Ernie: Well, I'd say Veronica, what I meant was what we, you doing one week before you started ah, doing what you're doing now, let's go right back. What was your last, what was your previous job?
[00:20:54] Veronica: Hmm, well, um, I was certainly, well, I would certainly wanting to do this and had a little dream, so I'm still doing the other, but I, it was budding and growing and I think I probably like at the start, it just. Boston one day I chose to, so it was a lot of dreaming about it until I got it until I did it.
[00:21:21] Ernie: Great. I'll show you. But even that question offers the chance to go back and think about how did it start because that's important. Absolutely. And then we worked through what, what was the first month? Like, what was the second month? Like what lessons did you learn? And so I think in both ways in telling your own story and telling your business story, it allows people to go back and remember some of the times when things went right.
[00:21:55] And some of the times when things went wrong,
[00:21:59] Veronica: Yeah, I love that. And the ability to reflect, right? Because we don't appreciate, we appreciate the excitement when you asked me that question. And I, and I went back there, I got excited and I could feel the emotion, but then there were, there were hiccups and there were challenges.
[00:22:15] And in hindsight they probably weren't as dramatic as I thought they were in the moment.
[00:22:21] Ernie: But the thing is Veronica with that lesson, you can talk to. An audience who are new startups who went through or are going through the same issue you're talking about. And they will be for the want of a better word.
[00:22:41] They're the low hanging fruit, right? They're the people who will come to you after the meeting and say, I really, really resonated. Can we have a one-to-one? You won't have to chase them. They will come to you.
[00:22:56] Veronica: Yeah. Yes. And that's that authenticity. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I I've it's come full circle and I see the connection now and you, you got me there.
[00:23:06] I love that. There is a way to tell your story and not sell your story. That's really, I love that. That's fantastic.
[00:23:17] Ernie: If I can just give one example, please. I interviewed a lady called girl. And she, her story was at 11 years old. Around that time she was playing happily with her friends. She went indoors and a mom and dad put it to bed.
[00:23:36] And at 2:00 AM, 3:00 AM they run into the bedroom, grabbed the suitcase, dragged around to bed. The Iraqis were attacking Kuwait. They had to take it with a suitcase, with what they'd been able to pick up. They traveled across to Jordan and in Jordan, her mother and Doha got onto a plane to Egypt. Their father got onto a boat.
[00:24:04] And so they arrived in Egypt, not knowing whether they'd ever see their father. Again, Dubai is now an international connector and business woman, but what a story. Um, she could have given me a business card and it would go, it would have been in module. I'll never forget her name. Yeah.
[00:24:27] Veronica: I L I that's so profound.
[00:24:29] And when you said that, I thought what a missed opportunity when we don't share that about us. Yes.
[00:24:37] Ernie: Wow. Yeah, no, that's
[00:24:39] Veronica: why I can see that. I can see that. Do you have any other nuggets, like, uh, you know, something similar that a business owner can take? Cause that was, that hit me harder. I will definitely be thinking about that at my next networking event.
[00:24:53] We're starting to network in person. Yes here. And, uh, I just had two events in the last few weeks and I pass out plenty of business cards and I'm thinking now, did I share anything that was really memorable and my encounters, and I don't know that I did. And so earning, I guarantee you that I will next week when I go to my next one.
[00:25:11] Ernie: Wonderful. Right. Again, wonderful. Not that that would be that my nugget would be prepare, practice, posture. Perfect.
[00:25:24] Veronica: Oh, fantastic guys. If you didn't write that down, don't worry. They're in the show notes Ernie, how can people work with you? How can we get more of these great tips and strategies and connect,
[00:25:36] Ernie: uh, my website as you have there, Veronica WW dot.
[00:25:40] And he said, doc info. I'm on LinkedIn as journey box. Yeah. I'm on Facebook getter, all of the platforms that are available now, but if people interview me or if people are interviewed by four, no story stagnates, we do an interview that goes onto a podcast, and then we split it into small 32nd chunks that can be used on Lincoln.
[00:26:10] Because nobody want, nobody will watch a video for an hour on LinkedIn. Sure, sure. But you will have years of content through 30 seconds. Snip.
[00:26:20] Veronica: Oh, that's fantastic. Ernie, you have really opened my mind and, and got me thinking about how I can, uh, really show up more authentically, um, and, and definitely share my story.
[00:26:32] So, um, I think you personally, cause I feel like I got a great one-on-one coaching session from you.
[00:26:40] Ernie: It's been a real, real. Uh,
[00:26:42] Veronica: all right. Thank you so so much guys, if you haven't already taken note, I definitely want you to check out his website. Ernie has a plethora of, of information and resources. His experience is phenomenal, and you can see how authentically he shows up.
[00:26:57] And when you are working your business, whether you're an entrepreneur or a traditional brick and mortar business, a consultant, any of those kinds of roles, you definitely need. Able to practice, show up, be prepared and, and, and do all the things that he said to do so that you can grow in your own development, because that's what it's all about.
[00:27:16] It all reflects on your brand because your brand is your promise. So with that, I want to make sure that I remind you to click subscribe if you're listening to our podcasts. And if you are watching on Facebook, just hashtag replace. So we know you caught the episode and Ernie, and I can go back and get.
[00:27:33] With you, I am sending you lots of positive energy in light, and until next time.