6 Ways to Use Your Voice in 2024

SHOW NOTES

Amplify with Jess is produced by Earfluence and brought to you by Mic Drop Workshop.

TRANSCRIPT

Jess – 00:00:02:

Welcome to Amplify with Jess Ekstrom, a show designed to help women get out of their head and into their zone of influence. Happy Monday, everyone. Here’s some food for thought to start your week. I don’t know about you, but I am not much of a New Year’s Resolution person. And this might be a shocker to someone who writes self-help and has this new podcast of like helping you go for it. But I think that I have this anxiety around, you know, this timeline of 365 days and you give it your all. And then I feel like the minute January 1 strikes, it all goes to zero. And it’s like, now you have to do it all again, except this time better. And that’s not how I want to think about my life in 2024 is like starting over at zero and now do it again. But whatever you did last year, do it better. And so instead of focusing on goals, I like to focus on habits and intentions of like, what do I want to do this year that I feel like is bringing me more to me or that is maybe putting me in something new, like last year I tried stand-up comedy. What do I want to try this year? So a lot of what I want this podcast to be is helping people, especially women, Figure out how they can use their voice, whether that means you want to become a professional speaker, whether that means you want to get more confident at work, whether that means you, like me, are a new mom and you’re juggling a lot of things and learning how to ask for help or set boundaries. Our voice, I feel like, is the quarterback to everything that we want in our life. Our inner dialogue controls everything that we do. And so our inner voice and our outer voice really matter when it comes to how we want to use it. And a lot of times we’re looking for that next big idea. You know, this is like, we’re going to turn over a rock and be like, oh, this is it, it’s here. But what if I told you that the big revolutionary idea that you’re looking for is the story that you already own, the story that you already have? We overlook our own personal story because we’ve heard it before. We’ve heard it time and time again. We play it in our minds and we think that maybe it’s not special. Maybe no one can learn from it. But I want to show you six ways that you can use your voice in 2024. First way that I want you to use your voice is developing your own personal brand. Now, if you’re like, ew, and wanting to exit out of this podcast right now, bear with me because I don’t mean personal brand in the way that sounds self-promotion or salesy, because I know that that can be something that we can really get in our head about. But I mean, asking yourself the question, what do you want to be known for? What do you want people to come to you and know that this is what they’re getting? Developing a personal brand, whether that means you want to become a speaker, or maybe it’s your personal brand at work. I think a lot of times when we’re employees, we forget that we are still our own brand and product. But what do you want to be known for? And then how do you want to get good at that thing? So getting, to think of a personal brand as more as like clarity and focus around a true mission statement. Second way you can use your voice in 2024 is my personal favorite, through speaking engagements. Some of you might be tuning in because speaking is something that you are already doing or know that you want to do. Some of you might be like, absolutely not. But remember that speaking doesn’t have to be to many. Speaking can be to one. But finding opportunities to share your story and use your voice. But I will tell you that a Bizzabo study showed that less than 30% of paid public speakers are women. And also a Tagare study showed that less than 24% of published authors are women. So thinking about question number one, what do you want to be known for? And then how can you use your story in your own personal voice in the form of speaking, whether that’s a speaking engagement or speaking to one to help influence others in the thing that you want to be known for? Three, guest on podcasts. You might be thinking, I’m not so sure about that. But exhibit A, there are so many podcasts out there now that have these niche audiences and people are looking for guests and people to bring on. Going on a podcast is a great way to use your own personal story, your voice, start to build your platform and also talk to other cool people. So think about the podcasts that you listen to. Is there a way that you can pitch yourself to be on them? Or going back to the thing that you want to be known for, are there podcasts that are in that arena that you can go ahead and pitch yourself as a guest? Four, create a product around the thing that you want to be known for. Maybe it’s a coaching service. Maybe it’s a course. Maybe it’s a weekly newsletter or a vlog, whatever it might be. But find ways that people can meet you and hear what you have to say. A lot of times we don’t start these things. I know I’m guilty of it because we think, well, do people actually want to hear me? Or how many people will actually listen? It doesn’t matter, whether you’re speaking to one or three or 3,000 or 30,000. If you can impact one person through your story, remember that your story can be someone else’s survival guide. So create a product around how to tell your story and the lessons that you’ve learned, whether that’s coaching people one-on-one, creating a course, or doing weekly writing or even content. And speaking of content brings me to number five of how to use your voice in 2024. Go live. Oh, you probably palms got sweaty. I think that going live is such a great way to kind of rip the bandaid off of like all those fears we have around what other people might think of us. The reason why I think that social like, other social platforms are prioritizing people that go live is because people are getting really tired of like the stale, perfect edited videos and they want like, I want to hear your dog barking. I want to hear your kid asking what’s for lunch. I want to see the pile of laundry in your room. I want to see if you’re watching this, that door that needs to be painted because it’s been open and closed too many times. And so going live is a great way to just get used to telling your story in front of people, but in a way that welcomes your flaws and welcomes the imperfections. And last but not least, number six on how to use your voice in 2024, start writing. Maybe it’s just 100 words a day. Maybe it’s 500 words a day. Maybe it’s 500 words a week. But pick a medium. Maybe it’s just writing for your own personal pleasure. Maybe you’re writing a book. Maybe you’re writing a newsletter for your people. Maybe you’re writing a blog. But finding a way to just start putting your words onto paper and getting in the habit of what I like to call moment to meaning. How can you digest the moments in your day and in your life and make them mean something for other people? And I just want you to remember that your voice and your story matter, no matter if your imposter syndrome is telling you that they don’t. Event planners, audiences, your future readers are looking for someone just like you to help them guide them through their story. And at the end of the day, thought leadership is about using your life experiences to help others navigate their life experiences. And most importantly, we need more women and diverse voices using these microphones, stages and book pages to share their story and serve others. I don’t care if you pick one of these things, three, or maybe you even do all six, but just find ways to encourage and push yourself to use your story this year. So I’m going to leave you with this quote for your week. The most important thing you can share with others is your story in its truest form. Thanks for listening to Amplify. If you are a fan of the show, show us some podcast love by giving us a rating and review. And give us a follow at Mic Drop Workshop and at Jess Ekstrom. Coming up on Amplify.

Speaker 1 – 00:08:43:

I think calling people in is just really important. Acknowledging that there may be an equity that has happened in the past, If we see some underestimated individuals, are we sharing their posts? Are we celebrating them? Are we speaking their name? And rooms they’re not in. That’s how we as individuals can really amplify our voice, amplify the power that we have.

Jess – 00:09:11:

This episode was edited and produced by Earfluence. And I’m Jess Ekstrom, your host. Remember that you deserve the biggest stage. So let’s find out how to get you there. I’ll see you again soon.