Speaking and Communicating Podcast

>> Roberta Ndlela: Welcome back to the speaking and communicating podcast. I am, um, your host, Roberta. And if you are looking to improve your communication skills, both professionally and personally, this is the podcast you should be tuning into. Communication and soft skills are crucial for your career growth and leadership development. Now, in this exciting month of May, we have an amazing lineup of guests for you. On Mondays, our special guests will be helping us with our inner communication. On Wednesdays, we have public speaking experts helping us with becoming better public speakers. And on Fridays, our guests will be showing us how to reach global audiences. So stay tuned. Share these episodes with those who will benefit from them and log on to Apple and Spotify and leave us a rating and a review.

Karen Roberts is a podcast strategist and runs a podcast network

Now let's get communicating.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Now let's get communicating with Karen Roberts, joining us all the way from London. She is a podcast strategist and runs a podcast network where she helps coaches, consultants, healers, and therapists with their strategies and has a database that helps her clients to reach them easily, simply. And before I go any further, please help me welcome her to the show. Hey, Karen. Hi.

>> Karen Roberts: Thank you so much for having me.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Thank you for being here.

Roberta: Karen Roberts has been podcasting for three years

Welcome to the show. It's my pleasure. Please introduce yourself.

>> Karen Roberts: So, my name's Karen Roberts, and I've been podcasting now for about three years, and I fell into it like maybe some people have done. At the beginning of lockdown, I put on an online summit, and I had 20 coaches speaking on the event, and I just loved it. I have met the most amazing people on my journey, all doing phenomenal things within their communities, serving. It's all about serving people. So now all we do with the podcast network is we help other coaches really get their message out there to the people who need to hear it. So we do all sort of the back end, boring stuff that puts people off, I think, from actually launching a podcast. So we try to simplify things and make it easy for them so that they can use podcasting as a vehicle to drive their business. Because, would you agree with me, Roberta, that this is fun?

>> Roberta Ndlela: It's very fun. When you say you've met amazing people, I said, dito. That's exactly what's been my experience, for sure. It's so much fun.

>> Karen Roberts: Yeah. And I wouldn't never have met them. You know, like you say, you're over there, I'm over here. I just would not have come across, um, all the people that I've come across in everyday life. So this is just a fantastic platform to get your message out there. But more importantly, it's about developing relationships. That's what I do. You know, business doesn't have to be dull and boring. And so many people are out there struggling to get attention on social media. I don't know about you, Roberta, but when I'm on social media, I'm just scrolling. I'm scrolling. You know, something might catch my attention. I might like it, but am I really paying attention? Whereas if people are listening to you, Roberta, you are holding the attention of people. They have connected with you, they're resonating with you. They're staying. And this is what I want to sort of let people know that, you know, whatever business you're in, it really doesn't matter. Having the platform of having your own podcast channel is a fantastic way to not just showcase what you do, but also to demonstrate how you help people. And you're building on the know like and trust factor because people are listening in the comfort of their own home or car or the gym. Wherever they're listening to podcasts, you're holding the attention so people get to, uh, really know you because you just show up as you, you know, your authentic self on, um, social media. These days, with the rise of AI, anybody can write a post, right? You could have an avatar. It might not even be you. But so far, podcasting is the way you get to just show up as you, and it's just having conversations. It's easy. You don't have to learn a script. It's just conversational. And that way, people get to know the real you. And if it looks like it's a good fit further down the road, at the end of the day, you're going to attract the right people for you. So I love it.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Attract the right people, attract your true tribe. Because here's the thing about, since you work with coaches, I don't know if any of your clients have had this challenge of thinking, let my messaging be general, so I attract everybody. Have you come across that?

>> Karen Roberts: Oh, uh, all the time. It comes from fear, right? It comes from a scarcity mindset. And, look, I did it in the beginning. You think, well, they might not want this, but I could help with this. And it comes from a place of wanting to serve, but your whole message gets watered down. And I did this in the beginning because I was trying to do everything. I'm a little bit ADHD anyway, so I like lots different things. But it doesn't help because my whole business was disjointed. I had my podcast, then I was helping my clients with organic marketing, helping them with sales, doing all this stuff because I thought I should be doing it, and now it's like, no, no, no, no. Go back to what is it you love doing? And I love podcasting. So now we're like, we've got the strategy to help you guys. So let's stick with podcasting because you get to with throughout your own episodes. Yes, you're there to teach, but it's more than that. You know, anybody can get information from a book, from a YouTube video, but if you find a way to use your content in a podcast, in a way to showcase the transformation that you offer, rather than just teaching, just information isn't enough, is it? But when you can showcase through your episodes how you can take somebody from a to b and you can demonstrate clearly how you do that, you will attract the right people at the right time without having to sell a thing.

>> Roberta Ndlela: M it's like a, uh, before and after picture of I used to be this. And after going through the coaching, here's where I am.

>> Karen Roberts: Yeah, absolutely. You know, if you're a coach out there selling your coaching program, nobody wants to buy a coaching program. They want the end result that going through your coaching program. And so many people are focused on the thing that they do rather than demonstrating what's the end game. You know, I'll say to people, I'll give you your time back. Who wants their time back? And have fun whilst building a business. I bored them with all the things you need to do to start and grow and look, you know, monetize a podcast, man, they would have switched off.

>> Roberta Ndlela: You tell them the process. Um, yeah, the behind the scenes stuff we do, we don't even gonna delve into that.

Roberta says she fell into podcasting through selling affiliate programs

When you say you fell into it, how and when did that happen?

>> Karen Roberts: I come from a completely different industry. I come from the fitness industry. So for 25 years, for a quarter of a century, I'm used to being on stage, jumping around, motivating, inspiring people, having fun. For me, having fun and loving what you do is so important to me because I always did. I'm not getting any younger. So it was like, how much longer can I keep this up? Teaching very high energy classes. I owned my own fitness studio and. But I loved to do it, you know, I love to be there in front of people. I thought I was taking the easy route because I knew I wanted to be a speaker and still to motivate people without getting sweaty. But I didn't have a program, so I started selling other people's programs. So I was selling high ticket affiliate programs. I saw that as the easy route. I don't have to create anything. I can just sell this thing that isn't mine. And I was very good at it. I was very good at selling other people's stuff. But the company got shut down literally overnight, and I was like, oh, wow, I am never putting all my energy, focus and, uh, money because I'd invested myself into something that I don't control. So I wanted to create my own program, and I thought I should. That being the key word. I thought I should go back to my roots of health and wellness, and I retrained in nutrition, studied the ketogenic diet for health benefits and fasting, intermittent fasting. And I was just launching a speaking career because I wanted to do live events. And guess when that was? 2019.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Yeah, just before.

>> Karen Roberts: So just before my first big one, I'd invested heavily, and then, of course, lockdown happened and forget that. And then I was stuck at home. The keto diet went out the window. I was eating rubbish because I was depressed, and I thought, I can't sell something that I'm not doing in my book. That's unethical. It can't be do as a say, not as I do. And I put on an online summit, as I said, with these 20 speakers, not for profit, just to try and lift people's spirits during that terrible time. And on the back of that, yeah, just serving whilst learning something. And I was offered a radio show at the back of it, and I just said yes. I didn't know why in the beginning. I just thought, do you know what? I love doing it, and I'll figure it out as I go. And it was purely through speaking to so many coaches, you know, because I was only interviewing back then.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Mhm.

>> Karen Roberts: And I thought, they're all passionate about what they do. They are all highly skilled, but many still struggling to get clients. And that's what prompted me to want to show up and serve, to help. You know what? If you think you're going to love doing podcasting, why not use podcasting as the vehicle to drive your business? So it's been a journey, Roberta. It evolved naturally when I had this, aha, uh, moment of, guys, none of you are in competition with each other. You're all doing different things with different.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Collaboration is better than competition.

>> Karen Roberts: You read my mind. Yes. Why don't we collaborate? And ten days later, I was offered the radio station. Thank you, universe. Yes. It's funny when you listen to that inner voice. Uh, you know, because I talk a lot when I verbally and mentally, the right ideas come through. That's what I truly believe.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Your inner communication.

>> Karen Roberts: Yes. We have to listen to it, don't we? I call it my practicing, my unthinking, um, in quiet. And then these ideas come up.

>> Roberta Ndlela: And would you say part of the journey? As I said, at first you didn't know what it was going to look like. How much does being flexible and adaptable play into that?

>> Karen Roberts: So much you don't know what you don't know, right? Yes. I would say I, uh, have built my business totally backwards, and I wouldn't advise anybody starting out doing it that way. But what I would say is, stop thinking about the things you think you should do because everybody else is doing it, rather than go inwards and really think about what you love doing and work from there. Forget about what you think will make money or forget all that stuff. Stuff. What would you really, really love to do if you could map out your ideal working day? What would you be doing? Who would you be working with? And from that place? Then the right plan and the right strategy can come through.

You have to be flexible and adaptable when developing your podcast

Going back to yes. How important is it to be flexible? Yeah, because you might not get it right the first time. Like, we gave up the radio station, but we stayed with the podcast network because we were being spread too thin. It was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's cut out all the noise. And we focus on the one thing that people want, which is to build their podcast so that they can grow their audience, build influence within their audience, and build their client list. But yes, in order to do that, you have to be flexible and adaptable. Absolutely, absolutely.

>> Roberta Ndlela: And if anyone is listening and wondering, what is a podcast network?

>> Karen Roberts: Everybody has their own podcast channel, right? But we also have a network so people can come and find who is on our network, what other shows. It's not just my show, so really I'm there to support. A lot of people think that all you got to do is speak into a mic. But what we look at is why I do want a podcast. Is it in alignment with your whole business? Is it in alignment with the end coaching program or whatever it is you sell at the end? Is it in sync? Right. Everybody wants to just grow their listener base. But if the messaging isn't right and, um, the content that you're creating isn't right, just having more listeners might not drive more business. When you realize who your audience is, then you can create the kind of content that will attract, or sometimes even create your ideal client throughout your podcast and get to demonstrate you can pick one pain point that your listeners might be struggling with and you go over that point. Pain point. You demonstrate how you can help people with that pain point. So you take people through a journey without having to say anything to them, because if it resonates with the listener, you're going to turn the listener into a lead. They are going to come into your world and then you continue to nurture them and bring them into whatever it is that you're selling. So it's an organic way, it's an authentic way of bringing the right people into your world.

>> Roberta Ndlela: So you do help your coaching clients with the messaging so that they're not creating this. I'm, um. For everybody?

>> Karen Roberts: Yeah, absolutely. We run monthly workshops where we give people the blueprint.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Mhm.

>> Karen Roberts: Because what everybody's going to have a slightly different blueprint. There isn't. I don't believe in a one size fits all, you know, if people are out there, coaches out there, and they're just tired of constantly coming up with content for social media posts, your podcast can be used in the written format, the video format, the audio format can be broken down into short snippets. Use that drive everybody into your podcast and then to move them along if you want to do sales calls or. What we prefer to do is do one to many and run more of a deep dive and get to be with people. It create an experience for people so you have more time to actually showcase how you can help people. So, yeah, we do all the back end stuff if people want that, but also we can just give them the blueprint.

>> Roberta Ndlela: So in addition to the blueprint, do they have a case where I record my episode like we're doing now? We're recording. Right. And then once we're done, I take the file, I download it, give it to Karen. This is your baby. Goodbye.

>> Karen Roberts: Uh, absolutely. We take care of post podcast production, but we also do implementation days because you can learn anything you want to learn from Google, can't you? You can scroll through a ton of YouTube videos. Yeah. However, knowledge by itself isn't going to make you take action. And what we found, because we were only providing the platform, people weren't sticking it out because they didn't have the strategy, which is why we've changed our business model to do the whole thing. Because what we found was if we were just leaving them to themselves to just give me the episode to put up, it still wasn't enough because they weren't getting an ROI and they were giving up too soon, you know, now we've grown our podcast. We want everybody else to have the same kind of success. So once people have got their blueprint, if they want to, we run implementation days where we'll map out like three months worth of shows. We will actually set up the podcast channel with them on that day. Throughout that day, everything will be launched. And I even co host their first episode to put them at ease. Because when we do something once, not just watch a video about doing it, but actually do it, it feels easier. So they're more likely to go on and do it again and again. And when they use our formula for it all, it is actually really, really simple.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Yes. Once you do something for the first time, whatever horror movie you played in your mind before, you realize, wait a minute. Oh, I can do it, actually.

>> Karen Roberts: And it doesn't have to be perfect, does it? You know, you know, some people, they analysis paralysis, you know, they're waiting for everything to be perfect. Oh, uh, Roberta, you're going to learn.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Exactly. Just get started. You will learn along the way.

>> Karen Roberts: That's why we changed our model, because we wanted people to stop over analyzing it and just do it. Look, I'll record your first show. I'll, uh, do the post production, even so that when we come on the implementation day you're launching, there's no getting away from it. You're launching a podcast today. That is it. We are going to implement what you've learned. And then, because you've done it once, you can then go and do it again and again and again and it will improve. Improve. I'm far from perfect. But the beauty of podcasting, like I say, it doesn't have to be. You get to show, uh, up as.

You, especially for public speaking. Why would you want to sound perfect

>> Roberta Ndlela: You, especially for public speaking. Why would you want to sound perfect? Because first of all, that's not normal or real or authentic. And you don't want people thinking, unless I sound perfect, I'm not going to be able to do this. No, that's not the goal.

>> Karen Roberts: Absolutely. Back in 2019, where I thought I was launching my speaking career, my first one, I cannot explain how petrified I was. You know, I'd learnt my 20 minutes talk and I knew it. I knew it and knew it, and knew it. And I got there and all these seasoned speakers, I felt so small. I honestly felt sick. I wanted to run out that room. And then the moment I got up on stage, although I couldn't do the clicky thing, so, bless him, the sound engineer that helped me out because I couldn't do two things at once, but I did it. And the thing is, podcasting is even so much easier than all of that. You don't have to remember a script. It's conversational. You don't have to make out that you're this perfect speaker.

>> Roberta Ndlela: You're just nobody, even the ones you idolize. We've been doing it for 50 years.

>> Karen Roberts: The way I see it, it's the easiest format to showcase what you do because I don't know about you. Like, I would get guests bio and I could go to their website and I could create a story in my head around what it is they do. And then when I actually asked them the questions on the show, by the end of it, I'm like, oh. And I have a deeper understanding of what it is. So having this platform is a fantastic way to get your message out there and for people to have an understanding. And if it resonates with them, then great. And if not great, too. There's no rejection. You just naturally, authentically attract the right people for you.

>> Roberta Ndlela: And that is exactly what we're working towards.

Back to when you were going for your first speaking assignment, you were petrified

Back to when you were going for your first speaking assignment. Please tell us how you prepared and how did you overcome the nerves. Because you said you were petrified, especially speaking after those who had been seasoned speakers. Yes.

>> Karen Roberts: For one, I meditate a lot. To really calm me, I created my script, as it were. It was just practice, practice, practice until I knew it off Pat. When I say I come from the fitness world, my passion was teaching. If anybody out there has heard of Les Mills classes, body pump, body combat, body jam, they have them all over the world. But it's pre choreographed. So for all my life, I would be given the choreography. I've just got to learn it. It's all to music. I've got to learn it that perfectly that I can then go out and teach it and add my spin on it. And that's what I've always done. I did that for a quarter of a century. You know, once I've mapped out what I wanted to say and included the stories and yes, you've got to showcase you, you've got to share your stories. And once I have it, I've got to learn it, learn it, learn it, learn it. So it's automatic. I've just got to go out there and deliver it. However, that's what I mean. That was such a different experience to what I do now. I don't do that now.

How did you calm your nerves when you were about to speak

>> Roberta Ndlela: But how did you calm your nerves when you were about to speak?

>> Karen Roberts: And I thought I was confident.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Right.

>> Karen Roberts: You know, I'm used to getting up on stage, I would be in front of hundreds of people, no problem. But in this case, they're all sitting down, they're not jumping around with me, they're sitting there watching me. Totally different experience. I really have never felt fear like it. And I had to focus on my breathing and, uh, what I call my unthinking, um, so, yes, being very present, because otherwise my mind would have talked me out of it, would have made me run out the back door, which.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Some of us have thought about when we started. Yes, and it's funny you mentioned that you are, uh, confident and you can stand in front of people and do all the fitness moves. Some people wonder why, socially I'm so confident. I'm the life of the party. But when it comes to speaking, I suddenly shrink.

>> Karen Roberts: I can only speak from my point of view. And I suppose the difference with me, when I was teaching, they were all doing it with me, so I didn't feel like they are just zoning in on me, watching for my next mistake, you know, and that's what I suppose it felt like. And I thought, oh, I'm gonna get tongue tied and I'm gonna forget what I'm talking about and I'm, I'm gonna look like an idiot. All these impostor syndrome thoughts, stories that we create in our head, you're gonna.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Make me go viral on Twitter.

>> Karen Roberts: The fear, it's all that fear of being judged, fear of being laughed at. Uh, it's crazy when you're out of it looking in because you think, relax. But when you're in it, those fears are like through the roof, or they were for me, but, uh, once I did it once, I'm m not saying the fear, there was no fear the second time or the third time. However, once you do it, that once you then have the knowledge that it's okay to have that fear because it's going to be okay. And that's why, I suppose, really, that's why I'm doing what I'm doing, because I'm so adamant that is the implement. It's the doing thing. Even if you don't get it right first time, it doesn't matter. Uh, do it rather than think about it, plan it, prep it, watch another video about it, go on another course about it, read another book about it. No, stop. Take action.

>> Roberta Ndlela: When you look at the parallel between fitness, you weren't nervous because they were jumping with you when speaking. What is the parallel? What can you do with your audience so that you feel they are part of your speech. And they're not just zooming in on you.

>> Karen Roberts: Like you said earlier, I think it's getting them engaged in some way will relax you. So, for instance, I'm not just giving instructions out. I would connect with the person, maybe even have a little bit of banter or, you know, to encourage them, have a laugh, get some kind of engagement, will actually help you relax. And I think it's the same with speaking on stage. People think they've just got to, uh, regurgitate this signature talk that they've just learned. However, if you get engagement from the audience, that actually helps you relax as well.

>> Roberta Ndlela: And when you make a mistake, which we all do, if you laugh with them about it, you realize that they're not out here waiting for you to make the mistake and make it go viral. They love with you. And you connect in that fashion as well.

>> Karen Roberts: Yes. And it's okay, isn't it, to show up as being. We're all vulnerable. We're not claiming that we're perfect. It's okay to muck up. It's okay not to get it word for word perfect. It's all about the experience.

How do you connect with your listeners when podcasting

>> Roberta Ndlela: One last thing, Karen. Let's take that now to podcasting. How do you connect with your listeners?

>> Karen Roberts: Well, I will encourage them to reach out to me as well, even for a shout out. Sometimes I do shout outs at the beginning of the show, and I will always encourage them to. Basically, I only send people to my one thing, which is my workshop, you know, because what I see is a lot of people and my guests do it, even though I prep them beforehand and say, don't do it. When it comes to the end, they want to give them their Facebook link, their LinkedIn link, their this link. They're that look, and then confusion, overwhelm. Nobody's going to do any of that. I do that. I used to, because, again, we don't want them to miss, you know, they might connect me on Facebook, they might connect with. So I need to give them everything. So what we say is, no, give them one thing, one good reason to come into your world. Then when they're in your world, then you can say, hey, do you want to connect on Facebook? Hey, do you want to connect on LinkedIn? But otherwise, how can you monitor whether that worked, whether that was a success? Because you don't know who's come to. They might have clicked on your Facebook, you don't know who did or didn't, whereas if you've got something to give them of value, um, that would be of interest to them. You're bringing them into your world. You can't control Facebook. They could say tomorrow that no coaches are allowed.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Remember the day that it was off? The whole world came to a standstill. Remember m earlier you said, you know, you just scroll. I remember one time I had a coach who said, here's my problem with Facebook ads. You literally are sending people to a place where they're going to have all kinds of distractions. They're not going to be focused on anything you say.

>> Karen Roberts: Yeah, ah, exactly. That's it. Whereas if you get them into your world in a way that you can either email them your Facebook link or email them your LinkedIn or email them your Facebook group, but you've got them. You've got access to them. Now you can, when you do have something new, you can email them. They're in your world. And I think that's the important thing. And get them to subscribe to your podcast because they'll get a notification of the next one and you're building, every episode is building on the next and they are getting to know the real you rather than some AI generated fake version.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Karen Roberts, the podcast strategist hailing all the way from the UK. This has been such a pleasure. Thank you so much. You are so much fun and you keep things simple.

>> Karen Roberts: Thank you for having me. Thank you.

>> Roberta Ndlela: My absolute pleasure.

Karen Roberts shares tips on how to launch and grow your podcast

And before you go, now that you've shared with us, uh, strategy of bringing listeners into your world, what would you like to share for them in order to reach you?

>> Karen Roberts: So if you'd like to learn how you can do this, if you want the blueprint and it's free, a, uh, workshop, you can go to. Podcast profits unleashed. So that's podcastprofitsunleashed.com workshop. You can register there. It's a real deep dive. But the beauty is that you will walk away with a complete blueprint on how to get an ROI from your podcast.

>> Roberta Ndlela: Podcastprofitsunleased.com workshop yes, m to enter into Karen Roberts World, the podcast strategist who will give all this free information in order for you to launch and grow your podcast. Thank you so much, Karen, for spending your time with us today.

>> Karen Roberts: Thank you. Bye for now.

>> Roberta Ndlela: My pleasure. Goodbye to you as well. Thank you for joining us on the speaking on communicating podcast once again, please log on to Apple and Spotify. Leave us a rating and a review and what you'd like for us to discuss on the show that will be of benefit to you. We encourage you to continue to get communicating and let us know how communication skills continue to improve your life professionally and personally. And stay tuned for more episodes to come.