We were lucky to catch up with Ayesha Gallion recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ayesha, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
The assertion and phrase, “I’m Speaking Now” came about after observing how often people tend to speak over one another while someone is attempting to conclude or elaborate on a thought. It’s so essential that people feel heard and most importantly understood. It has happened to me, personally and professionally and many people can relate.
Unfortunately, the abililty to navigate communication in professional and personal spaces is not always easy. It’s important for people to assert themselves with a degree of entitlement and clarity so that their ideas and contributions to a project or solutions aren’t overlooked or disregarded.
The declaration, “I’m speaking now,” lets people know that their attention — and respectful engagement — is required if they wish to participate in a quality exchange with you. The phrase has the ability to redirect a conversation on the verge of being hijacked by an unaware or inconsiderate partipant.
I wanted my support and services to clients to reflect a certain level of audacity: I have something to say and I’m going to honor my thoughts and words — so listen up, “I’m speaking now.” I should add — I named my company before Vice President Kamala Harris’ assertion to former Vice President Mike Pence during their debate, when she had to remind him, “I’m speaking,” because he kept interrupting her.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
If there are three areas of expertise that are dear to me, it would be: communications, journalism, and education. Therefore, you’ll find that I’m Speaking Now employs tools to support clients who need additional research, refined messaging to their audiences, or a module for training their staff members.
My podcast, also named “I’m Speaking Now,” covers all facets of communication — from what not to text to how to be more verbally assertive to self-talk in the midst of career changes. It’s a labor of love as I have not actively pursued sponsors or advertising.
From Fall 2019 to Spring 2023, I offered a variety of communications services — press release and biography composition, editorial revisions, interview preparation, transcription, presentation design, and much more. However, I’ve recently streamlined to three areas: one-on-one coaching for communications guidance; composition/revision of training materials for small business owners; and speech/presentation preparation.
I’ve assisted people with refining their leadership roles via training content, speech prep, and many other areas. This brings me immense joy to witness.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Don’t let people exploit you.
I learned that when you have a marketable and useful skillset, it’s important to set boundaries as to how you impart those “gifts” to people. Our skillsets are sacred and if we don’t honor them, people — whether they mean to or not — will sometimes take your time and value for granted. This is why I attach a price to my applied skills: a good rapport will not pay the bills.
I noticed how cavalier people would be regarding asking me to “look over” correspondence or to assist with projects to market their products BUT would offer no monetary compensation for time. I suppose people think that communications pros just blink their eyes or use a magic wand to come up with ideas and strategies. My stance? If it’s so seemingly easy to put on an editorial, public speaking, or communications hat — then by all means, do the job yourself — why ask me? I don’t allow people to exploit me, my time, or my skillset.
The truth is that I can do these tasks with ease because I’ve honed my skills for years and I’m good at what I do. I don’t partake in “opportunities” or “invitations to contribute” to projects unless there is a clear financial transactional value associated with it. If I impart a complimentary service, that person is either a consistent client or someone with whom I have a very close relationship. I do this rarely and at at my discretion.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
I believe that sustaining and growing a clientele should be fostered through honesty, gratitude, and transparency. Along the road to building I’m Speaking Now, you’d be surprised at the propostions I’ve had from people who wanted to sell me their services for marketing or branding BUT whose self-serving greed, dishonesty, and desperation sent me running the other way. As a consultant, I don’t think some business owners really think about how these poor practices make them look to potential clients.
I also am clear about what my services entail (thanks to a clearly written and branded project summary). It’s a great record for me, contractually, and should the client want to share an example with a friend or colleague seeking my services, they can use it as a resource which brings me referrals. I don’t try to upsell clients and I make sure to impart encouragement along the way, as high morale usually yields a great outcome for collaborative projects. There is no need to manipulate or pressure a client into buying a service they don’t need. It’s a sure-fire way to ruin your reputation and brand.
There’s a lot of manipulation to be seen when sales and marketing come into play. People create all kinds of false promises and claims, they may offer unsolicited insight or ambiguous requests. Sales and engagement strategy approaches in the 21st century can be unabashedly audacious — sometimes even comical and downright ridiculous. I stay away from all of these gimmicks and the people who attempt to partner with me or engage me via these tactics.
If you maintain your dignity as a business owner, consultant, or service provider — you won’t have to do any continuous damage control. Fortunately, I can smell self-serving pitches a mile away — as all well-informed consumers can. These behaviors continuously represent the kind of reputation I could never align with the I’m Speaking Now brand.
My clients are organic. Sometimes, I gain a client via word-of-mouth, or via my social media or podcast platform. They see the services I offer on my website, I prepare a project summary and quote, and we work with each other through that process to the project’s completion. It’s very simple, which is in everyone’s best interest — financially and time-wise.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ayeshajgallion.com
- Instagram: iamspeakingnow
Image Credits
Copper Still Photography