We were lucky to catch up with Eileen Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Eileen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The biggest professional risk I have taken (aside from temporary duty in danger zones including Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Tajikistan during its civil war) was leaving my diplomatic career after over 20 years, but well before my retirement age. At the time, I had spent over 20 years as a United States diplomat and had the adventure of a lifetime. I also had a busy home life with two kids, a dog, and a husband who also had a demanding career with lots of travel. Our work life balance fell apart and something had to give. I took personal leave from work and intended to come back once I got our ship righted at home again. But something shifted for me in my several months focused on my family and home. Suddenly, this dream that had been calling me since I was in high school – wasn’t calling me anymore. I spent the next few months thinking about what else I would like to do and talking to people who ran their own businesses. I wanted to be actively engaged and contributing to the world – and I also wanted the flexibility to manage my schedule. I remembered that when I was Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of State, I coached her for speeches. At the time, she said, “you could do this professionally.” Back then, I accepted the compliment and kept on going with my diplomatic career. Then when I was searching for my next calling, I remembered that she said this – and realized I had been doing it my whole life. I wanted to try it out before taking the leap of leaving my long term career. I volunteered my time at a think tank in Washington, DC, coaching a few of their people one-on-one, then in a group setting. I left those sessions walking on air! The combination of my happiness in doing the work and their happiness with my impact gave me the confidence that I could turn this into a successful business. I took the risky and unusual step of leaving my career at the State Department and plunged myself into my own business. I’ve learned a tremendous amount. The best part of my business is the thank you notes my clients send me. The worst part is being my own IT department. All of that considered, this risky leap turned out better than I ever imagined!

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.

I help business executives and policy experts prepare for speeches, media interviews, business pitches, panels, board meetings, and even their own staff meetings. I’ve coached over 2,000 people on five continents. My clients include Amazon, JP Morgan, the New York Times, and big think tanks including the Atlantic Council, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Council on Foreign Relations. I write for Fast Company magazine and I’ve been quoted twice in the Wall Street Journal.

To me, public speaking isn’t just the formal events with a microphone. It’s every opportunity you have to establish your credibility and connect with your audience – whether that’s an audience of one or many. We can do this through storytelling, how you respond when someone says, “so, tell me about yourself,” and helping you build your influence in your field and your accomplishments at work.

My diplomatic background is unique in this field. Not only can I understand and relate to pretty much any policy issue around the world, I also am intensely focused on how to develop and deliver your message in a way people will remember.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I love to write and I love to share my hard-earned wisdom with rising professionals so they can learn skills early to maximize the trajectory of their careers. My favorite way to keep in touch with clients is through publishing articles in magazines. I started with smaller publications and “laddered” my way up to Fast Company and Business Insider. These two publications have given me the opportunity to share powerful advice, such as how to respond when someone says, “so, tell me about yourself,” what not to say in an initial job interview, how to manage public speaking anxiety, ways to recession-proof your career ,and how to navigate tricky career situations. Through the publications, I get to share my experience and advice with a vast audience. Then I keep in touch with my clients and colleagues by sending those articles out every other month. I never want to be that gal who’s clogging up your email box. I keep my emails impactful and worth reading by curating what I send and when I send it.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clients for me is referrals. I’ve tried the cold contacts, I’ve tried advertising, I’ve tried sponsoring charity events, I’ve tried increasing my SEO, I don’t do any of that anymore. The clients who have come to me through reading my articles or finding me on the internet have been wonderful – AND there is nothing like the confidence created by hiring someone who comes with a personal reference.

Hiring a public speaking coach is a big step for an organization. How people feel about public speaking is personal. They are often getting way out of their comfort zone. Like when finding someone for many professional services, it’s hard to sift through all the of the people and companies, hard to know who to trust, hard to know who will understand your challenges and deliver the results you need. My favorite approach is to provide multiple group training sessions to an organization and doing one-on-one coaching with the participants to hone in on the areas where they can gain the most from intensive time with me. One of the amazing things about the hybrid world we live in is that I can meet in groups or one-on-one with clients around the world!

When potential clients come to me because another client has recommended them, we can quickly establish trust and focus on identifying their goals and finding ways I can help them achieve those goals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.spokesmith.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileenwsmith/