Speaking to Connect with Your Audience - Interview with Aurora Gregory

Public speaking is one of the best marketing tools you could ever hope to employ. Aurora Gregory coaches speakers on every aspect of the speaker life. In this interview, she shares tips for virtual speaking opportunities, and more.

Key Takeaways:

• You can have an audience any time you want.
• This new season creates opportunities.
• Public speaking is one of the best marketing tools.
• There are ways to translate the live experience to a virtual one.
• Tell stories.
• Make eye contact.
• Create a meaningful experience for your audience.

Resources:
auroragregory.com
Get Picked: Tips, Tricks and Tools for Creating An Irresistible Speaker Proposal
by Aurora Gregory & David Pitlik (Amazon Link)

Here's an earlier interview with Aurora, about public speaking and the fears every entrepreneur has to face - https://lifeandmission.com/public-speaking-with-aurora-gregory/

Transcript

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[00:00:00] Kay: Hey Aurora, thank you so much for joining us again on the podcast. How have you been.
[00:00:06] Aurora: Okay, it's great to be here. Thank you so much for inviting me back. And I've been really good. It's been, a busy season,  an exciting season, certainly there's lots going on in the world, but, it's also created a lot of opportunity to go for things to, you know,  to bloom and prosper in my own life.
[00:00:21] So I'm, I'm, I'm very doing very well.
[00:00:23] Kay: Oh, that's good to hear. Very good. Now, Aurora, you, you coach people with public speaking and you, I mean, you're like one of the go to people. Well in the industry, you know, people from corporations kind of leaders are coming to you for advice to how to present their ideas on, on stage. But the stages recently have been a little hard to come by haven't they?
[00:00:49] Aurora: They, you know, they have, and I they've been hard to come by. Some of them have. I've slipped away and some of them are just changing venues. So,   obviously we're,   at this recording where, you know, in the middle of,   kind of all managing this kind of pandemic and COVID-19, and it's changed a lot of, a lot of things for speakers.
[00:01:08] And so  what I've really noticed is that,  Most of the events, lots of events are at least in the immediate future have moved themselves to a virtual platform,  which I'm very encouraged by,  in a season like this, a situation like this, it would be so natural to just want to just cancel and just everyone kind of throw up their hands and say, you know what?
[00:01:27] We can't do it. We're just going to let it go.  other events,  that have been scheduled for where we are in this, in the calendar and the spring season have moved to the fall. And I'm again, encouraged by that, because that means people are hopeful that things are going to get better and we'll be able to gather,   again, and then others are also, you know, contemplating hybrid events.
[00:01:46] And I think that is really going to be something that we're probably going to see more of in the future is events that. Perhaps limit the number of registrations number of people that can attend, but then they'll make a virtual ticket available. So while it on the face of it, and certainly when everything first started to change.
[00:02:06] I think it was a very scary time for a lot of speakers.  certainly on the corporate side, things were changing rapidly, but for individuals, speakers,  authors who were speakers,  even pastors churches, you know, there was a lot of change immediately and it was, and it was scary and then slowly, but, you know, very progressively, everyone seemed to get their footing.
[00:02:27] And one of the things that. I adopted for myself at the beginning. All of this is well, what does the season make possible? And I think a lot of speakers have really what I've been able to see is speakers that have leaned in and look for were possibilities and opportunities to continue to serve the audiences that they really believe they're called to serve.
[00:02:51] And that's been. That's been just super encouraging to me. And it's been wonderful to come alongside speakers and coach them and encourage them,  help them kind of sort out ideas,  validate the things that they want to do. So,  lots of opportunity, even, even during times of great change, there's always lots of opportunity.
[00:03:08]Kay: Yeah. I always love to hear people say that because I think that's where a lot of times these, these are the places in history where we make big leaps. You know, somebody discovers something, somebody changes the way they do something. And sometimes that's just a, seems like a small change or it might seem like a big change at first.
[00:03:26] And then it kind of seems small. And then you look back years later and you go, wow. That's when everything shifted.
[00:03:33] Aurora: It's very, very true.  I have a,  a dear friend who has been a,  corporates. Presentation skills trainer for probably close to 30 years. All of his, all of his offerings have been live and in person. So when everything started to change,   his calendar cleared quickly. And, I had talked to him about trying to, adjust his, his offering to offer things that were either virtual or to, put together digital trainings that.
[00:04:01]could be done through a video course and he was really resistant to it. But then when all of this happened,  you know, it took a couple of weeks to kind of like absorb the shock and then saw that this created opportunity because his calendar had cleared, he had plenty of time to lean into.
[00:04:19] Okay, well, what would my virtual offerings look like? What do my trainings now? How would I deliver them virtually.  how do I, how, how would I translate my materials that way? And he's been able to do that and has been able to rebook some of his business,  through a virtual channel and that wouldn't, he wouldn't have ever considered it, had this situation, not, not arisen.
[00:04:40] And so that's exciting that it's exciting to see people like him do things like that.
[00:04:44] Kay: absolutely. How, how has it changed what you do in the way that you do your work?
[00:04:49] Aurora: So for me, it's really been about,  coaching speakers,  to pitch themselves differently is one of the things that I, one of my strengths is helping people form and shape their pitches so that they can pitch themselves for speaking gigs and land those stages. And so while the pitches for the most part, the same, what you now have to try to communicate as a speaker is.
[00:05:15] How do you, how are you going to be able to connect with that virtual audience that you would have maybe had a meet and greet after your presentation at a meet and greet table or how the live Q and a, like, how are you going to translate that and how are you there to help. The event planner, the event, presenter,  manage that digital experience so that the audience really gets something that's deep and meaningful.
[00:05:42] it is, it is absolutely possible to create a meaningful,  engaging experience online it's possible. But you have to think about that. And so that has to get kind of translated into your presentation, your pitch materials, so that they understand what you're there to bring. And then the other part of what's really changed.
[00:06:00] For me is how to help clients understand the, the differences, the nuances that they have to be sensitive to when they're presenting in a virtual environment is very different. So kind of present in a room.  you can't really see your audience all the time.  you feel a little lonely in a room. And so how do you bring that same energy that you would have brought to this from the stage,  to your, to that virtual experience?
[00:06:26] So that the audience is just as nourished by what you have to offer?
[00:06:31] Kay: Right. That's good. Yeah. It's hard. It's hard on both sides of that. I think it's hard for the presenters and it's also hard for people, especially if, you know, if your zoom meeting number four of the day, or, you know, if your speaker number. three or four or five or seven or whatever in your virtual event, it's just so hard to keep people focused on that screen.
[00:06:54] And it's, I mean, it's physically hard on the eyes. It's, you're sitting, you're in so many things working against you.
[00:07:02] Aurora: There, you know, are things that work against you there, you know, the things that you can do to engage people, but you're so right. And the whole idea of, perhaps in,  in your live presentation, you might not have used slides. In your presentation a lot, especially maybe motivational speakers, you maybe use slides or you didn't use very many and they may not have had as much,  you know, much to them visually as a virtual presenter.
[00:07:28] One of the things that is you have to be super sensitive to is your audiences. You've gotta be able to give them something to see on the screen and it's got to change, or you do end up with what we call the glaze factor. They just kind of glaze over.  you've gotta be able to change the slide.  anything you can do to ask questions, to engage them, maybe even during your presentation, if you've got a polling feature, say you're doing a webinar for someone and they've got a polling option.
[00:07:56] That's available to you ask your audience questions,  as you go, as opposed to waiting until the end, those types of things are really, really important.  because you know, your audience can drift. It's so easy to get distracted by whatever's on your desk and feel like you're multitasking, almost like listening to listening to some radio program while you work.
[00:08:16] And, as a speaker, you want to be able to. To lock them in. And so that's really something that we talk about,  when I'm coaching folks and helping them manage that virtual experience.
[00:08:27]Kay: but I love that you're talking about opportunities. I mean, what even. Yeah. We mentioned that all these events getting counseled and everything, and then a lot of them getting pushed and, and I'm sure there'll be plenty of calendar acrobatics still to come as, as we
[00:08:44] start 
[00:08:44] Aurora: way to put it. Yes. Calendar acrobatics
[00:08:46] Kay: That's a, you might as well make it sound fun.
[00:08:48] Right. You know, so we'll just, you know, as all these dates are getting, getting moved around,  but you you've, you've used the word opportunity so much. And that's one of the things I love about you is, is that you are a bright side kind of person, you know, but, do you think that there might even be more opportunities for people to break into speaking these days?
[00:09:12] Aurora: you know, I, I, that's a, that's an interesting question. And I, and I really do think that there, that that's true,  because live events are either going to be either, either not possible or they're going to be limited.  and we can talk a little bit about some of the limitations that I'm hearing from, you know, kind of the event industry.
[00:09:31] More and more is going to be shifted to the virtual experience. And so,  I think you're going to see a lot more,  opportunities and calls for speakers, for things like speaker for, summits on various topics. people who,  have member communities or. You know, we're hosting live events.
[00:09:48] I know I was supposed to be a speaker at a live event in Orlando.  this week I was actually supposed to be in Orlando this week. And if, you know, obviously it was canceled. And so the event planner made the decision. He decided that,  he had 25 speakers that were supposed to be presenting this week.
[00:10:04] And he asked us all for kind of a five to seven minute, little snatch of what we might be offering.  At the conference and he put it all together and it became this five and a half hour live summit that he ran on Facebook and it was awesome. And, you know, I enjoy putting together, something special for his audience and it was great to be part of that group.
[00:10:28] I think we're going to see a lot more of that and that, that creates opportunity.  you know, some of us have speakers. Might not ever have considered a virtual event, we might not ever have considered pitching ourselves for,  for a summit type event or, or even considered, offering our own, you know, our own training, our own mini events.
[00:10:47] We might not ever have considered that we might, some of us have made, been resistant to doing Facebook live because we just liked the live experience so much more. And so what the situation, the audience can't see that vacay just pointed at hers.
[00:11:03] Kay: Yeah, I did. That was
[00:11:04] Aurora: we're recording this over zoom so we can see each other and she just kind of pointed at herself.
[00:11:08] And so, you know, for those of you who have been resistant to zoom, one of my, one of my spirit courage moments, Is that as a speaker, you can have an audience anytime you want, and that's called live streaming. So, you know, this situation, this season creates opportunities that are not just, you know, I don't want anyone to think that the, the opportunities that present themselves are just kind of stop gaps for right now.
[00:11:34] They're just what you do right now, until things get back to normal, these could be very meaningful.  Additions to your speaking business, to your author business, to your entrepreneurial efforts.  I'm, I'm a big believer that public speaking is probably one of the best marketing tools you could ever hope to employ because it gives you the opportunity to.
[00:11:58] Navigate or to,  expose your business and your, what you have to offer to the greatest number of people. At one time you can network from a stage and now we're losing, using the word stage very loosely. You can, now you can network from the stage.  In a way that you couldn't edit at a live event, if you went to a conference or even, I always use this example.
[00:12:19] If you went to a chamber of commerce mixer in your local town or local city, and say there were 125 people at that event, it's. It's virtually impossible for you to have a meaningful conversation with even half of the people that are there with 75 people, you can't do it. It's, it's, it's physically impossible in the, in the amount of time that you have there, but from the stage, you can share who you are and what you offer in a meaningful way.
[00:12:49] With countless people and they get a chance to know you and the ones that are very interested in what you have to share. They kind of separate themselves right after that presentation and come up and engage with you. And now you have a great set of folks that are interested and that you are interested in knowing, and that you can now begin cultivating a relationship with, and that happens on the stage.
[00:13:11] It doesn't, there's just not a,  a more,  You know, better be great bang for your buck type of marketing tool than public speaking.
[00:13:22]Kay: I think what we do a lot of times, you know, like when I pointed to myself, when you started talking about,  you guys should have seen that one day, I'll start to EnVideo recording of the podcast. But because of this, I, you know, I'm not used to being on camera. I'm actually used to being behind the camera.
[00:13:39] Part of my background is as a camera operator. And so it's just strange for me to be on the other end, but. doing the Facebook lives and stepping out. I think one of the things that people think is besides the whole mechanics of it, or how do I look? And all of that is what qualifies me to be a speaker.
[00:14:01] Aurora: that's right. That's right. And you know, one of those, I think we all get nagged by that question. What qualifies me to fill in that blank? What qualifies me to be a trainer? What qualifies me to make designer cookies? Like what? Qualified, like whatever your entrepreneurial life, what qualifies me to be an author?
[00:14:21] Whatever your, your, your thing is whatever has been pressed on your heart or whatever your gift and talent is that you want to put into the world. We all get nagged by that question. I deal with it. And I know that, you know, the,  the mindset folks call it imposter syndrome and all of those, all kinds of things.
[00:14:38] Great things that you can Google about it. And I know for me is, you know, when I was, you know, struggling with that question and when it, and when it crops up for me and it, it never fully goes away, it just kind of comes in in a different way, because it takes a different form. I always have to ask myself, my, my, my retort is always, well, why not?
[00:14:56] You. Why not you, and there's really not an answer to that. There's no reason why it can't be me. And I would encourage all of us to really lean into that question, especially, those of us who were people of faith and, believe that the Lord has a calling on our lives to,  put the things that he's gifted us with, the talents that he's allowed us to develop and cultivate to put those into the world, to help people.
[00:15:25] Why not? You,  you can't let the nagging,  insecurity, keep you from moving forward. be willing to lean and skip past that, to push past that trusting and believing that if the, if the vision for that was, was placed on your heart and mind to do that, God has gone before you, and that he has cleared your path and the path may not be, you know, may not be completely clear as to how it's going to go, but he's cleared it.
[00:15:54] He's gone before you, and he has something for you and he wants to use you to deliver something to others. So. I, without going too deep into that, on the VAT trail, I just want to encourage you. Don't, you know, don't, don't be discouraged by that nagging voice, just, you know, kick it to the side and keep it moving.
[00:16:14] Kay: Yeah. There you go. and anybody that's listening to this podcast, I think you know that you have a calling, you have a purpose; you have a message. So this is part of it.
[00:16:27] I think anybody with a message sooner or later, you're going to be in front of a group, whether it's five people on a zoom call or 10 people in a Bible study. Or thousands of people, my first ever Sunday sermon that I ever preached, what's the 3000 people.
[00:16:44] Aurora: Oh my goodness. Doesn't Jesus. Have a great sense of humor. He says, like he says, come on. Can I got something for you to do?
[00:16:53] Kay: I had like two days to prepare for that, because I was traveling with a group of people who were all very talented and experienced speakers and Bible teachers. And we were in Uganda and  they said, Oh, kale, speak this Sunday. And I was like, looking around for like another K or something. And it's not that I didn't.
[00:17:15] I knew at some point I was going to be on a platform. I just didn't think it was going to start like that.
[00:17:21] Aurora: right.
[00:17:21] Kay: You know, I needed, I need to pay my dues. Y'all don't be throwing me in front of all these people right now, but it was wonderful.
[00:17:31] And, and, uh, you know, it's, I always tell people I have more trouble probably speaking to a dozen people than I do to a thousand.
[00:17:38] So I don't know. We're all different.
[00:17:41] Aurora: Well, I think, you know, and I think in this season, and as people try to approach,  you know, this kind of virtual experience that I think is probably the, You know, one of the great challenges is when you're in front of an audience,  you feel like you can develop a kind of a quick rapport with them and, and kind of draw some energy from them in the virtual experience.
[00:18:04] you kind of have to come with that energy,  or figure out a way some other creative ways to develop it.  I think this is one of the groups that I have. I have, I have prayed for deeply and have really seen grow in this season is pastors because they, you know, live off of the live audience, speaking experience them as speakers.
[00:18:26] And so now they don't have that, or they have very few people in the room. And so they've had to really kind of lean in, you know, one of the, one of the tips that I give speakers who are struggling with that is. As you get ready to approach your, your presentation is to really have some clarity around a person.
[00:18:45] It may be someone, you know, it may be someone that is commenting as part of the marketing of the event that you're going to be speaking at, or if it's a professional development experience that you're going to deliver, but to think about. A person or, or, or a few people get them locked in your mind and even perhaps see them and see them at the camera as you get started so that you can get into your routine, get into a rhythm of speaking.
[00:19:14] That's really, I think for all speakers, the hardest part is the start and getting into that rhythm. And I think if you can do that, It's important. And then I'm going to, you know, tell a little bit about the tip that you gave me before we got started, which is to remember to smile. And Kay showed me, took a picture of her camp of her computers that up, and she's got a little sticky note near her camera with a, she just took a magic marker and drew a happy face on a yellow sticky, and put it right there to remind herself to smile and to come with some energy.
[00:19:46] And I think that's great because, smiling. inspires energy and enthusiasm. So, do that and, and, and look for that, but, but see your audience, see the people that you're serving and speak to them, you know, speak to them and it will help you so much in trying to get past, as you develop a comfort level with speaking in the virtual world.
[00:20:11] Kay: I think we've seen that. I've seen on social media, some pictures, you know, from pastors and churches that they've, I think one of them had puppets sitting in the seats and, you know, they brought in the props from the kids' ministry and preaching to the puppets and then another one had,  had printed out photographs of people.
[00:20:28] From the congregation, you know, and put them in the chair, as I thought. That's awesome to think that out ahead of time now I need my end to be thinking specifically.
[00:20:39] Aurora: about these people. Yeah. It's so true. And that what's great for them is that, you know, generally they're seeing the same people weekly, maybe twice a week or more so that they can, they, they probably even have an idea of like, Oh, okay. Ken and Aurora, they sit over here on Sunday. So let's put their pictures over here cause that's where I'm used to seeing them.
[00:21:00] but I think, I think that's, that's such a great idea. And you know, even if you could, if, if you, as a speaker are able to do that, if you have,  Any kind of insight into the audience that's coming. You know, if there's been a Facebook group, for instance, that's been created for your events, grab those, you know, those little thumbnail everybody's profile shot tape, some of them up around you so that you can see them and, and engage with them.
[00:21:23] There's there's so there are ways to translate the live experience to a virtual. You're just going to have to think about it. You're gonna have to be creative, get all the, what is it? My cousin of mine says, get all of your frustrations about the situation, get it all out your system and then lean in, but you know, allow yourself to feel all those things are feelings are real and genuine, but get it all out.
[00:21:47] And then say, Oh, and then ask yourself, okay. Now what am I going to do? What does this make possible? What can I do to create a meaningful experience? Because you're still a speaker and that's still the foundational goal of what it is that you want to do is to create a meaningful experience for your audience.
[00:22:05] Kay: Well, let's lean into that a little bit. Just I'm whether it's, you know, in the new situation or, or just, you know, there, there are. Timeless truths to what it takes to connect with an audience as a speaker. What are some of those that we can keep in mind? No matter the situation.
[00:22:23] Aurora: Yeah. Whether it doesn't matter what kind of speaking experience I don't care if, and I certainly count this as a speaking experience. I don't care if you're updating your manager across a table, across the desk. One of the best ways to engage an audience and draw them in quickly is with a story is to start your presentation with a story.
[00:22:45] everyone loves a story. Everyone loves to know. You know, well, what's going to happen. There's a particular speech that I give,  related to my personal testimony. And I, I start that presentation with,  with the story, even before I even introduce myself, I kind of let the audience kind of settle in and I realize I've got their attention.
[00:23:07] And without any introduction of who I am, I start the story and I talked for about two minutes and then I pause. And then I introduce myself and then I take them into my presentation. Every, every topic that we have to talk about should have a story that we can offer our audience so that they can see themselves.
[00:23:31] In the context of the topic,  there might be characters or people that you can speak to that allows them to see. Okay, who am I in this story? And I think that's what you really want to be able to do. And I, it it's, it's certainly powerful. In a live presentation. One could make the argument that it's almost essential in a virtual experience because as we talked about trying to engage that audience and hold them, everyone always wants to know how the story ends.
[00:23:58] And if you're holding them and weaving your story in with your content, you can get them to the end and wanting to, you know, and bring them to the end of the story, whatever it is that you're wanting them to come away with, that's going to be that masterful ending.
[00:24:12]Kay: So we're using story. We're using eye contact work. We're connecting with the audience in all kinds of ways, every kind of way that we can think of.
[00:24:21]And we've said earlier that public speaking is powerful, powerful marketing tool. What makes it so powerful?
[00:24:30]Aurora: you know, it's a couple of things.  One is. Kind of the, the, the volume of one to many that ratio of being able to communicate one to many,  two is the impact that you can make,  in, from a stage. You know, when you take the stage, your goal is either to train or teach,  motivate or encourage. Those are essentially the things that you are going to be trying to do from the stage.
[00:25:03] You're a motivational speaker. You're probably more of a motivator or encourager. If you were offering a service or something that you teach people to do, obviously you're training or educating people and what makes it so powerful is that people come to hear a speaker because they want those things.
[00:25:22] They want to be trained. They want to learn something. They want to be encouraged. They want to be motivated to do something. And as a speaker one, because you're on the stage and you have the microphone you're immediately viewedd as someone who has knowledge and authority. Everyone believes everybody who believes the person who's at the microphone and, and that's a good thing.
[00:25:44] so you have that powerful position of being able to. To to offer that from the stage you have the power to make,  to make a life changing deposits into someone's life. Even if you're talking about your business, even if, you know, I love to, you know, that the example of, of even just a cookie designer and someone who creates beautiful cookies,  when someone has the problem of, gosh, what am I going to do for my five-year-old's birthday to make it special?
[00:26:08] That's a problem. And they're looking for a solution and you're here to educate them on how a cookie can do that.
[00:26:15] Kay: That's right.
[00:26:16] Aurora: So the power of public speaking is that you are able to bring what people are desperately looking for a solution to a problem that they have.  you're able to bring that to them from the stage.
[00:26:31] You're able to either give them something in that immediate moment that they can take and apply and solve their problem, at least in the short term, or you're able to, to show them. I know what I'm talking about, and you can do this thing and make a difference, or we can work together and we can make a magical difference, a meaningful difference, but you're letting them know they're not alone.
[00:26:54] The solution exists to their problem and they can have it. They don't have to stay in the place that they are. And there is nothing, I don't think more wonderful than being able to offer that to people, to make a life changing difference. And then to hear later, Hey, I did what you said and it made all the difference.
[00:27:12] I know that one of my greatest joys is when I hear that someone either heard me or picked up a copy of my book, get picked, used the tools. Created a great speaker proposal and got picked to speak. And I get a message from them saying, Hey, I did what you said. And I got picked, I got the speaking gig.
[00:27:33] There's nothing like that.
[00:27:35] Kay: Yeah. Yeah, it really is. I, I recently asked on my Facebook page, what if I were to teach a class? What, what should I teach? And it's funny because I used to, I taught for one year and a little private school, and one of my former students was the first person to respond to that question. And she, she, it was kind of, you know, with a wink she's like geography, because that was the topic.
[00:27:59] That was what I taught.
[00:28:03] Aurora: but what a meaningful, what a meaningful impression that you made on her that she's still not only remembered you, but remembered the, the topic that you taught.
[00:28:13] Kay: Yeah.
[00:28:14] Aurora: think that's fabulous.
[00:28:15] Kay: Oh, it made me feel great. I mean, it just totally made my day. That was actually this morning. It just, I was,  you know, I had to run out and tell everybody in the house.
[00:28:28] Aurora: That's awesome. And we can have those same experiences as a speaker. When we use that as a marketing tool in our business, you know, marketing is not, it's not a bad word. It's about building relationships with people who are already looking for what it is that you offer. That's it. That's what marketing is.
[00:28:45] It's not there. Doesn't have to be a sleaze factor. You don't have to be smarmy. You don't have to be constantly selling, selling, selling. That's not what it's about. It’s about building your relationships with people who are already looking for what it is that you have to offer them.
[00:28:59] Kay: Yeah, you're just delivering what people need 
[00:29:01] Aurora: That's right.
[00:29:02] And your help making it easy for them to find it.  They're already looking, you're just wanting to make it easy for them. And, you know, public speaking as a part of that, there are certainly lots of other tools that are out there that, you know, we all use and deploy and I'm okay. I know you've got some, had some great guests and we'll continue to have people who talk about all of those other things, but, you know, that's, that's what you do.
[00:29:23] When you, when you decided to get up on a stage is, is get out there and help people find what they're already looking
[00:29:29] Kay: Yeah. Aurora. That's awesome. You're always so encouraging. And I love that we've talked a lot about opportunity, but there's a previous interview that I did, gee, almost two years ago that you and I talked about the fears that people have about public speaking. So I will link to that in the show notes. I'll link to,  Aurora's book.
[00:29:53] I will,  Put the link to connect. You can connect directly with Aurora and see all the wonderful things that she's doing and in her business. And do you have some just parting words of encouragement for us? I know we've all, you know, everybody's still trying to figure things out. And,  I think that public speaking world is kind of, it's, it's a great place of opportunity and I just.
[00:30:21] You know, you've, you've got so much good to say. 
[00:30:25] Aurora: You know, the public speaking world is,  is, is not falling off a cliff. If anything, it is sprouting new opportunities. It's sprouting new ways for,  for expansion it's, it's, it's providing new ways for all of us to connect with our audiences. And you know, right now, obviously we're all living, you know, at the time of this recording, we're living a shared experience, but the truth is.
[00:30:50] We have experiences. We have a change of circumstances in our personal lives that affect our plans. 
[00:30:56] Kay: Wow. 
[00:30:57] Aurora: For all of us, we need to recognize that just because something has changed the course, it doesn't mean that the destination has changed. We still have a plan. We still have that calling that we need to fulfill the message that we have to give the ability to use public speaking as a way to, to draw others to us,  to draw those that were meant to help.
[00:31:22] Into our world, it still exists. So I just really want to encourage everyone to look for what the season makes possible. There's, there's always an opportunity within.  within the challenge,  I finished a Bible study,  just a few weeks ago. We studied the book of acts and the epistles that kind of run parallel to, to the church in its early years.
[00:31:45] And the theme of the of the Bible study was unstoppable and how a God's unstoppable message was, um, was sent around the world by his unstoppable people. For me, that was such a meaningful message to embrace at the beginning of the study, which was last September. And then as we came into the end and all the world was changing,  it was just such a reminder that what God has for our lives is unstoppable. We may have to change. Course. We may have to adjust. We may have to deal with, you know, being on a boat that feels like it's about to be shipwrecked, but if this is the message and the calling that you have on your life, then it is unstoppable. And so lean into that. Look for creative ways,  use your community, develop new relationships,  but don't be stopped because that would be the greatest tragedy is that you would somehow be stopped from what it is that you feel you're called to do.
[00:32:42] So that all leave us all with that, that encouragement. I know I have to encourage myself with that sometimes. And, um, and, and I think it's important whether it's a global issue or whether it's something in your personal life, do not allow yourself to be stopped.
[00:32:57] Kay: Truth. Thank you so much, Aurora.
[00:33:00] Aurora: thanks. Kay. It's great to be here.