- Laurie Kolt, Ph.D.

U. S. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, Dr. Kolt, and APA Division 42 President, Dr. Sandra Haber.

Dr. Kolt received two plaques from APA Division 42 President Sandra Haber, Ph.D. Also on hand to congratulate Dr. Kolt was United States Congresswoman Louise Slaughter. Dr. Kolt received an additional award from the APA Practice Directorate for her commitment to help psychologists educate the public about the value of psychotherapy.

Why are speaking engagements important in developing your practice? In today's world, you can't expect clients to knock on your door merely because you have been practicing for a long time or because you are a great therapist. Public speaking is an excellent opportunity to get the word out about the value of what you do and invite people to sample your work. Your speaking engagement may also be a catalyst for many people to have the opportunity to make great changes. Various defenses including fear, anger, denial and even low self-esteem can keep people away for a long time. For some, your talk may be the next step in their process, so they become ready to enter therapy. For example, a man attending your seminar may learn that feeling overwhelmed by the death of his wife is normal and he is not alone. This type of acknowledgment can take him to the next step of wanting to let go of grief and pain that he has been struggling with. Whether you want to give psychology away, gain name recognition or build your practice, speaking engagements can be creative and gratifying work.

To become a powerful communicator, you must take your clinical knowledge and transform it into something that the general public can understand and assimilate into their lives. You will also find that creating your talk will help you develop or refine your clinical concepts and intervention strategies. And it will give you a forum to express them. Other benefits include becoming known as a community expert, which will increase the likelihood of steady community referrals. Your hard work developing your concepts and style can pay off even further by repeating the same basic presentation over and over to different audiences. The more people hear about you, the more potential clients you will have.

TEN WAYS TO TURN PUBLIC SPEAKING ANXIETY INTO SUCCESS

Here is a summary of what to do:

• Choose an interesting topic related to your clinical specialty.
  
• Understand the needs, challenges and interests of your audience.
  
• Design your talk.
  
• Enhance it with interactive or engaging segments to break up the tempo and keep people involved.
  
• Find organizations where you can speak.
  
• Create your handouts.
  
• Design pre- and post-speaking engagement marketing opportunities.

1. Only accept a speaking engagement on a topic that has meaning for you and you care about.

2. Don't accept any assignment that is outside of your area of expertise.

3. Do your homework and be thoroughly prepared. Only accept an engagement that will take place with plenty of time to design your presentation and be fully prepared.

4. Write your own introduction. Give it to the person who will be introducing you several days before the event. That way, they will represent your knowledge and special skills in a light that makes you feel confident and comfortable; you will have a great start.

5. Go through a guided visualization for several days before you are scheduled to speak. Image the perfect audience, one that is captivated by what you have to say. Imagine that they respect you and appreciate you. Visualize them leaving knowing that what you have said has touched their lives.

6. Imagine yourself feeling exhilarated! Confident! And actually enjoying the experience. Imagine yourself getting many new clients because they were seeking someone to assist them, and your words gave them the confidence to begin. Get familiar with what actors, musicians and others who work in front of the public know. Discover the enjoyment of the electric energy of a crowd.

7. Move away from fear or ego gratification. Create a self-perception of competence, while being humble, and let your message pass through you.

8. Add mental prompts such as overheads or slides to give you reminders and to pace your talk.

9. Remember that the public will be viewing you as an expert. You can be introverted or shy in your personal life, but you can be an excellent speaker if you remember that you are in control when you are public speaking. The members of the audience will be coming to your presentation to hear you. They want to learn from you. They will not have the knowledge base that you do with your subject matter. Let that create security for you.

10. Prepare, prepare, prepare - and then let go.

How to Build a Thriving Fee-For-Service Practice -
It has been a dream of mine, since I was a little girl, to write a book that is published. Although I have self-published several training manuals on infertility, managed care and building a general practice, this book will be published by the Academic Press Division of Harcourt Brace. I thoroughly enjoyed choosing the many topics, pondering all the nuances of ethical and effective practice building and sculpting my thoughts into words. I think it is a fabulous book and I am proud to present it to my peers. Look for Academic Press promotional information by mid year.

Building an Infertility Practice: Clinical, Treatment and Practice Development Issues -
This chapter in Clinical Innovations in Psychotherapy was published this winter. The chapter is also co-authored by Ellen Slawsby, Ph. D., and Alice Domar, Ph. D., who are both psychologists at Harvard. Dr. Domar also directs the women's health program at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital. Dr. Slawsby was also my 1998 APA convention speaking-mate on the same topic. If you don't have a copy but would like one, contact Professional Resource Press at 1-800-443-3364 or e-mail your request to MAIL@PRPRESS.com.

A Positive Model of Client Satisfaction Surveys -
This chapter in Clinical Innovations in Psychotherapy is our three-part Client Satisfaction Survey (CSS) which is given to selected clients at intake to view their comfort and rapport with the office, at termination to help clients summarize the value of their therapy, and 6 months after care to reflect on the stability of change that occurred through the therapeutic process. At this critical time, the CSS can help catch problems before they grow too large and reestablish new habits that are loosing consistency. Again, if you are interested in a copy, contact Professional Resource Press at at 1-800-443-3364 or e-mail your request to MAIL@PRPRESS.com.

• Join toastmasters or the local chapter of the National Speakers Association. Check your local telephone book for numbers.

• Volunteer, volunteer and volunteer to speak in your community.

• Subscribe to trade journals and newsletters in the industry in which you want to speak. You will gain a useful "insider" perspective that will help you customize your talks to meet their unique needs.

• Learn from more experienced speakers. Their hard work and experience is very useful. If you can find a coach or mentor, you can grow phenomenally faster than going it alone.

• As you grow, consider working through a speaker's bureau. They will handle your bookings, fee negotiations and increase your visibility as a professional.

In the last two years, I served as a consultant for people running for state and national offices within psychotherapy organizations. I have helped them refine their platforms, present their message, create campaign strategies as well as assisted with focus and motivation. If you or someone you know can use this assistance, I can supply references and plenty of good ideas to help you reach your goals.

Kolt Consulting
1330 Camino Del Mar
Del Mar, CA 92104

Phone: (858) 509-1330

Fax: (858) 536-8887

E-mail: LJKOLT@aol.com