Ep. 109 - Find your voice - Allison Shapira did but in an unusual way! We are often too afraid of what the future holds when what we thought we wanted doesn't happen, right? The disappointment and the inability to pick ourselves up and find another passion that might fulfill us in the same way as our original one is palpable. Allison Shapira had always dreamed of being an opera singer from a young age, and when her dream was crushed by a teacher in college who believed 'she wouldn't make it in the industry, she found it hard to pick herself up. Later she found her range was misdiagnosed, and she is discovering music in a new way. An opera singer turned keynote speaker, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and world-renowned expert on public speaking and presentation skills, she is helping others find their voice. She now has a new genre and has performed at legendary folk venues such as Club Passim and Caffè Lena, and she is a member of the two-woman band Joan & Joni, a tribute to Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, which she performs with fellow musician Kipyn Martin.
Top Takeaways:
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- The power in a teacher's words that can impact a child to either grow or kill their dreams and ambitions
- Learning how to break through the box and rediscover who you're and not who you were told you were
- How to use breathing to gain public speaking confidence
- The commonality in challenges women face all around the world more so as they become leaders
- How to redirect from what you wanted and choosing something else you love without resentment
- How to become a more empowered, purposeful, liberated, and powerful public speaker by embracing authenticity.
- Learning your power to influence the outcome and use it for good
Listen in to hear the importance of taking a leap of faith.
"As entrepreneurs so often we are doing things on our own, but none of us can achieve anything by ourselves." -Allison Shapira
Allison is the Founder/CEO of Global Public Speaking LLC, a communication training firm that helps emerging and established leaders speak clearly, concisely, and confidently. For the past 15 years, she has worked with global brands as a highly-rated speaker, trainer, and executive communication coach.
She is an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School and has spent over 15 years working with Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations around the world. She speaks Italian and Hebrew, has studied eight other languages, and has led programs on-site in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America.
She is a Certified Virtual Presenter and recently received her Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, which is earned by less than 17% percent of National Speakers Association members worldwide.
Allison is passionate about empowering women, and she travels with the nonprofit Vital Voices Global Partnership, helping women leaders worldwide grow their business, run for office, or launch a non-profit organization. She has spoken at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit, the Most Powerful Women in Banking LEAD Conference, and was a finalist for 2017 Woman Business Owner of the Year by the National Association of Women Business Owners, San Diego Chapter.
Allison is the author of Speak with Impact: How to Command the Room and Influence Others, which was recently published by HarperCollins Leadership. Public speaking is a skill, not a talent. With the right guidance, anyone can be a powerful speaker. Learn to conquer fear, capture attention, motivate action, and take charge of your career with Speak with Impact. Written by an opera singer turned CEO, speaker, and executive communication coach, the book unravels the mysteries of commanding attention in any setting, professional or personal.
Learn how teachers can positively or negatively impact a child's destiny.
Key Moments
She explains why she wanted to become an opera singer but was later disillusioned by the idea [2:58]
How she is finding liberation and blossoming after rediscovering her opera singing voice after 30 years [5:27]
She explains how she redirected her life towards a public speaking career after losing hope with becoming an opera singer [7:18]
Allison explains how she got to teach the art of communication at Harvard Kennedy school alongside David Gergen- a former presidential adviser [10:21]
She explains the commonality between challenges women face around the world regardless of their positions or geographical locations [11:57]
How to seek and offer support as an entrepreneur without comparing yourself [13:44]
Allison narrates how she made a bad decision regarding a job and the events that followed before she started her business [16:27]
She talks about her two-women band Joan and Joni, why they started it, and how they performed [18:42]
How she teaches authenticity in public speaking with her music [21:07]
She explains how she found influence in her parent's wisdom and fearlessness [22:30]
Why you have to find your own path as a leader while striving for equality without self-righteousness [23:02]
The importance of recognizing the power of your word as a young person even as you listen [25:44]
HER BOOK
