On today’s BEP Talks, I sat down with Kimberly Crowe, master of the stage and founder of Speakers Playhouse, who shared how you can find your voice, amplify your message, and get booked on hundreds of stages—even if you’ve never spoken before. We explored the four key types of speaking opportunities, conquering stage fright, and why your story matters now more than ever. Ready to get started? Check out Speakers Playhouse every Thursday and take that first step toward becoming impossible to forget. Your audience is waiting—step up and share your brilliance!

Want to take your first step? Join Kimberly’s Speakers Playhouse—free, virtual, and packed with opportunities for speakers and stage hosts. Thursdays, 10:30am–noon Pacific Time. Find out more at speakersplayhouse.com!

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Well, hey there and welcome to today's edition of Bev

Talks, where fabulous people from all around the world, all

industries, professions, as I say, all ages and stages

of career, come to share their beliefs,

their experiences, their passions in just an off the

cuff authentic conversation. Today's

no exception. I'm going to introduce you, and I know many of you already

know her, to someone who truly personifies everything that she

does professionally in her personal life as well. The

master of the stage, who helps others amplify

their voice and amplify it by taking the stage

become easy to remember and impossible to

forget. And that's what happens when you work with today's

wonderful guest. So please welcome Kimberly Crowe.

Hi, Beth. I'm super excited to be here. I am super excited to see

you on the other side of my zoom. Thank you so much for joining us

today. Absolutely. I'm excited to speak about you

and to you because of what it is that you do and

that what you seem to do is get everybody excited about what it is that

they do. So much so.

So much so that you want them to be on stage and to find their

voice and to spread it and to share their story, which is kind of what

we do here on Bev Talks. And I see this behind you.

Speakers Playhouse. Would you talk to us about

Speakers Playhouse? Absolutely, Beth. Well, I'm delighted to be here. Thank you

so much for having me. And yes, many of your audience may think

I'm not a speaker yet or I'm not ready to be a speaker, but

I am here to uplift the voices of everyone who

has a message to share. And that message is probably

inside you. That magic that's inside you that can help somebody else

needs to be shared out there. So Speakers Playhouse is a free

event. It happens virtually every single Thursday from

30am to noon. It's the best 90 minutes of your

week. And you have a chance to be able to come on and the

stage host will come to the mic and share the name of their stage,

the types of guests they're looking for, and how to quickly and easily apply

for their show. So it's a connection opportunity to find

stages and speaking opportunities. If you're a stage host, of course, it's also

bragging rights to be able to talk about your show and come on and

share that. And then during the event, we give away a program that's

beneficial to a different program every week from one of my joint

venture partners. And so it's sort of like a surprise every week

of what we're giving away. You get one and you get one, and you get

one, like Oprah. And everybody gets

some sort of major gift

during the event. And then at the end, we have

everybody come up to the mic and share their name, what

they want to speak about, and the types of audiences they'd ideally

like to get in front of. So it's a great networking event, but you

get a chance to take the stage. And so it's not just breakout

rooms where you're passing cards. What do you do? What do you do? And trying

to sell each other's stuff. It's really about the stage connection.

So you have an opportunity to brag about your stage or get on other people's

stages.

I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Just saying being on stage

right in that moment. Yeah, yeah. So you get it. We'll bring you up to

the mic in a very structured way. We'll share with you, like how to

introduce yourself. And if I would demonstrate being a

speaker, I would say, I'm Kimberly Crowe, and I speak about the four types of

stages every entrepreneur should get on. And I'm looking for stages in

front of coaches and authors, and my information will be in the chat. And so

they get to share what. What they speak about and come on the mic and

just do a little presentation. Not a full presentation, but a little introduction.

And same with the. With the stage host. So I might say I'm Kimberly Crowe.

I have a stage called Speakers Playhouse. We're looking for speakers and authors

to come and share about their stages or their speaking opportunities.

And our audience is full of coaches and

healers. And my information is in the chat. So

that's. It's kind of this big exchange of

stages and speaking opportunities. And. And a lot of people will

have booked hundreds of stages just by coming to Speakers

Playhouse every week. We've been doing it now for coming up on

five years as we're recording this. Wow. Every

Thursday, 9:30 to noon. What time zone are we in?

It's 10:30 to noon Pacific. 10:30 to noon Pacific

time zone. 10:30 to noon Pacific. I'm writing that down. You

know, I think there's, like a misnomer maybe about, I'm just here waiting to

be discovered, and I hope somebody finds

me. What a wonderful path to

just go and put yourself on stage and have

yourself be discovered in that decision to do that. And then, as you

said, people have booked thousands or hundreds, I think you said, stages

to speak on. Yeah. We have one person who started with Speakers Playhouse early

In early days. And he decided he was just a speaker, and he

actually had a speech. I don't know if he calls it a speech impediment. He.

He. But he has a bit of a speech

affectation, I'll say. And he wanted to get on

stages, and about three months in, he decided to launch

his own stage. And then he launched a podcast,

and his goal was to get 100 people interviewed in a year.

And he did it in about seven months. And so he just kept going.

And now he's interviewed over 500 people. Many, many, many

of them have been from Speakers Playhouse meets. How

satisfying is that for you? It must be overwhelming to know that

you played a role like that in somebody's life. That is a very exciting

story to tell. That is a wonderful. It's such a generous way to

help people help themselves, I guess, is a good way to put

it. Is it true we've heard this. I think everybody's heard it,

that people are more afraid of public speaking than

they are of death and itself. That's true. Which

means that you'd rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy,

which is a little weird. Right. But I will tell you that,

honestly, nobody has ever died on my stage. We're not starting today,

so. Oh, that is so funny. I remember hearing that, oh, I don't know how

many decades ago, probably. And I thought, how could that

possibly be? How could that possibly be? So

the strength of finding your own voice and

sharing it. Does it always have to be

about being on a stage? Is it also just about building the confidence

in who you are, what you do, and how you do it?

Wow, that was two. I have two answers to that, because the first half was

really interesting. First of all, being on stage doesn't necessarily have to be

about you at all. If you think about it in terms of I'm not here

for me, I'm here because other people needed to hear this

message. I'm here because if you help women

over 50 overcome menopause issues or whatever,

it's not. It's not about you anymore. Right. It's about the people that you

can potentially help. And if you don't get on stage and share that, then

somebody who needs your message is going to hear it from

somebody with half your talent and twice your price. And

that's not the way the world is supposed to work. So with the advent of

zoom and the opportunities to get on stage that we have now,

there's so many ways that you can get in front of people. So when you

say getting nervous about getting on stage, I totally understand that.

And then you actually had a follow up question. I was like, I gotta answer

that one too. But I don't remember what it was about. Oh my

goodness. Well, we'll just go on then. So yourself have been

on over 5,000 stages.

I have to imagine knowing you just very,

for not a long time, but just capturing your energy makes me feel

like I know you. And that's one of the great

benefits of being a great speaker and taking a stage

even just like this one to one and being able

to exude your energy and share your personality which you

totally come to life. That there's such a great benefit in

that. Yes, I think

people often fear being on the stage and that fear

is very, very chemic, real happening in your body. Right.

So I know that there are many coaches out there who will say, well, just

get over it or ignore it or pretend, you know, pretend they're all in their

underwear. Well, if I was imagining my audience in their underwear, I'd be more

uncomfortable than they are. Like it would be worse. Right.

So I don't think that that's really useful advice.

But one thing that I can tell you is that that chemical

reaction that's happening in your brain is a fear

or nervousness. It makes you feel like your stomach

flip flops or your breathing is getting faster, or maybe your throat's

closing up or your ears are spinning, your head is spinning or your ears are

ringing and those are all real things happening. So saying

just ignore it isn't very helpful. However, if

you think of that in terms of excitement instead,

your brain can believe that you are excited instead of

afraid because those same chemical reactions, those same feelings

are true for being excited. So I get on stage

and my stom is doing flip flops because I'm excited or my breathing's

faster because I'm excited, my throat's closing up because I'm excited, or my ears are

ringing or my head is spinning because I'm excited. And so

oftentimes, in fact I go back, I say, you know, every once

in a while I'll say this, but it's true. Almost every time I get on

stage I say I'm super excited to be here. And it's true,

but it's not nerves at all in this,

it's really just excitement. So that's my tip for you, is

if you're, if you're nervous, doesn't just saying that and hearing yourself

say that a lot create that excitement? Like it

not Forces it, but makes it possible.

So many people say, I want to be on a stage, but

don't know how to get started. For people who. I'm not sure

what my message is. I'm not sure what my story is. I don't really have

a platform. I'm not really trying to

necessarily promote something for monetary exchange, but share a

message. As you say, what are some of the ways that

you can encourage them to take that first step? That's a great

question. And my advice to everyone is get on

podcasts. Podcasts are a great way to sort of break

into it, because you're not in front of 100 people or a thousand

people. You are simply talking to another

wonderful human being like Beth Johnston, and being able to have a

conversation with them. And that's a natural conversation. And the

beauty of getting on podcasts is that the more you talk

about what you love, the more you discover it for yourself.

What do I really want to talk about? What do I. What's my real message

here? And when people ask questions, that's this indicator

that that there. There are things that you know

that other people don't, and we don't often tap into that. The

first time I ever taught a class on how to launch a business, when I

was in that space phase of my life, I had this whole

lesson planned for six weeks, planned out, and

my mentor said, why don't you ask them what they want to learn? And I

thought, oh, I can't do that. That would be too scary. Like, I. What I.

I need to know. I'm the. I'm the. The expert here. I need to be

able to teach them. Why am I asking them what they want to learn? And

I. I took the. The note and I took a deep breath,

and I did. And I asked people at the very beginning, I was like, we're

gonna. I have a whole agenda, but before we get there, tell me what

you want to learn. And they ask these questions like, kimberly, you have a Facebook

group. How did you start it? Well, I wouldn't have

taught that, but now I'm going to, right? Like, okay. And they were like, yeah,

you do things on meetup, don't you, that gets people, like, in a room with

you. How do you. How do you start a meetup group? And I was like,

oh, I have things that I know that other people don't know,

that I can teach that are valuable. And instead of being

all up in our head like, oh, I don't have enough to teach, or I'm

not really an expert. We are in our own way. Only

those of us who have lived this life are capable of explaining

what happened in our life. Right. So, so that's my,

my message to you. If you feel you're not ready yet or, or you're

nervous, get on a podcast, have a conversation with somebody wonderful.

And, and I, I will just say, not only

Beth, because you are wonderful, but there are many wonderful podcasters out

there who want to help you that are not there to trip you up or

make you look silly and they're there to make you look like the expert that

you are. Yes, yes, of course. And I only

see doing it that way. Yeah, that's

relationship building. And you know, you made a point. And I

teach this in my course also about the lesson that you learned

about ask people. Yes. They

will tell you if you honor them by asking them.

And in sales training, what I do is say, you know, don't assume that

everybody wants to hear just what you want to say and what you think is

necessary for them to know. Ask a S K. Always

seek knowledge and in their sharing it,

you do learn a lot yourself and it empowers you for the next time

you're taking your first step up onto another stage.

You mentioned earlier the four stages to

be on. There are four types of stages. What are they?

So the first one is a speak to sell stage. And those

are where you get on with the intention of leading somebody to a program,

product or service. And that can just be an

introductory. So what I recommend from all speak to sell stage is

give them a natural next step from that stage. So if you are

doing a podcast, maybe the natural next step is check me out on

LinkedIn or go to my website or grab my

freebie@giftfromkimberly.com or whatever it is

and just something easy for them to take a natural next step

with you. They may not buy your $25,000 coaching program from

a podcast, but they will take a natural next step if they're your right

people. So I speak to sell stage. The way to monetize from

that one is to make sure that you have a proper natural next step. And

that can be if you're in a room where

there's a lot of selling going on and you're offering your book or you're offering

six week course for $197 or whatever, that may be a natural

next step. And then you're making sales from that stage. But every

talk that you give that's a speak to sell stage should Lead them to something

they can do next. Ready for number two?

Number two. Number two is the brass ring of speaking. It's the one

everybody wants, it's the one everybody's grabbing for. And it's the paid speaking gig.

Oh, a lot of people think keynotes, which is

awesome. Those are great. My current rate is 12,500 for a

keynote talk. It's keynotes are a wonderful way to

monetize from speaking. I personally make more money from speak

to sell than I do from paid speaking gigs. But that's okay. Paid speaking is

a great way to do it. It's just there's a lot of fish in that

pond. So you have to think a little outside the

box of keynoting and get into some of these other ways that you can

get paid to speak. For example, if you ever taught a class and got

paid for it, you were a paid speaker. If you ever

like, I narrated audiobooks. That's a paid speaking gig. I

did V over. That's a paid speaking gig I did.

I was an actress on stage and got paid for that.

I was a murder mystery dinner theater troupe member. That was

a lot of fun. I loved doing that. And then there was

an equestrian polo announcer. I announced for a polo games

many a year ago. So there's lots of ways that you can monetize from speaking

without having it be a keynote.

Wow. Maybe a shorter

conversation. That's amazing. So the point I think you

made there is that once you get out there and you're known, people will find

you. They will come to you and give you opportunities that you might not

have thought of for yourself, but every one of them gives you that

wonderful opportunity to be a paid speaker. What's number three?

Number three is an authority stage. A stage that gives you

authority just by being on it. And most people will think in terms of TEDx,

which is an amazing authority stage, of course, but there are many

others out there just being on a show and

introduced. This is an authority stage right here. Because as I was being

introduced and it was so great hearing you talk about, you know,

that some of the accomplishments that I've had as you're bringing me in,

you're recommending me, third party recommendation or endorsement

to your audience to say, hey, I think Kimberly has something of

value for you and that gives you authority just by stepping onto that

stage. So there's many stages that would give you authority. You might

be nominated to be on a stage. You might, you know, might

be able to be on a stage a variety of different Ways and just get

authority and credibility by being on that stage. So stage number three

is the authority stage authority Stage authority. And

number four, Number four might surprise your listeners. Number four is a

rehearsal stage, a practice stage. I have delivered, as

you mentioned in my bio or my intro, that I've been on over

5,000 stages. My best talk ever

is my next one because I can always improve. I can

always think of something else to say or that I could do differently next

time. So you can always develop your skills. So I

recommend getting on practice stages. Now the benefit of a

practice stage is actually feedback. Feedback, which some people

think of as criticism, right? So I don't want you to think of

it as like cutting you down in any way. That feedback is super important. So

the feedback from this stage is twofold. One, I'm getting questions and nodding

and understanding from you directly, Beth. But then I also

will go back and read the comments and in the comments section, if

people put like, I didn't really understand what stage number two was right. Then I

can go back and be more clear next time. So that feedback is very valuable.

The feedback is really the profit of speaking

on a rehearsal stage. And if they're just picking on your ums and

ahs, then you're not really getting a full value of that. So you

want to be sure that while Toastmasters is amazing that you're getting out on a

variety of different stages and getting feedback. One cautionary

tale I will tell you is that your bathroom mirror and your

pets are not good practice stages and all that.

We've all, we've all outgrown that. What's your favorite

stage? My favorite stage is the next one. I

think live stages for me are super powerful. Being able to

connect with a live audience is really fun for me. Being able

to interact with them and facilitate a conversation, be along with

them. If I was in the movies or theater, I would always pick

theater because you get that instant feedback from the audience, right?

And I think that's really valuable to be able to do that.

And I personally, I love being in front of either a

virtual or an in person live audience. The benefit of virtual is you

can do it from anywhere. I'm able to speak on stages from Spain and

Italy and Guatemala and Costa Rica

and Columbia this year, Canada.

I've spoken all over the place and being and of course the US

and all over the place and being able to speak from anywhere is hugely

valuable. But when you're an in person stage, being able to afterwards meet

people, give them a hug or A high five. Being able to

answer questions at the break. Huge differentiation

to be able to do that. So both have their strengths, both have their weaknesses,

but I love them both. There's actually a secret fifth stage.

Would you like to know about that one?

The secret fifth stage is your own stage.

Your own stage. And, Beth, you've got one, right? You created an

opportunity for other people to come out and share their message with the

world and be able to shine on your stage. But people

get to know how amazing and beautiful and talented you are

because they're seeing you week after week after week on your

podcast. Creating a stage is one of the most powerful things you

can do to grow your authority credibility. You can make

it any kind of stage that you want. It could be an authority stage because

you're bringing on experts. It could be a stage

that you do speak to sell because you can make an offer. It can be

a stage that is a paid speaking gig because you could charge

for the privilege of being able to watch your show. Or it could

be a rehearsal stage, just for practice and just for fun. So

I have a stage? Yes, the BEP Talks podcast.

Your energy is so authentic

and so contagious

that I know that everybody who will be listening

and watching this is going to say, I want to be on a stage. I

want to be on a stage. So

the best thing to do is to take the first step.

Just review for us what you would advise anybody who's kind of

feeling what I just described. I can do that. I

want to do it. I need to do it. And people on

the other side need to hear what it is I have to say.

First step, what would it be? Get on a podcast. If you don't know

where a podcast is to get on or you don't know how to approach a

podcaster, come to Speakers Playhouse. You can come and meet

probably 10, 20, 30, 40 different stage hosts that are all

actively looking for speakers to be on their stages.

So if that's the case, you don't have to chase after somebody. You

can come in, find out which stage is right for you, and then reach out

to that stage host directly and introduce yourself and

book a speaking spot. And really, a conversation on a

podcast can be one of the best experiences of your life.

Fun to do. I love being on this side of it, meeting

wonderful people like yourself who can encourage others

to become great at whatever it is that they. That they

do. So I want to just repeat that it's Thursdays.

Every Thursday, 10:30 to noon, Pacific

Speakers Playhouse. Speakers Playhouse. No rejection.

Yeah, nothing that has to be done. Just go to

speakersplayhouse.com. do you have to sign up to attend?

Is it, like, limited every week to the next? No, there's no limitation. You just

sign up and you can come any Thursday. Well, there's a limitation on zoom. So

if we ever went over our zoom numbers, then that would be a

theoretical limitation. But no, there's no

requirement. And we do have some people who come three and four weeks in a

row and don't come to the mic. They just sort of lurk in the background

and listen for a while and then get information and maybe they'll reach out next

week. And it's great. We are a warm,

safe environment for you when you're ready to step up and shine.

If you are obviously the example of it and the face and the

spirit and the heart behind it, that message is quite

clear. It is quite clear. Go to

speakersplayhouse.com and if you need to

just sit in the audience and kind of watch and have a little intake and

learn what it's about, when you get to your point of comfort,

step on the stage. I love that. Step on the stage. Does everybody

secretly, like they say, everybody secretly wants to write a book?

Oh, yeah. Does everybody secretly want to be on stage?

Maybe. I think you're probably onto something there. I have

to tell you, Beth, when people tell me I have a book in me and

it's 80% done, I quietly say to myself,

you know, 80% done is not done. If it's not

done, it's not out there for people to be able to

absorb your juicy goodness. We don't get

your inspiration. We don't get what we need from

you. And if you don't produce it, if you don't get it out there,

then the people who need your message won't be able to to receive it.

So, same thing with speaking. You gotta get out there.

Somebody needs you. It's not really even about you anymore.

It's about them. Who are you here to help and who will not get your

help if you don't do it? If you don't. If you don't want

to finish that book and get on that stage, you're just being a selfish person

and you're denying the rest of us the opportunity and the gift to get to

know you, which we have received today. The

opportunity and the gift to get to know.

Kimberly Crowe. You are amazing. I was so

eager for this BEP talks.

Truly I was, because you do bring

an energy that is so As I said, contagious.

So obvious, so authentic. And I want

to get on more than just my own stage. And I've been on stages. And

I will tell you, there's such

satisfaction in stepping off the

stage and saying, I did it.

Oh, yeah, and the sky didn't fall and the earth didn't open up and

swallow me. How bad could it be?

Exactly. And I would be happy to hand you the bike.

You got me all choked up. I am going to be there. I am going

to be there. I promise you that. I am a woman of my word. And

I want to say to everybody, if you never thought

of public speaking, think of it,

because it's so empowering and

it uplifts you just when you hear your own voice.

And I remember as a student in school, in high school and

college, it seemed like I was always the first person in every class to be

called on. I was always an active

listener. And once you got called on, so much fear

was gone. Everybody knew you. The professors knew you.

They liked you right away because you were participating and bringing

something out in them. So there's always an exchange.

There's anytime information is being given and received, that

exchange can be so powerful and you never know where

it's going to lead you. So

speakersplayhouse.com Thursdays, 10:30 to

noon Pacific Time. We all have a

story. It's always worth sharing.

Someone needs to hear it. They're waiting to hear it. And that's

really why I created BEP Talks. Beliefs, experiences

and passions. So it could really be very broadly based. And

I've had guests from so many different genres and

industries and professions and at all ages and stages of their career.

So take the stage here at BEP Talks.

I encourage you to do that, but I really encourage you

to get to know Kimberly Crowe. She will help you find

the power in your own voice.

And I am going to say it as someone who has done a significant public

speaking, there's nothing like it.

There's nothing like it. And to think that something you're saying can

impact another human being in a very profound

way is a gift you've been

given and a gift that should be

shared. Beautifully said. Thank you, Beth.

Well, thank you. And everybody, please go find Kimberly Crowe.

And as we always say at BEP Talks,

share yourself on this stage. May the

best always be yet to come. And be willing to bring it

out and hear it in your own voice. So, Kimberly, thank you. Thank you

so much. And as we always say, until we

talk again, bye for now.