Erwin Wils Of Millionaire Life Strategy On The 5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Your speech should have engagement. You don’t want your story to be a monologue. Engage your audience. Make sure to check with the audience if they’re still following your story and if the points you’re making hit base. Involve your audience by asking questions, raising hands, asking for feedback.
At some point in our lives, many of us will have to give a talk to a large group of people. What does it take to be a highly effective public speaker? How can you improve your public speaking skills? How can you overcome a fear of speaking in public? What does it take to give a very interesting and engaging public talk? In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker” we are talking to successful and effective public speakers to share insights and stories from their experience. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Erwin Wils.
Erwin Wils, mindset and business strategist at Millionaire Life Strategy and international speaker on stages large and small, empowers female and tech entrepreneurs to boost their business and themselves, so that they can confidently deliver their added value without feeling like an imposter. Wils programs, mastery and systems transform his clients into the person that will achieve their dreams, goals, and beyond. As a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering by education and certified professional hypnotherapist, master Soulkey therapist, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and IEMT (Integral Eye Movement Therapy) practitioner by training, Wils brings over 25 years of experience to show his clients how they can use their expertise to make a positive impact in the world and make a good living doing it. Everything comes together in the signature program “Profitable Passion Program™ “ that transforms businesses and business owners in 12 months. Wils recently launched his podcast “Follow your Passion” in which he interviews his clients and other entrepreneurs on how they followed their passion and created a fulltime living with it.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
Of course! I grew up as an only child with two loving parents. Like many people, I was taught: “Do your best at school, get a degree and get a job” and that’s what I did. In my teenage years I competed in judo on subnational level, training 20 hours a week. I didn’t need to work, so I spent most of my time training. I graduated as a Master of Science in electrical engineering at the University of Delft and started my corporate career. I fulfilled several roles within several companies for just over 20 years before I became a fulltime entrepreneur in 2017. A common thread throughout my career was process optimization, I felt that was my way of adding value and that’s what I loved to do most.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
Sure! In 2014 I came to a realization: “you can optimize a process and have all the numbers and graphs to support it, but if the people that use the process don’t change, the process itself won’t change. So how do I get those people to change as well?” I heard about an NLP training (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and thought about taking it; then I did some research and got intrigued by hypnotherapy. I tuned into my first webinar about hypnotherapy, the host was talking about regression and I thought that regression stuff could actually help my two adopted boys. My wife thought the same and we decided to follow the offered hypnotherapy training, if only we could help our boys with it. That decision totally changed my destination. After the first training weekend, I just knew I wanted to do this for a living some day. Everything I loved doing came together. I love to help people in a coaching way; my work needs a challenge; and I’m optimizing the most complex processes that exist: those of the internal human being. What started out as a future dream in about 5–10 years, became a reality in 2 years when I left my corporate job and started coaching full time. That first year of being fully self-employed was also the first year I decided to invest in a business coach and that changed my business. One of my business coaches introduced me to the wisdom of Napoleon Hill by means of the quote “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve,” and that actually changed my life. That quote has become my personal mantra.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Oh wow, there are so many stories to choose from. I have seen wonderful transformations with my clients and those are the reasons I do what I do. But personally, I think it is saying yes to opportunities when they appear. For example, in October 2017, I said yes to an opportunity and a month later, I found myself on stage in Anaheim, Calif, USA, being interviewed on stage in front of 2,500 entrepreneurs and millionaires from 74 different countries and meeting several A-List celebrities backstage, like John Travolta, Steve Wozniak, Hugh Hilton, Marc Wahlberg, Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson, and Christie Brinkley to name a few. I never expected to meet them, but when you do, you realize they are not that different from you and me, just hardworking people, and very smart entrepreneurs.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
In hindsight, I think it was the desperation to make money at the start that had me following and buying the programs of others who seemed successful. “You should blog, FB adds, webinars, videos, etcetera.” Since I was eager to make my entrepreneurship a success asap, I tried almost everything, only to find out it didn’t work for me. The only way to make it work was to become a clone of the “guru” and that didn’t work for me. Besides, the “gurus” didn’t take all factors that made them a success into consideration in their coaching. It could have been the timing, the network they had, some natural talents they were unaware of, and thus didn’t include in their courses. It wasn’t until I started to focus on the principles behind it that I truly took the learnings and applied it in my own business. Now I can laugh at it, realizing what a newbie I was back then, but in the moment it was actually quite frustrating.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
In other interviews I ‘ve always mentioned my wife and soulmate, yet this time I would like to mention my two adopted boys. They were the very reason that inspired me to attend my very first hypnotherapy training that catapulted my entrepreneurial journey. And they are still my motivation to do whatever it takes to make my entrepreneurship a success. I want to set an example for them, to show them that with perseverance and determination you can achieve whatever you want and to leave a legacy for them. My oldest son has some very big dreams and although they might seem impossible, I’m not denying them. Because, like the quote from Napoleon hill says, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging and intimidating. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
Well, honestly, whatever you think is true, will be true. So when you’re daunted by the prospect of failure, don’t even start your entrepreneurial journey, because you will fail. Don’t focus on the problems, focus on the possibilities and opportunities that will appear on your journey. Like one of my guests from my podcast said, “Feel the fear and do it anyway.” The only way to grow is to get out of your comfort zone (or, like others like to say “grow your comfort zone”). You will get some resistance from the people around you because they won’t understand what drives you and what you’re doing. You will change as a person, and they would like to have the old person back. Surround yourself with people that will elevate you. A nice reminder that one of my coaches told me, is, “People that pull you down, are below you.”
What drives you to get up everyday and give your talks? What is the main empowering message that you aim to share with the world?
I love to inspire people and make a positive impact. I believe everybody is here for a reason and to make a positive impact. I want to put everybody in the right direction. Without realizing it, most everyone is limiting themselves. I have a very simple yet effective challenge to prove that. Until now, I have a near 100% success rate with that challenge. First step in changing is becoming aware, and in my opinion, that’s what this challenge does.
You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?
I created my signature year program “Profitable Passion Program™” at the end of last year and am using this year to create momentum. This program allows me to scale my business to the next level. I also started my own podcast “Follow your Passion” in which I interview my clients and other entrepreneurs that are following their passion and make a great living doing so. Next step for my business is to have several coaches working for me using the Profitable Passion Program™ to transform our clients and me speaking on even more stages to share my story and inspire the audience to make a positive impact.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite “Life Lesson Quote” is the quote from Napoleon Hill that I have mentioned many times: “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Since mindset is my expertise, this quote really appealed to me and still does. It transformed my own mindset from “They are very successful, I will never be able to achieve that,” to “If they can do it, why wouldn’t I be able to do that?” and it drives me to chase my goals and dreams. I just know and feel I will achieve my goals. It’s not a matter of “if,” it’s a matter of “when.”
Ok, thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public Speaker?” Please share a story or example for each.
Tip 1: It’s never about you, it is about your audience. What’s in it for them. This means you need to know what kind of audience is attending your speech and what you can share on stage that will add value to their lives.
Tip 2: You should be able to give your speech without any tools. Meaning, PowerPoint is supportive to your speech, not leading. So are other tools. I notice a lot of speakers are focusing on creating amazing slide shows, but when technology fails, they almost fall apart. Think of one of the greatest speakers in history. Did Martin Luther King have any slides or tools?
Tip 3: Your speech should have engagement. You don’t want your story to be a monologue. Engage your audience. Make sure to check with the audience if they’re still following your story and if the points you’re making hit base. Involve your audience by asking questions, raising hands, asking for feedback.
Tip 4: Remember that people have their own preferred representation system. Some people just want to see it (visual reference), some want to feel it (kinesthetic preference) and others want to hear it (auditory preference). When you want to deliver value and make an impact, include those 3 systems in your presentation, so that you are reaching the majority of your audience. For instance: “Imagine yourself one year from now. You are sitting on a terrace by the beach, overlooking the sea. It’s a nice, sunny day, you feel a slight breeze coming from the sea. You smell the salty water, hear the seagulls fighting for a little piece of bread, children playing. You just ordered your lunch and realize that you already hit your year goals and still have two months left. You take off your shoes and let your toes play with the sand. In the window of the restaurant, you see your own reflection smiling at you, you feel your body relaxing while taking a deep breath, and you say to yourself: “I’m taking this afternoon off to celebrate my achievements.” That can become your reality, when you decide to work with me. Do you see how that works?
Tip 5: Facts tell, stories sell. Put all your learnings, information, data into stories. When the audience is able to associate with the stories and main characters in it, they will remember it for sure. Just look at the example I just shared. I bet you also saw yourself sitting at the beach, didn’t you?
As you know, many people are terrified of speaking in public. Can you give some of your advice about how to overcome this fear?
Most people have made up an image of themselves how they would like to be on stage, and when that image is different from how they are feeling at that very moment, they get nervous. The bigger the difference, the more nervous they get. While they just need to be the same person that woke up that day.
Also, when you take tip one from above: when you focus on your audience and how you can add value to them, the focus isn’t on you anymore, making public speaking a lot easier. If it helps, you can even mention at the beginning that you are nervous. As you said, many people are terrified of speaking in public, meaning many of them are also in your audience. So when you mention you are nervous, the audience can certainly relate to that and might even consider you as being one of them, and that helps in building rapport with your audience.
And last, but not least, the only person that knows if you forgot something to tell, or made a mistake, is you. Nobody in the audience knows what you are about to share, so don’t worry about forgetting something, accept that you might forget something and continue.
You are a person of huge influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I would love to inspire the policy makers and content creators of the educational system, especially primary schools. I truly believe that current education has the wrong focus. It still dates from the industrial era and the focus is on getting the low scoring children to the average. There are two fundamental problems with that. First, it’s a mission impossible, because an average is exactly what it is: 50% is below average and 50% is above average. When you want to get the low scoring children to the average, they must become as good as the best performing kids in the class and that’s simply not possible.
Besides that, an even bigger problem in my opinion, is that the focus is on the skills you’re no good at. When you have issues reading, you get additional attention and lessons. Same for math. When you’re good at reading or math, you’re doing okay, no additional attention nor lessons needed. So the focus is on our weaknesses and not on our strengths. And all subjects at primary school are fixed, so you could say we are creating clones. Of course, we need a solid base, but I believe that by changing the focus towards children’s strengths and supporting and encouraging them to reach the next level, will have a big impact on the long run, in a positive sense.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
I would love to have lunch with former president Barrack Obama. Not because of his political background, but just because I admire his speaking skills. I’ve seen several speeches of him and I think he is a great role model for many on that aspect. I would love to know more about that part and get some tips from him.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
Yes I am! You can find me on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/millionairelifestrategy) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/millionairelifestrategy). You can also connect with me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/erwin-wils) or follow my podcast “Follow your Passion”(https://www.follow-your-passion.biz or the well-known other platforms (Apple, Spotify, etcetera)).
This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
Erwin Wils Of Millionaire Life Strategy On The 5 Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Public… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
