Welcome to a new element of the Charli Jane Speakers’ blog. We’re doing a bit of Q&A with some of our Member Speakers who want to give back to their peers and pay it forward to those newly established public speaking hopefuls coming up in the industry.
Read on, too, even if you’re well established, because we believe you’ll enjoy getting to know each of these pros a bit better. There’s some inspiration, mixed with humor, some truly heart-pinging comments and a dash of the rebel here and there.
Hey, world-changers aren’t the shy types, right? Go on, you know you’re not. At least not when you’re crushing it from the stage. Enjoy reading more about your fellow public speaking professionals who are getting it right.
Meet Charli Jane Featured Speaker Xavier Smith, AKA Coach X
About Xavier
Xavier Smith, AKA Coach X, says he’s been sent here to IMPACT – INSPIRE & IMROVE the lives of others on a daily basis.
He’s a professional connector who has been sent here to meet you where you are, serve you want you need, in order for you to live your highest and best life through fitness, nutrition and life coaching skills.
His positivity and energy is truly infectious and you cannot interact with him without feeling better.
I asked Xavier some quick questions. Here are the results from our time together. He shares a great way to stay humble that made me smile and what every speaker needs to hear about worthiness.
Wendi: What is your area of expertise?
Xavier: I started out as a consultant to real estate agents teaching self-defense tactics mainly because my wife is a real estate agent and I wanted to be confident she could keep herself safe if I were not around.
However, as time went on, I noticed I got more questions about my style of physical activity and to make a long story short, the entrepreneurial light went on and I started also doing boot camps for the real estate office my wife worked in and it just kept evolving from that to nutrition coaching and life coaching.
Wendi: How and where was your first speaking gig?
Xavier: My first big-time gig was at a College. I was hired out of around 6,000 auditioners to represent a program called Monster’s Making It Count Program. I with around 400 other speakers would deliver a 45-minute presentation and keep the attention of both high school juniors, seniors and college freshmen.
The task was to get them ready for the next step in life and I would cover topics like financial education, credit cards, time management, and all the skills needed to be successful when entering the next step in life.
It went well and I even forgot a paragraph of the speech but no one knew that but me and I got high marks on that talk and continued to get high marks every year for about 3-4 years.
It was fun to do that and represent the west coast. I would visit high schools and colleges from California to New Mexico. It was a blast.
Wendi: Where do you find your audience?
Xavier: At the moment, I am moving all my skillset to the online space, and although I do have a small following of people in my area that I live in and over 100 5-star reviews on Google for fitness coaching, I do plan on being 100% virtual in a year’s time.
Wendi: What are some common mistakes that you see from new speakers?
Xavier: Well one mistake I made was just thinking that I was not worthy to be on stage. I would love to convey to anyone that if you are breathing, there is a darn good reason for it, so share your story and allow someone to be inspired.
Wendi: What question do you get asked the most by meeting planners?
Xavier: I have been asked what other topics could I speak on as they all loved my energy afterwards.
Wendi: What advice would you give someone just starting out as a speaker?
Xavier: I would say just do your best to be yourself. Being fake does not last long.
Wendi: Is there anything you wish you did differently when you first started as a speaker?
Xavier: I wish I got started earlier and I wish I would have been bolder and taken action sooner instead of waiting on approval from others.
Wendi: Give me an example of when you thought outside of the box?
Xavier: I was invited to speak to 400 high school kids and the sound went out so they could not hear me (the venue was outside and winter time). So while they were fixing the sound, I showed the crowd how flexible I was by performing a backbend and walking on my hands for a few feet.
The crowd loved it!
Wendi: How do you maximize the income from a speaking engagement?
Xavier: We have a rule for how our income is spread around and I currently have a nice percentage going into a vehicle that is outperforming most 401k investments out there so I can have more spendable income when it comes time to retire.
I also like to give back (I have a non-profit called the Purpose of M.E. Foundation) to something bigger than me.
I am also putting some away to learn more about my craft of speaking as well.
Wendi: Have you been in the media and how did you get there?
Xavier: Yes. I have appeared on local cable TV several times. Mainly as a fitness instructor and once for promoting my personal story and journey from Mediocrity to Xcellence.
Wendi: Tell us a fun fact about yourself?
Xavier: I always sport a sock with a hole in it to remind me of staying humble.
Learn more about Xavier in the Charli Jane Speakers Directory or on his site at NutriCoachX.com
Ready to level up your speaking game? Join our fantastic Facebook group “Grow Your Speaking Biz” to learn, share, grow and get connected today.