Q&A with Julie Cross

Tell us about your background and what led you to become a keynote speaker?

I grew up in regional Queensland and back then we went out hard and fast! Left school at 16 and of course if you are going to leave school, you have to find a job. Not a lot of job choices in these little country towns. Always lots of Hairdressers and Pubs. Now my Dad was always at the Pub, so I became a Hairdresser! I had a wonderful career in this Industry, I found my way to the cities, I would go on to manage multiple salons as an area manager for large organisations. I also worked within the Industry as a Sales Rep and Educator. It was through all of these roles that I discovered my passion for training, educating and inspiring. I would also discover that I had a natural talent and down to earth authenticity for delivering the information with that same passion. When I became pregnant with my first son, I resigned from my role with the company I was with and when my son was 6 months old I started my training business. I began in the Hairdressing Industry and as my life changed and evolved, my stories and messages evolved, my audiences changed and evolved and now my main work is Keynote speaking to a wide range of audiences. 25 years in business now, built on a foundation of predominately word-of-mouth referrals.  

What do you love most about being a Speaker?

I love seeing the emotion in the room, I love the moments where you see and feel the audience truly connect with the messages, I love when you know for sure that you have left an audience, individually or collectively, in a better ‘state; then when you first walked onto the stage. I love hearing about how they elevated their thinking, their work, their responses to the world and the people in it, their actions or their energy as a result of something that I may have said or done that ‘woke’ up something inside of them, inspiring them to level up. I know I don’t ‘do’ it for them, I am simply the messenger that inspires the audience to do, feel, live, love and work the way they truly deserve.

How do you prepare mentally and emotionally before stepping onto the stage to deliver a keynote? Any rituals or routines you follow?

On my way to the event, I am in silence, visualising in my mind how I see and feel the audience reacting, going through my key messages and focusing on the positive reactions of the delegates.

I always arrive early. It is important for me to make some connections with the audience before I walk onto stage. If I am opening the day I will be there to greet everyone as they walk in, if I am on later in the day I will always be there to sit in on the speaker before me. And then once I know all technical aspects are taken care of I go to the restroom, I look into the mirror and give myself a pep talk… reminding myself that I am their to give this audience a gift, that I will be totally present in the moment I am in, because all I know for sure is that I have got the next hour on stage with these people. So, let’s go big!

What speaking topics are you most passionate about, and why?

My most passionate topics centre around…

1. ‘Inspiration, Self-Leadership, Resilience, Positive Energy and Motivation. Why? I truly believe these messages are the foundation of every other topic and message they will hear at a conference. We can deliver all the information and data, and policies, and procedures and skills (and of course, we need all of this), but if we don’t have passionate, engaged, inspired, motivated, resilient, courageous and fearless delegates leaving the room then the likelihood of all of these other valuable messages and learning ever get acted upon and actioned are pretty low. I connect the information in people’s heads with the inspiration in their hearts.

2.Courageous Leadership. Why? I feel like at many levels of leadership there is confusion around the difference between management and leadership. And if we want to be able to take messages back from a conference and inspire our team members with our vision, if we truly want highly engaged and passionate employees and we want to get the best value from a conference then we need courageous and heart centred leaders back in the workplace and on the floor.

3. Service! Why? I think during and after covid, frontline service has taken centre stage. Never has there been a greater opportunity than now to make a difference, to grow, to win customers and clients simply by focusing on upgrading your front line service. And Service has to be taught! It is not something we can just ‘hope’ that our employees know how to do. I am so excited for the organisations that start making service a focus in their organisations,

How do you tailor your message to different audiences or industries?

I am passionate about tailoring messages and receive some great feedback on my ability to do this. This happens via briefing calls, but depending on the organisation I may also do a mystery shop, do some google research, and then by far, my most powerful tailoring comes from attending some of the conference before-hand, arriving early, chatting to delegates and then weaving some of that information into my presentation.

Can you share a specific moment where you felt a deep connection with your audience during a keynote?

I feel delighted and humbled to say there have been many of these moments over the last 25 years. I feel so privileged and honoured to do what I do with the people I get to do it with. There was the moment with 750 women in the room and there was so much spontaneous applause throughout the event and then the ripple of emotion through the room as I finished and they jumped to their feet with a standing ovation. but then sharing of the many heartfelt stories with me afterwards. Or it could be the event where there were mostly men in the room, a power company event. The man in the front row that gently wiped away tears as I spoke about how worthy and loved they were. Or the teachers that laughed so hard, and then cried so hard and shared that they can’t remember when they had laughed and cried so hard all at once and how as a result of what they had heard and felt that they would teach differently. My heart …

How important do you think it is to continuously grow and evolve as a speaker?

Oh it is so important. Of course as our society evolve, workplaces evolve, technology evolves then we need to evolve with it. However, one thing that I am passionate about that with all of the evolving we don’t lose ‘ourselves’ … our uniqueness, and our authenticity.  Because that is the one thing that makes us stand out from everyone else.

Why should someone book you and not someone famous?

Clearly there are lots of amazing ‘famous’ speakers with incredible content and inspiring stories. However, I think that clients sometimes forget that although the star power is fabulous, sometimes it is the less famous that are more relatable when it comes to take home messages. For example … it may be more difficult for an audience to relate to an olympic swimmer than someone that is sharing stories and examples that they can see themselves in. So, in no way am I saying that there is not wonderful value from the ‘famous’… but so often I hear at a conference that it was the less known speakers that made the greatest impact.

In your opinion, what makes an amazing speaker?

Someone who doesn’t just deliver content and words, but also takes the audience on a ‘feeling’ journey. As Maya Angelou famously said, “People won’t always remember what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel”

I think humour is also so very important, people learn when they are laughing.

What can an audience expect to take away when they hear you on stage?

They will not only feel energised, inspired and empowered but they will be so ‘awake’ and ready to own the stage they have chosen to serve from. They will not only take away the ‘feeling’ and ‘energy’ but also be equipped with the strategies for ‘Self-Leadership’ to recognise when they need to manage their energy, power up their resilience and take responsibility for their work and the difference they make.

Tell us about yourself outside of your speaking. What other projects/businesses do you have on the go?

I have written two books and am keen to do a couple more. I am also excited to put together some online programs and resources. I also love to do my own events on occasion allowing the public to have access to the messages I share.