How Well Do you Connect? (+ Connection Contest)

In John Maxwell’s new book “Everyone Communicates, Few Connect”, John says…..

“Whether you are communicating one-on-one or with a large audience, asking questions creates a connection between you and your listeners that is vital to releasing energy and raising their interest levels. Because my audiences are often so varied, when I begin speaking…. I pose a question related to the topic I’ll be speaking on. I’m simply trying to get people to engage right away.”

How do you engage your audience?

Are you connecting with them in the first 30 seconds?

One of THE most difficult things for a speaker to accomplish is the “audience flip”. Making it about them (the audience) rather than about yourself.

Art Berg, a speaker who died way before his time, told me that he saw his career change when he caught onto this. It wasn’t easy to make his story “about them” as he was a parapalegic who had suffered a horrible accident. But he did it. Art’s theme was “while the difficult takes time, the impossible just takes a little longer”. Once he turned his speech around and made it about them he saw a major surge in his career.

CONTEST:

During your presentations, how do you connect with your audience?

I’d like to see your ideas posted below by July 1st.  The top 5 ideas will win a copy of John Maxwell’s new book “Everyone Communicates, Few Connect”. (Be sure to leave your e-mail address with your comments so I can connect with the winners).

PS: Someone who is famous for connecting with their audience is Joe Calloway. Joe and I produced “Diary of a Killer Keynote” DVD which includes one of Joe’s most talked about NSA speeches. Right now, we’re offering them at a special sell off price (save $30). Check it out. http://speakerlauncher.com/tools.html

Is Your Writing Aiming Right?

Who is your copy writing designed to capture?

During our coaching, a client and I will often spend time deciding WHO we want to speak to with our website or marketing materials.

Sometimes it can be difficult to pin down.

However, skipping this step will certainly lead to confusion when it comes to developing a strong promise statement and writing the copy for your site.

Many people target the audience, when they’d be better off targeting the decision maker.

For instance, a promise that says: “Have fun at work, get along well with others” (speaks directly to the employee)

While…. “Build strong teams who communicate effectively” (speaks more to the leader)

While…. “Building a cohesive workforce that delivers exemplary service” (speaks to the leader AND speaks more to outcome)

When you get a clear idea of who you want to attract to your website, it’s much easier to develop language for them.

See you soon Wealthy Speakers!