Tag Archive for: public speaking

There’s more to shining your light, as a leader, a model, a speaker, a trainer, a coach, than being radiant

Are you a radiant being?

Would you describe yourself as radiant?

 

I don’t and I’m not. Not always.

 

Sometimes, when I am excited about something, I suppose I could be described as radiant, and it’s how I feel.

 

But sometimes I am rather less than excited and radiant.

 

There have been times in all of our lives, times that we would probably rather forget,

times that we would prefer not to share,

when we were certainly not excited and radiant.

 

And yet, if we tell that story, share it, that story of being bored – we get results way beyond just radiating excitement.

 

Others can accept their boredom more readily.

 

We create deep connections with potential friends, clients, partners based on this shared experience,

and the vulnerability we show.

 

And if we tell the story of what we did with the boredom,

then we give others a lesson they can implement –

our children, our students, our audiences and clients,

more motivational than any theoretical presentation,

or simple, unequivocal instruction,  could ever be.

 

Are you a leader, a speaker, a trainer?  Tell that story!

Are you designing a legacy?  Tell that story!

Are you looking for your lost mojo, resilience, strength?  Tell that story!

 

Leadership engagement – story does it easily, naturally and powerfully

I have had several clients come to me, having left the corporate sector, and wanting to engage an audience without the power of their position.

Story will do that for you as a leader, without you having to rely on your authority, and that makes it so much more effective!!

Jane came from a position as Project Manager with a large mining company.

She was confident, strong, obviously aware of her skills and her success in her career.

She has seen a need in the industry and decided to leave her job and create a startup to develop software that would make work more efficient and effective.

And now she needed to pitch her product, market it, share her vision for it.

And I was amused to see her so obviously confused and bereft, really, when she came to me, admitting that she suddenly realised she couldn’t use her authority to engage her audience.

 

Amanda came to an open mic night to get feedback on her corporate “town hall” presentation.

It was so full of jargon that I understand maybe one sentence in three.

Nevertheless, she was obviously proud of her presentation. It proved she could “speak the language”. Her engagement and authority relied on it.

 

Both of these women and the men that I coach are suffering from varying degrees of disconnection with their audience.

Many aren’t even aware of it. That’s how it is done in their world and they are simply perpetuating their culture.

And their audience tolerate it, thinking that if only they understood the language a little better, they, too, could achieve success in that world.

 

Story is the ultimate connection tool.

It’s the ultimate engagement tool.

It’s the ultimate persuasion tool,

 

Tell your own story.

Tell the story of someone your audience knows, someone they can relate to.

Tell the story of how it could be for them, of how they could be, of how success will feel.

 

Choose the story with your audience in mind, with a lesson they need, with a vision they already know they own,

and there will be no more need for “authority” of “corporate speak” or bullying,

just a bonding, relationship building and cultural alignment that will surprise even the most hardened of corporate gangsters.

 

 

Speakers – build your brand using stories

Stories are a subtly powerful way to support your speaking outcomes.

You can use them to support the points you want to make, but you can also use them to position yourself in the eyes of your audience.

When you speak you need to be seen as an expert, though an approachable expert, and the audience needs to understand you and your why.

They need to know why they should listen to you and why they should do what you expect from them at the conclusion of your speech.

You also have an opportunity to establish yourself and your brand in their memories, through the power of storytelling.

Here are 4 specific ways you can use storytelling to build your brand…  Read the article at my public speaking blog