Public speaking, even in small groups, is a lot like telling your story from stage, you are performing for your audience. You audience is filled with people who are potential clients and referral partners. Your thirty-second message is your interaction with your audience, most times it’s your first introduction to them. It needs to be engaging, it’s that engagement that gets people to interact with you, especially when it is delivered well. Delivering your message, your story, with the intention of helping people creates curiosity and gets people to want to know more.
You could say that I’m one of those odd ducks who loves public speaking and performing. REALLY! I get totally energized when I speak in front of an audience. Knowing this about myself, I am always looking for ways to improve my skills and my story. As you know I’m writing my book, 30 Second Success (Pre-order details coming soon, I promise!). I am also working on combining key elements from the book with stories I’ve gathered over time to develop a keynote speech. My goal is to connect with my audiences in a way that’s engaging entertaining and really helps them understand how to experience networking from a different perspective which is really about relationships.
While attending a two-day training with Heroic Public Speaking, I was reminded that being on stage is about performing. A keynote is a performance piece in the way you approach writing and delivering it. You’ve got to be engaging, you don’t want your audience to fall asleep while you’re talking, right? It’s about delivering a message that will make an impact on your audience in a meaningful way. It must be so memorable that they will feel moved to change or at least consider the possible effects on their lives if they choose to.
There are a lot of shifts that you must make when you go from writing a book, creating a workshop, or creating an online course, to standing in front of a live audience or being on video with someone, each is very different. When I was in high school, I was in a several plays that were scripted out with all the performance notes (When to enter, when to pause, when to emphasis a word, etc…). When performing for a live audience the engagement piece must come in. This is true of your 30-second message as well.
Think of your 30-second message as a performance piece or a mini (maybe even a super mini) version of a longer speech. Deliver a message that is engaging, highlights what you do, and showcases your personality in a way that connects with your audience. Every opportunity to share your message is an opportunity to reach the hearts of your audience. When you do, that’s connection, you become memorable. If you need help with your thirty-second message, schedule a call today.
#BeMemorable
Wishing you much success, Laura