The late Tip O’Neill, the long-time Speaker of the House in the US House of Representatives a generation ago, had a favourite and oft quoted phrase: “All politics is local”. He was right. And the same is true of all communication, including public speaking. Personal connection, meaning, and stories counts.
Regardless of how much polite applause or how many ‘well done you’ comments you receive after giving a talk (sometime shared because others are delighted that you spoke and that they didn’t have to!)…
…If your audience members don’t find reasons to personally care or get excited about your ideas while you speak, there’s a very high probability they’ll:
- Tune your messages out
- Make no effort to remember what you said, and
- Take zero action later
So, that’s not good – especially given how much time and effort it takes to prepare a talk.
But, there’s more.
If audience members feeling underwhelmed by your words: You run the risk of eroding your ability to cultivate or maintain strong personal relationships with those you need to influence.
And in an era of dwindling attention spans, where it has never been more important to earn and keep trust from tribes/communities that matter to you – before, during and after you speak – that’s an outcome you need to avoid.
Of course, that begs a flip question: what does it take to up your ability to achieve awesome personal connection and deeper, more valued relationships with your target audiences?
That’s the topic addressed in today’s expert interview when I had the opportunity to speak with author of Return on Relationship, brand evangelist, international keynote speaker and nice guy Ted Rubin.
How to Build Better Personal Relationships And Leverage Stories When Speaking
Listen in as we discuss:
- Why finding ways to bring your ideas into your audience’s world is vital to win more hearts and minds
- The importance of speaking ‘with’ versus ‘at’ your audience
- Why personal stories – especially those offering insights into life experiences – help you to achieve greater impact as a speaker
- How adopting a give without expecting to get direct benefits back mindset can open a plethora of doors for you
- The difference between brand and reputation…And why it matters
- What you can learn from Ted’s transition from angry father with plenty of New York attitude to something entirely different
- Why your feeling of connectedness with others is so all fired important
- A small but powerful action that’ll boost your ability to influence others
- And more
Originally posted at thereluctantspeakersclub.com