The Humble Business Speaker
Now that I’m a Professional Keynote Speaker it is so important to be a humble business speaker. With so much praise and applause,business speakers can swell with pride and get a big head. Is there anything worse than having to listen to someone brag and boast about themselves in a business speech?
Here’s a fantastic and simple way to genuinely be unique as a speaker. Ready for this? Be a servant. That may mean something as simple as getting your spouse a cup of coffee or buying your co-worker a Coke. Don’t ask “How much will this inconvenience me?” Instead, ask “How important is it to them?”
One of my friends was having marriage difficulties. Separation seemed imminent. I asked, “What do you want from your marriage?”
He replied, “I want to make it work. What do you suggest I do?” I offered this most important question:
“What is the one thing you could do tonight that would absolutely shock her with glee?”
Without even a blink, he chimed, “Oh, probably cleaning the toilets.” I said, “Well, there it is, my friend. There’s the solution.”
With a disgruntled look, he complained, “What do you think I am – a servant?”
I mused, “Now you’re getting it.” He did not clean that toilet.
“It just didn’t ring true for me,” he later told me. By the way, they’re now divorced.
In my rather old and worn binder, that I take to all my speeches, is an index with the words
“who can I serve today?” as a reminder to me each time I arrive as the business speaker.
Perhaps there is no nobler position or title to describe us. Be a servant.
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy;
I awoke and saw that life was service;
I acted and behold, service was joy.”
– Rabindranath Tagore
Business Speaker in the Now
To be a powerful business speaker you must be present and live in the now. Zen masters use the word satori to describe a flash of insight, a moment of total presence. I have been fortunate to have experienced this when I was quiet and alone, surrounded by nature. I often prepare my business speeches outside on my patio at my Los Angeles home. The great Zen Master Rinzai asks: “What, at this moment,is lacking?” A similar question in the Zen tradition: “If not now, when? In The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle delves deeply into this subject.
The Buddhists tell a story of a man running from a ferocious tiger. While the man is fleeing the tiger, he falls off a very steep cliff. Just beyond the edge of the cliff, he grabs onto a single vine. Dangling dangerously, just moments from his death, he looks up and sees a tiger above him. He looks down and sees the jagged rocks, hundreds of feet below. At that very instant he also notices a big, juicy, ripe strawberry
growing from the vine he’s holding. He grabs the strawberry, begins eating it, and smiles…as he falls.
Guest Speaker
The great thing about hiring a guest speaker is that you get a fresh perspective from the outside. A guest speaker that you’ve not heard before can be a risk because it is an unknown. But hiring the right guest speaker can change your life. I hired a guest speaker, well not really but close….it was a personal life coach. I have an extraordinary coach named Tamara Keefe. It wasn’t easy for me to hire her, though. When I first considered it, I kept asking myself…a coach? Just a personal coach? To help…in life? And my friends kept saying, “James, you don’t need a coach!” It’s interesting that no one ever said that to me when I was
learning to play football or the trumpet. The educational system certainly believes in coaching. Likewise, the corporate world believes that we’ll benefit from direction and advice. We have spreadsheets for projects at work – we have handouts and timelines – and a whole team of people to support a project’s goals.
But what about the project called “life”? It’s only in this area of our personal lives that people doubt
the need for a coach. People are looking for answers and meaning – trying to improve themselves – and they’re all attempting this alone! No direction; no support. When I was debating whether or not to be life-coached, I remember questioning Tamara, “Are you sure you’re worth
it?” Of course what I was really asking was, “Am I worth it?” Of course I am. And you are worth it, too! Ok here comes another shameless plug….I want to be your next guest speaker. This could be the beginning of a whole new journey for your company.