Abundant Public Speaking Jobs
Monday, December 22nd, 2008You will have more public speaking opportunities than ever before if you will
play these two radio stations every time you speaker.
A seasoned public speaker once shared with me, “There are two captivating radio
stations that transmit appreciation, love, and respect to an audience.”
“Two radio stations?” I asked puzzled.
“You heard right. There’s both an AM and FM station…”
…That was ten years ago.
Tuning in to these stations has elevated my ability to love.
I now share their “power” with you…
W I I — F M
The vast majority of public speaking presentations that I have heard fail to address
a most important factor — “What’s In It For Me?” That’s what audience members are
asking before the presentation even starts.
“Is this worth my time?”
“Why am I here?”
“Will this be of use to me?”
“WII-FM?”
I now “tune in” to this station every time I address an audience. I’ve tried to do
likewise on these CD’s. On CD #!, I showed you how you can personally benefit from
improving your presentation skills. Remember the individual who received a promotion,
and my friend who was given more money than he’d even asked for? This is the
“What’s in it for me?” for this recording. I hoped to inspire you, to keep you interested
and entertained. And if you’re still listening, perhaps it’s worked.
The second radio station is equally as important, yet tuned in even less often!
MMFG — AM
Before each public speaking job, I envision every audience member actually raising a hand
and saying, “Excuse me, but I have a request. At some point during your presentation,
could you Make Me Feel Good About Myself?”
Then, I picture myself complimenting each of them. I ponder:
What have they accomplished?
What awards have they won?
What hardships have they endured?
What obstacles have they overcome?
How have they contributed to their company’s success?
Tune in” to these questions, and watch what happens!
A company for which I once worked had purchased another company in Chicago.
It was a rough acquisition. Financially, it was fine. But on the personal side, it left much
to be desired. I felt like we had come in as a “bully” company and used this bulldozing
philosophy: “We don’t care what you used to do and who you used to be. Now, you’re
us, and it’s time you start doing things our way.” I went to speak to their sales force two
months after the acquisition. Before that public speaking job, I’d asked for some of the success
stories that this company had prior to merging with us, so that I could use these stories
in my speech. One of our company’s vice presidents told me:
“Oh, you don’t have to bring up anything about their past. That’s gone now.
They’re with us now, and they’ll do as we would have them do.”
He was a VP. He had authority over me. But I do have a healthy dose of
productive defiance. I realized that what this group of people needed right now, more
than anything else, was to feel good about themselves. I needed to tune them in to
MMFG-AM. I had to let them know that they were important to us — that we needed
them.
Before I addressed them, I noticed a plaque on the wall. It had been presented to
this company for a superb radio advertisement. So, I copied all the facts and figures.
Then I saw another award that they’d received from the City of Chicago for their stellar
service. I wrote that down too.
I started my presentation, “What a thrill it is to be merging with such a top quality,
blue-chip company!”
When I said that, eyes that were turned down began to look up at me.
“Congratulations on your Golden Mike Award!”
People began to smile. Next, I recognized their award from the city of Chicago,
adding that I didn’t remember our company ever getting an award like that from our city.
“This is absolutely tremendous! And let me tell you, we have a lot to learn from
you and your successes.”
I didn’t expect anyone to speak up, but one woman, in tears, raised her hand.
“Thank you for those compliments! You’ll never know how much we needed to
hear those words right now.”
After that, I could have flubbed the rest of the speech big time,
could have stumbled over my words,
forgotten what I wanted to say,
dropped my notes on the floor…
and none of it would have mattered.
Why? Because I’d truly connected with that audience through love. And that’s
magical. All I had to do was…
