Have you ever listened to a speaker who has had every point in her presentation nailed down, Power Point was near perfect, and closing statement couldn’t have been more calculated, however, she didn’t inspire you or lead you to real action?
On the flip side, have you ever experienced a speaker who wasn’t as polished on her presentation skills, however, spoke from a very deep place in her heart? In other words, with her strong conviction, passion, and life experience, she had you on the edge of your seat and coming back for more.
I’m a firm believer that your message is more caught than taught.
In other words, if you speak from the mind you will get mindful responses, but when you speak from the heart you will get hearts on fire! Methodist Church Founder, John Wesley was known for putting it this way: “Light yourself on fire with passion and people will come from miles to watch you burn.” As people watch you burn, they will naturally catch on fire.
Do you remember the movie, The Book of Eli, with Denzel Washington that came out a few years ago? Eli was a man who had the only book alive that had answers of wisdom and could solve the world problems. You can imagine, that with only one book in the world, everyone wanted to get his or her hands on it. Sadly, Eli had the book stolen by the hands of “evil-doers.” However, while the book was in his possession, he meditated on the book, lived with the book, slept with the book, talked about the book, and experienced the book.
Eli became the message, but how about you?
Things to consider on becoming the message:
1.) Do you know what your core message is?
2.) Once you know your core message, never stray too far from it.
3.) Own your core message until you become it. Talk about it, write about it, start discussions surrounding it, and rally people around it.
4.) Never stop learning about your core
If you want to unpack this concept a bit more, it can be found in my new book, Lead the Way.
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Robb Holman is author of the newly released book Lead the Way, keynote speaker, and the Founder/CEO of Holman International, a global leadership consultancy revolutionizing the way business leaders operate.
