How Clear Are You When You Speak?
Are you clear about the action you want your audience to take after you speak? Unfortunately, most speakers either don’t offer any ideas or they give too many options.
As sales trainer Jeffrey Gittomer has said, “A confused mind doesn’t buy.”
The Importance of One Next Step
When you speak, you are selling an idea. To increase the odds that your audience will ‘buy’ your message, give them one exact next step. Make sure that this is a step that involves you, and that this is a step they can take
immediately after you speak.
There is an array of choices you can offer that bring people into your ‘business funnel’. For example
- Sign up for your monthly newsletter
- Request a free report
- Set an initial meeting
- Visit your blog
- Link up with your Social Media sites
- Sign up for weekly tips
- Hire you for coaching
- Buy your product
- The Key to Motivating Action
A key to encouraging this next step is to describe the benefit they’ll receive if they take action. For instance, a financial planner can tell her audience that they will receive ongoing ideas to retire early if they sign up for her weekly financial tips. No one wants to sign up for another newsletter, but many people do want to know how to retire early.
Keep in mind the concept that ‘a confused mind doesn’t buy.’ If you give more than one choice [i.e. set up an initial meeting, buy your product, and sign up for your newsletter], the audience will not be sure which one is best. In that case, they will do…. nothing.
Your best bet is to offer one choice, with a clear benefit to the audience. Lead them down one easy-to-understand path. You are more likely to convert interested audience members into long-term raving fans.
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Your Weekly Dose of Public Speaking Medicine
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Employ the ideas you pick up in these videos and you’ll build long-lasting change that elevates you to new heights as a communicator.
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Michael’s mission is to help leaders, managers and sales professionals communicate with more confidence, impact, and influence. This passion is born from his own communication difficulties early in his career.
Fortunately, he discovered that public speaking is like riding a bike, swimming or driving a car - it’s a learnable skill. Once he discovered this ‘secret’ he became a voracious student of the craft. He took courses, studied some of the world’s best speakers and storytellers and continues to study presentation and business storytelling skills.
He is hired by companies and organizations, leaders, managers and sales professionals, and TEDx speakers to help them become more confident, impactful and influential communicators.
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