Oh my Gosh, if I had a cent (or a penny) for every time someone asked me ‘how’ to speak on stage . . . I’d be living in the Bahamas and swinging on my hammock on a daily basis.
(And perhaps supping the odd cocktail . . .)
So enough already!
Because get this – I’m not so concerned with the ‘how’ to speak but much more so with the ‘why’ to speak on stage.
And the absolute number one key to speaking on stage is . . .
Passion.
Listen very carefully because this is probably the most powerful piece of advice I can give to new speakers – Follow Your Passions!
When I am stood up on stage I always try to speak from the heart and connect with the audience in this heart-felt way. And funnily enough, when I bring my heart into my speaking, it always follows that my sales increase!
But get this – I don’t speak from my heart to create more sales. That’s counter-intuitive. Selling more is just a byproduct of what happens when you are passionate about what you do.
Bring Your Heart Into Your Sales
Think about it. Children are some of the best sales people around, not because they know all the tips and tricks on creating a masterful close, but because they are undeniably passionate about their view point and their outcome. They will not take no for an answer and they are not afraid to show it.
Likewise your passion for your product, service or message will shine through over and above any techniques you learn. I’m not saying don’t learn the techniques: you must. But technique without passion is fruitless.
Passion on stage comes from being passionate about what you do in life.
The Attractor Factor
In the Attractor Factor, Dr. Joe Vitale cites a study where a group of 1500 people were given the option of joining two groups. Group A was a group of people who were going to pick a career they believed was going to be a practical way to make a lot of money and then they were going to follow their passions after they made enough money.
1255 people joined Group A.
Group B was a group of people who were going to pick a career that they were interested in and passionate about and just trust that the money would come. Only 245 people joined Group B.
20 years later there were 101 millionaires out of the 1500 people who signed up for the study. 100 of the millionaires came from group B, the group of people who followed their passions and just trusted that the money would come.
Only 1 out of the 1255 people who picked a career because they believed it was a practical way to make a living actually became a millionaire.
This study shows that you do not need to have a plan or know how you are going to make money by following your passion. All you need to do is to follow your passion. Remember the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said,
“I have a dream! . . .”
He did not say:
“I have a plan.”
The Key
Discover what you are passionate about. You may already know this exactly. What is it that lights you up? How can you use this to inform your sales presentations? Try asking yourself some of the following questions to connect with your passion:
· What did you love to do as a child?
· What do you love about your product or service?
· Why do you want the world to know about it?
Passionate Summary
If there’s one thing that’s clear from this . . . it’s that living from your heart-felt passion will not only give you a sense of purpose in your career – and on stage – but it will also attract more abundance to you!
The thing is it takes courage to follow your passions and just trust that the money will come. But having been both a speaker and an audience member, believe me when I say, there’s no more compelling call to action from an audience’s perspective than watching someone come from a place of true authenticity, love and passion. You simply shine like a lighhouse and everyone wants to be in your beam.
So, forget about getting ‘it’ right next time you speak, just try connecting more with your passions in your next presentation and see the magical effect this has . . . .
