About 40% of people who book a call with me aren’t ready to become TEDx speakers yet. At the same time, there are plenty of people who have false assumptions about their readiness, like my client Connie, who thought TEDx would be something a future, better version of herself would be able to do. She was partially right (but the…
Whether a book, speech, or TEDx talk, “what is it about?” is the first question to answer. Before you write an outline, choose a title, or plan your marketing strategy, you need to choose a topic. If you’re doing talks every week for your Toastmasters club, there’s really no reason to put a ton of effort into selecting a great…
The New York Times Customer Insight Group partnered with Latitude Research to learn more about the psychology of why your audience shares your message. Here’s one major insight from the study: 84% share because it is a way to support causes or issues they care about1. We also know that we have a tendency to seek out information that confirms…
There are unwritten rules to almost every interaction in the world. First dates end with both parties saying they “had a great time”, people say they’ll “think about it” when they don’t want to do something, and every public talk in the world ends with an applause. That’s just how things work. Speaking of public speaking, here are some other…
Every day, you are bombarded with messages from people that want to influence you. Talks, ads, Facebook posts, blog posts, books at the store. Chances are, you ignore almost all of it. If you didn’t, you’d spend your entire day reading things you probably don’t need to (or have time for). The downside is, your audience does this too.
A new stereo was being developed, and the electronics company created a focus group. They gathered people around to ask them what they thought of the stereo. The features, whether they liked it, what they’d be willing to pay. People said they’d happily pay $90, $100, or even $200. Of course, the electronics company was thrilled! People loved the stereo!…