Do You Have Ten Minutes to Try Something New?

Hello everyone!

Christopher Peck with Speak Into Action Communications.

Albert Einstein famously said, "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."

I'm not sure if it's the New Year, new goals, new videos, but I have found myself reminiscences on past failures a lot in recent days--both professional and personal.

No doubt it's shame, guilt, and fear screaming at me to stop being vulnerable and putting myself out there before a make a complete fool of myself.

Einstein's words are comforting because they remind us that what our head noise--inner demons, shame tracks, whatever you want to call it--perceives as monumental even cataclysmic failures/mistakes/inadequacy is actually necessary, incremental growth.

Progress, not perfection, should be the goal of any innovative business leader. The mistakes that come from putting ourselves out there and trying something new ultimately lead to advancement and success.

So here's my challenge to you:

It’s no secret I would dearly love everyone in my circle to use video as a sharing device for their thoughts and ideas. And we make all sorts of excuses not to. Time, resources, money--although I guarantee in the time it takes you to write a 300-word blog, you could create an awesome video using the camera on your phone and you would still have content for your awesome blog.

But if a lack of time is really your motivating factor for not producing video content then listen to the words of Einstein, don't be afraid to make a mistake, and limit yourself to three takes. 300 words is 2-3 minutes of content. Three takes is ten minutes.

Do you have ten minutes to make yourself seen, felt, and experienced by your online connections?

So why not try something new?

Progress, not perfection.

Thanks for reading, this is Christopher Peck with Speak Into Action Communications--helping businesses perform better, by training better performers.

P.S. Write "Secret" in the comments section and I'll message you my simple trick for creating succinct, well-spoken videos.

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Persuading Crowds Part 4: A Crowd of Many

Hello everyone!

Christopher Peck with Speak Into Action Communications.

Welcome to the final portion of our four-week series on Crowd Persuasion inspired by T.S. Eliot's quote.

Do we all know it by heart?

"Business today consists in persuading crowds."

Part two covered a crowd of self, last week we went over a crowd of one, today we talk about persuading a crowd of many. And, you guessed it, persuading a crowd of many is about being present, transparent, and consistent.

Being Present: Looks different because with a crowd of one you want your audience to dominate the conversation. Talk less, listen more. With a crowd of many, this really isn't feasible unless you have two hours of material and eight hours of time. Conversation slows the tempo and pacing of a presentation which is why it is so important, when developing a speaking event, to plan out the timing of audience participation.

But before I get too wildly off topic, since one to many presentations almost always necessitate a speaker-driven performance, being present has to look a little different.

It becomes about non-verbal engagement, and mirroring. And not with your entire audience, you do not have to connect with your entire audience. In fact, you will not connect with your entire audience. And I think biggest mistake many presenters make is focusing on the wrong audience.

Believe it or not, like most things, there's an 80/20 rule for audiences. 80% of your audience is engaged, absorbed, and eager to hear what you have to say. 20% are somewhere else. Not feeling well. Checking an email from their kid's school. Skipped breakfast and starving. Whatever the reason, they're not there. Oh well.

What we cannot do as presenters is pivot for or try to force a connection with the 20%. They're a lost cause. Let them go. Instead focus on the 80%. Mirror their energy and enthusiasm back on them. Reward their excitement by giving them special attention. That's the audience you're persuading. Don't miss your shot in the vain attempt to please everyone.

Be Transparent: Suit the action to the word, the word to the action. Being a great performer is about finding alignment between words, actions, body language, and vocal variety. This is why we rehearse. To find and hone that alignment so when we walk into a presentation we are both masterly prepared, while also portraying the illusion of spontaneity.

Be Consistent: Script it. You can wing it but it won't be as good. When people tell me they're good enough to just wing it, all I hear is, "I don't take this presentation seriously enough to prepare."

Script it.

Rehearse it.

Memorize it.

Own it.

Then you have it forever.

Thank you for following this series the last few weeks. As promised, I have a challenge for you. Create a sixty-second video of yourself and put it on LinkedIn, Youtube, Facebook, or any other social media vessel of choice. It can be an ask, a get to know you, a quick video about a book we all need to read, but post it and put yourself out there.

The first five people who post their video and share with me a link to view, I'll send you feedback on what works really well about your video presence along with a couple of quick tips to make your videos even better.

Thanks everyone for reading, this is Christopher Peck with Speak Into Action Communications: helping businesses perform better by training better performers.

Enjoyed the read?

Every blog is available on my Youtube channel in video format along with other great content. Subscribe today!