Show Me The Money

Everyone knows clever, charismatic people who become stiff, lifeless alter egos when it’s time to speak. You can’t bore people into agreeing with you. Everyone, everywhere responds to bright-eyed enthusiasm.

Your goal is to tell stories. It starts with practice, not just knowing the info but a simple narrative that you know by heart…no scripting, no memorization, heartfelt understanding. Then it’s preparing for your performance.

If you’re in person, that means where you stand, how you stand, expressions, gestures and eye contact, varying your intensity to meet the emotional rise and fall of your audience. People feed off your energy and take their cues on how to respond directly from you. If you’re virtual, your voice has to do the heavy lifting with the sound of authority and specific direction you provide.

In either case, you need to be able to read the room. If engagement is fading, what questions should you to bring them back? If they ask tough questions or make outright objections, how do you respond without sounding defensive?

Key Takeaways

• Grab attention & engage in your narrative from the start
• Communicate with confidence, conviction and passion
• Spark participation, handle questions & objections