Last updated on January 22nd, 2019 at 01:50 pm
When your dream of being a paid motivational speaker comes true, you will become an expert on giving advice and sharing your story. But often the story you tell is not the story the listeners need to hear. Just because you share your story, and relay your messages with feeling, doesn’t mean they are connecting to it.
Audiences don’t connect to what you say until it means something to them personally.
If you aren’t tapping into the pain they are experiencing, and the life they truly want, then you are just a talking head with a somewhat interesting story.
A connection is a key to persuasion.
But how do you speak the language of your audience?
The best way to speak the language of your audience is to fully understand your audience. Sit down and create a profile of your ideal audience.
Here are 10 things you should ask yourself–
• What pain does my ideal client experience?
• What emotions do my clients experience this pain?
• What do they wish for?
• What factors are keeping them from solving this problem?
• What kind of life do they desire?
• What is their experience already in this matter – with this information, with other speakers like me?
• What do they value and cherish?
• What struggles do they experience in this industry or walk of life?
• What do their daily lives look like?
• What has this audience as a whole experienced together? (Example, industry issues.)
These are just a few of the questions that, if answered, will give you a better idea of that person sitting in the audience. Knowing this, you can now find areas in your own life and work where you can relate to them and show them that you can relate to their pain.
The next question to ask yourself is simply this:
How can I relate personally to the answers above?
Once you can show the audience that you personally relate to their pain, you have a connection.
Kelly
Kelly Swanson is an award-winning storyteller, comedian, motivational speaker, Huffington Post Contributor, and cast member of The Fashion Hero television show airing on Amazon Prime. She is also the author of Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale, The Land of If Only, The Story Formula, and The Affirmation Journal for Positive Thinking. She was a featured entertainer for Holland America Cruise Lines, keynote speaker for the International Toastmasters Convention, and has keynoted major conferences and corporate events from coast to coast. She just launched her one-woman show Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale in theaters, and it is being booked all over the country. In July of 2022, she was inducted into the National Speakers Association Speaker Hall of Fame.
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