POSTED: August 28, 2020, by Towan Isom
As an articulate speaker — with a story that people need to hear — you’ve worked diligently to get where you are today. Determination makes you want to continue building your credibility and increase your presence. You know you can, but you may be unsure how. Here are five tips to help you get the most out of your speaking brand.
The stage reaches many people, but one-on-one interactions are incredibly valuable whether in person or online. Prior to events (or even independent of events), reach out to people who follow you, or people you’d like to have follow you, to extend a personal invitation. Don’t neglect the low-hanging fruit that is your network’s contacts, connections, and followers.
At events, don’t wait to be approached; start conversations, and nurture and expand contacts.
For every person you meet get an email address to add to your mailing list. Regular, but not overly aggressive, emails can keep you connected with people and help them get to know and remember you. If you find that you don’t have the time or diligence to send so many emails, consider automated email.
Your speaking brand grew from your stage presence, but it isn’t limited to the stage. In fact, people will get to know you deeper when they consume and interact with content you create. Content is great because once you create it you can reuse or repurpose it in multiple ways, and share with a variety of contacts, associates, colleagues, friends, etc. Also, content is scalable, meaning you can expand material and use all or pieces of it in different situations.
Amplify your speaking brand by sharing your knowledge on social media. Reach further by turning your speaking content into educational mediums such as online courses or e-books that people will pay for. Ample learning management system plugins are available. Udemy and other similar platforms allow you to host your course, or make it accessible on your website.
Passionate people never stop telling their story. When done right, people soak up and remember it. Your story should be simple, and have a point that you arrive at quickly. You should strike the perfect balance of detail – enough so that the listener can experience the story, but not too much where they lose interest, or so little that they don’t get the point.
The more you tell your story, the easier it becomes and the more listeners will be engaged and inspired. Also, frequent telling will better enable you to observe reactions to specific parts of your story, and indicate subtle changes that enhance your delivery.
Your brand’s personality is not only important in helping connect with your audience, it helps achieve message consistency so people really feel who you are and emotionally connect with your brand. How do others see you right now? How do you want to be seen?
To decide on your speaking brand’s personality, identify values that you embody. Think about what your brand would feel, look, sound, and smell like. What kinds of friends and consumers does your brand have? If you don’t immediately know, take time to brainstorm. Then, determine how you will answer such questions to help maximize your brand’s potential.
People crave authenticity. They want to know you, so be your best. Optimize yourself by knowing and strengthening your skills. What do people tell you that they like about you? Hone those skills to differentiate yourself from competitors. It will distinguish you, versus only positioning yourself as a better version of them.
Industry demands and practices are always evolving, so continuously build your knowledge. This is an easy way to keep developing your name during political and economic changes, and not become stale. Plus, evolving your perspectives and using information from other industries to complement what you know and believe can make your message even more intriguing.
As a unique individual and speaker, you have a unique message on which to capitalize. We offer five tips to leverage your speaking brand: build and nurture relationships; write content to complement speaking topics; always be telling your story; decide what your brand looks like; and be the best you. Don’t know where to start? Think about which one might be easiest to implement. Good luck!
