A
few years ago, I had the privilege of
coaching a prominent politician from
Nigeria. While he was extremely pleased
with his improved
communication skills, there was one
trait he already possessed that
separates him from most presenters. . .
Passion!
The Power of Passion
Even though English was his second
language and his word choices were not
always perfect, you couldn't help but
give him your undivided attention. Even
though you may not have always agreed
with what he was saying, you still felt
compelled to
listen. It was clear how concerned
he was about wanting to help his country
and its people. And it was clear how
important it was to him that every
listener felt the impact of his message.
You could hear it in his voice. You
could see it in every muscle of his
body.
So how about you and your team? If you
know me, you know that I often say
"Forget your title, we're ALL in sales!"
One of my favorite definitions of
selling is that
selling is a
transfer of emotions.
When you speak, do your listeners
sense how strongly you believe in what
you're saying? It doesn't matter if
you're talking about the welfare of
children, the newest software release or
the latest financial report. If you want
people to give you their undivided
attention and feel compelled to heed
your advice, they must hear and see in
you an unwavering commitment to your
message.
Here are four tips to let
your passion show and increase the
impact of your message:
1. Believe in
the importance of your subject.
It
all starts inside. You must believe in
what you have to offer, that what you
have to say is important, and that it's
imperative for your listeners to "get
it." If you don't feel that way, stop
now -- you'll never convince anyone to
buy from you.
2. Realize that
the facts don't always speak for
themselves.
If they speak for themselves, then just
email people the facts. Otherwise, help
the facts come to life by personalizing
them. Explain to listeners why this
information is so important to you, and
more importantly, explain why it is so
important for them. Use a phrase such as
"The reason this is so important is..."
3. Move!
Motion equals emotion, and it's hard to
feel compelled to listen or take action
when listening to a monotone speaker who
never moves. Use your
body language and voice inflection
to underscore the importance of your
words. When I
coach monotone speakers, I rarely
focus on their voice. Just by adding
some purposeful body movements, their
voices automatically "move" too. For
practice, read the following sentence
four times, using different gestures and
emphasizing a different word each time:
"I didn't say he cheated on his taxes."
Review
your presentations and mark the
words that deserve special emphasis.
4. Share
stories that paint vivid pictures.
One
of the best ways to connect with an
audience is by using stories. Are you
using your personal stories to connect
with your listeners? As my friend and
master sales trainer Mike Stewart puts
it, "If you're not sharing stories, you
are missing one of the most effective
means of
creating trust and confidence with
them. They are missing a large part of
your authenticity you could be sharing
with them, and you are missing a large
part of the business they could be
sharing with you." Of course the stories
must be relevant to your message. Start
and maintain a story file that you can
turn to when preparing your
presentations so you can easily increase
the impact of your message.
