Back in my graphic designer days, I always liked being the hero. I would walk into a client meeting and solve all the printing and design projects they were struggling with.
The truth is 99% of business people are not visually oriented. But since I had been doing this since the dinosaurs invented the printing press, it was, as they say, like rolling off a log. Easy-peasy.
But I was missing the bigger deal.
The rather brilliant Donald Miller, founder and chief guru at StoryBrand, likes to tell folks to avoid being the clueless but brave Luke Skywalker (as I was attempting) and instead become the wise Yoda to your clients.
This is his advice for positioning your marketing message to the world. It makes a lot of sense.
Let the clients be the hero. Let them slay their particular dragons and conquer Mount Doom. (I know I am mixing up a lot of metaphors here.)
When you are the Yoda you are giving them a nugget of hard won wisdom that will help them solve THEIR OWN PROBLEMS.
It is a very subtle switch, but it places you at the top of the heap of valuable trusted advisors. You have now become indispensable.
Where is all this going?
Well, this makes a lot of sense for speakers (both pro and serious business speakers) as well.
Now that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t walk to the front of whatever room you are in and establish yourself as the hero. This is a very valid technique.
You can be the one who swoops in and rescues everyone from their sad problems. This is a great position to be in. You can advance your career or business or bank account accordingly.
But as the Yoda, the speaker who gives your audience that little jewel of your brilliance that they can use to solve their problem, you become a super-duper hero. The guide who can give them the tools so that they can be the hero.
Zig is famously quoted as saying “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”
Sounds like Zig wants us to like Yoda be.
Good Yoda advice clicking here you will get (without the confusing word play): https://ready2speak.com/coaching
Tom
