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

I am binge watching/listening/reading this certain marketing guru. After a few listens I caught this interesting little tactic he uses. I am sure at first it was intentional but after his years of delivering his content in various ways it sounds almost unconscious. And it is so simple.

So, “let me give you an example.”

Did you catch it? He would make a point about his work – a suggestion or a principle or an observation and he would immediately follow it with the words: “Let me give you an example” or some variation. Then he would give an example.

So simple.

By the way, substitute the word “story” for the word “example” in the previous statement and you can see how cool this little technique is.

His phrase “let me give you an example” was a tiny segue into a story that would demonstrate and humanize his point.

When you think of quick stories in this way you can remove a lot of the angst that comes with creating that perfect story – just give an example.

You don’t need a hero or an antagonist or a story arch or a journey or a moral. Just tell us a quick story of someone or some situation you know that demonstrates the principle. We all know those right?

Here is another example. (too obvious?)

At a recent NSA Georgia meeting (that’s the Georgia chapter of the National Speakers Association) I heard a superstar A-list speaker use a similar technique in her presentation.

She was walking her audience through a step-by-step worksheet. Each component had a specific set of instructions for the audience to fill in as they went along.

As she listed each instruction, she would pause and immediately say “Let me give you an example”. She would then tell us how the fictitious person she was using to demonstrate her idea would fill out this form.

It turned a vague idea of how we should complete the task into a specific (and human) illustration we could easily follow.

Now, I could give you all the same blah, blah, blah you hear from me and everyone else about the power of stories.

You know all that stuff.

But if you are like most presenters, you struggle trying to find and polish those little nuggets. You can build fuller stories later when you become more adapt, but for now, this is a terrific starting strategy for including simple stories in your presentations.

Need fresh stories for your latest offering? I have shelves full of crisp, tasty stories over at Ready2Speak Street. https://ready2speak.com/coaching

Tom

P.S. Did you also notice that when you read the phrase “Let me give you an example” in my rant above you maybe leaned in a bit and started anticipating the story to come? Another great benefit of not only this technique but of using stories in general.

Imagine preparing for your next presentation and you know there is one word that can change the entire tone of your talk right from the beginning.

Imagine using this word to actually open your presentation. It would be the very first word, the first sound, that would come from your lips.

Imagine that this word is so powerful it immediately grabs the audience’s collective minds, places your topic into their thoughts and invites them to explore your ideas in their world.

Imagine this word is your secret weapon, people don’t notice you are using its superpowers until it’s too late – until they are well down the path of your ideas.

Imagine this one word can be used just about anywhere in your presentation: to open, to close, to begin a story, anywhere you want to bring your audience back into your world with maximum effect.

Imagine that this word comes with the danger of diluting it – using it too much. So, you are careful and apply it sparingly for maximum effect.

Imagine using this super word for your very next presentation.

Cool huh?

Imagine becoming a much more confident, engaging presenter! Try this guy: https://ready2speak.com/coaching

Tom

P.S. What if there were 2 words that you could use that would open your audience’s minds and invite them to take on a great quest with you? There are.