Thanks for joining us again today on the journey to becoming a world-class communicator. I really can’t wait to share with you some masterful content from my dear friend and communication expert, Pat Quinn. As a professional consultant and speaker, he has keynoted some of the biggest conferences out there and has spoken with audiences all around the world. He has consulted with professional speakers, pastors, and business leaders to help them improve their presenting skills and more effectively deliver their message. He has personally helped thousands, if not tens of thousands of our customers and he truly knows what it means to be a world-class communicator. This guy is the best of the best. Take it away, Pat!
How to be a World-Class Communicator: Pat Quinn
Like many of you, I had a message inside of me that I knew could change the world. I knew it could create revenue for me and my family, but more importantly, I knew it could improve the lives of others.The problem was, I didn’t know how to communicate in a way that inspired people to take action and change.
Communication isn’t about entertainment or getting people to cry. It’s about getting people to take action – convert. What percentage of people who listen to you actually take the next steps you recommend for them? Conversion is what creates revenue and changes lives.
Your signature talk is the one way that you explain to other people what you do and how you do it. You may have 5 minutes or 45 minutes. You may be speaking to one person or thousands of people. You may be on a stage or across from someone at Starbucks. No matter what your situation may be, your signature talk will be the greatest marketing tool that your business has. It’s vitally important that you know how to present your signature talk. When trying to convert others, people will often start with the stuff that they know that other people don’t know, or their offer, or emotional story. Do NOT do this. These are all false starts!. I’m going to share with you a framework that will help you order your talk in a way that invites people in to see the real value of your message.
The Storybraid Framework.
The Storybraid Framework is composed of four parts: heart, head, hands and heart. THE ORDER MATTERS! Let’s dive deeper into each section…
Heart: Share Your Heart
You want to open your talk with a heart story in order to connect with your audience. You want to share a personal story, but you want to make sure it’s one you have in common with your audience. Look at the stories of your life and ask yourself which one would get the maximum number of people to say that same thing happened to them.
For example, should I use the story of when I spoke in Memphis, TN in the Pyramid to 12,000 people? OR should I share the story of when I spoke in a ballroom to 6 people, 3 of which didn’t return after lunch (which made me feel I wasn’t as good as I thought I was)? The second one! Why? Because every single one of you has had a day where there’s a voice in your head that says, “You’re not quite as good as you think you are.” And maybe, “You don’t deserve to be on this stage. Your story isn’t enough.” When people can relate to your story, they will be better prepared to receive the message you have to share.
Head: Share Your Content
1- Don’t Overwhelm Your Audience
Most people get here and teach way too much which tends to leave their audience scared, overwhelmed, and confused. When people are overwhelmed with content, they freeze and don’t move forward with you. They become unable to make decisions. When you teach less you actually help more, and you allow people to feel empowered, not overwhelmed.
How do you know if you have too much content?
- You’re rushed and out of breath.
- You apologize in your presentation and say something like, “I’m sorry, this is a lot of information.”
- You have more than 40 slides.
2- Bring Value to Your Audience
If in the time that you had in front of them you didn’t help them, then why would they work with you? When you give someone your best stuff, they’ll pay you to do it again.
3- Small Changes For Big Outcomes
When you’re teaching people something that will change their lives, frame it as a small change. Don’t frame it as a big change. Why? Because most people don’t like change. Start with what won’t change.The smaller the change, the more people who will adopt it, even if the outcome of that change is radical. I also suggest you use your first name in this section of sharing your content. This may seem strange to you, but I have found that one of the biggest barriers to your audience comfortably contacting you after your presentation, is them not knowing how to address you. This may keep them from moving forward and working with you.
Hands: Share Your Call to Action or Tactical Offer
This is the part of your talk where you tell the audience specifically what you want them to do next, but you don’t want to end the presentation here.
Some action steps for your audience might be to:
- Sign up for your free newsletter
- Join your Facebook group
- Schedule a free call, appointment, or assessment
- Download a free resource
- Buy your course, coaching, product, or service
- Sign a contract
You must have at least ONE call to action. When you offer your audience no options, they will freeze and not make any decision.
Heart: Make an Emotional Close
About 80% of speakers end their presentation with their call to action, which is a mistake because over 50% of your audience are not tactical decision makers – they’re emotional decision makers. Always follow your tactical call to action with an emotional call to action.
If you wanna take your story and turn it into a revenue generating tool, go to storybraid.com and get the free resources that’ll help you turn your story into a signature talk using the four-part story braid framework: heart, head, hand, and heart.
