By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here is an idea to help tune into your audience more directly.

It’s instructive to note that the accent falls on the U in the word communicate. That’s why the most effective leaders I know first make a You-turn INTO the audience long before directing their message TO the audience. These speaking leaders know they have to deliver the Audience to the speech long before delivering the Speech to the audience.

These speaking leaders know their audience is always tuned into the most listened to radio station in the world – WIIFM (What’s In IT for Me). That’s why they adopt a three step process in delivering the Audience to the speech.

They (1) tune into the same WIIFM station that the audience is listening to so that they can personally feel what the audience feels. They (2) weave those feelings – those threads of hope and despair—into a net of mutual understanding that surrounds the speaker and the audience. And they (3) tug ever so gently on that net of mutual understanding to pull the audience toward the speaker –and into—the message.

These speaking leaders heed the advice of Benjamin Disraeli, the former British Prime Minister, who said: “Talk to a man about himself and he will listen for hours. As speaking leaders, they transform the audience’s feelings into poignant words – words that prick the heart and soul of each person in the audience. Words that prick them personally. Words that prick them passionately. Words that prick them powerfully. Continue reading “Personal Communications: Tuning In To WII-FM” →