RAISING YOUR PROFILE BY KEEPING IT TOPICAL
The World Is Changing for Speakers
As speakers we are often thinking about raising our profile and I would like to share with you my observations on the importance of ‘keeping your message topical’. I am sure you have heard many times, the phrase “it is not what you know but who you know that will determine the speed and level of your success” – my belief is that this philosophy has changed in the past 5 years. With the massively escalating size of the social media world, on-line followings, TV, Radio and other public information vehicles all turning to the internet to find out who is saying what; it is not who you know anymore – it is who knows you that counts.
I was recently speaking with an established and successful TV personality and someone who has raised her profile through a variety of PR strategies and she told me that reporters and TV researchers watch the internet sites, Facebook, Twitter accounts and BLOGs to find out what people are saying. If there is enough interest in that person’s message and people are following with interest, then the media want to talk!
As speakers, it is not enough to simply have a message to share, we have to have a message that is on the mark, current and that has relevance. From my own experience of speaking in public for over 20 years, one thing that has really struck me is that our audiences are now more tuned into the global picture than ever before. We cannot afford to be complacent or to assume a certain level of ignorance in those that we are delivering to. Our message must be clear, meaningful to the listener and most of all TOPICAL.
Why is Topical So Important?
I speak in the corporate, not-for-profit and personal development arenas in which each audience has a different need. I am sure it is the same for you. However, every single member of that audience, at the very moment that they are listening to you, has their own personal issues going on in their lives. The world around them, be it global, national or right inside their own home, impacts their every day emotions, activities, relationships and financial lives. If you are able to tune into what are the topical issues in the outside world that are affecting your audiences on a real, day-to-day level then you will create an instant connection.
Topical is what people are talking about that day or week. It is what is in the newspapers or on the radio and TV. If you have a voice that can speak into this arena with a bold and brave message your audiences will listen and respect you. They will talk to friends on Facebook about you, they will Twitter about you and BLOG about you. If you are doing the same thing you will create flow. Flow is good. It puts a spotlight on you.
Be Bold, Be Different and Be Relevant
Although being Topical is a vital part of this recipe for success, it is not enough. You must make your message relevant to the area or business that you specialize in. When I am training a speaker, I play a little game where we look at a newspaper or a news article online and then I get them to create a link between the topical news article and the message they want to get across. The more refined you can get at this, the quicker you will be able to adapt to everyday news stories and longer standing topical issues. Don’t over sell yourself too early. Be bold on what your message is and make statements that will provoke a genuine level of discussion in people’s minds.
If you can stand out, be bold and at the same time keep what you are saying, your message and product relevant to the audience, then you will build trust. If you do this, then you can broaden your delivery to other subjects that you wish to talk about; but only once trust has been built.
Experiment
The first step is to watch the news, read a paper, go online and see what people are talking about. Then identify how best to link the Topical subject with the underlying message that you wish to portray. Aim for three strong links. Make the links relevant to the type of audience that you are speaking to, with language and examples they can relate to and bingo you will have a skeleton of a presentation. Then give it a go and fine-tune it.
