So you have a big idea you want to spread to the world? In fact you are not keen, you are dying to share it?!

I’ve been there. In fact I am a citizen in that land of limbo. So many great ideas, EPIC theories and world changing philosophies constantly boiling to the point where I often feel like I want to rip my chest open just to let it all out. Fortunately I haven’t figured out how to do that yet.

Now let me guess, your problem, like most of the rest of the world is how do you make the world stop and take notice? If so, this blog is for you.

I was recently hugely fortunate to have had the opportunity to speak on a platform called TENx with the amazing crew from Speakers Tribe Global and ten other inspiring individuals. The platform was simple, ten speakers, ten minutes each, ten EPIC visions for change and ten minutes of video playing while we spoke.  The process for me was a game-changer.

Over less than two months from around 5 January 2020 till 28^th February I spent around one hundred hours immersed in Glide to Soar, my key message reflecting on the lessons I learnt by falling from the sky and what they taught me about personal success. I relived the paragliding accident that nearly killed me again and again, remembering every detail, every emotion, all the pain.

I worked with amazing coaches from the Speakers Institute including Andy Otto, Sean Nicholas O’leary, both of whom I HIGHLY recommend, and international Keynote Speaker Sam Cawthorn. Over that short time I learnt more about speaking, about me and about what how to share Glide to Soar to make it spread like a flesh eating virus than ever before. These 5 tips are the key things I learned:

1. Be Real – So often in public we try to cover our wounds, claim perfection, we think this is what ‘they’ want. In reality the opposite is true. People connect with people. If we are honest with ourselves we all understand we are perfectly imperfect. When we show our imperfections, genuinely communicate our fears we connect not with thought but with feeling, we move emotions. This is the true power of story and how stories change lives. To paraphrase Warren Tate: “People won’t remember what you told them, they will remember how you made them feel.”
2. Storyshow don’t Storytell – This is a key concept taught by Speakers Institute and Sam Cawthorn as well as the title of his latest book. The differentiator here is getting involved in the story you are telling such that you act it out and make people feel they are there. The value gained in showing rather than telling the story is monumental in leaving a lasting impact which the audience will spread on your behalf;
3. Be Present in your Story – When I started I was trying to show my story while speaking in past tense. It was not until Andy pointed it out I realised this was completely misaligned. When you show your story, you are there (wherever) there is, and more importantly, you are trying to transport your audience to your mythical ‘there.’ You can’t be here and there at the same time, therefore if you have transported yourself back in time to your story, make sure you also transport your language and use present tense in story elements;
4. Its Not About You – One of Sam’s key messages at his bootcamps and in general is that speaking is not about you. You are there for your audience, the people you are trying to influence with your message, not the other way around. This message was echoed by multiple leading speakers at the Speakers Tribe Conference 2020 including Sharmila Nahna, Warren Tate and Catherine Malloy. Your reason for being on stage or for sharing your message needs to be bigger than about building your ego, your profile, you. The only way to truly connect with your audience is if you approach your communication for their benefit, their understanding, their growth. Remember the whole point is to spread your amazing idea, not puff up your chest.
5. Less is more – This is the MOST IMPORTANT POINT. Most websites claim the correct number of words for a presentation or speech is around 130-150 per minute resulting in 1300-1500 words in ten minutes. I disagree. To be effective at the steps above and really get your message spreading you need to invoke emotion by using pauses and be comfortable and not in a rush. You can’t do this at 150 or even 130 words per minute. Ultimately myself and many of the other TENx speakers landed on around 110 per minute on average throughout the ten minutes. This resulted in less stress, more time to pause, story show and impact everyone there.

Today I challenge you, get out there, start shining. Say YES to opportunities and believe in a bigger tomorrow. Together we CAN change the world!

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