Somewhere right now, someone is giving a talk.
They are saying all the right things, their slides are clean, the delivery is confident.
And the audience? Fine with it. In the most devastating sense of the word. A few warm handshakes, someone says “great talk,” and there’s even a bit of applause.
But of course, applause is just the politest form of dismissal. It means: thank you, we received your transmission, we are now returning to our lives.
And so the actual idea they wanted to bring across, the thing that actually mattered, that could have changed the course of this company, is almost forgotten while the applause still fades.
This happens ten thousand times a day in conference rooms and zoom calls and boardrooms all over the world. It happens to smart people with important things to say. It happens to the most prepared person. It happens, if you are completely honest with yourself, to you.
Why? Because every piece of advice you have ever received about speaking has been about you: your presence, your delivery, your nerves, your slides. Not one word about the only people who actually decide whether the idea is going to thrive or die.
That’s why even though your idea might be sound, your structure logical, your words clear, and your delivery flawless, your audience is already thinking about lunch.
While you’ve followed the rules, those rules always skewed to the thirty minutes you’re in front, not the conversation at lunch when you’re not. Or on their drive home. Or in the meeting three weeks later where your idea could change the conversation.
If you want to influence those conversations, you need to ask completely different questions.
Not what do I want to say, but what do I want them to pass along afterwards.
Not how do I give them full picture, but how do I make them curious for it.
Not how do I end strong, but what begins when I stop talking.
The best talks are the ones people can’t stop talking about. That’s why they change what people believe and do. Simply because they are still present when it matters.
For the first time, I’ve written my 5-step process down in a concise eBook (link below). It’s 9 pages, straight to the point and it shows you how to flip your talk from something you do on a stage to something they can’t stop talking about long after you’ve left the stage.
I’ve refined this approach for almost two decades in my coaching. Here’s what Richard Bretschneider, Head of Experience Strategy & Partnerships at MAI eresult and one of my early clients, had to say after a talk he gave:
“I’m overwhelmed by how many people started discussions with me afterward, how many are quoting me or mentioning me in their posts.”
Michael Rosbach, co-founder of CenterDevice recently said:
“We found words that actually made sense to the people we want to reach.”
And Andreas Gaertner, CEO of Aim & Ink had this to say:
“Suddenly we had words we’d never have found on our own. Not because we’re not capable, but because we were too close. Too caught up in the details. Now we’ve got a message that actually lands. That connects. And I know it’s going to bring in clients who wouldn’t have seen us before.”
My new guide shows you how you can do that too. Download it here for free: michaelgerharz.com/besttalk
And if you like it, please spread it far and wide. Thank you!
Keep lighting the path,
Michael
