Everyone Has A Stage – What’s Yours?

Almost all of your results, both positive and negative, can be linked back to your communications. Whether it is one-to-one or one-to-many, there are times where you must be able to move others with your message to achieve more success.

If life is your stage, who is it that you need to engage in order to achieve more and make a bigger difference?

So . . .What is your stage and who is in YOUR audience?

In your personal life your audience is made up of your relationships, friends, family and community.

At work, your stage could consist of your co-workers, employees, another department or committee.

As an entrepreneur, business or sales person, your audience is primarily comprised of your prospects, customers, clients, vendors or investors, as well as your overall consumer marketplace.

And . . . of course, if you are a leader, speaker, trainer or consultant, your stage is the group of people in your audience that you want to be able to enroll with your offer, message, or call to action.

The most successful people in the world are those who are able to effectively communicate, influence and engage others to buy into their message, mission, vision, or in the products or services they offer.

To accomplish this it’s not enough to be liked. You must communicate with your audience in a way that causes them to feel that you can be trusted!

There is a belief that people do tend to buy from people they like. It’s even more likely that prospects will buy from people they trust.

Think about this as it relates to your personal relationships. You may really like someone, but how strong is your commitment to furthering your connection if you don’t really trust that person? Without trust you open the door to doubt, fear and jealousy. The same is true in business.

Think of this example. Not everyone liked Steve Jobs when he was leading the charge at Apple. Yet he still achieved amazing results because he was able to influence others enough to trust him and buy into his vision and dreams.

It’s true, there were also times when some in his audience felt Steve wasn’t trustworthy and it cost him dearly with relationships, time and resources.

What’s really impressive is that there was little physical evidence that existed to prove that his colossal ideas could be achieved, or if they would even work. Just like so many other business owners and entrepreneurs he had to take to the stage often in an effort to convince his audience otherwise.

Steve Jobs’ stage originally consisted of his family, his friends and early business partners. His stage then became his investors, employees, strategic alliances, sub contractors, political allies and eventually the consumers like you and me in the marketplace.

How often do you think he needed to enroll or persuade others from his stage to continually buy into his vision in order to keep his project and his dreams alive?

Whether it was one-on-one, in the boardroom, at investor meetings or even televised new product launches, Steve’s success, and failures, can be traced back directly to his ability to create a feeling of excitement and anticipation of what was coming. He mastered the ability to enroll whoever his audience happened to be at the time.

To positively influence any audience from your stage it’s not just what you say or the promises you make about what your company or product can do.

It is not just about the facts, features or benefits of your idea, service or mission.

It is not just about the logic of what it is, how it works or what it will do for the consumer or the market.

Your success in influencing your audience comes down to the feeling you leave your audience with . . . period!

Does your message instill a positive feeling like love, trust or confidence in you from your listener? Does it create a compelling future for them?

It is the feeling your audience is left with about you and what you are promoting as to whether or not they will buy into what you’re offering.

Remember your audience buys with and from emotion and justifies their decision with logic. Without the emotional investment from your listener your conversions will suffer.

You must first understand your audiences needs and wants before you engage them. You must then cause them to feel that what you are offering is a solution to their problems and will make their life more enjoyable.

You will accomplish more when you are able to position yourself as an entertaining educator and trusted authority where you paint the picture of a compelling and positive future and a feeling that motivates your listener to take action.

Regardless of your stage, invest in mastering the communications necessary to engage your audience and leave them with a feeling that will result in deeper commitment, connection . . . and standing ovations, when speaking.

When you accomplish this you will get the results to elevate your influence, impact and income!