1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,800 Carol Cox: Hear why you don't want your audience to say 2 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:05,320 I learned a lot at your next keynote. 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:08,320 Instead, here are three must-haves to make 4 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:09,960 your keynote unforgettable, 5 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,080 on this episode of the Speaking Your Brand 6 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:20,160 podcast. More and more women are making an 7 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,240 impact by starting businesses, 8 00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:25,000 running for office, and speaking up for what 9 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,960 matters. With my background as a TV political 10 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:29,560 analyst, entrepreneur, 11 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:32,200 and speaker, I interview and coach purpose 12 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:34,640 driven women to shape their brands, 13 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:36,960 grow their companies, and become recognized 14 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,280 as influencers in their field. 15 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:41,880 This is speaking your brand, 16 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:44,280 your place to learn how to persuasively 17 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:48,520 communicate your message to your audience. 18 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:50,000 Hi there and welcome to the Speaking Your 19 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:51,440 Brand podcast. I'm your host, 20 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:54,880 Carol Cox. I hope you enjoyed the four part 21 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:57,960 series that we just finished up called Booked 22 00:00:57,960 --> 00:00:59,320 Without Burnout. 23 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:01,970 There are short, actionable episodes to help 24 00:01:01,970 --> 00:01:04,050 you book more speaking engagements with 25 00:01:04,090 --> 00:01:06,730 outbound strategies, inbound strategies, 26 00:01:06,730 --> 00:01:08,010 how to get paid to speak, 27 00:01:08,010 --> 00:01:11,170 and even if you should ever pay to speak. 28 00:01:11,170 --> 00:01:12,690 So definitely go back and check out that 29 00:01:12,690 --> 00:01:15,530 series. Today, I'm taking you behind the 30 00:01:15,530 --> 00:01:18,570 scenes of a keynote I recently gave at a 31 00:01:18,570 --> 00:01:20,850 conference for their women's luncheon. 32 00:01:20,890 --> 00:01:23,930 The title of my talk was From Invisible to 33 00:01:23,970 --> 00:01:26,770 Influential how I Found My Voice and Why 34 00:01:26,810 --> 00:01:28,850 Yours Matters More than Ever. 35 00:01:28,850 --> 00:01:30,810 So yes, very much right up my alley. 36 00:01:31,170 --> 00:01:33,770 It was a great event and as I reflected 37 00:01:33,770 --> 00:01:36,210 afterwards, I realized that there were three 38 00:01:36,410 --> 00:01:38,730 big strategies that can help you the next 39 00:01:38,730 --> 00:01:41,090 time you're preparing a keynote. 40 00:01:41,490 --> 00:01:44,570 Here's what women said to me afterwards. 41 00:01:44,770 --> 00:01:46,690 They said it was inspiring. 42 00:01:46,690 --> 00:01:48,370 They said it was phenomenal. 43 00:01:48,410 --> 00:01:50,050 They said it was excellent. 44 00:01:50,090 --> 00:01:53,090 They told me that they really resonated with 45 00:01:53,130 --> 00:01:55,650 my story, even though they hadn't been in the 46 00:01:55,650 --> 00:01:57,970 exact situation I had been in. 47 00:01:58,250 --> 00:02:00,810 They understood what it felt like to use your 48 00:02:00,810 --> 00:02:03,150 voice and then lose it and then regain it 49 00:02:03,150 --> 00:02:06,190 again. A couple of women also like me, 50 00:02:06,190 --> 00:02:07,870 said that they're introverts, and they were 51 00:02:07,870 --> 00:02:10,990 really inspired that I shared how I was an 52 00:02:10,990 --> 00:02:13,030 introvert, but I still found a way to use my 53 00:02:13,030 --> 00:02:15,910 voice. And now they believed they could too. 54 00:02:16,710 --> 00:02:19,510 Now here's what women in the audience didn't 55 00:02:19,510 --> 00:02:20,950 say to me afterwards. 56 00:02:21,310 --> 00:02:22,910 They didn't come up to me and say, 57 00:02:23,310 --> 00:02:26,190 I learned a lot, or thank you for all of 58 00:02:26,190 --> 00:02:28,950 those tips and tactical things that you 59 00:02:28,950 --> 00:02:32,390 taught me. You do not want to hear that after 60 00:02:32,390 --> 00:02:34,150 you deliver a keynote. 61 00:02:34,390 --> 00:02:37,270 That is what I call being stuck in the expert 62 00:02:37,310 --> 00:02:39,990 trap, especially when delivering a keynote. 63 00:02:40,150 --> 00:02:42,710 Because in a keynote you don't want to 64 00:02:42,990 --> 00:02:45,990 inform, you want to transform. 65 00:02:46,310 --> 00:02:48,470 But I know that we're so used to giving 66 00:02:48,470 --> 00:02:50,910 presentations, whether they're in person or 67 00:02:50,910 --> 00:02:53,030 virtual, that we kind of get stuck in this 68 00:02:53,030 --> 00:02:54,430 training and teaching mode, 69 00:02:54,430 --> 00:02:56,550 where we just want to give them a whole bunch 70 00:02:56,550 --> 00:02:58,950 of information, a list of things that they 71 00:02:58,950 --> 00:03:00,950 can do to improve themselves. 72 00:03:01,230 --> 00:03:03,640 But that's not what a keynote is for. 73 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:07,000 A keynote is to provide an experience for the 74 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,200 audience, to help them to see something 75 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:10,880 differently about themselves, 76 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:13,520 or their industry, or their world or all 77 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,960 three, and to have them believe that they can 78 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,600 do it. There are three strategies that you 79 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:21,720 can use to make this happen. 80 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,120 I love working with our clients on their 81 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,400 keynotes because I enjoy pulling out of them, 82 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,080 not only their ideas and the lessons they've 83 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:32,960 learned in their careers and in their 84 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:35,840 businesses, but also their stories and 85 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,160 connecting what's meaningful about their 86 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:40,920 story, about their journey to these lessons 87 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:43,040 that they want to share with their audience. 88 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:45,240 If you would like to work with us to create 89 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:47,360 your incredible keynote talk, 90 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:50,000 your Ted talk, or your lead generation 91 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,960 presentation, we can work with you on any of 92 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:54,600 those or all of those. 93 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:57,240 Go to speaking your Brand.com and schedule a 94 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:59,360 call with us. I always enjoy talking to 95 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,180 podcast listeners and I would love to hear 96 00:04:02,300 --> 00:04:04,540 what your goals are, what you're working on, 97 00:04:04,540 --> 00:04:06,860 and potentially how we could work together. 98 00:04:07,260 --> 00:04:09,980 Now let's dive into these three strategies 99 00:04:09,980 --> 00:04:12,860 that you can use to make your keynote not 100 00:04:12,860 --> 00:04:16,020 only unforgettable, but also impactful for 101 00:04:16,020 --> 00:04:19,100 your audience. Strategy number one is 102 00:04:19,220 --> 00:04:21,380 storytelling at the core. 103 00:04:21,380 --> 00:04:22,860 And I know if you've been listening to this 104 00:04:22,860 --> 00:04:25,140 podcast, I talk quite a bit about the 105 00:04:25,140 --> 00:04:26,860 importance of storytelling. 106 00:04:27,220 --> 00:04:29,180 When you're giving a keynote, I know the 107 00:04:29,180 --> 00:04:31,420 temptation is to fill it with tips, 108 00:04:31,420 --> 00:04:32,940 tactics, and takeaways, 109 00:04:32,940 --> 00:04:34,700 especially, like I mentioned, if you're used 110 00:04:34,700 --> 00:04:37,740 to teaching workshops or giving trainings, 111 00:04:37,740 --> 00:04:39,460 but your audience doesn't need more 112 00:04:39,460 --> 00:04:41,860 information, especially if you're doing a 113 00:04:41,900 --> 00:04:43,220 keynote. They want to sit back, 114 00:04:43,260 --> 00:04:45,700 they want to relax, and they want to have an 115 00:04:45,700 --> 00:04:47,940 experience. So I want you to focus on 116 00:04:47,940 --> 00:04:51,100 creating connection and transformation. 117 00:04:51,100 --> 00:04:52,980 And that happens through story. 118 00:04:53,580 --> 00:04:55,220 In the keynote that I gave recently. 119 00:04:55,220 --> 00:04:57,180 And I have shared this particular story in 120 00:04:57,180 --> 00:04:59,140 other keynotes that I've delivered as well, 121 00:04:59,340 --> 00:05:02,190 came from a time earlier in my career When I 122 00:05:02,190 --> 00:05:04,950 was involved in politics for a while, 123 00:05:04,950 --> 00:05:08,470 everything was great until it wasn't because 124 00:05:08,470 --> 00:05:10,910 I became a woman with too much of a public 125 00:05:10,910 --> 00:05:12,550 voice and a public presence, 126 00:05:12,550 --> 00:05:14,270 and the people who had been my biggest 127 00:05:14,270 --> 00:05:16,590 supporters and cheerleaders all of a sudden 128 00:05:16,630 --> 00:05:18,310 were not. I was bullied, 129 00:05:18,510 --> 00:05:22,190 I was undermined, and I really felt so alone 130 00:05:22,190 --> 00:05:25,310 and so vulnerable that I ended up not running 131 00:05:25,310 --> 00:05:27,190 for re-election as chairperson and not 132 00:05:27,190 --> 00:05:29,270 eventually running for Congress. 133 00:05:29,550 --> 00:05:31,510 And it was really devastating. 134 00:05:31,670 --> 00:05:34,310 And I lost my voice for many years after 135 00:05:34,310 --> 00:05:37,430 that. Now, this story does not make me feel 136 00:05:37,430 --> 00:05:39,430 like the empowered woman that I imagined 137 00:05:39,430 --> 00:05:40,990 myself that I was back then, 138 00:05:40,990 --> 00:05:43,230 or that I like to think that I am now. 139 00:05:43,230 --> 00:05:45,150 But the story is really real. 140 00:05:45,150 --> 00:05:46,310 It happened to me. 141 00:05:46,310 --> 00:05:48,470 And even though I know most of the time in 142 00:05:48,470 --> 00:05:50,390 the audience, there aren't women who have had 143 00:05:50,390 --> 00:05:52,310 that exact same experience. 144 00:05:52,310 --> 00:05:54,630 They may have had something similar. 145 00:05:54,670 --> 00:05:56,990 I took that story that I told relatively 146 00:05:56,990 --> 00:05:58,670 early on in the keynote. 147 00:05:58,670 --> 00:06:00,590 So this was in act one of our three act 148 00:06:00,590 --> 00:06:03,360 framework. And then I drew three lessons from 149 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:05,080 that story that I shared with the audience. 150 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:06,280 So this is really key. 151 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:08,560 You don't just tell a story just for the sake 152 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:09,720 of telling a story. 153 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:11,440 You're sharing a story because there's 154 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:13,600 lessons that you're drawing from it that are 155 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:15,280 going to be helpful to the audience. 156 00:06:15,280 --> 00:06:18,000 So your keynotes are still really helpful and 157 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,600 impactful, but they're not tips and tactics. 158 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:22,960 So when you're thinking about your next 159 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:25,200 keynote or that style of talk, 160 00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:28,080 ask yourself, what's the story that you could 161 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:30,960 share? What's a moment in your life or your 162 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,080 career? When things shifted now, 163 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:34,400 they could have shifted in a way that you 164 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:36,320 didn't necessarily like at the time, 165 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:37,880 like what happened to me, 166 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:39,960 but you learned something from that. 167 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:42,520 So how can you share those learnings with 168 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:45,040 your audience? That is the core of 169 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:46,840 storytelling in your keynote. 170 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:49,760 So that brings us to strategy number two, 171 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:51,680 which is structure. 172 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:54,240 So now that you have decided which story is 173 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:55,800 the best fit for that keynote, 174 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:57,680 for that event, for that audience, 175 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,960 then you want to structure your keynote with 176 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,660 the rule of three. So now you are in act two 177 00:07:03,660 --> 00:07:05,260 of our three act framework. 178 00:07:05,420 --> 00:07:07,620 And so in that, act two is where you're kind 179 00:07:07,620 --> 00:07:10,300 of getting into the meat of your talk. 180 00:07:10,300 --> 00:07:12,180 So instead of just dumping a whole bunch of 181 00:07:12,180 --> 00:07:14,740 information on your audience or a whole bunch 182 00:07:14,740 --> 00:07:17,180 of just kind of random lessons, 183 00:07:17,180 --> 00:07:19,820 you want to organize your talk around this 184 00:07:19,820 --> 00:07:22,140 rule of three. So it could be three lessons, 185 00:07:22,140 --> 00:07:24,540 three principles, three pillars, 186 00:07:24,540 --> 00:07:27,100 or even three stages of a journey that people 187 00:07:27,100 --> 00:07:30,340 go through as they learn the lessons that you 188 00:07:30,380 --> 00:07:31,580 learned from your story. 189 00:07:31,940 --> 00:07:33,580 So for my story that I shared, 190 00:07:33,580 --> 00:07:35,900 I pulled out three lessons that the audience 191 00:07:35,900 --> 00:07:38,420 could apply to their own lives. 192 00:07:38,420 --> 00:07:39,860 And because it was three, 193 00:07:39,900 --> 00:07:43,460 not seven or not ten, it was easy for them to 194 00:07:43,500 --> 00:07:45,820 follow, remember, and then think of 195 00:07:45,860 --> 00:07:47,940 afterwards. So in my case, 196 00:07:47,940 --> 00:07:50,340 the three lessons that I shared were number 197 00:07:50,340 --> 00:07:53,260 one to know your why and your goal. 198 00:07:53,260 --> 00:07:56,220 So you, as the person who is using your voice 199 00:07:56,220 --> 00:07:57,980 as the person who's communicating, 200 00:07:58,060 --> 00:07:59,940 what is your North star? 201 00:08:00,100 --> 00:08:01,540 What is it that matters to you? 202 00:08:01,580 --> 00:08:03,150 Kind of your mission and your vision, 203 00:08:03,150 --> 00:08:05,510 your bigger why and the goal that you have. 204 00:08:05,550 --> 00:08:07,470 Because when I was telling that story about 205 00:08:07,470 --> 00:08:08,990 what happened to me in politics, 206 00:08:08,990 --> 00:08:11,110 I kind of forgot about my bigger why. 207 00:08:11,310 --> 00:08:13,590 When I got it, when I got sucked into what 208 00:08:13,590 --> 00:08:16,590 was going on, and I really felt so alone and 209 00:08:16,590 --> 00:08:17,750 didn't know what to do. 210 00:08:18,110 --> 00:08:20,190 And then the second lesson that I shared was, 211 00:08:20,230 --> 00:08:22,870 okay, it's fine to know your why and your 212 00:08:22,870 --> 00:08:24,870 goal, but you also have to know your 213 00:08:24,870 --> 00:08:27,510 audience's why and their goal and what they 214 00:08:27,550 --> 00:08:29,390 want from communication, 215 00:08:29,390 --> 00:08:32,590 because kind of the larger umbrella topic of 216 00:08:32,590 --> 00:08:34,310 this particular luncheon was about 217 00:08:34,310 --> 00:08:37,190 communication. So I had what is it for you? 218 00:08:37,190 --> 00:08:39,070 And then what is it for the person on the 219 00:08:39,070 --> 00:08:40,990 other end, whether it's one person or a group 220 00:08:40,990 --> 00:08:42,710 of people that you're talking to? 221 00:08:42,750 --> 00:08:44,230 So that was a second lesson. 222 00:08:44,230 --> 00:08:46,150 And then the third lesson was the importance 223 00:08:46,150 --> 00:08:47,870 of sharing stories, because of course, that's 224 00:08:47,870 --> 00:08:49,990 what I'm going to talk about is storytelling. 225 00:08:50,030 --> 00:08:51,750 I took my very particular story, 226 00:08:51,750 --> 00:08:54,070 but then I found these three universal 227 00:08:54,070 --> 00:08:56,110 lessons to pull out of it. 228 00:08:56,550 --> 00:08:58,910 So when you're working on your keynote, 229 00:08:58,910 --> 00:09:02,390 resist the urge to say all the things or to 230 00:09:02,570 --> 00:09:04,730 draw a whole bunch of different lessons from 231 00:09:04,730 --> 00:09:05,890 it instead. 232 00:09:05,930 --> 00:09:08,130 Think of three key things three lessons, 233 00:09:08,130 --> 00:09:10,490 three principles, or three stages that you 234 00:09:10,490 --> 00:09:12,210 can share with your audience. 235 00:09:12,530 --> 00:09:14,530 Strategy number three. 236 00:09:14,530 --> 00:09:17,930 And this is one I feel like a lot of keynote 237 00:09:17,930 --> 00:09:20,770 speakers forget to do if it doesn't come 238 00:09:20,770 --> 00:09:24,410 naturally to them, is humor and audience 239 00:09:24,410 --> 00:09:25,690 participation. 240 00:09:25,690 --> 00:09:27,730 If you're used to giving workshops, 241 00:09:27,730 --> 00:09:30,370 you're probably used to having the audience 242 00:09:30,370 --> 00:09:32,090 interact with you, especially if you're doing 243 00:09:32,090 --> 00:09:34,770 workshops or maybe 20 or up to 50 people. 244 00:09:34,810 --> 00:09:36,930 It makes it a little bit easier to have 245 00:09:36,930 --> 00:09:39,610 audience participation because it's expected 246 00:09:39,970 --> 00:09:41,050 with the keynote. 247 00:09:41,610 --> 00:09:45,130 Audience participation is more unusual, 248 00:09:45,130 --> 00:09:46,850 especially at a luncheon. 249 00:09:47,130 --> 00:09:50,530 Fortunately, when I started my delivery, 250 00:09:50,530 --> 00:09:52,010 they had already finished lunch. 251 00:09:52,010 --> 00:09:53,690 They were kind of starting on dessert. 252 00:09:53,690 --> 00:09:56,050 It's really hard to be a keynote speaker when 253 00:09:56,050 --> 00:09:57,330 people are eating lunch, 254 00:09:57,330 --> 00:09:59,370 like actually eating the main course. 255 00:09:59,370 --> 00:10:01,890 If that is the situation you find that you 256 00:10:01,890 --> 00:10:03,900 might be in. See if you can talk to the event 257 00:10:03,900 --> 00:10:06,500 organizers about adjusting the timing so that 258 00:10:06,500 --> 00:10:08,340 at least you're starting your talk when 259 00:10:08,340 --> 00:10:10,900 they're kind of finishing clearing the main 260 00:10:10,900 --> 00:10:12,380 plates, because otherwise you're competing 261 00:10:12,380 --> 00:10:14,500 with, you know, clinking of the silverware on 262 00:10:14,500 --> 00:10:17,700 the dishes. Okay, so they had finished their 263 00:10:17,860 --> 00:10:19,900 main meal and they were kind of putting 264 00:10:19,940 --> 00:10:22,620 having dessert. So when I started my talk, 265 00:10:22,660 --> 00:10:25,700 I had an exercise, an audience participation 266 00:10:25,700 --> 00:10:28,660 exercise right away where I divided the room 267 00:10:28,660 --> 00:10:30,940 into two sides, one side on the right, 268 00:10:30,940 --> 00:10:31,980 one side on the left. 269 00:10:31,980 --> 00:10:34,940 And then I had them sing the song that I sing 270 00:10:34,980 --> 00:10:37,420 along with them. Very well known children's 271 00:10:37,620 --> 00:10:40,340 song. And then once I did one thing and one 272 00:10:40,340 --> 00:10:41,900 side, then the other, I'm not going to spoil 273 00:10:41,900 --> 00:10:44,740 it because you may see me speak one day in 274 00:10:44,740 --> 00:10:46,620 the future, but it was a lot of fun and the 275 00:10:46,620 --> 00:10:48,500 audience did it. And then I asked them 276 00:10:48,500 --> 00:10:50,740 questions about how it felt to be on one side 277 00:10:50,740 --> 00:10:51,780 versus the other. 278 00:10:51,780 --> 00:10:54,540 And so it was a fun way to get them involved 279 00:10:54,540 --> 00:10:56,460 right away, to kind of get them focused on me 280 00:10:56,460 --> 00:10:58,820 in the front of the room instead of on the 281 00:10:58,820 --> 00:11:00,260 food that they were eating. 282 00:11:00,660 --> 00:11:02,620 And then at the very end of the talk, 283 00:11:02,660 --> 00:11:05,360 I brought it back to what we had started with 284 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:07,360 at that, beginning with that exercise. 285 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:10,000 And so I had everyone stand up and do this 286 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:11,920 fun thing. Again, I'm not going to spoil it 287 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:13,720 here with what exactly it was, 288 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:15,080 but it was energetic. 289 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:16,920 It left the keynote on a high, 290 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:19,040 and it got the audience involved from the 291 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:21,080 very beginning until the end. 292 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:23,080 So just because you're delivering a keynote, 293 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:25,920 just because you're delivering a keynote at a 294 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:27,560 luncheon, just because you're delivering a 295 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:29,960 keynote to a large room does not mean you 296 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,360 can't have audience participation. 297 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:35,440 You can. Now, the next part of this third 298 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:37,160 strategy is humor. 299 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:39,960 Humor is so important for every talk that you 300 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:42,200 give, especially for keynotes, 301 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:44,360 because again, keynotes are not about 302 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,120 trainings. They're not about a whole bunch of 303 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:49,480 tactical things that you're giving people. 304 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:51,480 They're about an experience. 305 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:54,720 And the way that audiences remember things is 306 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:56,000 through emotion. 307 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:58,240 Emotion could be wistfulness. 308 00:11:58,440 --> 00:11:59,960 It could be nostalgia. 309 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:03,410 It could be a little bit of not not. 310 00:12:03,450 --> 00:12:04,730 You don't necessarily want to make your 311 00:12:04,730 --> 00:12:06,530 audience sad, but you could have a story 312 00:12:06,530 --> 00:12:08,010 that's a little bit heavier. 313 00:12:08,010 --> 00:12:10,450 And then especially you have to make sure 314 00:12:10,450 --> 00:12:12,930 that you lighten the tension with humor. 315 00:12:13,090 --> 00:12:15,410 Usually I will naturally say something funny 316 00:12:15,410 --> 00:12:17,450 just in the course of delivering my talk, 317 00:12:17,450 --> 00:12:19,890 but I don't leave that up to chance. 318 00:12:20,010 --> 00:12:22,410 What I do is, after I've created the outline 319 00:12:22,410 --> 00:12:24,850 for my keynote using our signature Talk 320 00:12:24,890 --> 00:12:27,130 Canvas framework, and then I start working on 321 00:12:27,130 --> 00:12:29,330 the slides, then I go back through the 322 00:12:29,330 --> 00:12:31,490 slides, and I find places where I can 323 00:12:31,570 --> 00:12:33,530 intentionally add humor, 324 00:12:34,450 --> 00:12:36,930 because if I don't, I may forget it. 325 00:12:37,610 --> 00:12:40,450 Or I just may kind of just say something as 326 00:12:40,450 --> 00:12:42,250 an aside, but it doesn't really have the 327 00:12:42,250 --> 00:12:44,490 impact as actually seeing something on a 328 00:12:44,490 --> 00:12:47,450 slide, like a funny GIF or a funny image or a 329 00:12:47,450 --> 00:12:48,690 funny video clip. 330 00:12:48,850 --> 00:12:50,690 So I go back through my slides and I try to 331 00:12:50,690 --> 00:12:53,850 find at least two, if not three places where 332 00:12:53,850 --> 00:12:56,330 I can add slides that have something humorous 333 00:12:56,330 --> 00:12:58,250 on them. So in this case, 334 00:12:58,250 --> 00:13:00,570 I had a couple of funny memes. 335 00:13:00,570 --> 00:13:03,210 Funny GIFs and funny memes are a great way to 336 00:13:03,460 --> 00:13:05,620 easily add humor to your talk. 337 00:13:05,620 --> 00:13:07,580 Now for the humor. You're not making fun of 338 00:13:07,580 --> 00:13:09,460 the audience. You're not making fun of their 339 00:13:09,460 --> 00:13:11,860 industry or the work that they do at all, 340 00:13:11,980 --> 00:13:13,740 unless you are one of them. 341 00:13:13,740 --> 00:13:15,860 If you are also, say, a physician and you're 342 00:13:15,860 --> 00:13:17,820 talking to a room full of physicians, 343 00:13:18,140 --> 00:13:20,340 yes, use appropriate humor that they would 344 00:13:20,340 --> 00:13:22,900 find funny. Now, if I'm talking to a room 345 00:13:22,900 --> 00:13:24,140 full of physicians and I, 346 00:13:24,180 --> 00:13:26,140 clearly I am not, I would not make a joke 347 00:13:26,140 --> 00:13:28,100 about physicians because I don't I don't 348 00:13:28,100 --> 00:13:29,620 really think that's appropriate, 349 00:13:29,620 --> 00:13:30,900 and they probably wouldn't find it that 350 00:13:30,900 --> 00:13:34,100 funny. Instead, I like to use 351 00:13:34,100 --> 00:13:36,940 self-deprecating humor because that makes me 352 00:13:36,940 --> 00:13:38,820 more relatable to the audience, 353 00:13:38,820 --> 00:13:41,620 but not self-deprecating humor that harms my 354 00:13:41,620 --> 00:13:44,060 credibility. We did a whole episode about 355 00:13:44,060 --> 00:13:45,300 this earlier this year. 356 00:13:45,300 --> 00:13:48,100 I'll put a link in the show notes about how 357 00:13:48,140 --> 00:13:51,220 to use self-deprecating humor appropriately, 358 00:13:51,420 --> 00:13:53,380 but that is really effective. 359 00:13:53,380 --> 00:13:55,020 And of course, you never want to make fun of 360 00:13:55,020 --> 00:13:56,540 someone, so I never do that. 361 00:13:56,580 --> 00:14:00,020 I really do it in kind of pulling aspects of 362 00:14:00,020 --> 00:14:02,180 my story or the lessons that I learn and 363 00:14:02,180 --> 00:14:04,160 using that self-deprecating humor. 364 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:07,680 In that way, when you use humor and audience 365 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:09,920 participation, it shifts the energy. 366 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:12,040 It creates connection between you and the 367 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:14,560 audience and the audience with each other. 368 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:17,760 And it really does make your talk so much 369 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:20,320 more memorable and impactful. 370 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:23,600 So as you start working on your keynote, 371 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:26,240 use our signature Talk Canvas framework. 372 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,800 I'm going to put a link in the show notes to 373 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:29,920 an episode that I did, 374 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:32,120 where I explained the entire framework so you 375 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:35,440 can use it. Put storytelling at the core. 376 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:38,360 Think of that story that really impacted you, 377 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:40,880 that shaped you, that would be relevant to 378 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:43,160 the audience and to the topic that you're 379 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:46,000 talking about. Use a clear structure, 380 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:47,960 that rule of three. So three lessons, 381 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:51,600 principles or stages and intentionally add 382 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:55,240 humor and audience participation into your 383 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:57,440 keynote. That's what's going to leave your 384 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:59,280 audience transformed. 385 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:01,760 Creating and delivering a keynote is not only 386 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:03,520 an incredible opportunity, 387 00:15:03,690 --> 00:15:05,770 It's also a responsibility. 388 00:15:05,930 --> 00:15:08,130 You want to deliver an impactful and 389 00:15:08,130 --> 00:15:10,610 memorable experience for the audience, 390 00:15:10,610 --> 00:15:13,370 and of course, have the event organizers look 391 00:15:13,370 --> 00:15:16,130 great. I love working on keynote talks with 392 00:15:16,130 --> 00:15:19,050 our clients because I serve as your thought 393 00:15:19,050 --> 00:15:21,210 partner and your creative partner. 394 00:15:21,410 --> 00:15:24,410 We have sessions on zoom where we map out 395 00:15:24,410 --> 00:15:27,290 your talk using our unique and proven 396 00:15:27,290 --> 00:15:29,210 signature Talk Canvas framework. 397 00:15:29,330 --> 00:15:31,450 We've used this framework for hundreds of our 398 00:15:31,450 --> 00:15:34,170 clients talks as well as our own. 399 00:15:34,450 --> 00:15:37,890 So I'm asking you questions about your 400 00:15:37,890 --> 00:15:39,770 stories, about your thought leadership, 401 00:15:39,770 --> 00:15:42,650 ideas about the conversations that you want 402 00:15:42,690 --> 00:15:45,170 to contribute to that are going on in your 403 00:15:45,170 --> 00:15:47,570 industry, in your topic area. 404 00:15:47,570 --> 00:15:50,890 And then I map out with you your entire talk 405 00:15:50,890 --> 00:15:52,130 from beginning to end, 406 00:15:52,170 --> 00:15:54,530 that compelling opening with the closing that 407 00:15:54,530 --> 00:15:56,890 ties it all together, and then taking the 408 00:15:56,890 --> 00:15:59,770 audience on that journey of the lessons, 409 00:15:59,770 --> 00:16:02,450 the principles or the stages that you want to 410 00:16:02,450 --> 00:16:03,490 share with them. 411 00:16:03,530 --> 00:16:07,030 It truly is a co-creative partnership between 412 00:16:07,030 --> 00:16:08,150 me and you. 413 00:16:08,190 --> 00:16:11,350 We find places to add humor and audience 414 00:16:11,350 --> 00:16:14,110 participation so that you have a keynote talk 415 00:16:14,150 --> 00:16:16,030 that you love, that you're confident 416 00:16:16,030 --> 00:16:18,190 delivering, and that truly feels like the 417 00:16:18,190 --> 00:16:20,230 message that you want to share. 418 00:16:20,550 --> 00:16:22,230 Whether you've been asked to deliver a 419 00:16:22,270 --> 00:16:23,910 keynote already in the date is on the 420 00:16:23,910 --> 00:16:26,110 calendar, or you know you want to be a 421 00:16:26,150 --> 00:16:27,950 keynote speaker, that you have a message that 422 00:16:27,950 --> 00:16:30,830 you would like to share with more audiences. 423 00:16:30,830 --> 00:16:33,030 I would love to talk with you about working 424 00:16:33,070 --> 00:16:35,390 together. The best thing to do is to schedule 425 00:16:35,390 --> 00:16:37,190 a consultation call with me. 426 00:16:37,190 --> 00:16:39,030 You can do that by going to speaking your 427 00:16:39,350 --> 00:16:41,870 consultation. Again that's speaking. 428 00:16:44,110 --> 00:16:46,590 We'll spend about 30 minutes together on zoom 429 00:16:46,590 --> 00:16:48,710 so I can get to know what you do, 430 00:16:48,750 --> 00:16:50,910 what your topic is, what you need the most 431 00:16:50,910 --> 00:16:53,470 help with and how we can work together. 432 00:16:53,510 --> 00:16:57,230 Again, go to speaking. Com to schedule that 433 00:16:57,230 --> 00:16:58,430 consultation call. 434 00:16:58,790 --> 00:16:59,870 Until next time. 435 00:16:59,870 --> 00:17:00,910 Thanks for listening.