Last week, I attended a LIVE 3 DAY FREE EVENT, Ready for the Stage, hosted by Suzanne Evans. Now, I’d seen at least five emails for the event, but didn’t heed the invitation until my colleague and friend, video presentation expert, Ruth Sherman, told me she was going to be in Atlanta and invited me to meet her at the event. I used to attend a lot of free events and always took a lot of learning away because I watched and listened not just for what they were saying, but, more importantly, HOW they were saying it.
This event was no exception, in fact, it had more value than most I’ve been to. WATCH the VIDEO here to get my three tips!
Tip #1~ LISTEN
Listen not just to what is being said, but to how it’s being said. I will actually write down direct quote statements when the words used are so powerful that I will want to adapt them to my own presentation.
In addition, I will often write down the timing of a given presentation. For example, 11 – 11:12 personal story, 11:12-11:14 painful lesson they learned, 11:14-11:16 how they solved their problem, 11:16-11:25 others they’ve helped solve the same problem. You get the idea. Timing is everything and by recording the timing of someone who is successful in selling from the stage or in a teleseminar or webinar, you can mirror that learning in your own online and offline presentations.
Tip #2 ~ LOOK
Look at the stage set up and the set design of a live event. Pay close attention to the room set up. Is it conducive to interaction and participation? Is it designed to keep all eyes glued to the speaker and inhibit interaction? These are details that can make or break the success of your own live event.
When you are listening to a teleseminar, look at the graphic elements used on the page. Today, webinars are more prevalent, and I will often screenshot several slides for format and graphic elements as well as reminders of the order of the presentation and information conveyed on the slides.
Tip #3 ~ LEARN
Free can truly prove to be priceless because when you pay close attention to the HOW, not just the WHAT, you will learn what is working and what isn’t and be able to take those lessons forward in your own presentations offline and online.
BONUS TIP:
As Suzanne Evans says, “make your mess your message.” That simply means you need to bring your story (and you likely have more than one, so select the most relevant and meaningful one for your audience and business) to every presentation. And, true storytelling success comes from you making it a Hero’s Journey ~ boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. In business terms it may be, you have an idea for a business, you struggle badly to succeed, ultimately you overcome all obstacles and celebrate success.
What have you learned by attending free events? Share your comments below.
Sure they always have a pitch, that’s to be expected and there is a lot to see in HOW they do that to. The key is to LISTEN, LOOK, and LEARN, you’ll be surprised at how much time and effort you can save by experiencing free, when you know what to look for.
