I used to be a member of Toastmasters.
You know, the public speaking group where you get up in front of people, give a talk, and they judge you (with the intention of making you better)
Sounds fun right? 😉
(Fun Adam Fact: I was actually the President of our chapter for a VERY brief period before I had to step down due to business obligations)
I didn’t do it for long but I did learn a lot.
About public speaking.
And marketing.
You see a major part of Toastmasters is the critique that other members give you to help you improve your oration skills.
Most of it was good advice too!
Any guesses on what the most common piece of advice I was given was? (Here’s a hint… it’s the same one that’s on nearly all my YouTube videos 😉
SLOW DOWN!
(Yeah… I talk fast I know. But I get excited about this stuff!)
Anyway.
One thing that always drove me bananas about my Toastmaster meetings was what I came to call “The Hand Advice”.
If you’ve ever taken a public speaking course, seen a public speaker, or spoken… to anyone… ever…
…then you know hand gestures are an important part of communication.
But no matter what I did I ALWAYS received the same conflicting advice from different members of the group.
Some would say:
“You need to move your hands more when you speak so you don’t look like a dancer from Riverdance” (for the record I never danced during my speeches)
While others would say:
“WHOA easy there with all the hand movements buddy it’s like watching an orchestra conductor on 8 cups of coffee” (for the record I only drink coffee first thing in the morning)
The moral of the story?
You can’t please everyone all the time.
So find your people (aka your best customers and clients) and then work on thrilling them at the expense of all others.
When you do that you become irresistible to them and repel all others.
Attraction and repulsion sound strong, but strong makes sales.
