April 20, 2016
If you want to be successful, a LOT! I saw Elton John at the Colosseum in Las Vegas last weekend, and he puts on an incredible show. He mentioned that he has been writing with the same lyricist for 40 years – quite impressive. How hard do you think it would be to remain interesting to large crowds for 40 years? – and several generations? Not easy. Just think about one bad tweet….
This picture was at the end when the front row seats joined Elton by his piano. As you see, he is bigger than life. And the crowd loved it. Perhaps there is no need for you to present ideas in a timeless fashion that will last for 40 years; however, to make sure your Board of Directors, CEO, boss and/or peers listen, you should pay attention. How do you gain the attention of the crowd? Be high-quality. Be interesting. Pay attention to what your audience wants!
One tip to implement this week:
In thinking about what we could do this week to make progress in presenting ideas, it turns out there is quite a lot. Start with understanding what your audience wants. Who will be listening? What will appeal to them? Put it in their best interest. Forget about what you want. One lesson I learned along the way is to NOT assume that everyone is interested in what you are interested in. It is easy to get caught in this trap, even when you know better. Instead, find out. It is pointless to explain how an idea benefits them if they don’t care about the benefit you describe!
If you don’t know, ASK. It can be as simple as that.