I overthink so you don’t have to.
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FRESH THREADS
NEW! The Freenoter Podcast!
There are lots of resources out there on how to become a paid speaker or keynoter, but what if you speak to build your business, as a FREEnoter? Each week, join me and Tom Webster as we cover all the angles of how to profit from speaking for free. If you are looking to grow your business from the stage--without "selling from the stage," this is the show for you. We will cover EVERY aspect of building your business through speaking, and even share a different craft cocktail recipe every week, just because. Subscribe now!
How I decide what work to do, and how.
Have you ever struggled to figure out how to organize your day, or week? Has it ever felt like what you were doing, and how, was *almost* right, but still not there yet? Do you wish that those occasional moments of “flow” — when you were so engaged in what you were doing that time […]
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What’s your problem? Or rather, what’s *theirs*?
You already know your idea — or product or service — is an answer. It’s your answer to a question your audience (or clients or customers) have. You also know that, for some reason, whatever they’re doing now to find that answer isn’t working for them, or isn’t working well. They’re tense. So are you. They’re tense […]
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How do you change (like, REALLY change) a mind?
It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that the success of your marketing and selling efforts — not to mention much of your speaking and writing efforts — depends on how good you are at changing people’s minds. Except that people don’t like to change their minds. In fact, when challenged, people will often double down on their […]
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How to draft the Conversational Case™ for your idea
Here’s something to try… Fill in the following “script” for your idea or message: When I/we speak with: [type of audience] They often want to know: [common question your idea, product, or service answers] So they can: [high-level goal to achieve] When looking for that answer, they often focus on: [current perspective or approach] Rather […]
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Does your message need to answer WHY, WHAT NOW, or HOW?
I’ve been filling your eyeballs with a bunch of information on how to pinpoint your audience based on what questions they’re asking, and I introduced this as-yet-unnamed tool where you could “place” your audience on one of three bases of a metaphorical baseball diamond: At First Base: They’re UNAWARE of both the “real” problem and the […]
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Why you need to find your audience’s “position” (and how to do it!)
If you’re trying to figure out how to make your message really resonate with your audience and drive action, take a minute to do these two things: Write down the “real” problem you solve for your clients, customers, or audiences Brainstorm all the ways they talk about that problem now, even if it’s asking the […]
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Where is your audience?
“How do I find my audience?” There are lots of answers to that, of course. And, since I escaped the agency world and its focus on marketing tactics, I’m not going to give you that kind of answer. Why not? Because all of those research tools, advertising techniques, and inbound strategies don’t work if you’re […]
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Why you need to give your audience a “positive want”
“Wanting” is a funny thing. It’s important because it’s easy to say “yes” to things we want — and too easy to say “no” to things we don’t. That’s why “wanting” is necessary in your message, because if people don’t hear something, early, that they want or want to know more about… they’ll tune out, […]
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Is this normal?
Whew! I have been BUSY. Actually, scratch that. I don’t like using the word “busy.” It implies what my friend, ah-mazing speaker, and consultant Neen James calls, “unintentional attention.” You know, that thing where you’re doing things just to do them, but not really paying attention to what you’re spending your time on, or why. Busy […]
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5 reasons to stop using a 3-point presentation structure
There’s a piece of presentation advice that I’d like to see die a very fiery death: the one where people tell you that “all you need” for a great talk or presentation is: An attention-getting opening 3 main concepts or themes (usually attached to a story each) A memorable close I have no issue with […]
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