Ep. 71 Do You REALLY Give Your Audience What THEY Need? Part 2

Hey there, Mark Brown. Last week we dove into this subject, which I love this subject. Do you really, really capitalize give your audience what they. They, they, they all caps need? I think it's just so many times it's overlooked that we're doing it. We're trying to follow a process. We're trying to help our audience, but we don't consider them and their background, what they're bringing to the seat that sits in front of you. What's their experience behind those eyes? If you didn't join us last week, you got to go back and check.

Yeah, I really like this particular series, Darren, because we get to hear from audience members what's going through their minds, what's in their hearts, and by paying attention to what they tell us, we can better serve them and give them what they really need. Let's hear from three more of our audience members today. Let's do it.

Anyone can give a presentation. Few deliver unforgettable presentations. What's the difference? You're about to find out. Welcome to the unforgettable presentations podcasts with your hosts, world champion speakers and coaches, Mark Brown.

Mark Brown, your life tells a story, and there's someone out there who needs to hear it.

And Darren Lacroix. And Darren Lacroix.

Stage time. Stage time. Stage time.

Ready for some powerful presentation, AHAs, let's dive right in.

All right, Mark, so last week we sat down with three of our audience members, and if you didn't listen to last week, what we're going to do is actually hear what they have to say, what their truth is they bring to you, sitting in front of you, listening to you. And I think it's an eye opener. Mark, you thought it was pretty cool last week when we came up with this idea. Today we're going to meet three more of your audience members bringing different experience and different backgrounds.

And the key is this. When we're done with this, you realize that there's so many different kinds of people in your audience, but if you can understand how they feel, what they think, I'm pretty sure it'll revolutionize the way you deliver your talks going forward.

All right, Mark, let's sit down with audience member number one.

Hi, I'm Gavin, and I'm in your audience. My company's hurting and my boss is expecting me to produce. They say you're an expert, but I need real data and I'm gonna check your source. I don't care about your motivational stories and all that squishy bs. I need something I Can act on something I can take with me, connect with me, help me, give me what I need.

All right, Mark, there's some realness behind we don't hear that usually.

That's not.

We see the smiling faces or maybe just the people who are just pleas, but we don't hear that truth and we need to hear it.

Yeah. I mean, some of the times you and I both know Darren from our experiences, you go into a room and there's somebody there whose arms are crossed and they want to check out because they had to be there, like they were compelled by some legal entity. You have to be at the event and a lot riding on it. But two things Gavin said really got my attention. One is I need real data. And why that's important to me is I know over the years I've seen heard so many speakers who are big on the concepts, on the principles and the ideas. And you need to have good solid ideas and really well founded concepts. But sometimes we run the risk of falling short and not applying it well to our audience members. Some people are great on the idea, they'll run with it. But others need real information, hard data. They want to get the polls, the research studies, they want to get all the numbers to the T. They want it to be like PI 3.1428976 Anyway, they need to get that level of detail. And we have to understand, as prepared as we may be to deliver our material, we have to consider what do they really need. Yeah.

And if we're going to be a thought leader in any area, we have to know as much or more than our audience. We've got to go back, we have to be on the cutting edge. It means being a presenter is not just knowing your subject, it's also staying ahead of the curve or at least knowing what's on the crest of the wave. In our world, in our industry, we're never going to know everything. But we can't be lazy. We've got to bring the new statistics that back things up. Not the Moravian principle from 40 years ago. Still hear this from people who are beginners and I understand it because they're regurgitating something they heard from somebody else that, you know, more comes from your body action and body language. Then come. Okay, yes. And what does that mean to me? What do I need to do? Give me something short, specific that I can do for whatever our subject is, you know.

And when the idea of real data versus concepts, sometimes we try to provide data or we'll give a quotation or we'll say, you know, a poster said. Or research tells us that they're individuals who are going to check your source. When research, you say research tells us that 48% there are people who are going to say, okay, what research? As a matter of fact, be honest. They're going to go into their mobile phone while you talk. They're going to go Google it. Okay, who said that? And they can't find it. And instantly they can't find it. Your credibility takes a big shot. Not in the arm, but in the head. So when you quote something, make sure the data is there. Also, when you make a quotation of a speaker in, a historian, an actor, someone in the past who said something, you need to get the quote accurate. You want to verify three or four different sources before you say, Darren Lacroix said, stage time, dinner time, and, you know, breakfast time. No, no, you got to make sure you know exactly what the person said. And there are so many quotes being tossed out that are inaccurate, that are false, that were made up. And there are individuals out there who will verify everything you say before you deliver a quote. Check, double check, and triple check that source. Get verification. Because you could lose audience members who need the real data. They want the truth. They will check you on it. They'll go back and they'll research and they'll say, you know what? Mark Brown is not a credible source. I would never have anybody go to him because he misquoted this person and gave me bad information. Ouch. You don't want to be that person. You really, really.

Exactly. And I was at a conference and there was a speaker who gave this speech and talked about this sign at the beginning of this trail. And it was a good story. But later on we found out that that person had said this brass sign and somebody else who lived in the area said, no, it's made out of wood and it's irrelevant to the point, but you lost credibility anyway. And, Mark, we've heard countless stories of the people who quote Nelson Mandela. Erroneously.

That's correct, yeah.

Erroneously. When it was actually, what was her name? The famous quote. And here I am blanking, but it's also not. It's not my stuff. I don't talk about it. But Nelson Mandela is actually quoting somebody else. So we've got to go back and watch the YouTube video, do the research.

And.

And by the way, at the bottom of your slide, put the source where this information came from. So even if you're incorrect, if they check that source and that source says it at least you did your homework and you're not losing credibility, which is what we're trying to talk about here. Look, most of the audience members, there's some skepticism and they want to prove you're wrong and check themselves out. It's not nice. It's not nice. However, it's the truth. And if we choose this as part of our career, as part of our passion to help other people, these are things that we, if we truly want to help our audience, we got to give them what they need. Well, some people need the sources quoted and hand fed to them so they can go check, you know, now they go check two or three of your sources and they find what you find. Well, guess what? Now you just upped your whole expertise. You just upped your value because you upped your credibility because you did the research. Mark, you remember when you helped me with my contest speech, that I went and researched more of the Dr. Goddard story, even though I knew the story. I was raised in the town, that his story was all built upon the rocket taking off in Auburn. But I went to Clark University where he taught, I did the research, I went through the Dr. Goddard Museum and I found some more facts that most people didn't know. As Patricia says, those little known facts. Well, those little known facts because of the research actually gave me a great line that helped me story.

And that just goes back to support what Gavin is telling us. He's telling us, give me the real data and that you would go that far to go to the museum and research and read and check this out. You're telling your audience, I care enough about you to do the work on the back end. So when I come to you, I'm giving you what you need in waves. Also, he says, give me actionable steps. I said earlier, many speakers are really big on concepts, principles and ideas, and great. It's a wonderful foundation. But if your audience walks away with no actionable steps that they can take right away or the very next day, then the chances are we have fallen short in our responsibility of not just giving them information, but the how to. To accomplish the goal that they have set. Here at RR Podcast, we want to give you information every single week with actionable steps that you can take to, to elevate your performance from good to great to unforgettable. In the same way people like Gavin are asking you tacitly every single time you speak, what actionable steps can I take to improve my life, my performance, and do a better job?

I also think, Mark, that what Gavin brings up. And what we need to do is stay ahead of the curve. So maybe it's just an hour a week that you jump online and see what people are saying in your industry. Maybe you can find a new fact, a new little known fact that can just enhance your story by dropping that in. And then you'll get excited because it's refreshed your whole story and made it new for you. So what if you just put an hour, one hour on your calendar as a recurring reminder? And hey, if you can't do it every week, fine, but if you do it three or four weeks out of the month, maybe you've just stayed on track, you stayed ahead of the curve. All right, Mark, let's go on now to number two.

Hi, I am Christoph. I'm in youn Audience. I've been in this industry for over 20 years and I love this field. I know all of the players. The problem, they're not changing. So if you're going to bring something new, I'm rooting for you. But if you're going to use their material, you're going to use all the old cliches. I'm out. Here's the other thing. Because I've been in the industry so long, I've got connections, I've got a long list of contacts that as long as you're good, I'll be happy to share with you. If not, I can easily close those doors. Connect with me, Help me. Give me what I need.

Wow, Darren, I tell you, sometimes the most scary thing for a presenter is knowing there are old pros in the audience who have, quote, unquote, been there, done that. And they've heard pretty much it all before. Pretty much it all. They've pretty much heard it all before. Nice laps from my partner. And he says, listen, I'm experienced. And he says, don't give me the old cliches. I've heard it for the last 20 years. And I wonder if as presenters we find ourselves, for lack of a better term, regurgitating some of the old material that we have heard, that we have used. Now, there's some things are going to remain with us. We have our signature stories that are ours. We'll use those for decades and we'll be known for them. And many of the greats are known just for that, their signature stories. But in a world that's changing rapidly day by day by day, what freshness do you bring? Have you dispensed with the old cliches? Do you bring something new and you know Darren, I know many of our listeners are emerging speakers, and some are Toastmasters who have made the first steps by going to Toastmaster Speech. And you and I both know over the last 20 years what we've heard in Toastmasters contests. Very often we had the same material being used over and over again. We hear similar lines being used because the individual using them isn't aware that they actually are old. And it can really, really mess people up if you do what something else somebody else already did. Real quick story. Many years ago, I was a fairly new world champion. I was asked to be a guest presenter, keynoter for a conference somewhere in Texas. And I knew my material. I wanted to add some humor. Fourth mistake. I wanted to add humor. Fourth mistake. And I heard this really cool joke that really fit into my speech, and it was a perfect fit for my speech. I used the line, I told the joke, it landed. I'm like, yes. And I felt really, really good. At lunchtime, an officer came. I can see your face already, Darren, behind your hands. An officer who came as a lunchtime speaker. Now, they arrived an hour and a half after my keynote. In the middle of their presentation, they use the exact same joke I had used. And, oh, my gosh, they found out. They felt bad, and the audience laughed. Not at their joke. It laughed because they realized it wasn't original for me. I had not done it myself. It was something that I had used. I thought it was fairly obscure. How wrong was I? So when we go back to what he's telling us, I've been here 20 years, people. I've heard the material. I've heard the old cliches. I've heard the old jokes. Give me something original. I want to know who you are. And I've often said, Darren, as much as your audience wants to hear you, they really want to know you. You got to bring yourself, your personality, your experience, your originality to the program and not rely on the tried and true old cliches. I tell you, Darren, that day I learned a heavy lesson the hard way, and it changed the way I think about presenting now.

Yeah, a couple things, too. Number one, we also have pastors who listen to this. And I can't imagine being a pastor delivering a sermon in front of people who've been around and lived a life and have heard all the verses 72 times throughout their lifetime. And I think bringing a fresh perspective to that passage from a personal experience almost makes it brand new. So it's a different challenge for a pastor who's delivering over and over Again, back in the corporate world, what Christoph said too, I want to take note that he can open doors and he can close them. Not only every time we're in front of an audience, whether it's live, on stage or online, we're in front of influencers. Everybody knows people. Now, some people have more influence or have a higher influence or no meeting planners or no people who are at the top of another industry. So we've got to realize there are influencers who can not only open doors, they can close them. Imagine being on a committee with a conference and a convention coming up. Christoph, heard you present and you used old stories, the starfish story. Just because you used that one starfish story. Kristof is on a committee. They're choosing who's gonna come in and they run down. Here are the list of options, the people we're aware of that we can afford. And Kristof, here's your name. Nope, Done. They don't even have to explain why because it's Kristoff, because he is a leader in a patriarch, or maybe there's a matriarch in your audience that they don't have to explain why if they believe you're not good for the audience.

Done.

So not only can they open doors, which we've talked about in the past, but they can also, bam, close them.

And it's not just about doing a meeting planner. The thing is, people know people who know people. And when people know people who know people and they tell them what they think of you, if the response is not a good one, then ouch. You have no idea. You could be actually stalling your own progress by using old hat material. Maybe it's time for you and for me to take a second look at our material. What can we rework? What can we breathe new life into? That'd be really cool for an audience to hear. You know, I happened to hear Les Brown, who was a legend in the business. I sat with Les Brown one day at a table with him and Otis Williams Jr. The 1993 Toastmasters world champion. And Les Brown was excited. He said, man, I got some new stuff to get to the audience. All new things. I can't wait to unleash this now, Honestly, Les Brown doesn't need to come up with new stuff. His old material is selling like crazy. But he saw the value in meeting the need of the audience. And he was literally like a little kid. He was so excited about bringing new material to his audience. Fresh material for fresh eyes. And we revisit everything we have Done. And ask, how can I revitalize this? How can I breathe new life into this? You might be surprised at what you have to offer to your audiences who are like Christophe, who want something new. Don't forget, you never know who's in your audience or the degree of influence that they yield to either refer you or to shut you down.

Yeah. Not to be negative, to actually just be truthful and honest, these things we're saying. But also remember what Christoph said. He's pulling for you. Why? Because he's pulling for the whole industry and everyone in it. So he's rooting for you when you have the stage. So, yeah, there's all of this behind it. There's all this potential influence in front of it. So it's what we do off stage that. That lets us know how well we do on stage. So Mark and I are doing this podcast to help you help your audience. But if we don't take into consideration who's in our audience and what they're coming from, we truly hope that these quote, unquote truth, authentic interviews with our audience members and them telling us their truth gives you a new reason to revisit the content that you are already delivering. And, Mark, this is an interesting one. So everyone listen carefully to what's said in this one, because we're gonna sit down with a guy named Mark who's sitting in your audience. Listen carefully to what's really being said and we'll explain after.

Hi, I'm Mark. I'm in your audience. My boss made me come to your presentation. I really don't wanna be here. I don't care who you are or what you've done, but you better be funny or at least entertaining. You're just a change of scenery from working in cubicle land. Look, guess what? I hate my job. My boss is a jerk. I can barely pay my bills. So show me how to get a raise or win the lottery, then I'll listen. I don't need to seminar, but everybody else I work with does.

Wow, Mark, this is big for a couple reasons. And if you were listening to the podcast and not watching the YouTube version of the podcast, some thought bubbles came up at the end that said, I really do need this seminar. I really need this help. And even though he's saying everybody else needs it down inside, he knows he really needs it. He just doesn't want to listen. Mark.

Yeah. What I found touching also was he had this really almost cynical approach. I don't want to be here. My boss wants me to Come, he's a jerk and I don't want to come to this thing, but at least he's also telling us, you know what? Maybe I'll listen to you. Maybe I'll listen to you if you're entertaining, if you inject some humor, if you're funny, if you find a way to get my attention and to wow me. Maybe then, even though I hate this, I don't want to be here. Maybe then I will listen to you. And that was kind of hidden there, Darren. He's saying even the ones who may not think they need to be there, if we can find a way to end, engage them, to entertain them, to make them laugh or smile, to bring some joy to their life, give a little wow factor, maybe then using that tool and that approach will get to them and they'll come to terms with the truth. They really do need that seminar and their job does depend on it. And maybe then they'll listen. That was hidden, but wow, when I saw that, I can't just give off only numbers and stats and data. I've got to engage this in this individual in a way, way that makes him realize that he does need what I have to offer.

I love that if you listen between the lines, not read between the lines, but listen between the lines, he's the person that needs it the most. And he won't admit it, but the truth still lies there, that he needs the help, he needs the encouragement, he needs the process to follow, he needs what we have. But he's the one coming in, joking around, not really paying attention, making fun of the speaker or maybe one line in the bio that they can key in on to discredit you. However, like you said, if we can be entertaining, if we can tell those stories in a way that can open them up to what we have to say, that is the person that you are more likely to change their life then even the person who comes in opened, because if they're open, they want to learn, they know they need to learn. Next week we're going to sit down with an audience member, Jacob, who really needs that hope and understands it and willing to admit it and is all open, that's cool. And we need to help them too. But we also have the marks in our audience who don't think they need it and deep down they need it more. And you can make a bigger difference if we just reach Mark. We can't take it personally that he's coming in with this negative attitude. We don't know. He could have just found out his spouse cheated on him, his parents died of COVID We don't know what's going on and why he's so upset and mad at the world. And he might have a legit reason and we still have to help him.

Yeah. And what keep coming back to me was when he says, be funny or at least be entertaining, give me a reason to listen. And the thing is, very often our stories and our experiences, if they can mirror the experiences of the audiences, if the audience member can see themselves in us, that's a point of connection. That might not amuse them, it might entertain them. They. And it might wow them. And they realize, wow, this speaker. They've been where I am, they understand my life now. I'm not saying you must try to look for the Mark in your audience and key on them the whole time and focus on them. You don't want to discard everyone else because I've got to reach that one cynic. I'm going to make it my life's mission. I've got one guy who's grumpy. I'm going to get to him. And then ignore 8,999 people. You don't want to do that. But be aware that there are people like Mark in the audience. And as Darren says, you have no idea what their backstory is. You may see somebody whose arms are folded, who seems grumpy, but you don't know what weight they're carrying. And sometimes they can't let everyone see who they really are. But if you let the audience see who you really are, that's one way to break down the barrier between you and an audience member. But just be aware, Mark might very well be in your audience. So you want to mix it up. Don't be only clinical and data driven and factual. I've always said this. Don't just give a speech, give an experience. So everyone can walk away saying, I learned, I experienced, I saw, I felt, and now I'm going to. That'd be a good day for a presenter to get someone like Mark to respond in that way.

It reminds me of the lesson learned early on when we see that person with their arms crossed and we think, just like you said, I'm gonna get you now. We do want to help them, but it's a mistake I made early on where I tried so hard to get to them, that I was ignoring the Mary's that we talked about last week. You gotta check out, last week we talked about Mary, who's the cheerleader, who's actually during the presentation is gonna fill you up and give you energy. So we gotta give Mary some love, even though she doesn't need us to. We need her. That's like plugging in your USB and recharging so we can give to Mark. Otherwise we're just getting drained if we're trying only to reach those people sitting there skeptical, with their arms crossed. So, Mark, what do we have for this week?

Gavin talked to us, really about the importance of going beyond the concept to get real data. And the key from Gavin was, was every source you mentioned, make sure to double check every source, every quotation that you use, verify the quotation and who made the quotation, because your credibility is at stake, because he's a guy, or Gavin represents the people who will check every source you say, who will verify every quote you give. And your credibility is really key with Gavin's, with Christophe, who was number two too. Don't forget, with the experience they bring to the table. They know all the old lines, they know all the old cliches. Christoph asks you and me to look at our originality, to keep it fresh, because bear in mind, they have influence and they can refer or not. You can get people to make a decision based upon their say so. So you want to make sure if Christoph is in your audience, you give them no reason to question your credibility. And of course, Mark, not this Mark, but that Mark, will show you a certain face. I don't want to be here. I'm grumpy. I hate my balls. My life is terrible. Everything is awful. But if you and I can find a way to put a smile on their face and to make them feel comfortable, make them laugh, wow them in some way, you break down that barrier and the truth of what's going on deep inside will come out from them because they need what you and I have. Darren. I tell you, these three individuals, Gavin, are making me really think hard about what I do every single day. And I hope, as our listeners slash viewers, take a stock of what these three members of our audience are telling us, it might help us to work even that much harder to become not just good, but to become great and eventually unforgettable.

All right, thank you, Mark. If you're listening to this, hey, we're going to do a part three next week. Join us next week. If you haven't heard part one, go back and check out part one, because there's three other audience members with different backgrounds that might give you some insights for your own content and how to make it even better. If you want to join us? We're doing an event next week. If you're depending on when you're listening to this Mastering Virtual Presentations, you can join Ed Tate, Mark Brown and me for this event. Just go to stagetownworkshops.com stagetime and you'll see the current schedule whenever you listen to this. And you can always use the coupon code PODPOD25 and get 25% off to join us for one of our live events. Love to have you join us. We love what we do. We love to go deeper. You know we desire to inspire you in this one hour, but when we can have two days, man we can rock your world. So join us next week for the wrap up the final episode, Part three. Go check out part one if you haven't already. And remember, it's what you do offstage that helps us become unforgettable.

Unforgettable.

Make sure you subscribe to our show.

Remember to subscribe because if you miss a week, you miss a lot.

If you like this episode, please leave us a review. If you want to get more from Mark and Darren, check out Stagetime University where they provide experienced presenters a proven path and world class feedback. To become the speaker everyone is talking about, go to stagetimeuniversity.com join us next week. If you're going to take the time to prepare a presentation, make it unforgettable.