TJ WALKER - THE HABIT INFLUENCER - Personal Development | LIVE STREAM

My predecessor was always seen carrying his own bag, carrying his own luggage, carrying papers. It looked kind of like he was a low level staffer. I decided that anytime the public saw me walking, walking up to a lectern, walking up to give a speech, my hands would be free. And I also wanted to communicate effectively with them. How did I do that, especially on days when the teleprompter wasn't around? Well, I used an old magician's trick. I diverted the audience's attention. So when I walked up to the lectern, my hands free, I would smile. I would look out to various people in the audience with my right hand, I would wave and look at someone in the audience with my left hand. When no one was looking, I would pull out my note cards and put them on the lectern in front of them. Then I would bring up my left hand and wave. So it creates the illusion my hands were free the whole time and are free now. I can glance down, see what my first thing is to talk about, and go from there. So I could use my notes. But very few people ever knew I was using notes. My name is Ronald Reagan, folks. There's nothing wrong with using notes, but the less attention you call to it, the better. Many speakers walk up and they're holding their notes, or they're pulling it out of their top jacket pocket in front of everyone, and it's telling people, hey, I'm not really just going to talk to you and share personal insights. I'm going to read something that probably someone else wrote. Don't do it. Perfectly fine to use notes, but keep them hidden, keep them in a pocket. Have them already on the lectern if you can. You could even have it on the stage. A lot of places to put notes, but the less visible it is to the audience, the better. Follow Ronald Reagan. It worked for him.