Did your message get through?

Sometimes it's hard to know if we're having a lasting impact on our audiences. They may smile, laugh, applaud, and thank us afterward, but how do we know our message got through and, more importantly, will be applied?

Yesterday I had the opportunity to see my audience immediately apply the concepts I introduced, and it was so satisfying!

I gave the dreaded ten-minute talk to my referrals group that many of us face when we're out networking and promoting our businesses through public speaking. So what did I talk about? How to give the dreaded ten-minute talk to promote your business through public speaking!

A key point in my talk was about benefits vs. features, which included a quiz handout featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The group quickly latched on to the concept.

One of the two speakers after me immediately applied it to his talk, explaining some of the features of his business and then how his clients benefit from those features.

Then, as we went around the room for our final 30-second "commercial" of the day, several of the members chose to define their businesses in terms of their features and benefits.

It was fun to see that most of the group had not heard of the concept before, yet were able to start using it right away.

Now, I don't know how long my presentation will stick in their minds (I guess I'll find out at next month's meeting). But at least for today, it was great to see my audience applying their new knowledge before they even got out the door.

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