Stick Around. People Will Want to be Close

To You Because of all the years I’ve spent speaking and performing, I’ve learned a lot of lessons about what to do to stand out from the crowd. One of those lessons is to stick around, after the show or presentation is over.

Being Sensational

When we were on the road with the band, I noticed that many other bands would completely leave the place right after they finished performing, or even step out when they were on their breaks. Our band never did that. We always made ourselves available to the crowd. We didn’t do this as some sort of strategy, we simply enjoyed the attention. People would flock around us!

Most people love to speak with the someone that was on the stage, and that applies to speakers, as well as performers. In the fall of 2010, I attended a conference, hosted by a large mortgage company. This event featured two excellent speakers.

One of them left immediately after his presentation, while the other stayed, and he mingled with the audience for quite some time afterward. Which one do you think people remember the most? Certainly, they remember the speaker who mingled, because people felt like they were able to get to know him a little.

Of course, it’s not always possible to stay, especially if your schedule has you catching a flight, or you’re scheduled to speak somewhere else. I mentioned that I try not to travel on the day that I speak. That applies to traveling to the gig, as well as from the gig. Wherever possible, if I’m speaking out of town, my intention is to schedule my time so that I have nowhere to go immediately after the gig, even if that means staying the night at a hotel. The connections that are often made after a speaking gig can be too valuable to pass up.

So, what’s the lesson? Whenever feasible, schedule your time so that you can remain available to mingle after your presentation.

From Stage Fright To Spotlight

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