Five Ways to Streamline Your Race to Success

Keep the resistance to a minimum by incorporating these elements

The Olympic sled racers inspire me.   How meticulously they must train to eliminate every bit of resistance in order to win, and victory often is determined in mere portions of a second!

To be a champion in our chosen field, we should be meticulous, too, with our words. Every time we have the opportunity to talk about our expertise, we are either creating a flow of energy around us that will streamline our path to our goals, or it will create resistance that we must then work to overcome.

Streamlined sounds much better, doesn’t it?

It is impossible to eliminate all the bumps in the track, but if you include these basic elements when you talk to the media, mingle at networking events or get interviewed those bumps can propel you forward or hardly slow you at all. 

1. Share your passion.  Why do you love what you do?  Denis Waitely has counseled winners in every field from Apollo astronauts to Superbowl champions, and he says, “Chase your passion, not your pension….” If you live your passion, then share it! When you speak of your work with passion, people will be naturally drawn to you. On the other hand, if you appear to be speaking from a place of lack (looking for a form of payment; a next client or a next contract – “your pension”) they will sense it and move away emotionally, if not physically.
2. Find your common ground.  What will help your audience understand you? (keep in mind your “audience” may be one, or millions of people, but the same principle applies) Have you been where they are in their life, maybe dealing with a problem that needs to be overcome, or do you share a common interest? If they identify with you as a like individual, then they will find it easier to empathize with you, and want to hear what you have to say.
3. Show your uniqueness. What makes you different and better than anyone else?  Is it in your history?  Sharing an experience that sparked your passion can be a great way to set yourself apart. For example: A famous actress designed a line of silver jewelry for a well-known chain of stores.  You may have seen the commercials over the holidays.  Her jewelry was memorable because of the heartfelt story of her mother that she told in the commercial, and how the designs reminded her of her mother’s words of wisdom.   The unique story of her designs made them a hit with consumers.
4. Solve their problem.  You may not have a white horse, but you may appear to be a knight in shining armor if you offer a solution to a major problem! What problem do you solve with your business? Keep your senses alert for any indication of a struggle that your expertise might help to soothe. 
5. Practice “situational awareness”.  Ok, I admit, I made up the term, but I use it all the time; obviously, your delivery style will be different if you are speaking about hepatitis to a tattoo convention, or to a group of doctors.  What may not be obvious to some, however, is the difference in delivery needed in different mediums: Just today, Cindy Rakowitz, A very successful publicist in Los Angeles referred to the different demeanor that may be advised for a print interview verses a television show.  Gestures and voice must be altered in order to handle electronic media, like teleconferencing.  Know what is appropriate for the venue in which you stand.  I see train wrecks every day with talented people that don’t practice “situational awareness!”  It can be painful.
6. *( Here’s a bonus) Keep your ultimate audience in mind.  Who in the world do you most want to influence?  Remember the “act as if’ game?  It applies to your performance every time you mention what you do, and share your story.  If you expected a room of 300 and there are only 20 seats filled, share with them as if they are your ultimate audience.  You never know whom you will be affecting, and how close that ultimate experience might be!