Seth Godin joined us on The BIGG Success Show today for the first of a three-part series to discuss his fantastic new book, Tribes. Seth is well-known to most of us, but here are some of the details: He is known as the most popular business blogger on the web. He also has written 10 best-selling books, including three of our favorites: Permission Marketing, Purple Cow, and The Dip. Here’s a recap of the first part of our conversation:
"Fireworks! I love the fireworks. Watching them always makes me feel like a kid."
"One of my favorite stories is about a fireworks show gone wrong. I used to be in a service club called the Jaycees. Many local Jaycee chapters put on the fireworks show, particularly those in small towns. I heard about one chapter’s show, in particular. One year, at the beginning of the show … not more than a few fireworks in … they lit one that misfired. It hit the pile of all the remaining fireworks! BOOM! An amazing display … but their whole show was over in less than a minute!"
Nothing like having your grand finale at the beginning!
There is an art (and some luck) to putting on a good fireworks show. As we were talking about this, we thought it was interesting how it relates to storytelling.
The start
It kicks off with a little burst that grabs your attention right away. Then you get into the flow. There’s a certain rhythm to the fireworks, often synchronized with music. The rhythm changes throughout the show. At times, they’re firing off quickly; at other times … a little more slowly.
When you tell a story, start with an attention grabber and then get going. Vary your pace with the action of your story. Talk faster to imply that things are developing faster or slow down when it’s called for. Make your timing fit your story.
The pseudo-finale
Usually you’ll see a pseudo-finale about half way through the show. They give you a taste of what the grand finale will be like.
"Sometimes it’s so good that you think it is the finale! You get bummed that it’s almost over."
As you tell your story, depending on its length, think about how you can get them to anticipate the climax as you near the middle. This will keep them engaged and wanting more!
The grand finale
This is what everyone’s been waiting for. It’s almost sensory overload with so much going on at once – the sound, the sights, the colors exploding in the sky … one right after the other, sometimes on top of each other.
"You feel your heart start pounding faster … that rush of adrenaline. You’re in awe and you don’t want it to end."
"You don’t want your story to be like the Jaycees’ fireworks show I mentioned earlier. You want it to build, and build, and build …to your final line – the point of your story. You want your audience on the proverbial edge of their seats. Leave them wanting more … realizing why they should listen to you."
5 additional ways to get the most bang out of your next presentation
It’s unlikely that you would use all of these in a single presentation. However, variety virtually guarantees a better response from your audience.
Start or end with a good joke. People love to laugh. It gets them fired up!
Think more graphics, less text. It gives your message more pop!
Blend video in. It gives you a break and can get your audience to react.
Have a running theme – a key word or phrase – that you keep coming back to. This provides a little spark throughout your presentation.
Finally, use sound effects.
"In case you haven’t heard our show today, listen in to see how we used sound effects to make it more fun. At least we think it is!"
Keep in mind … you’ll get the biggest bang if you mix it up!
Some people are just likeable. There’s just something about them. You sense it instantly and it draws you to them.
Being likeable is important personally, but it’s also very important professionally. Here are five things we’ve observed from meeting people who are likeable:
#1 – People who are likeable are confident in themselves. This confidence exudes from inside themselves. They are comfortable with themselves and as a result you feel comfortable with them. If you want other people to like you, you have to like yourself. That’s the starting point.
#2 – People who are likeable are welcoming. From their posture, their body language, and how you see them interact with others, they seem to invite other people to reach out to them. #3 – People who are likeable give you a warm reception. They have a good handshake and let’s face it, there is such a thing as a bad handshake. They smile and greet you sincerely. They instantly make you feel like a friend.
#4 – People who are likeable are engaging. Sure, they have plenty to say, but they don’t dominate the conversation. They ask you a lot of questions and listen attentively to your answers. They take a genuine interest in you.
#5 – People who are likeable are just plain fun. They’re light-hearted. They don’t take themselves too seriously – often exhibited by a certain self-deprecating humor. Or they just look at life through a lens that brings a comedic sense to the things we all experience.
The underlying secret to being likeable The thread that holds all of these things together is that people who are likeable …
… make other people feel good about themselves.
It’s really very simple, if you make people feel good about themselves, they’ll feel good about you. They’ll like you!
And the reward is that by being genuinely interested in other people, you’ll learn more from them than you can learn any other way. From what they do, to what they’ve experienced, to their philosophy on life. You’ll come away from almost every conversation enriched.
What do you think makes people likeable? Leave a Comment below!
Our bigg quote today is by Mark Twain, who said,
“He liked to like people, therefore people liked him.”
So to connect with human beings, enjoy humans being.
Next time, we’ll blog about the billionaire and the batboy. What Warren Buffett learned from Eddie Bennett, perhaps the most famous batboy of all time. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!
https://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bigg-success_stacked-1080.png10801080George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Fosterhttps://biggsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BIGG-Success-Nurturing-Your-Inner-Entreprener.jpgGeorge Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster2008-05-19 00:30:272008-05-18 20:30:21Like, If You Want to be Liked, You, Like, Have to Read These 5 Traits!
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We’re celebrating the 4th of July here in the United States. Fun, friends, and …
"Fireworks! I love the fireworks. Watching them always makes me feel like a kid."
"One of my favorite stories is about a fireworks show gone wrong. I used to be in a service club called the Jaycees. Many local Jaycee chapters put on the fireworks show, particularly those in small towns. I heard about one chapter’s show, in particular. One year, at the beginning of the show … not more than a few fireworks in … they lit one that misfired. It hit the pile of all the remaining fireworks! BOOM! An amazing display … but their whole show was over in less than a minute!"
Some people are just likeable. There’s just something about them. You sense it instantly and it draws you to them.