A speaker who connects with the audience is relatively effective; a speaker who bonds with them is remarkably successful.
—Janet Perez Eckles
My hand grew wonderfully sore as I signed books for an hour after my keynote presentation. When the room was nearly empty, a woman took me by the arm and asked: “Janet, could I talk to you for a minute?’
I smiled and replied: “Absolutely.”
“As you can see, my organization was blown away by your presentation,” she said. “We have a passionate group here. And I feel proud of them. Often, folks praise me as the President. But really my career has been successful beyond my expectations because of my team. I love my job.
But I have to tell you,” as she squeezed my arm, “what you shared from that stage changed me. You just gave me the clarity to see what I was missing. That’s why I was taking pills to sleep. Stress was about to kill me. But you just gave me the meaning of real success. You put the missing piece to my life’s puzzle. I can’t thank you enough.”
She shared other personal details that left me in awe at God’s way to bring the exact message through me.
If I were to analyze this, I would say there are three reasons:
- Humor. Sadly, stress is a way of life in the business world. But humor is the universal bridge to connect with others. Laughter relaxes their muscles, brings down their defenses, and stirs acceptance of the message.
- Stories told with transparency and authenticity. Each illustration has to carry an element with which all can identify. The story has to capture their attention and grip their heart. And when real-life examples with an impacting lesson evoke tears, the message becomes unforgettable. 3.
- Present practical, doable steps to apply now. Challenge the audience to explore their own potential, nudging them to conquer fear, overcome obstacles and to be bold in declaring their own triumph.
Janet Perez Eckles motto as a speaker for over 15 years is: if you make the audience laugh, they’ll like you. If you make them cry, they’ll never forget you. And if you teach them something to transform them, they’ll want more of you. To learn more and have Janet at your next event contact us at 888-766-3155 today!