Entertain or Sell
Entertainment isn’t as effective as persuasive storytelling.
You know those meetings where you turn up, unsure what to expect, and it turns out to be an entertaining hour bordering on the Wednesday night comedy club, but you wonder what it was all about and whether you really needed to go? As a result, nothing changes as you get back into your work.
Confession: I have been the entertainer. There was a time in my career when I placed greater emphasis on performance over substance. I would run a mile from the concept of selling an idea versus letting the ‘audience see the power of the idea for themselves’. It wasn’t a career highlight.
The Line Between Sharing and Selling
When it comes to delivering critical business communication—where the stakes are high—it's crucial to clarify the purpose and desired outcome of sharing your content. Without this clarity, you risk blurring the line between merely sharing information and compelling the audience to take action, but there is an elephant in the room; even when we know this, there can be a pull away from doing the very thing we know we need to do.
What stands in the path to success is often a reluctance to embrace the notion of having to sell something. Yet, acknowledging this distinction isn't just pivotal—it's transformative. It alters not only the structure of your narrative but also the profound impact of your message.
You see, many simply don’t think their role is to sell; some even see the concept of ‘selling something’ as beneath them or a little grubby.
If you are presenting to get an outcome from the audience, you can call it, think of it or describe it however you like in whatever way makes you feel okay with life, but to me, this is selling, and it’s an important distinction to make right up front.
From Entertaining to Empowering Action
That is because there is a critical difference between entertainment, information sharing and moving an audience to take action, whether that is to reshare your content, recall the key points or implement change.
Selling our message means we are thinking about how our content persuades and convinces as a priority, and this demands we build these key elements into our story:
1. How you demonstrate your understanding of the audience's needs and how your idea solves a problem they can relate to.
2. That you lead with your value to them, clearly highlighting the benefits and making it easy for them to see how these are delivered. Why before what: “why they should care” should come before “what it is’.
3. You signal that you know what they might be thinking and have answers to their questions. This means making it clear how you will cover their potential objections or concerns, even if this is not part of your content today.
4. Finally, you have made it easy for them to find what they need to move forward confidently, champion your message, and take action as a result.
This demands much more than mere entertainment, with some beautiful slides, funny cat videos, and a great presenter who borders on a part-time comedian.
The sales mindset involves focusing on delivering your content in a way that wins over the audience. With this mindset directing your story, a little humour never goes amiss.
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