Picture yourself in the following scene:
The room is full. You’ve been given a brief introduction to the audience and your business, ministry, or cause thumbnail has been shared. You’re one of several local leaders who have been asked to speak about your success. As you step up onto the platform, you look out over the audience and see a few familiar faces here and there. This is it! You open your notes, take a deep breath and begin…
So… What do you say?
You could explain how you got started. You could go over the early years and your struggles to get a foothold in the market. You might describe the long days, the doubts and fears, and even the failures. All of which might be very interesting, but what would you tell them is the reason for your success? How would you explain the way you managed to distinguish yourself from the noise of your industry or niche?
This is the talk you should be giving day in and day out with your platform. Its the reason you exist in the first place. It should be top of mind in each conversation, tweet, or email with your employees, your vendors, and your ideal clients.
Politicians run on a platform, which they hammer away on in every stump speech. They understand that what inspires their constituents is rarely to have more of the same. ‘The folks’ want a leader who is clear about who she is and what she wants to accomplish. Your donors want this too. They can see right through the cliches and the empty promises. They’ve heard it all before. They’re not as interested in hearing that you care as they are in watching how you care. Use your platform to demonstrate how you care.
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