“When I walk onstage, the audience wants to believe I possess real magical abilities. Similarly, when you get hired for a new job, you employer wants to believe you can deliver what you promised in the interview process. When you sell something, your new customer wants to believe that working with you and your company is the correct choice. It’s your job to fulfill that belief.” – Magician Steve Cohen, in “Win the Crowd”
That’s true of you as a speaker, too, and it’s a double-edged sword. The audience is on your side. They want you to come through and give them a persuasive pitch, an inspirational sermon or an informative lecture.
They want you to be good. If you aren’t, they’ve wasted their time. But they also have certain expectations, and they have a right to those expectations. They’re granting you their time and their attention to present your message for their consideration.
If you show them that you don’t appreciate their generosity, by showing up unprepared, by not putting their interests at least on par with your own or by giving them anything less than your best, they have the right to be disappointed, or worse. And once you’ve lost them, it’s almost impossible to get them back.
They may be asking you to slam dunk a basketball, but they’re giving you a step ladder to stand on. The least you can do is take care not to clank it off the rim.
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