Writing for the audience

In his book The Meaning of Sport, journalist Simon Barnes expresses his admiration for Frank Keating, a master of his art and a former Chief Sports Writer for the Guardian. Most sports journos write from a standpoint of expertise, appearing wiser that the reader. But Keating liked to convey the more human side of competitive sport, describing the weaknesses and foibles of the stars, what they were going through in the pursuit of their goal. He wasn't really writing about pro sport - he was writing about people.

Of course, this gives the reader a glimpse into the psyche of the athlete and allows a more empathic connection between sports fan and sports star. This is a great lesson for any writer. You want to trigger the, "I know exactly what you mean" response in the reader. They'll warm to you and your message.

In Barnes's words, "Sport is played, not by invulnerable superheroes, but fallible humans, battling against fear. Frank saw the Clark Kent beneath the cape."

Are you a good learner?

In his book Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game, Dr Joseph Parent gives us a Buddhist interpretation of student types. There are apparently 4 types of students, each symbolised as 4 types of cups, with water being poured in to represent instruction.

Cup 1
Upside down – the student isn’t really interested and pays no attention. Everything you pour in just spills on the floor.

Cup 2
Right way up but has a hole in the base – the student hears what’s being taught but it doesn’t sink in.

Cup 3
Right way up, no leaks, but dirt in the base of the cup – clear instruction is poured in but it gets cloudy. The student distorts what is heard, using preconceived ideas and prejudices to prevent anything new being learned.

Cup 4
Right way up, no leaks, no dirt. The student is open to new ideas, what goes in is retained and real learning takes place.

What kind of student are you?

Many years ago, a young American footballer complained to one of his team mates that the coach was forever on his back, always giving him a hard time. His colleague replied that the only reason the coach was on the boy’s case was that he thought he had some potential. If he didn’t feel you had something, he’d just ignore you.

The point is that it’s a huge compliment to have a company want to invest in you. They see some potential. You should embrace it. Develop a thirst for learning and a curiosity to learn about yourself and your capabilities.

Why audiences like stories

“Your purpose is to make the audience see what you saw, hear what you heard, feel what you felt. Relevant details couched in concrete, colourful language is the best way to recreate the incident as it happened and to picture it for the audience.”

Dale Carnegie's words, than man responsible for that most influencial of business books, How to win friends and influence people. Remember that audiences love authenticity, and if they believe this is something you've actually gone through yourself, it feels genuine. Second, human beings find it easier to understand things through storytelling. We've been doing it for years through parables, fables, even cave paintings. Third, it allows a form of emotional connection between you and the audience. They can sense what you felt at the time, because you're relaying it through sensory descriptions. Finally, by using 'concrete and colourful language' you bring the thing to life and make it more accessible, more enjoyable.

Develop the skill of storytelling - it's a fantastic tool for powerful communcation.

A great speech

If you're feeling a bit flat, or bereft of inspiration, take a few moments to watch this video clip of Sir Ken Robinson speaking at the TED conference (Technology, Education, Design). Sir Ken is described as a 'creativity expert' and has some fascinating comments on how the modern education system is letting us down.

If he ever starts struggling on the creativity front (unlikely) he'd certainly make a great stand-up! Watch, listen and learn how he holds the audience (speaking without notes) and comes across as authoritative, funny, angry, self-deprecating, insightful, inspirational and in awe of others - all in the space of 20 minutes.

Updating the Cow

Readers of this blog will know how highly I rate Seth Godin, the American marketing guru. I was particularly taken with his Purple Cow book, a plea to companies to strive to be remarkable rather than just good. In today's post Seth informs us he's planning an up-dated version of the book and he's asked for new Purple Cow stories, like the restaurant owner who rides the bus near his place to get the gossip on what people think of his eaterie - then acts upon it.

It got me thinking, "which examples can I think of locally?" And you know what, it's really tough to think of one! I'm sure I'm doing people a disservice here but I'm struggling to think of an example of service that really blew me away. There's plenty of 'good' and an awful lot of 'mediocre' out there, but that's not remarkable - ie 'worth remarking upon'.

We sometimes think that positive word of mouth and referral should come from simply doing a good job, but it's the truly outstanding, the beyond-the-call-of-duty stuff that really gets people talking.

Keep doing the right things

Einstein once claimed that the defintion of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I can see what he's getting at, but sometimes in business you have to keep doing the same things (provided their good things) UNTIL you start getting results.

A good example is in business networking. In times of recession, people tend to think short term because they need some quick wins and an intake of cash. This can lead to more desperate selling in a networking arena - "what can I get out of this room?" The problem with that is that people hate being sold to and although you might get the odd quick win, it's won't create any lasting relationships.

Networking is not a quick win, but a patient process of nurturing. You might not get many fast results, but if you stick to your guns, helping others, taking an interest in them and focusing on how you solve problems for people, the rewards will most certainly follow.

Where sport differs from business

I spend most of my time these days exploring and extolling the connections between sport and business - what can we learn from sporting success stories like Tiger Woods, Manchester United and the All Blacks?

So it might seem strange that I'm focusing here on two key differences between these two worlds. But I believe these differences teach us profound lessons in business.

Peter Jones, the Dragons Den panellist, serial entrepreneur and ex-tennis coach points out that sport necessarily produces a winner and a loser. It’s the nature of the beast. But in business transactions we should avoid this, we should strive to produce two winners. Each party should benefit from the relationship, as in a sales situation where one person gets a sale and the other gets a solution to their problem.

Second, unlike pro sport there’s plenty of room for creativity in business. Provided what you do is within a broad legal framework, pretty much anything goes. But sport searches for a so-called level playing field, to ensure the best performer comes out on top. And that means a plethora of rules and regulations. It’s rare to see true innovation, but when it comes it makes the headlines – Dick Fosbury’s flop in the high jump, the 180 degree rotational shot put and the side-saddle putting technique pioneered by American golfer Sam Snead. By and large pro sport is constricted.

On the other hand, business positively encourages innovation and creativity and long may it continue. Seth Godin and the like implore us to be different, to create our Purple Cow, to forge our own path instead of following the herd. It's what produced the i-Pod, lastminute.com and sliced bread.

Who's performing for whom?

I was thrilled yesterday to be asked to coach a group of jazz musicians in their non-musical performance skills. This encompasses both on stage and off stage activities, but it amounts to the same thing - how they interact with their audience.

I happened to be scanning the TV channels the other day and came across 'Britain's Got Talent' (it's hard to miss it's on so much!). There was a singer on the show who talked a good game with Ant and Dec before he went on, lots of confidence - in fact an ego the size of Texas. As he went on stage, he waved to his adoring fans (he'd bussed them in I think), made like he owned the stage, then focused on the panel.

Simon Cowell (or is that scowell?) asked him if he sang professionally and he said yes. Slightly suspicious, Cowell asked him to start and off he went. There was a curious echo behind the singer's voice, as if someone else was singing too - in fact he'd put the wrong CD in the machine, one he'd recorded himself some time ago. There was effectively TWO of him singing.

But the point is that from the moment he came on the stage, he made the wrong impression. In that scenario, the audience like to see someone who's a bit nervous (it really matters to them, life-changing opportunity, etc), talented but anxious, a bit out of their comfort zone but able to pull out a great performance and surprise and delight the crowd. Instead what they saw was an ego who was there for HIM and not the audience.

This is a crucial point about performance. You're there for the audience, not you. They've set aside time, perhaps paid money to be entertained. It's your responsibility not to disappoint them. It's up to you to give them something they didn't have before - an insight, a surprise, a shock, a laugh, a cry. They want to be moved in some way. There has to be an emotional connection and it's up to you to engage with them.

Like in sales or dating, you want your audience to warm to you, to like you. If you're going to succeed, you have to give them something they want. Not something you want to deliver.

Working on the right stuff

As humans we're always after an easy life! The pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain (our prime motivators) leads us down certain paths, but not always the right ones. Take golf for example. Now golfers share a common desire - to get better - and many devote a great deal of time and resource to lessons and practice. The trouble is, they practise the wrong part of their game!

Statistically, you hit far more short shots (putts, chips, bunker shots) than long ones during a round of golf, and the Short Game as it's called is where the shots are frittered away. Pros will tell you the fastest way to drop your handicap is to practise your short game. But we don't. Why? Because it's a bit boring and we get a thrill from whacking the ball a long way on the practice range.

It's the same in business. We know we should be meeting new people and cold calling and following up on dormant customers - but it's safer and more fun to meet our pals for lunch, to read the paper on the train or put off those calls to make a cup of tea. It's a question of focus and discipline. Decide what's important, draw up a schedule and stick to it. What seems painful usually isn't and often leads us down a pleasurable path.

The Clinton Factor

If you're serious about improving your communications skills, take a moment to study the masters. Without doubt, Bill Clinton is one of the finest communicators of our age, and actor Dave Gillespie and writer Mark Warren make some interesting observations about how the ex-Pres wows the crowds in their book, The Clinton Factor (communicating with charisma).

They talk about 'circles of concentration' and how the best actors/speakers use these to great effect. In presenting terms, the third circle is the essentially the energy a speaker conveys to the audience. It's a connection with the broad mass, with no one left out, an intangible but powerful aura that illuminates the entire room.

The second circle is when a speaker engages with a single member or section of the audience. It's a connection between two parties, or in filmic terms a 'two-shot' with a pair engaged in dialogue.

The first circle is personal dialogue, more introspective, but of course shared with the audience in a speaking situation - "I thought to myself that I was going crazy, that I must have been here before - but I knew I hadn't". Again, in a movie it might be a scene with no dialogue but you clearly know what the character is thinking and feeling.

Great speakers move effortlessly from one to the other, involving the audience, taking them on a journey, altering pace and tone, moving between light and shade - but always, always telling a story. Read The Clinton Factor and discover some of the secrets of great communicators. Whether you're a natural or not, there's a few tricks we can all learn.

An open playing field

In sport, if you're really talented and have a little support you can enter the game. There are few barriers to entry if you're the next Tiger Woods or Wayne Rooney. Someone's going to notice you and give you a chance. But traditionally in business, it's been harder to join and compete with the big boys. They've had the advertising muscle, the sales team, the impressive premises and entertainment accounts.

But the internet has changed all that. And as web 2.0 has emerged (self-publishing), the one-man-banders can enter the stage and find an audience. This means the bigger companies can no longer be complacent. Small is beautiful now and in a shifting economy small outfits are faster and nimbler.

The best strategy for established companies (in fact for all companies) is to recognise this shift and start working on relationship building - with clients, with staff, with suppliers. That's the best protection you have in a recession and an increasingly 'open' playing field.

All the world's a stage

Watch a great performance and you'll marvel at the skills and talent of the 'actor'. But take this concept of performance further and you'll start to see acting everywhere you look. As Shakespeare once said, "All the world's a stage". Sports professionals regularly go on stage and perform under great pressure, often under the gaze of millions of viewers and critics. How do they manage it? Well they practise...a great deal.

Athletes use a three stage process, embodied in the acronym PAR.

P = preparation

A = action

R = review

The A bit is what we're all used to seeing. But rarely do we get an insight into all the work that goes in either side of the performance. The 'before' is all the practice, the skills coaching, the strategy planning and the motivating. The 'after' is the post-match review. "What could we have done differently?"

These less visible activities are the things that make excellence on stage possible. It's a cyclical process that athletes and performers use all the time. What can we learn from this in business?

Well for a start, let's recognise that what we do is a performance. Sometimes it's overt - a speech, a sales pitch, a networking event. More often it's more subtle - when a customer walks into our shop, our restaurant, our office. And once we've accepted that we're actors on stage, let's set about raising our standards. Let's practise our skills and critically (but constructively) review what we do. And let's make this a HABIT. Not something we do once in a while, but something that's part of our daily working routines.

You might not win an Oscar, but you're sure going to have a more appreciative audience!

Rating Obama

The Independent ran a feature the other day asking selected commentators to rate Obama's first 100 days in office. Appropriately enough, one of those asked was the West Wing's Toby Ziegler (actor Richard Schiff). He recalled a conversation he had recently with a American billionaire, where he asked his wealthy host what he thought of Obama. "Too early to tell", was the gist of the reply. "Let's wait and see how he does".

In typcally feisty Ziegler style, the actor retorted that with that type of attitude the President would surely fail. In his view it was up to all of us to do our bit, to make sacrifices and strive towards a better future.

This has echoes of JFK's famous "ask not what your country can do for you" speech. But for me it also underlines how important it is for us to be pro-active in battling the recession. Too many will default to a 'head-in-the-sand' attitude, waiting for the storm to blow over and the green shoots to appear. But you know what? By the time you stick your head above the surface, you might not have any business left!

There's so much that we can do to increase our chances of survival and perhaps even prosper in the current climate. Work smarter, not harder is the mantra. Invest in yourself, your staff and your customers. And that means talking to them more, listening more and becoming an all-round problem solver.

There's an old Buddhist concept that applies to challenging times. When things get dark, it doesn't mean the sun has gone away. It's just obscured by clouds. Despite the recession, the sun is still there. We just need to work smarter and remove some obstacles!