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Marketing guru Seth Godin wrote recently about a
concept called “marketing
hygiene.” It’s the idea that to sell a great
product, you need to create an environment that is
conducive to making people buy. For example, you may
have the best tomatoes in the world, but no one will buy
them from you if your grocery store has roaches all over
the walls.
Godin’s post prompted us to think about the following
question: “What is public speaking hygiene?”
Put another way, what is the environment that you need
to create when you speak to ensure that people pay
attention and buy into your ideas?
One thing in particular comes to mind. The message
needs to be presented simply.
Let’s say that you’ve invented a wonderful new way for
your listeners to double their investment. If you
present the idea amid a complex jumble of
incomprensibility, then your listeners will be too
distracted to get your idea. The complexity undermines
the hygienic environment and makes it less likely for
your message to get through and take hold.
On the other hand, what if you deliver your message as
part of a simple three-part plan? In that case, there’s
no messiness to distract from the core idea. There are
no “cockroaches on the wall” to distract.
The simplicity creates a hygienic environment that
allows your message to jump out at the listener and take
center stage.
At Speechworks we help our clients learn how to
communicate in a way that connects and persuades. If
you’re interested in becoming a great communicator give
us a call at 404-266-0888 or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net. |
