That's 'infotainment'!
Nov 14, 2016‘Did you see my Brené Brown post?’ Master Ian asked me in between rounds.
(Many of you have heard me talk before about Master Ian before, but for those of you who are new, he’s my boxing coach - twice a week he comes to my office to train me, and today was one of those days.)
‘No, why?’ I said.
‘It was fantastic!’ he said, ‘but it only got 3 likes! I think everyone should read it and think about it, but it just didn’t seem to get much response.’
‘What were you expecting?’
‘Well, the day before, I put a video of my dog choosing which hand the food was in, and LOADS of people liked it and commented on it, it’s still going crazy.’
‘Well that’s just it’ I said, ‘sad but true .. people will give a lot more of their time and attention to entertainment than they will to education! And money too!’
It’s a funny thing but people really will pay more for entertainment than they will for education. A lot more. A LOT more!
That’s why John Maxwell is the highest paid non-celebrity speaker in the world. When you watch him, you learn a great deal, but you have a very enjoyable, entertaining time while you’re learning. He’s very good of course, but also VERY entertaining, which makes him wide appeal, and high demand.
The audience experience is always great when John speaks. And that brings people back again and again.
If you see yourself as a speaker who purely informs the audience, it might be worth thinking about this.
Awareness is a big part of the battle. Once you buy into this and accept that it’s important, then you can spend time thinking about how your audience can have a more enjoyable time while they learn.
(Many of you have heard me talk before about Master Ian before, but for those of you who are new, he’s my boxing coach - twice a week he comes to my office to train me, and today was one of those days.)
‘No, why?’ I said.
‘It was fantastic!’ he said, ‘but it only got 3 likes! I think everyone should read it and think about it, but it just didn’t seem to get much response.’
‘What were you expecting?’
‘Well, the day before, I put a video of my dog choosing which hand the food was in, and LOADS of people liked it and commented on it, it’s still going crazy.’
‘Well that’s just it’ I said, ‘sad but true .. people will give a lot more of their time and attention to entertainment than they will to education! And money too!’
It’s a funny thing but people really will pay more for entertainment than they will for education. A lot more. A LOT more!
That’s why John Maxwell is the highest paid non-celebrity speaker in the world. When you watch him, you learn a great deal, but you have a very enjoyable, entertaining time while you’re learning. He’s very good of course, but also VERY entertaining, which makes him wide appeal, and high demand.
The audience experience is always great when John speaks. And that brings people back again and again.
If you see yourself as a speaker who purely informs the audience, it might be worth thinking about this.
Awareness is a big part of the battle. Once you buy into this and accept that it’s important, then you can spend time thinking about how your audience can have a more enjoyable time while they learn.
And you might find it more FUN too!
Until next time ..
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