Right Message Right Audience

I just finished watching one of the regional finals for this year's Toastmaster International Speech contest. Eleven speakers all trying to win the opportunity to compete at this year's World Championship of Public Speaking.

Each one of them did a marvelous job. The contestants had been working on these speeches for months. Giving each speech over and over again. Fine tuning what tone they used at each meticulous second. Focusing on how their body was positioned to bring the most impact.

So then came their moment to present to a new audience. Somewhere within the friends and colleagues of the other contestants lay a few selected judges who would determine their fate.

We had live-streamed the event and were sitting hundreds of miles away. Though our audience wasn't to the size of the actual contest, it still presented a swath of differing opinions, likes, and experiences.

As each presenter spoke, you could hear the audience rise in laughter as one would make a humorous point. Moreover, groan in moments of empathy as a speaker told of a crushing experience.

Then came the drum roll...

and the winner of this year's Toastmaster Regional contest is, 

Not whom I thought deserved it.  People in our little viewing group looked around perplexed. "How did that person win?"

The friend who sat in front of me grinned as he had picked winner.

The winner had spoken the right message to the right audience.

That doesn't mean that the messages of these eleven participants were wrong. The complete opposite is true. There were those in the audience I am sure who were moved by what they heard.  

I have competed in contests similar to this one. One thing I have learned it is very subjective. You can't place a bet on a winner with any confidence, as each set of judges brings a different perspective.

One of the contestants, Paul Artale, and I have spoken a couple of times about these contests and agreed on what you as a presenter need to do. He reiterated this agreement in an interview after giving his speech and before the results of the contest were announced.  

I can't remember verbatim what he said, but this is the premise, "you share a message not to win a contest but to inspire one person to change. You can't control the outcome, but you can control someone being touched."  

Drop the mic!

Now, how does this affect you?

Whatever position in business you are in, there is an audience before you. If there is one thing that I have learned in communication, that it's all about the audience, not the prize.  

When it is about them, you have won already.  

Receiving an award, massive signed contract, promoted within the company, or hitting all the quotas is the cherry on top. Never forget that the reason you have an audience is the audience.

Share a good message and the right audience will come.

Doug Kliewer is the founder of The Hero Maker Group. His Hero Maker Showcase is designed to help authors and aspiring authors create presentations and marketing videos that their book gets in the hand of the right reader. Go visit HeroMakerGroup.com to learn about upcoming Hero Maker Showcase and how to get your story seen, so it can be heard, and impact the world.