Uncover Your Brilliance: How
to Write So That People Take Notice
RainToday.com, September 2009
By Vickie K. Sullivan
Using articles and speeches to promote your expertise? You're
not alone. Information is everywhere. In this oversaturated
market, your content needs to be special to generate great
leads. So why do so many special reports, white papers, and
articles say the same thing with different examples? Because
brilliance is buried in our experience. Here are two ways
to draw out those insights for articles, media interviews,
and speeches.
Why We Don't Tell Our Secrets
How do you know when you're not giving your best content?
Compare your achievements with your best ideas. An in-the-trenches
perspective has insights that go far beyond the standard lines.
If you're not talking about the elephants in the room or about
the games played in the heat of battle, well... you're coasting
on your clever storytelling. And stories are not enough to
brand you; stories support the insight, they don't replace
the insight.
A common reason for not providing your own insight usually
involves busy schedules. When you're under a tight deadline,
it's easier to add your twist to conventional wisdom than
to redefine the issue and explore something new. Result: the
marketplace breathes its own exhaust. Unfortunately, this
habit is hard to break. The less we do something, the harder
it is to do. And what do we do with the difficult jobs? Wait
until we have more time. So...when is the last time you had
a block of empty space on your calendar? That'll happen when
California drops into the sea.
Another reason why people don't dig deeper is a lack of process.
When creating new content, having a next step is important.
It can jumpstart your thinking; it's what you can lean on
until you get into the creative zone. And what's out there
in the marketplace to help us? Ideas, not process. Why is
that? It's because ideas are more fun to create and distribute.
Processes are more tedious. And many experts would rather
help you directly than give do-it-yourself instructions.
To get clients out of their mental ruts, I use two techniques
to draw out their inner brilliance. Both tools are very similar.
The difference is the first step.
Go On a Rant
My favorite way to create new content: start ranting. If
you have strong opinions that you are not shy about sharing,
this is the way to go. (And yes, I use this process all the
time.)
Step one: ask yourself, or a thought partner,
what is my take on _____ situation? (Choose the most relevant
issue -- the more specific the situation, the better.) Just
go for broke. No censoring. You have permission to pontificate
for two minutes.
Step two: step back and think about what
you just said. Ask yourself, "Did I just repeat what
everyone else is saying? Was there anything in that rant that
could open the door to redefinition or new understanding to
the situation?"
It's very normal to not find anything new at first. So, if
you can't find that nugget of wisdom, don't despair. You just
need to drill down, which is step three.
Step three: you can discover nuance in a
broad sense by asking, "What's the point?" or "So
what?" Or, you can narrow your thinking with questions
like "Why?" and "How?" My favorite question
to narrow your focus: "What is the barrier that prevents
people from doing what I suggest here?" Write down your
answers to those questions.
Step four: rinse and repeat. Step back,
look at your second round of answers and ask yourself again,
"Is this point overstated in the market? Does it shed
new light on this situation?" If not, that's okay. You're
getting there. Keep asking the broad or narrow questions until
you can honestly say that your point uncovers the elephant
in the room. Remember, any relevant issue is being discussed
to death. You can quickly acknowledge conventional wisdom
and move on to your insights.
Springboard Your Stories
The second way to access your inner brilliance is very similar
-- you use the same questions. The difference is the starting
point. I call this technique springboarding your stories.
I changed the first step because some clients couldn't muster
up a great rant. (This was a huge shock.)
This process works for those who needs a focal point for
their thinking. Anyone with a wide variety of experience,
such as coaches or consultants, have plenty of examples to
draw upon.
Step one: start with a story -- again, the
more specific the better. You don't have to tell the entire
story; a mere conversation or conflict can work just as well.
As with the rants, you have only two minutes. Don't go overboard.
Telling the entire back story of a situation is too much information
to process.
Step two: step back and ask yourself, "What
is the lesson or nugget of truth? What is the moral of the
story?" You will probably have more than one. List the
top five and pick your favorite.
Step three: you guessed it -- we're back
to the "overstated in the marketplace" question.
If the answer is yes, everyone is making this same observation,
then go deeper with the broad or narrow follow-up questions.
Another advantage of springboarding your stories: you have
more ideas to work with. Most clients find there are many
lessons in a given situation, so if one idea doesn't pass
the "overstated in the market" question, you can
go to another point.
Avoid These Roadblocks
According to my clients, the biggest obstacle to avoid is
underestimating your progress, which leads to giving up too
early. When I work with experts, we go down at least three
levels before finding their brilliance. It's maddening at
first, but when you finally uncover that nugget of wisdom,
you know it's gold.
Another heads-up: it's very difficult to draw out our wisdom
alone. We all have blind spots. The best results come up during
back-and-forth conversations with a trusted colleague. If
you must do this alone, record your rants/stories and listen
to them. It's easy to forget what you've said when you're
on a roll.
I've branded experts for over 20 years, and here's what I've
learned: we all have brilliance ready to be unearthed. When
we take the time to delve into our experiences, we find that
we have learned far more than what we tell the marketplace.
Since 1987, Vickie K. Sullivan, President of Sullivan Speaker
Services, has generated millions of dollars in speaking fees,
book advances and ancillary income for her clients. Sign up
for her free market intelligence at http://www.SullivanSpeaker.com
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