Are you doing the same with your writing?

Some people seem to write blog posts like there’s an award for the post with the most words. That’s an award I’m happy I’ll never win.

If you can’t make your point in less than 1,000 words then you don’t have one.

Every word counts. Don’t fill your posts with filler, stories that don’t reinforce the point, or rambling thoughts that barely support your idea.

Question: How long/short should a post be?

Answer: As long as it takes, but not longer.

If your post is 2,000 words but that’s because you cut it down from 3,000 then you’re doing it right. If your post is 200 words because you cut it down from 750, you’re doing it right.

Long blog posts are fine, as long as you’ve taken the time to make sure every word serves a purpose.

You don’t need thousands of words to share an idea, inspire, provoke, encourage, inform, or educate. You just need to be able to get your point across.

Don’t worry about whether or not your blog post is too long or too short. Worry about whether or not it’s interesting & helpful.

Most people will tell you that it’s an art. They’ll explain that some people are born with charisma, a charming personality, and the gift of gab. These are the same people however, who are too afraid to speak in public themselves.

The reality is that no one is born a public speaker.

Speaking is a skill that anyone can develop IF you’re willing to put in the work. Having the skills to speak will advance you greatly in life. Even if you aren’t speaking on stage, the ability to speak is a must. You’ll be more confident and prepared for situations that come up in your life and business.

History has shown us that the world makes way for dynamic speakers. It’s a competitive advantage like no other. You may fear speaking because you feel it’s an art and a talent you weren’t gifted with. I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong.

When I was a child I had a bad lisp. I was always in speech therapy just to get me to sound “normal”. The thought of speaking in public was far from my mind. I’m confident that none of my teachers would have ever guessed I’d end up speaking as part of my profession.

Speaking was a skill I had to learn and develop. In fact, it’s a skill I continue to learn and develop. Imagine what you can accomplish if you had the confidence and ability to be an effective speaker!

Here’s some things you need to know about public speaking that I’ve learned over the course of many years…

- Focus On The Outcome: Be positive and put your attention on your desired outcome for your talk. Don’t focus on the technical details of your talk, stay focused on the goal.

- Fear Is A Good Thing: Some speakers say the fear never goes away. I disagree. When you’re prepared and know your subject inside and out your fear decreases dramatically. But don’t let fear stop you. Fear is not bad. Fear is a sign that your heart is getting ready to go.

- Be Prepared: You can be confident if you’re prepared. You’ll be ready for anything that comes up and your talk will be far more effective when you’re properly prepared.

- Don’t Memorize Your Talk: Word for word memorization of your talk is a recipe for disaster. It takes the emotion out of it. Speech should come from the heart, not the memory.

- Be A Raconteur: Raconteur is a fancy word for storyteller. The Raconteurs are one of my favorite bands so I wanted to use that word as a hat tip to them. Anyways, people remember the stories you tell far more than they remember the points you’re trying to make. Share stories about your background and life experiences. Everyone loves a good story.

- Give Yourself A Pep Talk: You may not be aware of this, but I have an anxiety disorder. Before every talk I give, my anxiety hits me in the form of self-doubt. If I allowed it to control my emotions I would psych myself out before ever stepping foot on stage. Don’t let this happen to you. Take a few minutes before your talk to listen to music that gets you in the right mindset and think of your past victories. Focus on helping those people in the audience. Putting the focus on them takes the pressure off you. It’s not about you, it’s about helping the audience.

- Speak On Something You Have The Right To Talk About: This should be obvious but I’ve seen many people hop on stage and present on a topic that they admittedly know little about. Don’t accept an opportunity to speak if the subject matter isn’t something you have experience and knowledge in. You’ll be less confident about speaking and the audience won’t get as much value from your talk.

- Share Your Experience: Any talk should not be about you, but can be about what life has taught you. If you’re a mom who has raised 4 kids alone while working 2 jobs then you’d better believe people would love to hear what you’ve learned along the way. If you’re an entrepreneur who’s failed multiple times before building a successful business then you know people will love to hear about your journey. Share your struggles, beliefs, experience and knowledge.

- Be Fired Up: Would you fight to defend your position on the subject? If the answer is no, then find a new subject. Passion and enthusiasm is contagious and they are two essential elements to a great talk. My friend, Scott Stratten, is a professional speaker who is fired up about his subject of helping businesses provide better service online & offline. Would he fight to defend his position? You bet he would and he has. The result? Audiences rally behind him and are inspired by his enthusiasm for his topic.

- Be Excited To Share: Before every talk I give, regardless of the size of the audience, I say a prayer. I ask God to help me add value to the lives of the people in the audience and ask that my message impact them in a positive way. When you’re truly excited to share your message, your fear decreases and your confidence increases. Speaking is an opportunity to help people. Get fired up about that.

I wasn’t born a great speaker. I’ve fought through a lisp, anxiety, fear, and self-doubt. Speaking isn’t an art. It’s a skill anyone can learn.

It doesn’t matter if you’re never going to speak on stage. It doesn’t matter if you only occasionally present to a few people. Learning the skills of being an effective speaker will give you confidence in all areas of life. Take the time to learn it. You’ll be glad you did.

Your audience.

Your customers, prospects, email subscribers, social media following, and neighbors are all seeking recognition. They feel like they are a drop in the ocean that is likely to never get noticed. When you show interest in someone, they become a fan for life.

There is no greater compliment than giving someone your un-divided attention when they seek it.

Being a good listener is more important than being a good communicator. In business, you spend a lot of time trying to get your message out there but do you ever stop and see what message is coming back at you?

Recently, I was talking to a salesman about purchasing a new dryer. He was constantly looking in another direction, interrupting me while I was talking, and fidgeting with his clipboard. Needless to say I did not give him my business.

After visiting another store I came across a salesman who very interested in me. After explaining to him that my previous dryer had caught fire, he contacted his manager to arrange immediate delivery of my new dryer. He asked me questions, he listened, and he even gave me his business card to call him if there was any problem with the delivery of my new dryer or the function of it.

He showed that he cared.

When you lack interest in someone, you’re missing out on learning a ton about them and your market. Showing interest in others has benefits far greater than just serving them. You get insights into their personality, needs, wants, and as a result you can better serve them.

Too many businesses are out of touch with their audience. Too many people aren’t showing genuine interest in their audience and customers. Those who make it a habit to do so will receive massive benefits and success.

The other day I received a tweet from someone who was a fan of my book. I thanked him for his compliment but then asked him what he did. First off, I discovered he has big goals and is truly serving people in a great way. The more we exchanged a few tweets, the more I felt like I knew him and the more I could identify with him. If you don’t see how this kind of experience can make you better at communicating with your audience then you’re not paying attention.

You can increase sales without having to say a word. Show interest in people. Every single person on your email list, following you on twitter, friends with you on Facebook or wherever are a privilege. They don’t have to pay attention to you.

Everyone wants recognition. Your audience is no different.

Photograph by Jeremy Binns – www.jeremybinns.com

Depending on how big the challenges are that come your way, there’s a certain level of panic that kicks in. This is a problem because panic leads to a closed mind. An open mind is critical to creative problem solving.

So how can you improve your problem solving skills?

I’m so glad you asked, otherwise this post would have been awkward.

You have to change your approach to solving problems. Forget about how you’ve done it in the past. Wrap your mind around a new paradigm that will instantly change your results…

Stop looking for the right answer and start looking for the right question.

What are some different ways you can look at the problem you face? Don’t ask a close minded question that won’t lead to a strong outcome. For example, why is this happening to me? is NOT a question that will solve whatever problem you’re facing.

Instead, ask questions such as what can I gain from this? or how can I use this to my advantage?

When you start asking yourself different questions, you immediately start thinking of different answers. The more questions you can ask the better. Multiple questions from different perspectives will cause you to create solutions you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.

The best part of this is that the questions you ask yourself do not have to be complex. In fact, the more simple the better. Write down a problem you’re facing in your life or your business.

Then list out some simple questions that will cause you to think of this issue from a new perspective.

Here’s some examples right off the top of my head:

- What is the problem?
- What assumptions am I making about this?
- How can I get more information about this?
- How will I know it’s no longer a problem?
- What will happen if I ignore it?
- How can I improve because of this?
- What are the good things about this problem?
- Is it really a problem?
- Who can help me solve it?
- Why is this important?

Those are simple questions that can get you started. I’d love to see what questions you come up with! (You can let me know in the comments below). Remember to ask yourself questions that force you to look at the issue from a different perspective.

Instead of focusing on the right answer, focus on the right questions. We too often spend time looking for the right answer to the wrong question.

Photograph by Jeremy Binns – www.jeremybinns.com

You may be looking to improve your business because there’s a specific direction you’re wanting to take it. Or maybe things are going swimmingly but you want to improve because you’re a smart business owner. Regardless, you may be looking at the wrong areas of your business to improve.

You see, most businesses don’t look at the one area to improve that will give them the quickest results. If you want a business to improve then you must start by improving the people in the business. If you’re a solo entrepreneur then this means you need to spend more time working on yourself than the business.

A business can only improve to the extent that the people in the business improve.

If your business needs fresh ideas then you need to work on your creative thinking skills. If your business needs to provide better service then you need to work on developing the heart of a servant and incorporate a service-based attitude in all that you do. If your business needs to increase sales then you need to work on your selling skills.

The moment you begin improving your knowledge and skill set, the moment your business will start to increase in all areas. It starts with your mindset and attitude. They determine what actions you take to grow your business.

And as you know, action is a major factor to achieving success.

Take inventory of each and every skill you (and/or your team) have and see which areas you’re missing or are weak and need improvement. Make a concentrated effort to improve yourself in these areas. Block out time for personal development and improvement.

As you grow and the people in your business grow, you’ll see many of the businesses problems take care of themselves. You’ll also be in a better position to handle future challenges because of your new commitment to constantly work on improving yourself.

So what are you waiting for?

Right now is the perfect time to start working on yourself.

Photograph by Jeremy Binns – www.jeremybinns.com