LBJ once said, “What convinces is conviction.” Just back from a tour of colleges, I was struck by just that, as was my 16-year old high school junior. The information session speakers and tour guides who really, really believed in what they were saying made their sale. Their prospective customers, in this case, students, left their campuses convinced that they wanted to attend that school and no other! Conversely, the speakers who were just going through the motions left their customers (and their customers’ parents aka check-payers) less than inspired. The difference was palpable! No amount of debriefing to discuss a school’s attributes could overcome the impression left by the conviction-less speakers. The damage was done. A mini marketing case study!
Clearly, public speakers need to find their conviction. So do managers whenever they’re kicking off a new project, delegating work or providing feedback. Flat, less-than-excited, information-only communication leaves your audience — whether seated in a large auditorium, conference room or office — feeling uninspired and unmotivated. The end-result will be equally uninspired.
Some of us are overflowing with conviction (which can sometimes be a negative if we close ourselves off to new possibilities or other ways of thinking…but that’s fodder for another blog). Others are still searching. There’s no question that it’s worth the effort to discover what excites you, what you believe in to your core, what you feel so strongly that you want to share it with others .
