CHAPTER 11
Using Your Words to Influence and Change Minds

My philosophy in helping my clients successfully craft and convey a powerful message can be summed up in a frequently circulated quote, once used to great effect by a not-so-gifted orator, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown. Paraphrased it is, “When Cicero spoke to the crowds of ancient Rome, people said, ‘Great speech.’ But when Demosthenes spoke to the crowds of his day in ancient Greece, they said, ‘Let’s march.’” I don’t care how eloquent or lovely a speaker is, but I do care that a speaker’s words and message spark something—make people “march.”

As you look for ways to broaden, develop, or start building your sphere of influence in all directions, the power of speech is part of the foundation you have to master. It’s more than public speaking and giving presentations, which most people have learned to see as necessary evils and unpleasant spectacles best performed on autopilot with a navigator named PowerPoint in charge.