Mastering Your Message

A message is born from ideas, so ideas are important in the world of a creator. But the tendency for a creator to fall in love with particular ideas before they have been rafted into proper messages is a danger one.

If you are looking to build a following by spreading messages as an extended part of your life...you are in sales. Here are four skills you need to be successful in sales (and messaging).

The internet has made content distribution cheap and content 'inspiration sources' easily accessible. But those factors do not easily equate to an easy way to target your prime audience or easy to not become more noise and disinformation.

Not sure when to give up a project? This episode may not produce the a real answer, but it does lay the groundwork for how you can come to terms with the need to make the decision.

Being a creator means creating for the purpose of other people to admire your work. But how do you find more people to admire your work?

Content creation take a good amount of time and effort. How do you know if what you have to put into it will ultimately be worth it?  

Becoming a content creator is just as simple as creating content. And also, not quite as simple.

Every time you tell a story, whether fiction or non-fiction, you follow a three-step story arc. Here is a basic explanation.

It is hard just keep creating content when you are starting out with little to know audience. Keep creating anyway. Your message matter.

The focus of Mastering Your Message is changing with the times. The focus in now on helping content creators get better at their messaging and processing. This episode is an explanation of why and how.

Inspired 1986 hit single "Rumors" from Timex Social Club, we compare the spread of rumors meant to tear down with grass roots moments meant to build up, and how the tactics used in both should be in your storytelling toolbox.

You don't have doubts about your message, but about you being an effective message of that particular message. It (mostly) doesn't matter who you are and how much knowledge and experience you have, as long as you are presenting from the right point of view.

Tales of great fishermen and sales pitches from diamond level account execs are both just stories being told to hopefully willing listeners. You can help all listeners get into your stories with the right hook to reel them in.

I played an inspirational message from a thought leader I follow on YouTube. Ten minutes later, I stubbled upon anther video and watched another person deliver a near identical message of inspiration. They said the same thing in words, but did I actually hear the same thing from both speakers?

As you begin your journey of spreading your message, you will probably not be so lucky to have a solid mechanism for promoting yourself. This episode offers some advice on how to make that work.

When you are starting out and do not have much of an audience, you may think it is a time to be down. But it is actually one of the best times of your career, as you have the ability to test just about everting about yourself, your style, and your message.

Due to the restrictions of travel and gathering at the time of this recording, doing events ‘virtually’ is the only way to get in front of people to deliver your message. But the process is different than showing up to a live venue and walking on a stage to talk.

If you are given the chance to speak on stage, but you’ve got to pay a fee for the spot, is that spot worth paying for. It just might be.

When Mastering Your Message was created, ‘live streaming’ was not a real thing. Now, it is dominating message delivery. You do not have to do it, but if you would like to here is a little info on what you should do to get started.

Having gravitas is just a fancy way of saying you can speak into important situations as if you belong in the spotlight.  Do you have it? Do you need it? How do you get it if you do not? 

You have to master your message creation process and delivery alongside mastering the mediums of transmission that you choose to use.

Even with all of the methods of audio and video that can be used for messaging in this modern age, being in print, whether on paper or in pixels, is a great way to establish clout and a tried and true way to deliver your messages.

2020 will go down in history for a lot of reasons, with just one of them being the weirdest Presidential election the United States has ever witnessed. But this is not a podcast about politics. It's about effective messaging. And there was plenty to learn on the build-up to November 3rd, 2020, and beyond.

The simple advice I give to everyone recovering from a failure is ‘try again.’ But if you are working to deliver a message and you have failed to see results through a specific medium, you still need to try again, but you may need to review your message as well.

Giving a message is just telling a story, and like all stories, the more complicated it is, the easier it is to lose listeners. Here is an explanation of the foundation of storytelling to help: the Three-Act Formula.

Just because you are delivering one to many messages does not mean you can not have a little fun in a back and forth dialogue within your delivery. It takes some practice, but when you master having a dialogue within your monologue is a great way to keep people engaged in your delivery.  

You can easily get started as a speaker by being a ‘master’ in the topic you want to speak on. But if you think you are a master of many topics, you will find yourself not getting many bookings to take the stage in front of others.

You don't have to be a globetrotting daredevil to draw people in to hear your message. This is truly about hooking in the fish, regardless of bait used.

You have the right to change your mind, even if you are the spokesperson for a certain stance that doesn’t take to kindly to people of an opposing mindset. And there is a way to be true to your new belief and still remain a spokesperson.

Silence is a powerful tool that allows you to work engagement into your messaging by littering giving the audience time to think and reflex.

I'm back. After a hiatus created by life and circumstances, I'm ready to take back the role as 'messenger master.' If you have to step away from a position for a while, you may find stepping back into the role of spokesperson daunting. It can be, but I will give you my five step plan for how I am reassuring myself to that role for this podcast.

As this podcast is being released, the world is dealing with the spread of the novel coronavirus Covid-19. This is a crisis that we are all suffering through together, but when this issue passes, you may find yourself having to deal with a crisis of your own. As a communications specialist, these are 5 crisis communications messaging best practices that you should follow.

Every so often I have to remind myself that new people are tuning in to this podcast and that we must revisit some basic themes to ensure all listeners are on the same page.

Your message you have worked hard to craft is tied to you for its delivery. That makes it extremely important that you deliver your message as 'you' consistently.

‘Going blue’ is an expression used by comedians to describe the choice to curse in their acts. This choice can change the direction of their career, and a similar choice by you can do the same for your career as a messenger.

The world's greatest algebra teacher and the world's worst algebra teacher are both trying to teach algebra to students. There success or failure is less about the content they have to deliver, but the delivery of the content.

Messages are easier to take in if the messenger has 'the look' of a person who should deliver a certain message to a certain crowd.  

Just as your message has a target audience that represents those who will easily accept it, there is some sort of logo, mascot, or a person of authority that comes to be an easy representation of the reason behind the message. What do you do when the time comes to change that logo, mascot, or person?

Many people find themselves called to be a messenger, given the assignment because of circumstances that derail their own plans for their lives. This makes a message a target for their opposition, whether they expect it or not.

The bio we read to ourselves about ourselves makes a big difference in how you present yourself to others, and their ability to see you as authentic in your delivery.

When you a just beginning to give your message to the public, you may find few people showing up to hear you speak. That means you can say just about anything you want just about any way you want.

Continuing to show up to attempt to deliver a message no one can hear is frustrating. Here are three steps you can follow to alleviate that frustration and get back to delivering your message to the right people.

There are a few factors you need to understand to truly know what the best mode to deliver your message is to ensure the people you want to hear it get the chance.

My short-form podcasts are a success, but the effort going into their production takes away from time I would like to produce long-form podcasts and classic writing.

You have to prepare yourself for feedback, but it helps when you prepare your audience on how to present quality feedback.

Even a seemly harmless 'dad joke' can turn a crowd against you if delivered to the wrong crowd.

If you know a little bit of something, and that little bit is substantially more than those you are trying to serve or teach, then to them you are an expert. So you can claim to be an expert. But don't get lost with just how much expertise you truly possess.

Creating your message took work. Perfecting the vessel of delivery of your message to work. And the promotion needed to get the word out about you and your message will take work as well. And the patience to wait until the work can produce a return.

Despite multiple attempts to write its eulogy, email and email marketing is far from dead. You need to utilize email in your messaging on your message, even if it not as your main delivery system to reach your target audience.

You may have a powerful message and be a decent delivery of it, but it's not connecting. What can you do when you come to terms with needing help just to deliver the message?

There will be situations where you are stressed out by the process of communicating and desperate for chances to deliver your message, or to get a response from delivery. Learn the handle the stress with professionalism, and you will keep people from seeing your efforts as desperation.