My Keynote Formula
I am in Utah this week getting ready to speak, and I want to share something about how I build my keynotes.
People often ask me where my ideas come from, how I develop them, or how I decide what makes it onto the stage.
Over the years, I have realized my process is pretty simple:
Find it. Use it. Share it.
Find It.
My work starts long before I get on a stage.
With Go From A to THE®, I have become fascinated with one question:
What differentiates A from THE?
I think about it all the time! What makes someone go from being a leader to THE leader people want to follow? From a company to THE company people want to work for? From a choice to THE choice people want to make?
So.. I go in search of finding it.
I read about it. I interview people. I study other people’s research. I create my own research. I watch how people communicate. I travel. I have conversations. I pay attention to language. I notice what great leaders and organizations do differently. I am constantly looking for it.
And whenever possible, I experience it myself.
I don't want my keynotes to be built entirely from ideas I found in a book or research paper. I want to see what happens in the real world.
Read it. See it. Talk about it. Experience it. Go FIND it.
Use It.
Finding the idea isn't enough.
Next, I have to use it.
I experiment with it in my own life, relationships, business, leadership, and communication.
Does it actually work? It’s one reason why I break world records, to see if we can put what I found to the test and can a guy like me break the world record in it? Let’s see! So far, I have broken 9 world records using the strategies I have found, and I have attempted A LOT more than nine! :)
What happens when I change one word? What happens when I approach one conversation differently? What happens when I apply the research outside of the controlled environment where I discovered it?
Sometimes it works.
Sometimes it doesn't.
Sometimes the original idea was wrong. Sometimes my interpretation was wrong. Sometimes the experiment produces something completely different from what I expected.
That is part of the process.
I am not looking for ideas that sound good on stage. I am looking for ideas that are useful off the stage.
Share It.
Then comes my favorite part.
I share it.
My job as the keynote speaker isn't to stand on stage and show people everything I know.
My job is to take what I have found, tested, experienced, failed at, learned from, and refined and turn it into something we can really use.
I want people leaving with tangible tools.
Not only, "That was interesting."
I want:
"I can use that in my meeting tomorrow."
"I can change the way I communicate with my team."
"I can try that with my family."
"I know one thing I can do differently now."
Because ultimately, Go From A to THE® isn't about becoming better than everyone else.
It is about identifying what we want to be THE in and becoming intentional about the actions, language, habits, and choices that help us get there.
What's Your Formula?
As I speak here in Utah, I am reminded that this formula isn't only for keynote speakers.
We can all use it.
Find it. Get curious. Read. Ask questions. Interview people. Go places. Pay attention. Experience things.
Use it. Test what we learn. Experiment. Keep what works. Question what doesn't. Adjust.
Share it. Give what we have learned to someone else. Make it practical. Help someone shorten their learning curve.
Maybe we don't need to have everything figured out before we can contribute something meaningful.
Maybe we need to be willing to find it, use it, and share it.
That's my formula.
What's yours?