A slightly more esoteric subject this week, but nonetheless one that's critical to ‘grabbing' an audience and having them hang on your every word. The topic of ‘authenticity' has been kicked around the speaking profession so much in the recent past that the bruises are being to show. People have been expounding all sorts of theories about it, and I even agree with some of them - to a point. Nobody though, it seems to be, has satisfactorily got to the crux of the matter.

Here's my tuppence worth: 

Let's take it as read that you're an expert in your field and well qualified to speak on your subject. This alone, isn't enough to grab people's attention and it certainly isn't enough to stop you from boring them to death. Let's further assume that you read last week's Business Booster on "Sticky Speaking" and you've fully taken that message on board - you've been beavering away in your study on a super performance - one that's full of fun, finely crafted, scripted to within a ace of perfection and supported by some out standing graphics.
Surely enough, for even the most demanding audience?

Nope.

Time to regroup and get back to basics.

You see, the issue is this: people (can) get so carried away with crafting a performance that they successfully manage to remove all traces of themselves, leaving just this (apparently) "amazing" performance.
Here's a challenge for you. I want you to think of an amazing performance that you've personally witnessed - it might have been some opera, or maybe a pop concert, or an outstanding sporting achievement - football, motor racing, golf, whatever. I bet every one of those performances were performed by a human being and it was he or she that made the actual performance. It wasn't an amazing hole-in-one that you remember; it was an amazing hole-in-one by Tiger Woods, (or whoever). The point is this: performances don't exist as stand-alone thing-a-me-jigs, suspended in a space-time continuum for all to observe when they feel like it. They are created in the moment by real people, who put every ounce of their being into the realisation of that moment. That doesn't mean to say that they don't practice - of course they do - but they let you (the audience) see them (the performer).

In summary, they don't hide behind their performance - they are their performance.

So, my guess is that you want to know how you can do this.

The answer is simple, but not necessarily easy. The key lay in the earlier example of the hole-in-one by Tiger Woods. An authentic performance is one in which the audience to see the real you, even if it is presented within the context of the performance. The Tiger Woods you see playing golf on TV is the real Tiger Woods, even if you're seeing him within the context of a game of golf.

So the first - and only real - question you have to answer is: who's the real you?

The real you is the person who's totally comfortable with your innate talent. So to know yourself, you have to know what your innate talent is - and it continually amazes me many people don't really know this and therefore, by extension, don't really know themselves.

I've met many people who continue to define themselves by what they do, accountant, lawyer, banker, doctor, etc. I've met several people who take this a step further by taking the advice of the networking gurus, and express their work by its value to the outside world. For example, "I help companies improve their bottom line and increase profits" (accountant). However, that's really a fairly straight forward repackaging - it doesn't tell the outside world anything about that individual accountant - it pretty much describes what all accountants do.
To identify your core talent do the following:

1. Reflect on your life from the age of late-teens/early adulthood, to the present day.
2. Look for common themes, for example, were you always the one to whom people came for support? Did you have a big circle of friends, or a smaller, closer-knit group? Were you always the centre of attraction, or did you live a little more at the edge of your social group? The most telling answers will probably come from your late-teens or early adulthood - before the structures and behaviours of full adulthood became impressed on your psyche. Make notes on your self-observation and put them to one side, continuing with the next exercise.
3. Ask a wide range of people the following question: "What three words would you use to describe me to somebody who doesn't know me and hasn't met me?" It's important that it's three words. You can give people some latitude here and maybe allow them a short phrase - but you're not looking for an essay. Make sure you write down exactly what they say, in the order that they say it. In my experience, the pattern is always the same - the first two words come out quickly and then there's a pause while they think of the third. Ask people who have known you all your life. Ask people who have known for only a few months. Ask customers, suppliers, friends, business colleagues.

When you look at the results from steps 2 and 3 above, I'd be hugely surprised if you can't see a pattern emerging. Don't argue with the data - this is how the world sees you, so just accept it and ask yourself the final question:

For a person to behave in this manner, what must his or her core talent be?

You're beginning to get to the heart of who the real you really is - and that's the person your audience wants to see.