Update: My friend Grace wanted to know my secret for losing weight. Ever since moving to the States she put on 25 pounds and can't fit into her slim dresses anymore. She takes diet supplements, diet shakes and anything diet to reduce her unwanted pounds.

I suggested eating less and moving more. She didn't like that answer. She loves to eat. The American diet is quite delicious coupled with its generous portions. You could say Grace's Achilles' heel is abundance of food.

Which leads us to today's...

Feature Article: Speaker's Achilles' Heel

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Investing in Each Moment...

My colleague, Chantal Sicile-Kira has been asked by the California State Senate Autism Committee to lead a regional task force by proposing legislation to help families impacted by autism. Being an author, speaker and mother with autistic kids, this project is near and dear to her heart. She couldn't say no.

Chantal is, and now was, a member of my business speaking group. Congratulations to her. She will be a staunch advocate and she will be missed.

But here's what I hope you're ready for...

You never know when you're going to receive a higher calling. It could be today, tomorrow or next Thursday. Be at the ready.

In the meantime, avoid any slack. Invest in yourself, your peers and even those you've just met. Contribute your best ideas at every meeting, every opportunity and in each moment — and you'll always be at the ready.

Speaker's Achilles' Heel

Dear Associate,

"Gail, would you like to hear my opinion," I humbly asked after watching her give her latest speech. It took me a long time to understand what she was doing, but after watching her speak a few times I discovered something she did that was a little disturbing. It took away from her message rather than made it stronger.

"Yes, I'd like that," she replied.

Gail has the amazing ability to create entertaining content on the spot. She often repeats other people's comments, commands word play with ease and is extremely gifted with speaking in the moment. She is an advanced speaker so most people shy away from giving her constructive criticism.

"You're bobbing your head too often," I expounded. "It's distracting. It appears as if you're trying to convince me, which has the opposite effect because I find myself resisting you, even fighting you on a subconscious level."

"I didn't know," she commented. "Thanks for bringing that out. I have a hard time with some of my messages. For instance, I gave a talk about branding during a women's seminar and even I had a difficult time believing my own message. I felt like such a fraud."

Gail has been working in the marketing department for many years. This is the stuff she knows and has trained for. This is the stuff she makes an income from. Yet, on a deeper level, she doesn't even believe the stuff she teaches.

I want to pose a stop you in your tracks type question for you speakers...

Do you really believe in your message?

Gail has a tough time convincing herself. She does have good information for her audience and she can make a decent living off of her marketing messages because she is a talented speaker. But at the end of the day, she feels she's hasn't been true to herself. Which makes her question her own motives for being on the platform.

She's suffering from that angst feeling which I term the "speaker's Achilles' heel." It's that vulnerable spot for speakers where they come to grips with their own messages. Are they just speaking to get by, speaking for a paycheck, or is there something more meaningful they really want to say from the depths of their souls?

Too often we hear the term commodity speaker. That's a speaker who speaks on everything and anything that's seems to be the latest hot ticket item. She'll speak on customer service on Monday, sales scripts on Tuesday, social media on Wednesday, graphic design on Thursday, and database marketing on Friday.

She promotes herself as an expert in many business fields, but in reality not a true expert at all. That's a shame because when she spreads herself too thin, the marketplace doesn't really know what to make of her. And that's because she's going lateral with her topics instead of going deep.

Now if you have a message that's stirring in your gut, that you know audiences can identify with, have been through, have struggled with, and want a remedy for — then you might have something that defines you as an expert in that field.

Today's audiences are growing weary of shallow messages. They're seeking messages and messengers from the platform who are real, genuine and authentic. They want someone to tell them the truth. Be that someone and you can avoid the speaker's Achilles' heel.

Warm regards,