Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 297

The Road To Being A Billionaire

If you don't know who Tony Hsieh is, you have to read this...

I've blogged about Hsieh before. You probably know him as the CEO of Zappos. Zappos was acquired by Amazon for over one billion dollars in 2009. Prior to that, Hsieh sold his other company, LinkExchange to Microsoft for $265 million dollars in 1999. He has a bestselling business book, Delivering Happiness, along with being a very active venture capitalist. Currently, he is deeply involved with restoring downtown Las Vegas with a personal investment of $350 million dollars. But, here's the thing: Tony Hsieh is only 39 years old. Astonishing. He tells his story in this fascinating conversation with Kevin Rose for the always-watching video podcast, Foundation.

If you don't know who Tony Hsieh is, you have to watch this...

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Copying Apple

It's like an itch that you just can't scratch.

Something has been bothering me, lately. It's not overt. It's not obvious. But... it's there. Some will make the argument that Apple is loosing a little bit of its luster. That while the company in a post-Steve Jobs world is still churning out cutting-edge consumer electronics and digital services, that the market for that may be hitting a plateau (this is why their last quarter was seen as a disappointment to Wall Street when - in reality - it was one of the best quarters that any company has ever had). While I am an Apple consumer (and a fairly recent one), I'm hopeful that you won't misconstrued this blog post as someone who is a biased and loyal customer trying to defend a brand (Apple Fanboi!). What makes Apple such a fascinating brand, from my perspective, is how the brand is managed. This isn't just the advertising that we see in market, but the overall experience it delivers. And, lately, I find it fascinating that other brands are simply copying their older positioning, while the media is eating it up and selling it back to its audience as revolutionary or signs of a comeback for these other companies.

Examples of this are...

The Microsoft store . My first computer was a PC. I switched to a Mac only two years ago. I have no issue or bone to pick with Microsoft. When I first came across a Microsoft store, I literally, looked at my watch to see if it was April Fool's Day. I thought that the Apple people had jokingly replaced the white, glowing apple sign with the Windows logo. From the wood paneling and white walls to the merchandising and how the staff is dressed, it was clear to me that Microsoft wanted to feel like Apple. Kudos for Microsoft... they nailed it. Their stores do look and feel like an Apple store.

The launch of BlackBerry 10. I had the original BlackBerry. I had both the pager version and the black and white palm version that only had email on it. I was a BlackBerry advocate up until I switched to an iPhone two years ago. Had BlackBerry progressed with the times, I would probably still be a BlackBerry user. I was excited (very excited) about their launch of BlackBerry 10 the other day. What shocked me was how much the event looked and felt like an Apple event. It was in the details too. From the design of the slides to the flow of the show. It even ended with the musical guest surprise. Their c-level executives tried to pull off the whole "I'm not wearing a tie, so I am very casual," kind of vibe. The pass-offs and high-fives between speakers coupled with their on-stage banter. It was all pulled from Apple. Like a script.

Most smartphones that aren't iPhones. I love Android. I have no opinion on Windows Mobile. The truth is that it's hard to look at any non-iPhone device and not think that it's an iPhone. While the lawsuits are being settled, the average consumer (you and I) can tell that every other smartphone didn't blaze its own trail. It took what Apple had done and rendered their own version of it. Some better. Some worse. But, at quick glance, it's hard not to think that they're all just ripping off iPhone.

Copying isn't a bad strategy.

Companies have built war chests of money by taking an idea, copying it and putting their own little spin on it. One could argue that every great song of today is simply a rip-off of some other song that came before it. The challenge is for a brand to use the muse and build upon it. I used the examples above because they act as these strange, unconscience, triggers that repel me, rather than pull me in. It's like having deja-vu (but not in a good way). I've seen this all before... but this is a weak copy instead of something that is new, interesting and captivating. It seems strained and inauthentic.

What's the lesson?

The devil is in the details. Sometimes the copying is blatantly obvious, but more often than not, it's these little subtle things. You may think that the consumer is not aware of them. You may think that they are innocuous. You would be wrong. People have amazing perception skills. Simple body language tricks can manipulate even the smartest of human beings. We're sensitive people. With sensitive awareness skills. So, as you're trying to be innovative, but all you're really doing is trying to imitate those who truly are, be aware and cautious of these decisions. In the end, it's not really Apple and what they have done, it's all about you and how you created influence and loyalty for the brands that you serve. I believe that there is a higher calling when it comes to marketing and influence. I also believe that many brands are squandering this amazing moment in time because it's easier to just assume the position of those we admire than to create our own, unique paths to individualism.

That just seems more exciting, doesn't it?

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pc

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Do Shopping Centers Have A Future?

Retail, consumerism and how we buy has changed in the past few years, like never before.

If you speak to a brand that has retail as one of their primary transactional channels, they are nervous. How we buy has so fundamentally changed, that it's not uncommon for me to be asked the question: "do shopping centers have a future?" It's important to understand the new retail landscape. When e-commerce first kicked in, it was clunky (some would argue that it's still a little clunky). E-commerce isn't clean either. Dynamic merchandising is a challenge online. Consumers are mostly looking at products in a thumbnail-like photo and the process lacks a brand experience where serendipity meets exploration. Online, we tend to shop for the things we've indentified, while retail outlets can suck consumers in by surrounding the products we went to the store for with other opportunities. Shipping, returning and dealing with that process is still a hurdle for some (this is exasperated when it comes to products that have specific sizes and fits). Yes, the e-commerce world has countless stories of brands who have both optimized and perfected the experience (think Amazon, Zappos, Fab, etc...) while retail has continued to evolve their physical experiences in an attempt to make them more engaging to the consumer (think Apple LEGO, Lululemon, etc...).

More disruption is also more integration.

Here's the thing: we don't just shop online at home (or at the office) anymore. We can shop online while we're still in the physical retail space. It's no surprise that mobile changes everything. These smartphones are powerful, connected, social and transactional. As retailers once dealt with the free shipping model that was initiated by e-commerce plays to encourage consumers to buy online instead of at stores, we're now entering a similar phase where retailers are matching the online channels prices in an attempt to curb the activity of showrooming (when consumers go the physical store, but use their smartphones to price check and purchase online without buying anything from the physical location - turning the retail environment into one, big showroom). The bigger deal here isn't how retailers combat this constant, persistent and mobile barrage of consumers being able to buy when, how and where they want. Make no mistake about it, as same-day shipping becomes more prevalent (and it will), there will be a tipping point that will force retailers to simply sell. "Simply sell" means that the e-commerce department is not a department unto itself, it's a horizontal activity that sits embedded within all of the selling activity - as one. It's a cogent thought if you consider that consumers can shop the brand on their mobile devices while they're physically experiencing the brand at the retail level. So, why shop online when you're in a store? It's a different layer of convenience. The shop may not have the size you need, the right style or the quantities you were looking for. Perhaps it comes packaged in a way that you would prefer shipped, instead of schlepping it along with you on your day. Maybe it simply doesn't fit in your car.

So, do shopping centers have a future?

They do. If you look at the evolution of these physical locations, you will note how the more successful ones have evolved to meet the changing urban environment. Shopping malls used to be very linear in their construction and they were anchored by the big department stores. That dynamic has changed for a myriad of reasons that include issues of urban sprawl, technology and the evolution of consumer habits. What we're currently seeing are more shopping malls that have a more circular construction to them. They almost look like giant spiders whose arms might have a department store or two, but entertainment activities trump the mega-stores. Movie theaters, cafes, restaurants, comedy clubs, mini-putt and more have turned shopping centers into entertainment centers. The stores that are performing the best are becoming hyper-focused on providing much more than something to buy. Apple has the Genius Bar and Lululemon gives yoga classes. The stores have a smaller footprint, offer more services layered to the products and have an almost pop-up feel to them. A sense that they are not permanently there. Shopping centers continue to evolve into our town square. A gathering place for our community that transcends the former single-function of buying stuff.

...And this is just the beginning.

Walk into a modern shopping mall. What do you see? Bigger spaces with massive skylights (some real and some fake), sidewalk-like walking paths that give off the feeling of walking through an actual city center. This is all by design. This is all done to create a city within a city. Commerce plays an important, but not exclusive, role in this city. Brands and retailers are going to adapt to this. Big department stores will start to feel like a place that features many different brand boutiques. You will notice how stores will host a variety of engagements that include the traditional shopping along with virtual goods and services. Smartphones (or whatever mobile looks like) will be woven into the experience and will not be adjunct to it. People like to gather, to wander, to experience and to be with one another. It is one of the primary reasons that cities exist. They are places for us - as individuals - to be a community. True, not all shopping centers will survive, but the ones that can create a communal experience that transcends the transaction will thrive...

...And so too, will the brands that can be adaptive to this new consumer... this new environment. What are you thoughts?

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zappos

On Death And Dying Brands

The new art of branding.

How many painters do you know in your city or town? Not the kind with dropsheets and white overalls who will refresh your old basement bathroom with a splashy buckland blue over a long weekend, but the true artist. The one who is toiling away in their studio - day and night - trying to create their lifetime masterpiece. For centuries, the vast majorities of these artists have done what thousands of artists have done for centuries before them: starve. If you thought that your industry had cut-throat margins and lacks compassion in how it churns out individuals, spend some time at a local artist's studio. While the Internet has brought with it many media disruptions and technological innovations, it has also created a truly global marketplace. Now, these artists, no longer have to toil away in their studio with the hopes that their local cafe will afford them the privilege of a local vernissage. Suddenly, through online marketplaces like eBay and Etsy, these artists have a global audience and are able to sell their creations to anybody and everybody who takes the time to discover them. In these instances, it's has also become common for these artists to work directly with their customers to deliver both the perfect size and look for their homes and offices. While that may not be the shiniest and brightest innovation to capture your attention today, it proved to be the beginning instances of a significant movement and building of an entirely new industry (with significant economy) in the space of unbranded items.

Have the big brands lost their power over consumers?

When you walk into the home or office of individuals who have made purchases from these artists, you're not immediately pointing to them and saying, "Cezanne! Picasso! Warhol! Renoir!" These are - for the most part - unbranded works created to be both customized and personalized. The time and patience to beat a brand into the zeitgeist of the modern consumer seems to be a trend that is now in direct competition to many new entrants that are producing these customized and personalized - nearly unbranded - products for an ever-growing global consumer-base that is interested less in the label and brand experience and much more in something that can be uniquely "them." 

No logo... for real?

In Naomi Klein's controversial 1999 book, No Logo, the author looked at various anti-consumer movements that sprung up during the 1990s. This included everything from the publication, Adbusters, to sweatshop labor protests and beyond. The book acted as a counter-culture movement that looked at the inequalities of everything from globalization and the environment to the impact of Western civilization's consumerism on overall world health. Ultimately, it generated activism, culture jamming and public discourse that has become a more broad-based movement. I bet Klein could have never imagined a retail experience like Selfridges & Co. The UK-based company was voted Best Department Store in the World at the Global Department Store Summit in 2012. With stores in London, Birmingham and two in the Manchester region, they are experimenting (and succeeding) with a very counter-intuitive brand strategy of creating silence. Imagine a department store where electronic devices (with all of their beeps and buzzes) are forbidden, and companies like Headspace (an organization that is trying to both demystify and modernize meditation with a cool iPhone app that makes relaxing an easy-to-learn and do activity) have partnered with Selfridges to offer up Headspace pods throughout the store that offers different guided meditations for shoppers to calm themselves to. What's most unique about this sea of tranquility in the storm of a retail environment is The Quiet Shop. Beyond the minimalist design and carefully curated fashion, accessories and beauty products, some of the world's most respected brands have actually removed their logos for this collection Selfridges has dubbed, "de-branded products." The Quiet Shop features Levi's, Creme de la Mer and even Beats by Dre, without their signature logos.           

Will this concept of unbranded brands become that much commonplace in our lives?

If you look at some of the most interesting coverage of this past year's CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, the vast majority of gadget geeks were not paying that much attention to what the mass manufacturers were coming out with (bigger TVs, louder sound systems and thinner smartphones), but the true attention was being given to some of the newer initiatives that were launching courtesy of platforms like Kickstarter (the simple crowdfunding platform that allows individuals to post their business projects and start an online threshold pledge system for the funding of their ventures). Look no further than the Pebble watch. While it scored tons of attention for generating over ten million dollars in sales on Kickstarter in under thirty days, the product is without traditional brand markings. No logo. No nothing. The majority of the goods available on the contemporary flash sale site, Fab, also lack any brand unique markings. The maker movement is creating an entirely new industry of individuals who are creating newer products that are both completely individualized for consumers and a lot of those are brand-less.

A brand is more than a logo.

All too often, something that does not have a logo is often mis-perceived as lacking brand. Any Marketing 101 course will tell you that a logo is but one important component of what makes a brand. That aside, these massive shifts in how we buy (online, peer-to-peer and with a vast, global selection) coupled with modern technology (crowdfunding platforms, 3D printers, ability to manufacture fewer products while maintaining margins) brings us to a potentially interesting crossroads, where what we have previously defined as a brand (design, experience and how it makes us feel within our social class) gets trumped by a new generation of brands that are without logo, built on pure utility and function, and are highly unbranded by intent. Suddenly, brands like Beats by Dre are creating products much in the same way that the painter is on Etsy. In a sense, the more unbranded these traditional brands become, the more humane and interesting they seem to be.

What this leads us to, is a unique moment in time when we may have to re-define what a "brand" truly is.

The above posting is my twice-monthly column for the Harvard Business Review . I cross-post it here with all the links and tags for your reading pleasure, but you can check out the original version online here:

Harvard Business Review -

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creme de la mer

crowdfunding

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ebay

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etsy

fab

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unbranded

The End Of Permission

Thankfully, Seth Godin is alive and well, otherwise, he'd be rolling over in his grave.

In 1999, Godin wrote the seminal marketing business book, Permission Marketing. In short, don't assume that your consumers want your marketing pap, get their permission first. And, with that little step, you build the relationship where loyalty, trust and credibility act as a pillar and not a beacon off in the distant on a foggy night. For years, the evolution took hold. If you look at best practices in email marketing, the main foundation is based on opt-in (where consumers are opting in for your marketing messages). In many countries, the government has stepped in and created laws that force companies to get permission before sending off any kind of messaging (anti-spam laws). Is the situation perfect? Hardly. We've seen instances where marketers didn't just cross the line, but completely disregarded the existence of said line. With that, we've seen consumers cry foul when companies they are customers of have reached out to them in an effort to fix a problem or notify them of a change in business only to get hit with a formal complaint of spamming, because there was ambiguity surrounding the formality of opting in. Lately, it seems like the bigger companies have found a solid base from which to gather permission, while entrepreneurs and solopreneurs are in a brutal tailspin of assuming a relationship and (sometimes) offering an opt-out.

It's become a daily deluge of automatic permission assumed.

"Hey Mitch, please check out my new portfolio of photographs!," read a recent email (with no opt-out). From there, it's been a daily spamming of massive-sized emails with photos, PDF attachments and the like. Or emails that read, "Hey, Mitch... I thought our product might be of interest to you. If you don't want to receive updates like this, please opt out by clicking here." If it were the occasional email or faux-pas, such is life. I'm sensing a trend. And, in speaking to some of my peers, I am not alone. Now, some might come down hard on this commentary as me being offended by potential vendors or business opportunities for reaching out. This is not the case. A personalized email that said, "Hey Mitch, I'm a photographer and thought I would introduce myself to you and Twist Image about the potential of selling you some of my work," is fine (and, to be expected). These are not pitches or email introductions to sell me something. These are e-newsletters that are not personalized, that are clearly being sent to a larger audience, and that are being delivered with a frequency that matches any other traditional email marketing campaign that one might see in market (in fact, the ones that I am citing above are being sent by a e-newsletter technology).

Permission first.

It's a busy world. It's a busy inbox. It's not easy. Email (and other channels, because this sort of stuff is ever-present on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and beyond) allow people to write something quickly, push one button and not have to deal with the ramifications. As a marketing professional (and someone who cares deeply about this industry), I'm hopeful that you and I can both get back to the good fight of helping these brands and individuals better understand that while spamming may be easy and building a true relationship may be more challenging, the new media is about quality, not quantity. Why? Because after two decades of digital commercialization, we've also learned another fascinating thing about marketing in these connected channels: those who spend the early days connecting to the right people (the quality) tend to build a substantive and valuable database (quantity). Who knew?

Permission means you connect to the right people. The right people become a lot of right people. Sounds like the best kind of marketing. What do you think?

Tags:

anti spam law

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credibility

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digital commercialization

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new media

opt in

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trust

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Media Hackings On The Internet Of Things

Episode #342 of Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to.

Does anyone remember Media Hacks? It was a semi-frequent podcast within this podcast that was a roundtable conversation with Chris Brogan, C.C. Chapman, Hugh McGuire, Christopher S. Penn,  Julien Smith and myself. We had a good run, but life became what it is, and it became a ruthless game of herding the unherdable cats. Well, it's back. Welcome to episode #41 of Media Hacks. Unfortunately, Penn was not able to make the recording, but McGuire is in charge of getting dates all locked in using Doodle (so, this should happen more often). In this episode we discuss everything from the Internet of Things to how we're all feeling about new media (and where this is all going). We'll do it again soon (we promise). Enjoy the conversation...

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation - The Twist Image Podcast #342.

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itunes

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marketing

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media hacks

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podcast

podcasting

social media

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #136

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, the author of Complete Web Monitoring and Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik) and I decided that every week or so the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".

Check out these six links that we're recommending to one another:

Library Services in the Digital Age - Pew Internet . "I'm in Seattle today, presenting to the American Library Association about what it means to be a library scientist in an era of Big Data - where everyone is a (bad) librarian. Just in time, Pew released a study of the role libraries play in the era of the Web, detailing everything from racial usage to the library's role as a technology 'petting zoo.' Good reading in its own right, but also as a predictor of some of the pivots that publishers may be making in the coming decade." (Alistair for Hugh).

Harper Reed Goes A Week Without Internet: Obama Campaign Tech Guru Shares What He Learned - The Huffington Post . " Harper Reed was pretty busy last year. As the CTO for the Obama For America campaign, he was pretty much always online. I chatted with him briefly at Foo Camp last summer, and he was upbeat -- but it was clear that a lot of hard work went into the platform he'd build. Once everything was done, he decided to take a sabbatical from technology, something I've been thinking a lot about lately. Here's what happened." (Alistair for Mitch).

iPad Hack Statement Of Responsibility - TechCrunch . "I wish that there were more stories like this from the bankers behind the financial crisis." (Hugh for Alistair).

Jeff Bridges, Bernie Glassman, H. Jon Benjamin and Mike Wiebe - Bullseye with Jesse Thorn . "Do you like the The Big Lebowski? Zen? Jesse Thorn's podcasts? Listen, and


find out." (Hugh for Mitch).

Remembering Aaron by taking care of each other - Clay Shirky . "I wish I could say that I knew all about Aaron Swartz , but I did not. Still, that did not stop me from paying close attention to the tributes and memorials for this very young man who was dealing with a lot more than many of us are capable of understanding. On January 11th, he took his own life. Sadly, I've known a few people who have committed suicide. The only true lesson that I have ever taken away from those experiences is that it's hard to find a logical answer to an illogical act. Famed new media thinker, Clay Shirky (Here Comes Everybody and Cognitive Surplus), is known for his depth and wisdom in communicating the changes in our world. In this piece, Shirky elevates the subject of suicide in a profound and powerful way. The ultimate message: all of us should be doing a better job of taking care of one another." (Mitch for Alistair).

The Book of the Future, Sliced and Diced  - The New Yorker . "Books are just content... right, Hugh? Apparently, there was an event last week in New York City called, Digital Book World . It featured sessions like, Making Book Trailers Jump Off the Screen and Bootstrap: The Modular Subscription. Not a physical object bound with paper to be found at an event like this, I guess? In this interesting The New Yorker piece, you start to realize that being an author means a lot more than just writing books, magazine or newspaper articles. Digital offers something a lot more than just a new platform." (Mitch for Hugh).

Now it's your turn: in the comment section below pick one thing that you saw this week that inspired you and share it.

Tags:

aaron swartz

alistair croll

american library association

bernie glassman

bitcurrent

clay shirky

cognitive surplus

complete web monitoring

digital book world

foo camp

gigaom

h jon benjamin

harper reed

here comes everybody

hugh mcguire

human 20

iambik

jeff bridges

jesse thorn

librivox

link bait

link exchange

link sharing

managing bandwidth

media hacks

mike wiebe

obama for america

pew internet

pressbooks

techcrunch

the big lebowski

the huffington post

the new yorker

year one labs

To Sell Is Human. To Be A Marketer Is Human

You have to watch this conversation.

Daniel H. Pink is one of the best business book authors and thought leaders on business out in the wild. He's written some of the most compelling books including, A Whole New Mind, Drive and his latest, To Sell Is Human. Pink sat down for a fascinating conversation with Jonathan Fields of Good Life Project (one of the best podcasts currently being produced) to discuss To Sell Is Human. Marketers tend to think that they're not in sales. That's sad. We're in the business of sales. Our roles are to help a brand connect with a consumer so that the consumer buys a product (or service), talks about it (in a positive way) to their social graph and becomes loyal to the brand. We are in the business of selling our ideas to clients and to one another. It's not just marketers. It's each and every one of us. We wake up in the morning and put on clothes that make us feel better about ourselves (that's a sales job too). Are you freaking out because you're now starting to see how much of our lives are about sales? Don't worry. To sell is human. You just have to get used to it.

Like I said: you have to watch this conversation...

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business

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dan pink

daniel h pink

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jonathan fields

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selling

social graph

thought leader

to sell is human

The Thing About Facebook And Brands

What should a brand do on Facebook?

That question above... the one about brands on Facebook... yesterday, I got that asked that question three times. Yesterday. The pressure that brands feel to make connections on Facebook is tremendous. They're reading about all kinds of data about over a billion connected people and the power that Facebook yields in terms of keeping people engaged and using the channel. The numbers are truly staggering. There is no question about it: brands really do need some kind of formal and iterative Facebook strategy.

Is Facebook too big to ignore?

Ignoring Facebook is a mistake. Harnessing it to extend the brand narrative is a major task for the vast majority of brands. It entails a strategy that has true metrics attached to it and one that can be nurtured over time. The challenge (as I see it) is that brands use it as an extension to their traditional and mass marketing initiatives. In such, we have what can only be described as an "arm's race" for likes on Facebook.

Here's the thing...

When I get asked what a brand should do on Facebook, the real question I hear (by, actually, reading between the lines) is "how can I get a whole lot of those billion-plus people to like our brand... or, at least, like our brand more than our competitors?" So, the short answer is this: instead of figuring out how to get more people to like your brand on Facebook, why don't you get your brand to start liking more people on Facebook?

The end of media narcissism.

The average person on Facebook has 120- 200 connections (depending on who you ask... and when). As big as Facebook is, it's actually many, many, very small circles of close (and semi-close) connections. For a brand to truly penetrate that inner circle, they have do a whole lot more than create interesting content. Brands have to actually like their followers. The truth is that I'm not sure exactly what this means and, it well mean something different to each and every brand. What I am very sure of is this: Facebook and brands is less about advertising and much more about creating, nurturing and developing a more direct relationship between individuals and the brands that serve them. This isn't for all brands. This isn't for all consumers. This is (still) a massive opportunity for those that can rise above a traditional advertising strategy. So, the next time someone brings up Facebook in your marketing meetings, start here...

"Instead of asking our consumers to like us on Facebook, why don't we start liking them?"

Now, let me know how the conversation goes...

Tags:

advertising

brand

brand narrative

content

data

direct relationship

facebook

facebook like

facebook marketing

facebook strategy

marketing meeting

mass marketing

media narcissism

online social network

social media

traditional advertising

traditional media

Overcoming Stage Fright

Whether it's a boardroom or a convention center, it's common (and normal) to have stage fright.

Volumes of books have been written about overcoming stage fright. These include books that have been written by psychologists, neuroscientists, performance coaches and more. Basically, people who are both way smarter (and way more qualified) than me to write about what happens between your ears that makes you all weak in the knees, when it comes to getting up on a stage for any kind of presentation.

What do I know?

In 2006, I was asked to speak at a full-day leadership event that featured Dr. Phil. It was an event that hosted thousands of people. While that entire day is now a blur to me, I remember a couple of distinctly powerful moments (all of them based on massive anxiety attacks). My most vivid memory is that I was following Chuck Martin. As he was onstage, I remember being behind the scenes, looking at the stage with the countdown on the confidence monitor reading fifteen minutes left, and then shifting my sights to the exit sign on the door. I was literally contemplating the idea of making a run for the exit. I let the anxiety and stress get to me. Not just in that moment, but in the weeks building up to that event.

Overcoming the fear.

How did I overcome the fear? The fact that I didn't make a dash for the exit, took and deep breath and went for it could be an indicator that I got over my fear, but that simply isn't the case. The truth is that I still get nervous. I'm just better at recognizing what it is and harnessing it, rather than allowing it to paralyze me. Since 2006, I have consistently given anywhere between fifty and seventy presentations a year. In training for that first big leadership event, I worked with a slew of presentation coaches and even a stand-up comedian to ensure that I was "getting it right." While I received some great techniques and tactics that elevated my presentation skills, I'll never forget what one of my coaches said, when I told them that I was deathly nervous about the entire prospect of presenting on that stage. He looked at me, admitted that he had never coached someone who had to speak to an audience of that size but, regardless, that if I wasn't nervous, I was "dead from the shoulders up."  

It's not natural.

Our mind (and body) react so adversely to public speaking, because it isn't a natural and intuitive act for humans. The true masters of speaking are the ones who make it look so natural. It's not a gift for the majority of great presenters... it's an act. It is something they have worked on and nurtured after many events and putting themselves in many different scenarios. So, after seven years of professional presenting (I did several events before the one with Dr. Phil, so it's probably more years than that), I have distilled how to overcome stage fright down to two key factors. And, no, they are not about rituals, breathing techniques or the like.

Key factor #1: Basic presentation skills. The majority of people fear public speaking so much that they spend zero to little time learning and preparing for what the act entails. They think that if they ignore the basic skills required to deliver a message in a public forum, that they can just cram the night before, lean on a lectern and struggle their way through it or simply wing it. A presentation (of any kind) is a performance. If you don't understand the basics of this performance: this includes everything from how the stage is set-up and flows to understanding the basics around body language and vocal delivery, you're doomed. As scared as you may be, you will gain a ton of confidence by understanding what it's like to walk on a stage, have proper posture and body language and working on your actual voice. Ignoring all of that will not help you overcome your fear.

Key factor #2: It's all about your content. When you know your content, everything else is easy. If you put a gun to my head and said, "speak for sixty minutes about why brands need to care about their marketing," I could do it. Something tells me that if someone did the same thing to you, you could do it too. Why? Whatever industry you serve, you know your content. Presenters are usually nervous because they don't know their content well enough. This is why people write up and then read a speech (never do this) or cram PowerPoint slides full of text (never do this either). They're worried that they may forget something. Here's the dirty little secret: we don't forget the things we know.

One last truth about stage fright...

Most people don't speak as often as I do. This means that they have no need to really study the art of presenting and, this also means that they rarely have enough time to learn their content well-enough to know it and be comfortable with it. Presentation skills coaches will try to offer up breathing techniques and other tactics to help divert your nervous energy somewhere else. Sure, those may act as band-aids while the anxiety gets the better of you, but you can (and will) get better if you understand the basics in presentation skills and take the necessary time to make yourself as comfortable as possible with your content.

What happens next?

When you take the time to learn about presentations and learn your content, the anxiety you feel changes and adapts. So, now when I get nervous, it's mostly because I want the audience to to learn something... to be moved. It's a different kind of anxiety and pressure that takes the doom and gloom of, "I hope they don't judge me," into the world of, "I want to blow this crowd's mind!" So, no, the anxiety doesn't go away, it just becomes a positive force that will allow you to strive for a better presentation than the one you gave the day before.

What are some of the techniques that have made you a better presenter?

(special thanks to Gini Dietrich who inspired this blog post by asking me if I still get nervous when presenting during a webinar that we recorded earlier today).

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