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If the law of leadership, I wrote about a few weeks ago, were the only law that applied to bring your ideas and products to market then MITS should own the personal computer market. After all they were first to market with the very first person computer, the Altair 8800. But I doubt most you you have ever heard about them. Or if you are old enough to have heard about them. You probably have completely forgot about them. Does this mean the law of leadership does not work? No, the law of leadership continues to hold firm.

While the law of leadership holds firm it can and is often modified by the law of the mind. The law of the mind simply says it is not enough to be first to market you must be first in the mind of your potential customers and clients This law is reaffirmed over and over again. Being first in the marketplace is only beneficial to the extend that it allows you to be first in the mind of your potential customers and clients. A personal example of this is the simple song that goes “If your happy and you know it clap your hands.” and then you clap twice. Well I learned that song in Sunday School when I was a child. The only difference is that I learned it “If you saved and you know it clap your hands” The first time I heard it with happy rather than saved I did not like it because it I thought it was a rip off of my Sunday School song. While my Sunday School song was not the original it was first in my mind and therefore better.

Being first in the mind has tremendous impact in bring a product of service to market. In the 1980s MCI developed 1-800-Operator. At that time if you needed assistance getting connecting or placing a collect call you simply dial 0 for operator. MCI wanted part of that action. So they needed a way to put themselves first in the mind of the public. 1-800-operator was the solution. They spent a lot of money in advertising this service. They were able to make an impact in the market. But it cost a lot of money. Changing the mind of someone how has already made a decision or established a pattern, while not impossible, is difficult. Being first to market with a product or idea allows you to become first in the mind of potential customers and clients while expending comparatively little money. One a few dollars can work marketing miracles and the next day millions can not save a company.

Getting the name right for your product of service is also vital. The early personal computer industry illustrates this very well. In the early days of the personal computer The major players were Apple II, Commodore Pet, IMSAI 8080, MITS Altair 8800, and Radio Shack TRS-80 Which one of those names is the simplest and easiest to remember? The

Professional Magicians know how to engage an audience to make a trick magic. They know exactly what they’re going to say and how they’re going to say it.  Here are 4 things you can learn from a stand up entertainer to improve your presentations.

1.  Script the presentation

I know many people who say, “I am at my best when I a free to ad lib.”  I have only one thing to say to that B— S—-!. You are not better. You are worse. And in addition you are simply lazy.

A professional knows exactly what he is going to do, how and when. Robin Williams is perhaps the best improv comedian in the world. But watch him walk through a bit with a TV crew and you will quickly understand his improv performance is rehearsed and scripted. He looks like he is adlibbing only because he knows his material so well.

Not having a script is amateurish. The results are unpredictable and not repeatable.  Write down what you’re going to say, review it with a colleague or your manager to help you are saying what needs to be said.

2.  Cut the presentation ruthlessly

I have a friend in Las Vegas who had a bit he had been doing for years. It went over well and the audiences loved it. It was about a 10 minute bit. He then was asked to perform it in a new show. But he needed to cut it down to 6 minutes. He did. Next, he was asked to do it for television but he needed to cut it down to 4 minutes. He did. And today that bit is better because he was forced to remove all the fluff that did not add to the bit.

As you review your presentation, cut out anything that is not needed.  Superfluous information will serve to only confuse your client and detracts from your message. Say what needs to be said and no more.

3.  Practice, Practice, Practice

Rehearse your presentation.  Rehearse with a colleague, your manager, a trainer, your spouse, or anyone you can.  If you can, recorded or videotape your rehearsals or practice sessions and review the tape.  As you review them you will be surprised at all the meaning gestures and body language.  You will be surprised at all the meaningless comments and information you’re giving your client.  Remove anything that does not add value.

Go back to number two and cut the presentation ruthlessly.

Watching yourself on video, or listening to yourself on tape can be rather unsettling.  But it is absolutely critical if you are to be the best you can be.

4.  Script your improvisations

If you watch a standup comedian or magician you’ll notice that they engage with the audience and any volunteer they have on stage.  They don’t go through their script robotically.  They treat their volunteer and their audience as people.  They can do so only once they understand their script. Knowing the script allows then to take a detour from it and they know how to get back to.

But here’s the dirty little secret, every audience thinks they are unique. All the unexpected things that audience members do, are not all that clever. They are very predictable. They are not unique.  So as a result, comics and magicians have standard lines and bits of Improv they can pull out of a highly rehearsed bag.  You need to do the same.  The objections your clients have, the questions they ask, their reactions to your questions and statements, are not unique.  Have well-rehearsed and scripted responses to all of them.

In the last post I mentioned 3 leadership secrets of a magician. A magician is unique among performers. They often use volunteers. These volunteers are unknown to the magician and the magician must get the volunteer to perform feats the way the magician needs to have them done. This takes a tremendous amount of leadership ability. So here is the second installment of leadership secrets of a magician.

4. Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. Every show is different. It does not matter how many times it has been performed. It is performed for a specific audience not audiences in general.

Everyone makes decisions in different ways. Everyone thinks and evaluates things based on their own criteria. Some are turned on by the coolness factor; others want to see the research and facts. Some are more interested in the practicality of your solution. Others are more concerned with how others may react. A successful leader adjusts to the needs and expectations of the audience.

5. Don’t preach. Coach. I love magic! I love the idea of wonder and innovation it brings. I am passionate about my performance and I want to explore different worlds, even if they are worlds of my own making. But there are people who do not like magic, my son for one. I don’t understanding but the truth is he does not.

Leaders know it is fine to be passionate about a topic, but being dogmatic and closed-minded prevents others from being interested in your point of views.

6. Be yourself. Though it is good to tailor your style to that of your audience, do not lose your individuality. The single best advice given to all magicians is. “be yourself.” Even when playing a character, the magician must find something in himself that is in common with the character. When the magician is himself the audience recognizes it and is willing to believe the magician. Even when in other circumstances they would not accept what just happened.

Genuineness is required of a leader. People need to trust their leaders. And if the leader cannot be honest with how he is, if he pretends to be something he is not then he has lost all credibility.

However you apply these skills, it is they be natural to you. If they are not natural, people will see through it and trust you even less. Authenticity is key.

Business professional are often required to perform magic for a client so take a few tips from a professional magician.

There is a tremendous lack of leadership today. The primary reason is no one is listening to anyone else. While one person is talking the other is thinking how to rebut. Then they have the audacity to think the other person will listen to them when they have not tried to listen first.  Speaking to someone does not mean they listen to you. Because people are sitting in front of you when you speak does not mean they are listening to you or care about what you are saying. If they do not care they simply tune you out.

Magicians have that problem in spades. What does a magician do? They trick you or fool you. But here is the rub, no one likes being fooled. But they love being entertained. If you are fooled, you feel like an idiot.  People do not like feeling stupid.

So the magician must learn a how to entertain rather than fool. As an entertainer he must make audience care. They must feel they are not watching a trick but rather they are experiencing something magical. Something that is just for them. The magician knows the audience probably does not believe in magic. Therefore, he must create a world where magic exists and a world the audience wants to explore with him.

How a magician accomplishes this, can be used by leaders, speakers, sales people, and managers. How can a business leader get people to care about what you are doing and listen to your message? Here are 5 tricks magicians use to perform real magic.

1. Listen to make them care.  Unlike an actor who is saying lines in a play a magician breaks the 4^th wall and interacts with the audience. He is listening for reactions. Does he need to speed up or slow down?  What are the volunteer on stage saying or doing? Interaction by listening to what the audience is saying is the first key in making audiences realize the magician actually cares about them. He listens and adjusts the show based on what he hears. He may add or removing routines based on what the audience is telling him.

Leaders too need to listen. Appreciate the other person’s point of view, even if you don’t agree with it. People can sense when you are not open to what they are saying. If you do not care about them they don’t care about you.

2. Build an emotional connection.  There is a famous story about Harry Blackstone, a celebrated magician about the time of Houdini. Before each show Blackstone would peak out from behind the curtain and look at each person in the audience. From behind the curtain, he would whisper, “I like you,” to each and every person in the audience. He cared. Because he cared about his audience they felt it. When magician walks out on stage he has about 15 seconds before the audience decides rather or not they are going to like him. He must build an emotional connection quickly. Once it has been built then it can be strengthened.

Leaders must connect with their audience emotionally. Why should the audience care about what you are going to say? What’s in it for them? Buy-in is never occurs intellectually. It occurs only at an emotional level. You must speak to a pain or problem.

3. Know your audience’s style. Different venues and different audiences require different style. A children’s magician needs to be colorful and full of energy. A magician performing at a senior center must be aware of the audience’s physical limitations. A magician performing for college crowd should be more edgy than if one performing for a corporate meeting.

To be continued….

Go ahead and read the message below. I know you can.

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The Real Paragraph

I couldn’t believe that I could actually understand what I was reading. Using the incredible power of the human brain, according to research at Cambridge University, it doesn’t matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only important thing is that the first and last letter be in the right place. The rest can be a total, mess and you can read it without a problem. This is because the human mind does not read every letter by itself, but the word as a whole. Amazing, huh? Yeah and I always thought spelling was important! See if your friends can read this too!

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