Speaking from a place of Authority
“I implore you, I entreat you and I challenge you to speak with conviction. To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it. Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to simply question authority—you’ve got to speak with it too.” ~ Taylor Mali
Quick summary:
- Your authority (and confidence) comes from your experience.
- You need a sense of humor and patience; you don’t need to be famous or “the” expert.
- It’s not all about you; follow stand-ups and make it about the audience.
To illustrate the points:
In addition to being a friend, Caleb does a great job of showing his “authority” on this topic with a sense of humor. (He’s also one of my go-to resources for all the camera tech stuff!)
I’m a big fan of John’s—check out how he immediately talks about “you.”
For a bit more inspiration and entertainment, here’s the full speech that includes Taylor’s quote from above:
Time to practice!
- Write out: why are you passionate, how does what you’re talking about make actual sense (why is it true?), why are people better off for this, and why are you an authority on it?
- On camera: take an event or realization you had about your topic, and then make it about your audience (do you know how you…), and post it to the group for feedback!