How to Make Old Content New and Fresh

How fresh are the topics you are speaking about?  Nowadays more and more speakers are popping up but they aren’t saying anything fundamentally new.  Many of them are just parroting back what they heard another speaker say that inspired them to get into the business.  I’m not pointing fingers either.  When I got into the business over 25 years ago I did the same thing, and in fact, I kept parroting back what I heard for well over half my career.  I’m embarrassed to say this; you can still find videos of me online talking about SMART goals and acting like it’s the biggest kept secret in the world.

If you want to be the next big thing in the speaking world, or just make sure that when you speak people pay attention and act on what you do, then you need to think like Richard Branson.  Virgin America has taken the same old mundane way of delivering the safety talk on their planes and given it a fresh new twist.   They aren’t the first to do this.  Southwest Airlines is known for their creative delivery.  Air New Zealand always has a fresh new twist to deliver as well.  Interestingly enough, they all 3 say the same things all the other airlines do, but they put their own personal spin on it, and as a result, you can’t help but to pay attention.

The same goes for your speaking career.  If you do speak about content that can readily be found online, and is far from original, then at least make sure you put your own personal spin on it.  How do you do that?  You share with your audience how the information impacted your life, and what you personally felt that it meant to you.  Sometimes that’s all you need to do to take an old boring topic like Goal Setting and give it a fresh coat of paint. Now for your inspirational viewing, here’s your safety video: