Is Your Speaking Style Explosive or Magnetic?

A few years ago, I was telling my colleague, Dianne Legro that I was going to be the only female speaker at an upcoming multi-speaker event, and that the male speakers I knew would be jumping up on chairs in the middle of their presentation, throwing things at the audience and pounding walls. I was concerned that I wouldn’t make enough of a splash with my authentic, grounded style.

Her response changed my perspective and gave me a lot of peace. She said, “Lisa, you have a magnetic style, and they have an explosive style.”

She couldn’t have been more right!

Since that time I’ve realized that the majority of clients come to me for these three reasons:

1. They want to sell without being salesy.

2. They want to deliver great content yet not give away the store.

3. They’re looking for a style that feels like a fit. They’re more magnetic; they like to draw people in versus pursue people for the sale.

Here are a few other key differences between a magnetic and explosive presentation:

1. Connection. The magnetic Speak-to-Sell presentation starts with connecting with the audience and moves forward from a like-minded place, whereas the explosive style tends to feel that there’s something being “done to” the audience.

2. The Body of the Talk. The magnetic Speak-to-Sell talk is generally loaded with immediately useful content, while the explosive presentation tends to be filled with stories, anecdotes and reasons to move forward, but not a lot that you can get started with right away.

3. The Offer. Both styles are designed to move people into immediate action, but the magnetic style feels more like an invitation. The magnetic speaker is looking to inspire people to move forward on their dreams, and the making of the offer is very transparent; there’s nothing that jumps out from behind a curtain. You won’t see multiple price slashes or a lot of gimmicks. It has a spirit of partnership and service.

The explosive style tends to rely upon gimmicks, a lot of price slashing and more bonuses than you can count, while the magnetic style focuses on the main dish offering, a couple of relevant bonuses and a special limited offer to get people moving. Ultimately, the magnetic style communicates: “This is how I can serve you if you’re ready to invest in yourself today.”

4. They feel different. The magnetic style tends to leave the audience feeling great and contributed to, whether they buy or not, while the explosive style can sometimes leave people feeling great if they buy, but not so good if they don’t.

I find that people with a magnetic style tend to love to teach. They’re doing their work in the world, they’re concerned about not pressuring others and they want to make a difference whether someone becomes their client or not.

The bottom line is, whether you’re a magnetic or an explosive speaker, you want great new clients and a sale, so you need to use your style in the most effective way.