107 Neen James On Systemizing Thoughtfulness, Where To Focus A Personal Brand, And Why Social Media Is Key

“If you are really serious about performance, you have to get counsel and direction from people who are qualified to give it you.” - Neen James (click to tweet) We all have production companies in our pockets. Today, the smartphone has empowered people to instantly publish content to an audience with a few taps. For public speakers, this creates a unique challenge where they must always be on. The speech no longer ends after the applause; rather, speakers must be open to connection in the lobby, at the airport, or in their hometown because any moment could turn into a tweet or Instagram post. On today’s episode of Steal the Show, we are joined by Neen James. Neen is the author of 9 books, including Folding Time and her most recent book, Attention Pays. In 2017, she was named one of the Top 30 Leadership Speakers by Global Guru because of her work with companies like Viacom, Comcast, Cisco, and many more. She has received numerous awards as a professional speaker, is a partner in Thought Leaders Global, and is a member of the prestigious league of Heroic Public Speakers. In this conversation, Neen details many topics: what it means to be a public speaker in 2018, how we can use technology to our advantage, why we should look for unique places to project our personal brand, and much more. Tune in to apply Neen’s insights to your life, career, or passion project! You can order Neen James’ Attention Pays here. “Think about how much we can use social media to engage an audience before we even step on stage.” - Neen James (click to tweet) Steal the Points Ask whether a social media post is for value or vanity. Public speakers are always being photographed and videotaped. Personal brands must be cohesive experiences for the audience. Stepping outside normal roles forces the student to see what he/she is capable of. Those who are only coached by the so-called gurus start to resemble those gurus. Approach public speaking as an artistic expression. When speakers embrace their uniqueness, they gain a competitive advantage. Seek specific coaching over generalized help. Opportunities for personal branding exist in unique places (email auto-responses, voicemails, etc.). Systemize thoughtfulness by creating calendar events to stay in contact with valuable people.   Previous Steal The Show Episodes with Neen James: 100 Neen James on Creating Contextual Models for Speakers, Authors and Content Creators 070 The Business of Speaking for Women, Business Models for Speakers, and much more with Neen James