Want to Be Truly Valued and Remembered?: An Interview With Jane Atkinson

Jane Atkinson is a powerful person, with a mission to help speakers elevate their game and transform the lives of those their audiences.   She’s so good that I hired her myself!   She’s down-to-earth, practical, and vulnerable at the same time. She brought that same level of excellence to this interview.   Jane has been helping speakers catapult their careers for over 20 years.  She started as an agent representing speakers and when several of them quickly went from 0 to 80 engagements per year, she became known as an influencer in the speaking industry.   The following are two strategies Jane talked about to get the opportunities you want, in your career, or on the stage:          Pick a lane. Decide what you want to be known for. Doing so allows you to focus on increasing your value, and becoming a category of one.        Create a promise statement. What’s the promise of brand you? What’s the promise your team makes to your customers?   Jane also shared two terrific tips of leaders preparing to speak (and speakers, of course):          Create your through line. Create, as Doug Stevenson says, a “Phrase that pays,” or a short statement that will be remembered after the speech is done. Nike did this with, “Just do it.”        Add stories. Make them (your audience, and the people in your stories) the heroes of these stories. We tend to remember stories, and the points associated with them – share yours!   Jane’s books, “The Wealthy Speaker 2.0”, has been called “the bible” of the speaking industry and her follow up book “The Epic Keynote:  Presentation Skills and Styles of Wealthy Speakers” is available now.   Click here to learn more about Jane and get your free Wednesday tips.   Here’s to Your Greatness,   Misti Burmeister