We FINALLY got around to producing a demo video for my speaking engagements. OK, so "WE" really means "I", and the long-delayed project was forced a little because there was finally a prospective client who demanded to see some proof that I can stand on stage and speak to an audience without falling over before hiring me to speak.

Alan Hoffler Speaker Demo

A demo tape is one way to show this - this client demanded it. But it doesn't show everything. Anyone can look good in 20-second sound bites - even politicians (with noted apologies to my public servant clients!).

They'll make a decision about whether to hire me. They'll have an opinion about whether I'm worth it. And their opinion - which in this case drives a buying decision - may as well be fact to them, even if I turn out to be someone that is not displayed in the video.

Every audience member has an opinion of the speaker. And that opinion is derived VERY quickly - Forbes suggests you make a first impression in as little as seven seconds. That's not much time to sway public opinion over to your side. You do get a chance to overcome that first impression, but it's difficult. And rare.

An audience's impression of a speaker is driven by three main things.

First is the speaker's reputation. If you hear great things about a presenter, you are more inclined to like them, even before you see them. In the business world, this is akin to a referral. We get most of our business by happy clients telling other prospects how great we are, and it's usually not very difficult to convince these warm leads that we have a solution that will meet their needs. What do people think about you before you show up? What are people saying about you: in social media, in your introductory email, and by word of mouth? Controlling and promoting a positive reputation is the first step to driving a great impression (something I harp on my kids constantly about maintaining behavior that is above reproach).

Second, and probably most importantly, an audience gets an opinion about you from ... YOUR behavior. How you stand. How you move. How you talk. How you express. All those adjectives that speakers tell me they'd like to be described as - trustworthy, confident, engaging, dynamic, passionate, authentic - those impressions are created solely based on a speaker's actions (unless their reputation precedes them). This is why it is critically important to develop skills that match our desired impression.

The most common gap for speakers in this area is passion. People have a heart for a particular topic and just figure that the audience will pick up on their passion. But passion must be DEMONSTRATED. And most people do not express in a way that indicates their true feelings (and the only way I can get them to see this is by making them watch a video of themselves).

The last way that an audience gets an impression - but it is the least important of the three and limited to only a few select adjectives, most notably "knowledgeable" - is through the content. This is what we WISH were the case for all impressions, because as subject matter experts we believe that our content drives the day. But this is only true when we cannot answer questions or say things that are known to be false. We can lose the appearance that we know what we're talking about by stumbling or giving falsehoods. But that has little to nothing to do with our passion, interaction, or confidence (you can appear confident when you know NOTHING about the content!).

Impressions are reality to the audience. But we can control how they feel about us, and our behavior (including our PR, marketing, and online presence, but also our stage actions) is the most important way to drive a positive impression.