Speaker - May 2011

It’s important to get your thought leadership angle just right. It’s a matter of considering your message, method and market at the same time and creating multiple clusters of specialization; for example, speaking to Realtors® on cash flow; training salespeople on developing product conviction; or facilitating leadership retreats on increasing employee engagement.

You can accomplish these things at the same time and still take advantage of the power of specialization. You just need an overarching message context that hangs them all together. This context becomes your “word” and the aligning thread across all of your diverse specializations. The word, for example, could be “influence.” This word is not always marketed, but it gives you a lens for viewing the world and a filter for you to speak through. What’s your big meta word?

Individuals or organizations that are recognized by peers, customers and industry experts as someone who deeply understands the business they are in, the needs of their customers, and the broader marketplace in which they operate. Thought leaders have a distinctively original idea, a unique point of view or an insight. THOUGHT LEADERS:

–Joel Hurtzman

rich examples, while appealing to logic and emotion simultaneously.

• Be relentless and consistent. Anyone can have one or two thoughts, but thought leaders don’t stop at one or two ideas.

Put Yourself in Last Place

Here’s a final word on flipping the focus from the speaker to the message. Audiences today need three core questions answered in this order.

• Why is this message important to me? (If you provide a good answer, they will move to the second question.)

• Why is this message urgent now? When you nail the “Why this?” and “Why now?” questions, you can move to the next question.

• Why are you the person to deliver the message?

Many speakers mistakenly approach their presentations by delivering the answers to these questions in reverse order. First, establish credibility, then create a sense of urgency, and then flip the focus from the speaker to the message. Do this and you are on your way to being a thought leader.

Matt Church is the founder of Thought Leaders Global, creator of the Million Dollar Expert program, and author of several best-selling books on the topic. Church co-wrote Thought Leaders with Michael Henderson and Scott Stein, which will be released in this month. Enroll in his weekly newsletter on thought leadership at www. mattchurch.com or learn more at www.

Move from Expert to Authority

• Claim a space. You need to step beyond of the broad categories of expertise and own a message niche. For example, Don’t just do leadership; do ‘decentralized’ leadership.

• Broadcast regularly. Write weekly newsletters, daily blogs, micro blogs, a white paper a quarter, a book a year.

• Get ready for criticism. If you are a thought leader who pushes the envelope, people will push back. Take the criticism as confirmation of your move from expert to authority.

• Extend the thinking in a particular field. Don’t be a thought repeater. Get beyond plagiarism and think deeply about what you want to say.

• Get in the game. Contribute to (“Yes, and…”) and contradict (“Yes, but …”) the thoughts of others. Comment on their blogs and be active in forums and industry journals.