Small message, Big Impact - Book Review

You are standing at the airport lobby. While your mind is flitting between different distractions designed by intelligent marketers in the lobby area, you suddenly recognize a familiar face! Your heart starts pulsating! He is the CEO of your dream company, waiting to catch his next flight.Your mind starts racing through interesting possibilities that can emerge if only you get a chance to show your passion about the work you've been doing and how much you adore working in his company! Although the heart tells you in Robin Williams style, Carpe diem, you are hesitant to move forward, as you don't want to sound pushy and silly by shamelessly pitching about your work! You see him totally lost in his Blackberry. While your legs are pushing you towards, you also try to hold back, unsure how to strike an authentic conversation without losing your composure!


In my journeys across the country as a freelance blogger, I have had several opportunities to meet fascinating people and share my infectious enthusiasm about the Web. Some of those moments have blossomed into interesting relationships, while the rest have been great lessons for me in understanding how we connect with people! Do we connect with people with a genuine interest in connecting with him? Or do we connect to seize this moment as a means to achieve your goals?  How do we strike the elusive balance between these urges?

Terri L. Sjodin's latest book, Small Message, Big Impact is the perfect how-to guide for anyone who wishes to make the most of such rare opportunities. The author, who calls herself a speech geek, speaks with utmost sincerity about her passion in helping others master Elevator speeches. 

In today's networked world, while it has become easier to connect with anyone whom you want to connect with, it becomes a daunting prospect to make a busy executive accord interest on the work you've been doing. 

The book contains well-designed frameworks/templates for individuals to craft their elevator speeches for their objectives. The author contends that outstanding speakers meet three benchmarks

1) Case
2) Creativity
3) Delivery

Although these may be quite familiar with everyone, the author explains each of these bench marks in granular detail with its mechanics, interspersed with fascinating insights from memorable movies such as The Great Debaters,  The mirror Has two faces and inspiring lessons from American presidents who won the peoples' hearts with their memorable speeches. It was fascinating to learn about how Ronald Reagan often carried stack of cards with talking points on a variety of subjects, which helped him deliver great speeches depending on the audience he was addressing to. 

The book also contains sample speeches, worksheets and FAQs which help you craft your speech. I found the Six point Star Method, which helps speakers to align stance and movement, quite interesting, as I often find myself walking quite awkwardly through the bursts of energy which flow while I am talking in public. I am eager to experiment with that.  Another interesting take-away for me was her advice to maintain a Creative file with creative examples and interesting anecdotes, which can be used as to rev up elevator speeches. 

This book is recommended not just for entrepreneurs, freelance professionals, sales experts, but for anyone who wishes to master the art of delivering a persuasive message to the audience.  
You can buy the book here. 

Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of the book from the publisher with no charges. I've taken enough care to ensure that this hasn't influenced my judgement about the book.