Your presentation is finished, the ovation subsides, the audience starts to move out of the auditorium and you can hear several people saying ... "WOW!" As a "motivational/inspirational keynote speaker," you always want to leave your audience saying "WOW!" But even more than that, you want your "WOW" to lead to measurable impact. Too many of our dear colleagues are thrilled by providing the "WOW" but forget how to make it practical.

Our audiences are not looking for simplistic motivation or short-lived inspiration; rather, they want to be motivated to act or be inspired to change! We need to take our message and our powerful personal stories and give them practical meaning.

We must admit that some of us (me included) get excited by "hero worship" and we (sheepishly) enjoy being seen by our audiences and clients as "bigger than life." Everyone loves to hear the story of the poor individual that made good, or the failure that finally made it to the top of the heap, or the athlete who practiced and practiced and eventually became a gold medal champion! Nevertheless, the most accomplished of our number don’t lead audiences to say, "I wish I could be like him or her"; rather, they lead them to shout with surprise, "You are just like me!!!"

Many of us know that it is easier to sell a grand message that has measurable results than a basic motivational story with no personal application for the audience. Indeed, several years ago many of our peers stopped labeling themselves as "motivational speakers" because, in their opinion, the label was too limiting and suggested all "fluff" and no value. Yet many clients are specifically looking for a "motivational keynote" to top off their program. It is, therefore, our job to deliver more than expected, go beyond the "rah-rah" and deliver value to the client and the audience.

How can we move beyond the "WOW"? How can we take a very inspirational presentation and add a dimension of practical, valuable, usable application to it? Here are several simple things that we can do to advance our presentation to the next level:

1. Listen to your own message on tape and imagine what you can expand on to lead your audiences into practical, valuable action!
2. Ask your clients what they are looking for in their participants’ behavior and perspective after hearing your message.
3. Ask your "fans" what they get from your presentations and how it has affected their lives.
4. Look at your greatest accomplishments and analyze what steps you took to "make it." The fact that you "made it" is never as important as how you made it!
5. Know the results you are most passionate about and imagine how you can use your message to encourage your audience to move toward those results.

Please, dear colleague, don’t ever lose your "WOW"-- just expand it to, "Wow, I can do that too," or "Wow, I can become like that," or "Wow, it seems so simple after hearing that..." or "Wow-- because of that message I’m going to change my life for the better!" Remember that, as speakers, we cannot change people’s lives; we can only deliver powerful messages that will move people to act on their own behalf to make positive changes in their lives. That is the value in our message that lasts long beyond the "WOW!"