A few weeks ago, I attended an event for professional speakers where a well-known presenter shared ways to create connection with your audience. During his speech, he mentioned the town in upstate New York where he grew up. He grew up only 15 minutes from my hometown, so I was excited to talk with him afterwards. He certainly created a connection with me in that moment. We had something in common.

After the session concluded, I walked up to him to say how great his speech was and started to tell him where I was from, when…he totally blew me off. He was so busy getting his marketing materials together that he didn’t even make eye contact with me. I was disappointed. Not because I had a need to connect with him on a personal level, but because he wasn’t practicing what he had just taught in his speech. The content of his speech was excellent, but the feeling I got from him afterward totally turned me off.

In the speaking industry, there’s an unwritten rule that your speech is not really over when you leave the stage. You may have finished the content, but it’s important to stay connected to your audience until you leave the building. Until then, you are still “on” and your audience is still judging you based on your interactions.

The same is true for leadership. As a leader, people observe your actions, even in the small moments that may not seem to matter. Leadership is a behavior, not a role. Everything you do has impact. Even when you are working late and only one person is in the office with you, or when you’re at the company barbecue, or when you’re at a conference out of town, you have an impact.

 

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