During my BOOT CAMP yesterday one of the participants uttered those exact words, "I don't want to be like every other speaker." You could hear crickets. The room went quiet. "What do you mean by that?" I asked. She continued by providing a litany of practices that most speakers employ. "I want to be different," she continued. 

Let me ask you, "What makes you different from other speakers?" What's your unique promise of value? What's your differentiating factor? What makes you compelling? It's said that the NFL (i.e., the National Football League) is a copycat league. Teams duplicate what other successful teams do. Is that the same for the speaking/selling/training industry? I believe so. Where's the individuality and innovation. 

Consider what you do and how you do it. Do you make points or make differences? Do you push the envelope or do you tear the envelope up? Do you only present from the front of the room or do you use the entire room as your canvas? Do you think outside of the box or have you gotten rid of the box all together? How much of yourself (i.e., your authentic self) do you  put into your presentations? And if your answer is not all of you, what's holding you back?

I encourage you to avoid falling in line with what others do. I suggest that you start your own line. Remember, in life, it's not that we aim high and miss. Instead, we aim low and hit it. Who wants to be just like every other speaker? Not me.

- Dr. James