Make Marketing Suck Less

The Foundation for Crafting Your 3 Word Rebellion

Rebel truth time.

It's hard to figure out your message.

If you have been struggling to find the right words, know that there's nothing wrong with you and it's just a difficult process.

Because we want to get it right and we hold onto finding that message so tightly that we can't see the right words in front of our face most of the time.

Mark Twain once said, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ‘Tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

He's right.

The right words call our people in. The right words incite action.

The right words spread our message and the right words create the change we want to see.

Phew, that's a lot of pressure, right?

No wonder we struggle so much to find the right words that we never get out of our head, we never launch our speaking career, and we don't move forward.

One of the goals of The 3 Word Rebellion is to move you past all that pressure.

Because this should be fun, it should be an enjoyable journey that's inherently creative.

But we hold so tightly onto getting it right that we never get out of our heads to start getting it almost right so that we can strengthen it and find those right words.

Let's stop the pressure and start having some fun.

Prefer to listen?

Let's talk about how you can collect the words to find your 3 Word Rebellion.

The Free Writing Technique

Finding the right words all starts with the free writing technique that I discussed a couple of episodes ago.

If you missed that episode, free writing is basically sitting down for a chunk of time, maybe it's 15 minutes, maybe it's 25, maybe it's 30, and allowing yourself just to write.

You don't think about the grammar. You don't think about spelling.

You just write.

That helps you get out of your head and move past perfectionist tendencies so that you can start getting some of your message on paper in an uncensored way.

Once you do this free writing, you start to look at your words as data or clues to what your 3 Word Rebellion could be.

Look at your words as data or clues

I'm a researcher at heart. That's why I have a Ph.D. in communication.

I am a very well trained researcher, and one of the things I love to do is look for patterns.

When my clients give me their free writing, at first I'm not really interested in the meaning of their sentences.

I'm interested in their words.

I'm looking for the patterns, the words used multiple times, the words that make me sit up and take notice, interesting turns of phrase, powerful action verbs and insightful nouns.

When I'm able to start really developing that dataset or looking for those clues, that's when I can help my clients start finding their 3 Word Rebellion.

Let's get you some of those words. Let's get you that data.

Let's get you those clues.

Best Way to Get Data is through Writing Prompts

The best way to do this is through writing prompts.

I'll give you two writing prompts here in this episode.

If you want the other two that I use with my clients or a workbook to do this in, go to threewordrebellion.com.

These writing prompts are based in social movement theory because movements are always moving away from something and towards a new future.

For instance, we are seeing it right now with the “Never Again” movement that the Parkland High School students have started in order to feel safe in their classrooms again because children shouldn't have to do active shooter drills in their classrooms to get an education.

These two questions are based on social movement theory.

What are you rebelling against?

The first question is: What are you rebelling against?

It's time to get ranty with this.

Look at what is going on in your industry, in personal development, or in the society that you want to see change.

What is it about the status quo that isn't right, that we need to change?

[Tweet “Speakers -What is it about the status quo that isn't right and needs to change?”]

For me, I'm rebelling against the speaking industry who doesn't want to pay speakers.

I'm rebelling against all-white email panels.

I'm rebelling against speeches that don't seek change.

I'm rebelling against selling from the stage.

Honestly, when I do this exercise I get about five pages of things I'm rebelling against because I am rebelling against so much in the speaking industry.

What change do you want to create?

However, it is not enough to just rebel.

This writing exercise is a great start, but then you need question number two, which is: What change do you want to create?

Now it's time to get dreamy.

Dream big, be high-minded, and don't worry about the how.         

Your critical brain will definitely kick in and say, “Well how are you going to do that?”

That's not important right now.

Create the change you want to see with that what if spirit.

What if this could be true? What if we could live in the world?

For me, the change I want to create is speakers are valued, speakers are fiercely devoted to the change they want to create and to each audience member. They insight action always and speakers get paid.

It's not a question of having a budget. It's assumed that speakers get paid.

Your action step is to spend 15 minutes on each question.

Feel free to go over time if you are in the zone with your writing, because these two questions are the initial step to get you the words, the data, the clues to find your 3 Word Rebellion.

If you already know that yes, you want to find your 3 Word Rebellion, and you would like to work with me on it or your speech that incites action and calls in your people, or how to package and price so that you get speaking gigs and make your mark, go to drmichellemazur.com/speak to apply for a chat and see if we are a fit.

Now go write. Have fun with it and don't hold so tightly to find the right words.

Trust me, I've worked with hundreds of speakers and I know the right words are there.

Most of the time, they're right in front of your nose.