Z_Definitive_Guide_to_Running_a_Successful_REIA_Meeting_Reduced_size

LARRY GOINS AND SHAUN MCCLOSKEY
Some of you will try to be the headliner (Dave) when you shouldn't
be. Remember, people came to the David Letterman show to see
David Letterman; they didn't come to see the opening act guy. The
opening act guy is vitally important to the show as a whole, but he
serves his purpose of setting the mood and then moves out of the
way so Dave can do his thing. Dave's purpose is to make people
laugh and keep them entertained. The speakers "thing" at your REIA
meeting is to do a lot of what Dave does, but also to sell stuff. It's
hard to sell stuff to a cold audience. It's even harder to sell stuff if
the opening act keeps interjecting and taking the focus from the
headliner. There's a reason David Letterman runs the show the way
he runs it. His way works.
Not everyone can be the opening act/front of the room pump-up
person. Some of you shouldn't be the opening act. It just doesn’t fit
your personality. If this is the case, you may not be the right person
for the job. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't mean that you are
incapable of running a well-oiled machine of a REIA group. You
may be the best organizer of people, of income, of bookkeeping, of
many things that are also necessary to build a well-run REIA.
However, just because you're good at many of those things doesn't
necessarily make you the best person for the front of the room.
I spoke for a rather large event once where the organizer of the event
was among the best I've ever seen—at organizing the event, that is!
This guy knew how to market to draw a crowd. He knew how to
book the greatest speakers in the country. He knew how every room
should be set up, how to lead the entire organization and more, and
he did these things very well. But when he got up to the front of the
room to announce every speaker that entire weekend, the energy in
the room totally and completely died. This guy might as well have
had one foot in the grave. He was excellent at everything else that
was required to put on an incredible event, but he was the worst MC
that I've ever seen. It killed the energy in the room.
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