Why You Shouldn’t Use Your ‘Signature Talk’ as Your Book (and what to do instead)

There’s a myth out in “write your book” land – often perpetuated by other book writing gurus that says:

Take a transcription of your signature talk and use THAT as your book.

(After all, your talk is effective, your book would be too!)

No!

A talk does three things:

1. Positions the speaker as an expert
2. Gives the listeners a taste of the bigger transformation offered by working with the speaker
3. Makes an offer

From a talk, a listener DOES walk away with value – a tiny nugget of WHY they need to do something. (Often missing the HOW to do it; you get THAT when the speaker makes her offer into her course, program, coaching, etc.)

A 90-minute signature talk (or a speak to sell talk) IS highly effective at exposing the gap between where the listener is now and where they could be, then making an offer to teach the listener HOW to fill in that gap.

But 90-minutes of a powerful talk is way too short for a book!

  • There isn’t enough value.
  • It will come off as “preachy” since all the warmth, tone of voice, and changes in voice pitch and pacing are lost from a talk to a book.
  • When giving a talk, the speaker IS a Sage on the Stage.

But reading a talk, even an edited transcription, will leave the reader feeling sold to.

Factoid:

Talks ARE designed to give a bit of education and do a LOT of selling.

Talks ARE designed to give a bit of education and do a LOT of selling. Books aren't! (click to find out what a book DOES do.) Click To Tweet

When you write your book, you have the ability to let your reader feel

  • Understood (tell them stories to illustrate this)
  • Helped (not just WHAT their gap is, but how to bridge it)
  • Loved (your heart is on the page)

You’re talking TO the reader, not AT her.

Books are about the reader!

In fact, in my course, Finally Write Your Book, you’ll use the Hot Mess to Clarity Curve to look at exactly how you help your reader get real and lasting transformation in her life.

And everything in your book allows you to share your message, in the heart-to-heart, soul-to-soul connection that means your reader feels loved, heard, understood, and seen.

Kim Galloway
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