Course Description

In this course, Blogher Co-founder, award winning entrepreneur, author and activist, Elisa  Camahort Page, discusses the secrets to telling stories that stick.

This course walks you through the steps to assess your opportunity, position your story accordingly, present your story effectively, and then measure the success of each engagement. Whether you are presenting at a conference, being interviewed about your company's products or services, or have a long sought-after media opportunity, there are a few key secrets you need to know. No matter what you are telling or selling to customers, audiences, or media, if you understand these key principles and how to put them into practice, you will successfully accomplish your objectives.

 

In this course you will learn:

  • How to craft a story to illustrate your ideal positioning.
  • How to develop your talking points. 
  • To strategise the whole package when presenting your positioning.
  • To succinctly communicate clear messages.
  • To stay on point, remove distractions, sound natural and stay unflappable.
  • To master interviews so your message comes through.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Chapter 1: Working back from the end result

    • Lesson 1: Who are you talking to (and why does that matter)?

    • Lesson 2: What do you want from them?

    • Lesson 3: What does your audience want from you?

    • Lesson 4: Spotlight on reporters: What drives them?

    • Lesson 5: Defining the ideal outcome

    • Lesson 6: PDF: Opportunity Assessment Worksheet

    • Lesson 6: PDF: Opportunity Assessment Worksheet Exercise
  • 2

    Chapter 2: Understand the difference between features vs. benefits, problems vs. solutions

    • Lesson 1: Problems drive considering change

    • Lesson 2: Features are table stakes

    • Lesson 3: Benefits justify the pain of change

    • Lesson 4: Solution = Positioning Nirvana

    • Lesson 5: A word about truth

    • Lesson 6: PDF: Problem, Feature, Benefit, Solutions Worksheet

    • Lesson 6: PDF: Problem, Feature, Benefit, Solutions Worksheet Exercise
  • 3

    Chapter 3: Identifying and prioritizing pull through messages

    • Lesson 1: What is a pull-through message?

    • Lesson 2: Spoonfeeding a narrative, not a spec sheet

    • Lesson 3: The ideal number of pull through messages.
  • 4

    Chapter 4: Craft talking points that support your pull through messages

    • Lesson 1: What is the difference between a pull through message and a talking point?

    • Lesson 2: Scrubbing your language (no, I don’t mean for profanity)

    • Lesson 3: With all the scrubbing, how do you sound natural?

    • Lesson 4: WRITE IT DOWN!!

    • Lesson 5: PDF: Pull-Through Messages and Talking Points Worksheet

    • Lesson 5: PDF: Pull-Through Messages and Talking Points Worksheet

  • 5

    Chapter 5: Assess the specific audience

    • Lesson 1: For sales: Where are they in your pipeline

    • Lesson 2: For investment: How do you fit into their philosophy and what big future are you promising?

    • Lesson 3: For media: Quiz the reporter about the story they’re trying to tell

    • Lesson 4: For conference audiences: What have they heard before? And how can you not go there?
  • 6

    Chapter 6: Tactical tips for presenting

    • Lesson 1: What not to wear

    • Lesson 2: What to do with your hands

    • Lesson 3: Tics, vocal and otherwise

    • Lesson 4 Test the tech

    • Lesson 5: PDF: Pre-Opportunity Checklist

    • Lesson 5: PDF: Pre-Opportunity Checklist Exercise
  • 7

    Chapter 7: Plan for both ideal questions and “Rude Q&A”

    • Lesson 1: Plan your answers for both ideal and rude questions

    • Lesson 2: Don’t speak for others, speak for yourself

    • Lesson 3: Don’t speculate, share what you know

    • Lesson 4: Don’t speak to what you haven’t read, seen, heard

    • Lesson 5: “That’s a great question” and other ways to control time

    • Lesson 6: Here’s what not to say

    • Lesson 7: PDF: Useful Phrases Cheat Sheet

    • Lesson 7: PDF: Useful Phrases Cheat Sheet Exercise
  • 8

    Chapter 8: How to stay on message and pivot to your talking points

    • Lesson 1: Evangelism, not conversion

    • Lesson 2: The circle dance

    • Lesson 3: The role of data

    • Lesson 4: The Art of Listening and Asking, i.e. Don’t assume or presume
  • 9

    Chapter 9: Measuring success

    • Lesson 1: Relevance

    • Lesson 2: Reach and Revenue

    • Lesson 3: Last word: When failure is success

    • Lesson 4: PDF: Post-Opportunity Post-Mortem Worksheet

    • Lesson 4: PDF: Post-Opportunity Post-Mortem Worksheet Exercise

Course Expert

Elisa Camahort Page

Principal, ElisaCP Consulting, Author of Road Map for Revolutionaries, and former Co-founder, BlogHer, Inc.

Best-known as the founding COO of BlogHer, Inc, Elisa was there at the birth of the social web revolution, building a grassroots phenomenon into a national women’s media brand with 100 million web users, and thousands of conference goers. After selling BlogHer and leaving the acquiring company, Elisa turned her attention to social and civic engagement in the wake of the 2016 election, becoming the co-author of Road Map for Revolutionaries: Resistance, Activism, and Advocacy for All and host of The Op-Ed Page podcast Elisa is dedicated to helping people and companies figure out how to operate at the intersection of technology, media, inclusivity, and social impact. Learn more at elisacp.com

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