Member-only story
How a ‘Power Lead’ Will Change Your Life
When I worked in the television news industry, before I came to my senses and ran screaming from it by choice, I had a separate vocabulary.
Like any industry, there are terms or phrases that people within the industry use. In news, some were obnoxious like “if it bleeds, it leads,” while others were more tame, such as talking to other reporters about what “beat” you are working.
The only term I chose to take with me when I left the news industry to further pursue speaking and coaching full-time was “power lead.”
“Power lead” is now a phrase I use almost every day with both my clients and myself.
A “Power lead” is what makes someone want to keep listening to you.
With something like news or a presentation, the words you choose (sometimes not consciously) instantly make your audience want to keep listening or not.
How you BEGIN is the difference maker.
In news, you always START with the thing you believe will keep viewers’ attention — sometimes you hold on to that thing for a while (a “tease”) to make them stay with you — even while listening to/watching a bunch of stuff they couldn’t care less about or are not interested in.
