Catching what the others miss

Yesterday I drove past a truck with the following tagline: "We catch what the others miss." It was the slogan for a cleaning company, and it seemed like a clever and concise way to differentiate themselves from other cleaning companies.

Then I started thinking about how that could be a slogan for just about any of us trying to differentiate ourselves in just about any field.

I often see myself as cleaning up other speakers' messes; that is, reminding and encouraging audiences that not all speakers hide behind dreadful PowerPoint, talk about themselves for an hour then finish late, or repeat canned presentations in a robotic, dreamlike state. It's my job to wake up the sleeping, engage the zombies and bring enjoyment to my audiences.

As a speaker, what are you doing differently? What do you catch that the others are missing?

Do you know more about your audience?

Do you focus on building a better emotional connection?

Is your content more relevant and applicable to the people in the room?

Do you respect their time by preparing thoroughly and ending on schedule?

Do you make your presentation more engaging -- and even fun?

Do you know your content well enough that you don't have to read your slides?

Do you know who you are as a person and let your unique qualities shine through?

What else are other speakers missing?