Without a Call to Action You Might as Well Stay Home
After a blog post title like that, why write the rest of the post? After all, doesn’t the title just tell you what I’m going to say anyway?
Hmmm. Come to think of it, there probably is more I can say.
My first thought was that this thought applies to public speakers, because every good speech deserves a call to action. Hell, every audience that’s listened to a moderately decent speech deserves a call to action!
It could be any number of things: an actual call to action (do something now, or when you get to your desk, or car, or phone…); a request to consider the speaker’s point of view, a request to buy a product (sales pitch), a request for the audience to join the speaker in a cause or community effort….
A call to action is important is a critical piece in a speech.
But what about other creative endeavors, such as writing a blog post, filming a short video, crafting a podcast, drawing a picture? I suppose with a work of art, the call to action is subtle: what do you think of what I created? By examining a work of art, you are either moved emotionally or not. You’re inspired or not. You’re intrigued, or interested or disgusted as the case may be. Or not. A piece of art calls you to respond in some internal way.
A piece of writing is a work of art that utilizes a more straightforward language than a sculpture or painting or drawing.
But you’re still trying to persuade someone to your point of view and move them to some sort of action.
In a blog post, the action could be: do you agree with me? Do you feel this is important information? What will you do with it?
In a video, you’re assuming a position similar to that of a public speaker, only on more intimate terms and in a different setting. But the goal is the same: move someone to feel something, do something, take an action of some sort.
If the body of your speech (or blog post or video) has sufficiently laid out the points of your argument, the call of action should be easy. It should be a reinforcement of your main points, a re-cap of the ‘why’ of your speech, and a specific call to action.
If, on the other hand, the body of your speech is soft and fuzzy, and you haven’t laid out your argument logically or coherently, your call to action will likely fall soft on your listeners, too, who will then shuffle away from the presentation a bit puzzled and distracted, and ultimately – unconvinced of your viewpoint.
So there is more to a call to action than the actual call to action. Prepare your presentation with your main points in mind, fill in those points with supporting facts, figures, anecdotes and stories – and THEN your call to action will be much stronger.
And that’s my Call to Action: Prepare your speech well, rehearse it several times. Once that’s done, refine the call to action. Distill it to the essence. Try it out on friends and colleagues. Refine it again. Make it no more or no less than what is necessary to move your audience to action.
Then deliver it with passion.
photo credit: Bah Humbug
