Is it too late for you?

We’ve all heard the saying, ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.’

It’s an old story – in fact, when I was studying Latin at university, I came across this saying in a thousand-year-old book about the emperor Charlemagne.

And we’re still hearing it today…

…usually said as an excuse for the speaker not to change.

Put in another way, what it’s really saying is, ‘It's too late for me; I had my chance and I missed it.’

Butas the great speaker and writer Earl Nightingale put it:

“People aren’t dogs, and education isn’t a bag of tricks.”

I’ve worked with clients who have been executives or on boards for 30 years before they come to me wanting to stand out and speak with authority.

Do you know how many I’ve turned away because it was too late?

Zero.

Do you know how many I’ve failed to help because they’d missed their chance to build a better profile and speak with more authority and impact?

A big fat zero.

Because it’s never too late, and you’re never too old.

Of course, it goes both ways.

Yes, it’s never too late to become an effective speaker and communicator – someone who appears statesmanlike – who speaks with authority, impact, and influence.

But it’s also never too late to become boring by letting effective communication fall by the wayside.

And sadly, that’s what happens all too often. People reach a high position of authority to the people around them have to listen – and they stop being interesting. They stop making an effort. They get used to people listening, and forget they have to earn every audience’s attention.

Don’t let that happen.

Be the exception. Be the one outstanding speaker in a sea of mediocrity.

Start today. You have nothing to lose, and a whole life to gain.

And if you’d like to speak with an expert on helping you become the outstanding voice in a babble of boring, I’m your guy.

I’ve written more than 957 speeches, and over 450 messages and op eds, and I’ve written the ‘message from the CEO’ for several annual reports.

Want to stand out? Reach out by sending me an email to [email protected] – it’s never too late to start speaking with authority and impact.

Talk soon,

Alexander