Sometimes, despite your best efforts to communicate or inspire or motivate - your words fall on deaf ears. Yet, when you bring in an outside speaker to tell the same message, to the same audience (with only half as much pizzazz as you presented it yourself) the results are staggering.

This is the law of the prophet at work. "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor." (Matt 1357)

Now this doesn't mean that you are without respect in your organisation. It just means that if you get in outside help to make a presentation with a call to action, it is much more effective if you use an outside personality to make the pitch.

The reasons for this are simple

A new voice will always have more impact than an existing voice - largely because they are new and unfamiliar. This addresses the "tune out" factor. people stop and listen to a new message - but generally switch off and day dream when presented with a familiar message.

The new personality also adds credibility to your message. Just by the very nature that the person you are bringing in to make the pitch holds an "office" in your organisation makes them more interesting to the audience. This is what the media calls "talent".

When you bring in outside help, you bring expertise. The person you invite should be well versed in presenting the mission and vision of your program to many different audiences. They should understand the underlying reasons for people wanting to be involved in your program. They are most likely an expert in these ten lessons on recruitment (and the companion series on how not to recruit!). Therefore the pitch made by these people will be effective, sharp and yield results.

Use them.

Having said all this - a lot depends on who you invite, and why you are inviting them. if you are not clear on your objectives - then you won't realise any results or worse, you may get results you don't want. make sure you take time to brief the speak on you objectives, and goals for their session. If they are a professional, they will expect this kind of guidance from you. If they baulk at it - maybe they are the wrong person to invite.

The person you invite should also "ooze" the kind of character you are wanting to involve in your program. Like recruits like. If you want gentle, amiable, friendly leaders, use a gentle, amiable, friendly speaker. If you want strong, visionary, motivational leaders - use someone like this.

The converse is also true - if you don't want listless, boring and uninspiring leaders - don't use a guest who is listless, boring and uninspiring!

Let's take an example.

We invited a leader in our organisation to come present awards in church at our end of year church parade. His brief was to present Rangers as a dynamic, go getter organisation that oozes adventure and daring. He did. We had a great response from potential members and leaders.

I was invited to present awards at a end of year Council of Achievement recently and shared our vision for a new strategy we are preparing for 2000. The response was good. People were motivated to volunteer to lead the new programs - without even knowing what was involved!

And finally one future event Royal Rangers is introducing the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme into it's program in 1999. The selling of the new concept to leadership is complete - and now it needs to be presented and sold to teenage members. I am inviting a spokesperson from the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme to come to our Field Day in March to present the program to our members rather than doing the presentation myself. Why? To reap the benefits of bringing