I'm going to use shock-and-awe here to illustrate a point.
It's like watching footage of a massive avalanche sweeping down a mountain. If you've ever seen nature documentaries, you'll recognize this scenario well.
Here's my point of the devastating avalanche illustration above.
Trying to compete as a generic speaker is like standing at the bottom of that mountain as the avalanche approaches. You'll be buried under the competition.
Sadly — because this key component is right at the beginning of the speaking career journey … it's typically the single biggest reason why speakers fail right out the gate.
I recently did a consult with a speaker who was having problems. Her speaking career wasn't getting traction. She had tried everything. It was like trying to squeeze water from a rock. She was frustrated. So she booked a one-hour consult with me.
Five minutes into the conversation it was clear to me why she was fighting a losing battle.
She's a very smart woman. She's a former CMO at a Fortune 500 company. She's been messing about in the speaking world for a number of years already. She's not new to this business. She knows a lot.
Yet … she had made a rookie mistake. She was positioning herself as a "leadership speaker" - one of the most generic and competitive categories possible.
She didn't have a signature framework that differentiated her from the thousands of other leadership speakers competing for the same gigs.
I asked her if she had created a proprietary framework or methodology that made her approach unique.
She hadn't. She was basically delivering the same leadership principles as everyone else, just with her personal stories and experiences mixed in.
Rookie mistake. "Generic positioning is the mother of all failures in speaking."
When you search online for speakers in common topic areas like "leadership" or "innovation," you'll find yourself drowning in a sea of sameness. Dozens of speakers with virtually identical messaging and positioning, making it nearly impossible to stand out.
This creates a challenging situation for anyone with a generic approach - how can event planners possibly choose between seemingly identical offerings?
The speaking marketplace reveals a clear pattern: the speakers commanding premium fees have proprietary frameworks and methodologies that differentiate them from competitors.
They don't just talk about "leadership" - they present "The LEADER Method: Six Pillars of Conscious Leadership" or "The Decision Acceleration Framework for Executive Teams."
This level of structured differentiation makes it virtually impossible for generic speakers to compete.
Listen … I'm not suggesting that it's impossible to get booked with a common topic. But one thing is for sure — it won't be easy without a signature framework that differentiates you.
Why battle like this?
Why … when there are so many ways to differentiate yourself through a proprietary framework, even if you're speaking on a crowded topic?
Here's a quick glimpse of how I go about helping speakers develop their signature frameworks…
The biggest tip I can give you is this …
… instead of starting with the topic you want to speak on — like everyone does — start by identifying the unique perspective, methodology, or approach that makes your take on that topic different.
Did you get that?
No. That's not the most effective way to approach speaker differentiation.
Identify your UNIQUE APPROACH first. Find out what makes your methodology different … then build a proprietary framework around it. Really doesn't need to be much more complicated than that.
"…the aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself." — Peter Drucker
Creating a signature framework requires three key elements:
Let me show you how this works with a real example.
One of our clients was a leadership speaker struggling to stand out in a crowded field. Instead of competing as a generic "leadership expert," we helped him develop the "Decision Architecture Framework" - a proprietary 5-step system for making high-stakes decisions under pressure.
The framework included:
Notice how each element has a unique name that's both descriptive and proprietary? That's not an accident.
Once he had this framework in place, event planners could instantly understand what made him different from other leadership speakers. His bookings increased dramatically, and he was able to position himself as the go-to expert in decision-making leadership.
The beauty of this approach is that it works for ANY speaking topic. Whether you speak on leadership, innovation, customer experience, or personal development - you can differentiate yourself through a signature framework.
So to recap…
Test #1: Differentiation Check - Can you articulate what makes your framework different from others in your field in one clear sentence?
Test #2: Memorability Analysis - Ask someone to recall your framework after hearing it once. If they can't remember the basic structure, it needs refinement.
In the next section, we'll explore how to articulate the unique value proposition of your signature framework - the second critical element of the Clarity System.