Your new session description has been sitting in your draft folder for three weeks.
You've revised it twice.
You've shown it to your spouse.
Maybe one speaker buddy gave it a read.
But you haven't sent it to anyone who could actually book you.
You haven't gotten feedback from anyone who understands your audience.
You haven't tested it with a single person who could tell you if it's saleable.
You keep telling yourself you'll send it out "next week" when it's better.
But next week never comes because the description never feels quite ready.
Sound familiar?
Here's what I've learned from watching Michelle and Dan struggle through this exact same process:
In Part 1, we covered the five obstacles that keep your session description stuck in revision hell. Now, let's talk about what actually works.
Andrew Davis
PART ONE
I'm going to walk you through the systematic approach that helped both Michelle and Dan break through their paralysis—the frameworks that got Michelle that "YOU GOT ME! I'm hooked" response from a Meta executive, and the processes that helping Dan do the heavy thinking that's required to write a visionary session description.
These are the exact frameworks, language templates, and daily practices that work. Not theory. Not "best practices" from someone who's never done this. Real tactics from their actual journeys.
Let's get you unstuck.
Accept That You're Selling a Product That Doesn't Exist Yet (And Be Transparent About It)
Look, this is going to feel uncomfortable at first.
You're going to send out a session description for a speech that isn't finished yet. Maybe you don't even have an outline. Maybe you've only delivered pieces of it. Maybe it's just an idea that's been rattling around in your head for the past month.
And someone's going to respond with interest and ask:
"Do you have a recording of this?"
Your brain will immediately panic. You'll think, "See? I wasn't ready. I should've waited."
Stop right there.
The Fix: Stop waiting for the speech to be finished before you test the description.
I told Michelle this directly during one of our calls:
"And that's okay. You can say, 'I don't have a recording of this full speech, yet because it's brand new, and because it's untested, I'm offering a discount on this speech...'
She needed to hear that it was okay to be honest about where she was in the process.
How to Handle "Do You Have a Recording?"
Maybe you're not worried about them asking for a recording. Maybe you're worried they'll ask you to present it tomorrow (unlikely.) Or, maybe you're worried they'll ask to see the slide deck. Or, maybe you're just worried they'll ask for a call so you can walk them through the talk track.
Bottom line: the fear is the same...
So, when someone responds with interest and asks about recordings or final materials, use this exact framework:
"I'm so excited that you're interested in seeing the full session. This speech is brand new, and I'd love to deliver it for [their type of audience/industry], because it's so new, I'm happy to offer [a discount or even free] at your next event. What do you think?"
That's it. Just start with that.
What This Accomplishes
This simple response does four critical things:
- It removes the excuse that you need finished materials before testing market demand.
- It positions you as developing something current and relevant—not recycling a speech you've been giving for three years.
- It creates urgency by offering a discount. They know they can get this at a bargain fee, which actually makes them more interested, not less.
- It tests market demand before you invest 100+ hours building a speech no one wants to buy.
The Mindset Shift You Need to Make
Your session description isn't marketing collateral for a finished product.
It's a design specification that lets you validate your concept and secure bookings simultaneously.
As I reminded Michelle during our work together: "The session description's job is to elicit enthusiastic responses, not just lukewarm feedback."
If you're getting "that's interesting" or "keep me posted," your description isn't working yet. If you're getting "OMG, when can you do this for us?" that's when you know you're onto something worth building.
The One-Line Clarity Exercise: Diagnose the REAL Problem (Not the Symptoms)
Before you write a single word of your session description, you need to know what problem you're actually solving.
And here's the thing: most speakers get this wrong.
Why Symptoms Aren't Enough
Your audience will tell you they're stressed. They'll say they're overwhelmed. They'll complain about burnout, poor communication, lack of engagement, or whatever shows up in their daily work life.
Those are symptoms.
If you write your session description about those symptoms, you'll sound like every other speaker addressing the same topic.
But when you diagnose the underlying problem... the thing causing all those symptoms... that's when you have something unique to say.
That's exactly how Michelle got to the understanding of her audience's real problem.
How Michelle Diagnosed Her Way to Clarity
Michelle could have written a session description about stress management. Or handling workplace pressure. Or preventing burnout. (Oh, and she did write that session description.)
Those are all symptoms.
Instead, she listed out everything her audience was experiencing:
- They're trying deep breathing exercises but still feeling overwhelmed
- They're meditating but can't get past the moment of crisis
- They're practicing self-care but the pressure keeps coming back
- They pause when they're stressed, but they don't know how to change direction
Looking at all those symptoms together, Michelle diagnosed the real problem:
People know how to pause under pressure, but they don't know how to pivot.
That's not a symptom. That's the underlying problem causing all those symptoms.
And that insight became the foundation of her entire session description—and the reason that Meta executive responded with "YOU GOT ME! I'm hooked."
Your One-Line Diagnosis Exercise
Here's how to do this for your own speech:
Step 1: List the symptoms (10 minutes)
Write down everything your audience complains about, struggles with, or experiences related to your topic. Don't filter. Just list it all.
Step 1: List the symptoms (10 minutes)
Write down everything your audience complains about, struggles with, or experiences related to your topic. Don't filter. Just list it all.
Step 3: Write your one-line diagnosis
Complete this sentence:
"The real problem isn't [symptom]. It's [underlying problem]."
For Michelle, it was: "The real problem isn't that people are stressed. It's that they know how to pause but not how to pivot."
For Dan, it became: "The real problem isn't that organizations promote the wrong people. It's that they're measuring the wrong things (and one of the symptoms is that they promote the wrong people.)" See the difference?
Step 4: Test it
Say your one-line diagnosis out loud to someone. Do they immediately understand it? Does it make them think differently about the problem?
If they say "Oh, I never thought about it that way," you've diagnosed something real.
If they say "Yeah, that makes sense," you're still at the symptom level. Go deeper.
Why This Exercise Matters
When you diagnose the real problem (not just describe the symptoms) three things happen:
1. Your description becomes instantly differentiated. Everyone else is addressing symptoms. You're addressing the root cause.
2. Your audience recognizes themselves immediately. They've been living with these symptoms. When you name the underlying problem, it clicks.
3. Your solution becomes more valuable. Anyone can help people manage symptoms. Solving the real problem? That's worth booking.
The Test
If your session description could apply to a dozen other speakers in your space, you're writing about symptoms.
If your session description makes people say "I've never heard anyone frame it that way before," you've diagnosed the real problem.
Do this exercise before you write anything else. Get this one line right, and the rest of your session description becomes much easier to write.
The Four Questions That Reveal the Emotional Problem
You've diagnosed the real problem using the One-Line Clarity Exercise.
Now you need to understand how that problem actually feels to your audience.
Why Emotional Problems Book Gigs
An event organizer reading your session description isn't thinking, "Does this speaker understand our productivity metrics?"
They're thinking, "Will my audience feel understood? Will they recognize themselves in this description?"
That's why Michelle's Meta executive responded with "YOU GOT ME! I'm hooked."
Michelle didn't write about workplace stress statistics or productivity loss data. She wrote about what it feels like to be under that kind of pressure, and the Meta executive immediately recognized her team's emotional experience.
