We all want to inspire people. We want to help them move to the next step of their life, their business, or whatever is challenging them. We want to see them soar.

The thing is, we need to be more than just cheerleaders.

It’s wonderful to tell someone, “You can do it! I believe in you!” but you can’t leave it at that.

It’s also wonderful to tell your story and say, “I did it, and so can you,” but that’s not enough either.

You have to do more than just inspire. It can be an empty gesture. It honestly doesn’t always give people the push we think it does. It needs more substance.

Instead of just inspiring, think about empowering people as well.

Connect the dots for your reader. Help them see how they can do it too. Help them see what you did and how it applies to their lives. Help them see the parallels and reinforce the journey.

Often, people decide that they want to write a memoir to share their story. It’s beautiful to do that and let others see what you’ve done and how you’ve become who you are today.

But what always gets me interested in a story is when the writer talks about the bigger lessons and what was going on in their heads. What were they discovering about themselves? How did it impact their journey?

Beyond that, I love it when the writer shares that analysis in a way that lets you do the same thing with your story. Flipping the questions around and letting the reader do some work is imperative to increase engagement.

When you do that, you change the narrative from, “You have such an amazing story,” to “You have such an amazing story. And it changed me.”

Speakers and coaches need to go a step beyond memoir because their audience craves that kind of work. Their readers want to buy a book that helps them reach a goal, not just for entertainment. When the goal is to enact change, you need the writer to create the connection between their actions and the potential actions of the reader so they see how to reach the goal, not just that the possibility for them to do it is there.

This is why I always encourage my authors to include questions or journaling points for the reader. Let them reflect on what they read. Show them how it can change them.

That engagement will make a huge difference in how your audience receives and reviews your book AND on how you use your book in your business.