What do You Think?

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I launched a survey today. I talk about knowing your audience and this is one of the ways you can do just that.

I want to learn what it is YOU want, what you need to be a more successful speaker or presenter.

This is your opportunity to let me know what kind of content will help you. Complete the survey and you could win a FREE hour of consultation with me. You choose the topic, come prepared with questions and I’ll share everything I know.

The last day to complete the survey is Oct. 25.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Instant Keynote

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You get a call on Monday. The caller is asking you to speak to their group on Wednesday, the money is right, the group fits nicely into your target market and you have the time available. Do you have a keynote ready?

No? Now what?? Take it with no time to prepare, or turn down a golden opportunity.

How about another idea? Before this happens have a keynote ready to go.  Then there is no panic and you can happily accept the invitation to speak.

To determine your topic think about what question people most often ask you or think about what you are very passionate about in your business.

I have speakers that go one of two directions on the length of their speech. Some craft a 60 minute speech they can then trim down to meet the timeframe. Others craft a speech that is 30 – 45 minutes in length. At this length it is fairly easy to trim it down to 20 minutes or pump it up to 60 depending on the need.

Don’t forget to build your collateral material at the same time. Put together the slides and handout for the speech. You don’t want to end up rushing around at the last minute. It is much less stressful to simply review something quickly and then press print.

You get a call on Monday, asking you to speak on Wednesday. Accept the engagement! Take some time to customize the keynote to the particular group you are speaking to and you are ready to go!

Speed Networking- Be Prepared

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Speed networking is an interesting way to get your name in front of new (to you) companies.  You have a very short amount of time to make a connection and stand out.

How do you do that?

  • First and perhaps most important, go in with a plan. No one wants to meet someone who is just rambling on and on. You need to be in position to take advantage of the little time you have.
  • Provide a short concise description of who you are and what you do. The company representative can immediately get a handle on how you might or might not wok together.  This also helps to keep your conversation relatively short. You want to be mindful of the other people trying to get to one individual.
  • Have qualifying questions ready to go- for instance, do they even use outside vendors for your particular skill set/product, are their specific programs you might compliment, do they have programs specifically aimed at bringing women, minority or small businesses in to the corporation?
  • Have a follow up question ready if you get an affirmative to any of the above. Who is the contact, their email and phone number?
  • Have an easy way to gather the information. You could put together a printed Excel sheet; use your iPad or your smart phone.

You are qualifying the company. You may decide after the first question or two that you do not want to work with the company.  Simply thank the representative for their time and move on. Because your questions were ready to go what could have been a longer discussion only to find out there is no connection can be avoided.

An Often Untapped Business Resource

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Big corporations use them; college students are always trying to get them.

Internships. Quite often small businesses do not tap into this cost effective resource. Internships are the college student’s way of getting experience. Internships can be structured to last a specific amount of time or for the life of a specific project.

Interns are great at doing some of those things that are not your strong suit. For instance, junior and senior marketing students can develop and implement marketing plans.  If you need help with communications or writing English and Communication departments are great resources. Research can take a lot of time if you are a busy business owner- unless you have an intern committed to it for 2 – 3 hours for a month. Interns can be utilized to make follow up calls, contact groups to secure speaking engagements, or to help with developing collateral material.

When you are considering an intern think about tasks and projects that you may not have time/energy to complete but that will provide experience to someone else. You will need to provide a job description, guidance on how you will work together and be certain to interview the candidates. You are as responsible for their success as they are and they will require supervision.

You get a resource that wants to do a good job. Although many internships are unpaid a struggling student would appreciate anything you can provide. I know some business owners that do small things for their intern like buy them lunch if they are onsite, provide a small check at the end of the term, allow them to attend training the company is doing and act as a reference. You may not officially pay your intern but finding creative ways to express your appreciation is good for you and the intern.

Once the project is completed you are required to write a letter of recommendation. Many interns receive college credit for their work and your letter is proof that they completed the internship.

This should be a symbiotic relationship- good for you, good for them. To secure an intern contact your local college/university or put a call out to your networking group.

Your Speech needs a Strong Opening

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I booked 2 speeches today! Whew! Now, I have to write the speech. Everyone has a different ‘method’ they use to write a speech. Whether you think it through while staring out the window, put fingers to keyboard and write train of thought or draft a detailed outline you have to include a strong opening.

With a strong opening you will

  • Grab the audience’s
  • Set the stage for where you are going
  • Create greater interest (the audience is there so I presume they are already a bit interested!)

There are a few things you can do to help ensure a strong opening.

  • Don’t start with an introduction of who you are- while it is important to your credibility it can be a snore. Unless, you can start with a story that relates to your credibility, for instance, for this speech I think I will talk about the experience that led me to become a professional speaker. The entire experience was a horror show.  I will use vivid words and common experience to make it relatable and the story usually has everyone squirming at just how awful the situation was.  And it leads directly to the beginning of my training which ties directly to credibility.
  • Start with a story
  • Ask questions to get them thinking. Help the audience identify areas where they have a knowledge gap. Stir curiosity- How would you…. What if …..
  • Start with a controversial or startling statement.

Now sure if your opening is strong? Try it out on a few people, if their eyes glaze over in boredom you should start over.

Speakers have Flipper arms- Flipper would be proud of us!

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I see it all of the time, I even find myself doing it! Flipper arms when I am speaking.  Public speakers know some things are just super irritating. Jingling change in a pocket, a bracelet that rattles, a heavy breather on a microphone are all annoying.

The one we forget about is ‘flipper’ arms. You have seen it- the speaker has their arms at a 90-degree angle and there hands are constantly moving for no apparent reason. Back and forth, from side to side, over and over and over again. Every once in a while they will wring their hands or make an expansive gesture that looks like it is meant to encompass the whole room.

I’m not suggesting speakers stand perfectly still but a little stillness would be nice. Think about it like this, if you want to use gestures to illustrate a point make them BIG. If your arms and hands have been relatively still for the majority of a speech those gestures have even more impact. If you have had ‘flipper’ arms the entire time the BIG gestures simply seem like an addition to your already squirming body.

Not sure if you do the ‘flipper’ thing? Videotape a speech. Then actually watch it- looking for ‘flipper’ arms. When it happens you will notice.  You will probably see some other things you would like to change about your speaking too.

If you don’t have access to a video camera stand in front of a mirror and give your speech. Keep giving it until you relax enough to act normally.

Now that you have seen your version of ‘flipper’ arms you need to stop it. The simplest thing to do is let your arms hang naturally at your side. It might not feel comfortable but from an observers perspective it looks natural and confident. When you feel your hands start to creep up put them back at your side. Now, when you gesture BIG it looks BIG! And makes a point.

This will take some practice but the more you do it the better you will get at it. Happy speaking!

Use Your Network to Slingshot Ahead

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How big is your network? More to the point how are you using your network?

Properly using your business network will help you to move your business ahead in a big way.  Four ways to use your network:

  1. Ask to meet specific prospects- the most important piece is to know exactly who you want to meet, be specific. For instance, it is ok to say you want to meet attorneys, better to say you want to meet family law attorneys and best to say you want to meet Ms. Smith from Smith, Jones and Brown.
    • The more specific you are in your request the better able folks are to help you. They may know the person you are asking to meet. They may determine you are interested in meeting attorneys and because they know 3 or 4 ask you if you would like to meet those attorneys. That conversation opens the door for you to learn more about their contacts and to determine if it would be valuable to meet them.
    • I just recently encountered an example of how well this works. I am working with a specific industry and am trying to meet some of the key players in that industry. Rather than just ask if my network could introduce me to anyone in the industry, I asked for a contact in a specific company- tomorrow I have a meeting with the number two guy. It took about 2 days- had I tried to get this contact on my own I may never have had a conversation with this person.
  2. Create partnerships- Partnerships can play a key role in expanding your business. Look for folks in your network (add folks to your network) in complimentary and competing businesses. Complimentary businesses are great places to share your information. Take the time to create a genuine relationship with the business owner, learn what their customers want, what the business provides and what you might provide to their customers. Find out how you can help their business- then do it. Then ask for their assistance in getting your information to their audience. Generally they will be happy to help you just as you helped them.
    • Competing businesses can also be a great source for partnerships. Why?
    • They may have no interest in offering a service/product you offer and vice versa
    • You provide value to your customers by sharing a great product with your customers- even if that product is not yours
    • The same goes for the competition- any product they can provide their customers that meets a need will only increase that companies value to the customer (set up an affiliate relationship with them and it is an even bigger win for them)
    • In general, we like to see folks help other folks- sharing someone else’s products or services- especially since you believe in them- will make you feel good and let’s your customers know you are looking out for them.
  3. Get assistance with market research- You are thinking about expanding into a new market? Use your network to meet with some folks within that market. This is one of those rare times it is ok to put out a general call for introductions. You can then qualify that person and get some one-to-one feedback from the market about your potential offering. You can very quickly learn if there is any interest and, if not, move on to your next big thing.
  4. Get assistance with product/service research- You have built a new product/service. Before it hits the market it would be a good idea to do some testing. Put together a focus group to review and use the product. Get their thoughts on look, function, results etc. If the feedback is positive get testimonials. Ask folks about price points, for constructive criticism and what marketing would reach them. This is your opportunity to learn before you craft your big promotion. If you integrate the focus group information your promotion will be much more successful.
    • I have a client developing a new seminar around the topic of transformation. We are using our networks to pull together a focus group. The information will help us rework the training (if needed), understand market requirements, develop a sales strategy and will provide testimonials.

These are just four ways to use the network you have. I’m sure you can think of more ways to tap into the collective.

Decide how you might use your network and start building relationships with folks that can help you meet your goal.

I don’t want to walk out on your speech!

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I did it today. I walked out on a speech. I left before the end because I just could not stand it anymore.

Two women were presenting. I think their slides were nicely done. I say I think because at times I am not certain what the actual point of their rambling was supposed to be. The advertised topic was fairly broad and rather than choosing a specific area to drill in to they touched briefly on multiple areas. A fine tactic if you execute well.

They had not practiced exactly what they were going to say. They stumbled over their words, threw in lots of ah’s and um’s, and used stories that illustrated a point only if you were creative.

This is a learning opportunity for all of us.

No, they were not professional speakers and I would bet they do not regularly do presentations. At a minimum, someone should be able to easily follow your speech and draw a parallel between the story you are telling and the point you are addressing.

Non-words can be forgiven; we have all been there. My point is even if you are not a professional speaker you need to approach any speech/presentation as a professional opportunity.  Use the opportunity. If nothing else you may just find a customer among all of the prospects sitting in the room.  If you are uncomfortable or unsure about how to write or deliver a speech or how to create slides ask someone for help and then practice. Attend a class like Delivery Skills that Sell.

A professional speaker will tell you the moment you relax, the moment you stop asking for help or think you don’t need to practice is the moment you deliver a mediocre speech. I know you don’t want to do that.

Public Speakers- Practice, Practice, Practice

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To this day I bristle when I hear the words practice- or think about practicing. When I was in high school I played 3 instruments. Every day I practiced 3 instruments. By the time I got to university I never wanted to ‘practice’ again.

Now, I find myself practicing! Not only do I practice but also I preach it to my clients. Ask someone doing public speaking if they have practiced- most of them will waffle a bit and admit they have not. Ask them what they think would make them more comfortable and, after waffling a bit, they will say practice.

There truly is something to this idea of practice. Any elite athlete will tell you practice is crucial- Lance Armstrong, Abby Wambach, Michael Phelps ratchets up his practice as the Olympics approach. You may have natural talent and practice will move you to the next level.

Practice is the piece that allows you to sail through a speech when everything that can go wrong does. You may have forgotten your outline, the PowerPoint is down, only two lights in the room work and 75 people are crammed into a room built for 50 and if you have practiced that speech you will pull off the greatest speech ever! If you haven’t practiced, you may limp along with something that is, let’s say, less than stellar.

Practice will give you confidence, will allow you to ad lib when it is needed, and will keep you going when you feel like everything else is falling apart.

What happens to my clients that practice? All of a sudden they have a sense of confidence they have never had before, I see it and the audience sees it. Everyone practices- don’t kid yourself into thinking the greatest speakers out there don’t have their own way of practicing. They do.

You could be a brilliant speaker too. It is all up to you.

Your Community Connection

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How much do you know about what is happening around you? I don’t mean right beside you or in your office rather in your community.

I had the opportunity to attend a ‘State of the County’ event hosted by my local Chamber. This is an opportunity to learn about the community you serve both on a micro (the city you live in) and state level.

I have a more concrete idea of how external factors are impacting local and statewide business. It also gave me some ideas about how I might be able to give back to my local community.

Even if you don’t have local clients it is helpful to understand your community- for instance, sales tax just went down and there is another tax increase on the ballot this fall- now I understand why that increase has been requested.

Even if the local economy doesn’t impact your customers it may impact your business. Local can mean anything from municipality to your entire state (province) or country depending on the scope of your business. Taxes, shortages, overages, environmental factors impact you regardless of the size of your ‘local’.

Participating in your community can bring rewards of its own and provide benefits that may not have much to do with your business. Then again, you never know until you get out there. I recently discovered that I have only 1 degree of separation between me and the Gates Foundation Board, another person I met has Oprah’s ear, and another regularly works with large oil companies. Do I have an immediate need for these contacts? Not today, but I may in the future and it is worth cultivating relationships with the people involved.

Stay connected to your community, the virtual and the real one.