Avoid the Duds: 10 Strategies for Selecting The Perfect Speaker
July 23, 2007
Today, more than ever, the success of meetings relies heavily on the strength of program content and presentation. Nothing can spoil a meeting more than hiring the wrong speaker. That’s because speakers do more than just convey the overall meeting message. You look to them to provide insights, awareness, and cutting-edge information in an energetic, motivational, entertaining, and professional manner. What more could you ask for? Well, the right speaker can emphasize an important message, offer inspiration, help people cope with new assignments, and lead the way towards change. Selecting the right speaker for your event is one of the most important, yet daunting elements for creating a successful meeting. Your speaker can often make or break the event. If he bombs, your reputation not only takes a severe nose-dive, but you also have the pleasure of dealing with the barrage of complaints from a disappointed audience. Yet, if he does well, you can walk away with many of the accolades, compliments, and of course, the rave reviews. By now, you probably realize that this massive responsibility is not to be taken lightly. Raise Your Expectations The skill to selecting a great speaker is determining what combination of education, motivation, and entertainment best fits your function. Then set out to find a perfect match. But keep your expectations high, since nothing can spoil a meeting faster than booking the wrong speaker. The following 10 guidelines should help you keep your focus and also keep you away from the "duds." 1. Know the program objectives. Before you can start looking for the right speaker, you must know the program objectives. Begin with the end in mind. What are you looking to achieve? Is this an annual meeting, a training program, an incentive get-together, an awards celebration, or another type of event? This will probably be a committee or management decision, rather than one you will have to make. But you may have to make an intangible concept tangible. 2. Understand the audience’s needs. Along with the program objectives, consider the needs of your audience. Does your group need industry-specific or technical information? Will a mix of motivation and entertainment serve your group’s purpose? Today’s audiences are generally younger, more educated, more diverse, and more sophisticated than in the past. They want content. They want to learn, but they also want it to be fun, so consider the audience needs and exactly what they expect. Consider surveying your audience. Ask them what they want or what skills would most help them in their jobs. For example, sales people may ask for advanced selling skills, but managers may request teambuilding programs. 3. Check for reputation. With countless speakers out there vying for your business, how can you possibly determine which one best meets your needs? Many speakers produce highly professional or glitzy marketing materials to help sell their services. You must look deeper than simply scanning a few brochures and ask pointed questions to find the right fit, such as What experience does this speaker have? How familiar is this speaker with this industry? and, Who else has used this person? 4. "Test drive" your prospects. If you don’t have the opportunity to preview a speaker in person, then the next best thing is to request a video or audio recording of a previous presentation. A session that was recorded before a live audience gives you a better sense of a person’s real ability.Watch or listen carefully to how the speaker builds rapport and interacts with the audience. Ask yourself if this person would be right for your group. Is the combination of education, motivation, and entertainment appropriate for your needs? Does the speaker have a message that is appropriate, timely, and relevant to the theme or purpose of your event? Does it conform to your company’s philosophy and policy? Do you feel the speaker is genuine and has the expertise to deliver a solid presentation? 5. Don’t be star-struck. If you are considering celebrity speakers, make sure they can speak! TV personalities do a great job on the air, but sometimes have little public speaking expertise, and you should be aware that the skills needed for being on TV and for speaking live are very different. However, many well-known personalities make excellent speakers and can add enormous value and clout to your event. Politicians and sports, media, or entertainment celebrities often share life experiences, offer advice, or have an inspirational message to impart. 6. Be wary of grandiose claims. Speakers who claim to be all things to all people are probably desperate for work. Avoid them. True professional speakers, on the other hand, usually have certain areas or topics of expertise. They would much rather refer potential business to a true expert than jeopardize their reputation by trying to do a program outside of their knowledge zone. Also, beware of the charismatic and fluffy speaker as your audience wants good, solid take-away value. 7. Provide and ask for good information. Reputable speakers want to find out as much as possible about the meeting objectives, the audience, industry challenges, and so on in order to tailor their presentation to the group. Share information on your organization and audience to help the speaker design a program to fit your specific needs. provide them with newsletters, catalogs, or any other publications that highlight industry trends, key people, industry jargon or buzz words, and insider news and views. Also include as much information as possible about the size and demographics of the audience such as age, gender, and positions. 8. Ask for an outline. Ask prospective speakers for an outline of the presentation to make sure they will be covering the material as you discussed. This will clearly lay out what’s expected as verbal communication is subject to being misunderstood or misinterpreted. Seeing exactly what speakers plan to cover in the sessions should help to ensure that the material is tailored to your specific needs. 9. Maximize opportunities. Look for ways to maximize opportunities with your speakers. Discuss different ways they can add extra value and be a significant resource to help improve your meeting’s success. Brainstorm ways that you feel they can assist you in planning, preparing, promoting, and presenting. Some suggestions include serving as an emcee, conducting special sessions or roundtable discussions about current issues for select groups such as company executives or the board of directors, and participating in a spouse program. 10. Trust your instincts. Through your communication with the speaker, you will quickly form an opinion or have a feeling about this person. First reactions count here. "I like this person" or "I don’t like this person," or "I feel comfortable or uncomfortable working with this person," are strong indicators. These responses usually comes from your gut - a very trustworthy organ. Have confidence in your instincts and trust that so-called sixth sense. If you experience any kind of negative feeling, think about looking for someone else or get another opinion from a colleague. You want to make sure that you can work with this person and that both of you are on the same wavelength. The true objective of hiring a professional speaker hinges on establishing a partnership where a mutually beneficial relationship grows and flourishes. When this happens, you know you’ve chosen well. The Perfect Match Overwhelmed with the plethora of speakers to choose from? You may want to turn to a speaker’s bureau for advice and guidance. A good bureau should act as a consultant and partner to help your event succeed. Even though many hundreds of bureaus are out there, the numbers pale in comparison to the thousands of speakers. A bureau’s sole purpose is simply to make your job easier and provide you with solutions. They want to find the best possible match for your event within your price range. So, where do go looking for one of these bureaus? Here are a few places to start your search: the phone book, chambers of commerce, convention and visitors bureaus, the Internet, industry colleagues, and friends. A Final Note: Look for CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) or CPAE (Council of Peers Award for Excellence) designations. Both these are conferred by the National Speakers Association and are considered the speaking profession’s international measure of professional platform skill (http://www.nsaspeaker.org). Armed with these guidelines and resources, your search for the perfect speaker will be more fruitful. And with a little effort and some time, you will connect with a speaker who will fulfill your goals- one that will be both inform and enlighten. Your audience will thank you.
Work Environment Tidbits
July 22, 2007
Color is a big factor effecting all indoor environments. Since most of us spend many hours each day at work, the coloring of the space has a big impact on us. Monotone color schemes can over charge certain personality and behavioral patterns. The color grey can cause depression and frequent change, leading to coping actions like drinking alcohol. Too much grey [ a common business/office main color ] can also lead to unclear thoughts and actions. Sometimes in life and business things need to be simply black and white, clear and simple! The best solution to this problem is to introduce many colors into the work space. Even small items of varied colors can do wonders, so add some to the work-business space and watch the changes.
- When getting dressed for work/business each morning wear the colors that are not in the work place……that way your colors become a part of the environment, effecting both you and all those around you……..you become a balancer for the colors missing at work….try it.
- Stay grounded all day! That means that no matter what is going on around you [ you can’t always control that stuff ] you are not so effected. This way you stay stable and help stabilize an often highly charged emotional situation. Staying grounded means to keep both feet on the floor ….no matter what happens! This can be real hard to do since many people around you will try to pull you off balance [ ungrounded ], just keep trying this and you will get better at it.
- See your job/business and work place as both mundane and sacred at the same time. That means to do the job and work the space in practical ways while understanding that there is more going on then meets the surface of things. That life and work is all holy and sacred…..not just when you go to church, etc. This helps to bring a higher level of order and purpose to all you do…you tend to get better results in everything. Try it!
- Keep the space clean and clear. This sounds too simple to be of real value but this is not true! Try it and watch the results……..
- Good luck!
- The Business Shaman
Jerry is a former psychotherapist and is currently a professional shaman. He publishes an online magazine and newsletter dealing with shamanism and holism as they apply to life and business. You can reach the magazine at this address: http://www.jeremiahhuck.workzsites.com
Abraham Lincoln Is Still Alive
July 21, 2007
Abraham Lincoln Is Still Alive
President Jimmy Carter tells in his memoirs that a trip to Gettysburg and a discussion about Abraham Lincoln helped achieve a breakthrough in the Camp David negotiations.
The Israelis and the Egyptians had reached a deadlock. President Carter suggested that all the participants take a day off and visit Gettysburg, which was just a few miles from Camp David. The ground rules forbade that they discuss the peace talks.
Sadat, Begin, and Carter rode together with Carter sitting between the two heads of state. To Carter’s surprise, the military men on both sides knew a great deal about Gettysburg because they had studied the battles in their military schools. Begin was particularly moved to be able to stand in the spot where Lincoln delivered his famous address, a speech that Begin considered “one of the best and simplest speeches ever made.”
Barriers began to come down between the two sides, and the next day negotiations resumed that eventually led to the Camp David Accords. (Jimmy Carter, “Keeping Faith. Memoirs of a President,” 1982, pp. 370-372) Learn about how Lincoln communicated in “The Words Lincoln Lived By.” Order your own autographed copy: (http://www.achievementdigest.com/ProductOrderForm.html). Quantity prices are available. One of our readers ordered 200 copies to give to customers and prospects.
Penetrate or Expand - Which Customer Targeting Strategy Is For You
July 20, 2007
Penetrate or Expand - Which Customer Targeting Strategy Is For You
by: J D Moore
Just about every business would just love to have more customers. Just how you go about getting them is the million dollar problem. Here’s some insight into the two basic ways to build up your customer base.
Expansion: An expansion strategy seeks to add new markets to a product, service, or company. This could be geographic or demographically based.
When a company decides to launch it’s products into a new country - that’s an expansion strategy. If you have been selling locally and all of a sudden put your products on the Internet for a global audience, that’s also expansion.
Penetration: Penetration focuses on gaining more share of an already served market. It may involve getting customers to switch from competitors to your product. It may also involve getting non-customers in your target market to become customers.
If you ran a grocery store, getting more people in your town to shop there would require a penetration strategy. If you wanted to sap customers away from a competitor - that would also require a penetration strategy.
The Real Marketing Genius
July 19, 2007
I spend a lot of my time reading books and listening to tapes about business and marketing. I guess that’s understandable.
Many of the authors of these materials are known as experts, gurus or marketing geniuses. However, a few weeks ago I was listening to a discussion about marketing and one of the participants made a point that struck me like a ton of bricks.
He said: “The only true marketing genius is the customer”.
What a succinct and powerful statement!
The truth of the matter is that no matter how much good advice or information or training we get in marketing, the only person’s opinion that really matters is the customers. No matter how good the idea seems to be, if the customer doesn’t respond then nothing else matters.
What’s the moral?
Simple. You need to constantly stay in tune with your customers interests and desires and give them what they want, how they want it, when they want it. If they don’t respond to a particular offer, you need to do your best to find out why (through follow-up surveys or any other method at your disposal).
Hey, You Cant Ask Me That! (How to Respond to Inappropriate Job Interview Questions)
July 19, 2007
I received the following questions from a visitor to my website recently: “How should I respond to inappropriate questions such as: (1) Do you have a stable home life? (2) Tell me about your personal situation. Are these inappropriate questions? It has been so long since I interviewed for a job, your suggestions about the most helpful responses would be appreciated!”
At the Speed of Light
July 18, 2007
How many times has someone you’ve called said, “Why don’t you send me some information on your company”?
Ask yourself, before you send anything: How will this be dealt with once it arrives at that person’s desk. Aren’t they already suffering from information overload? On the one hand, people say they they need more information in order to make the decision just to meet with you, let alone to agree to buy or hire. On the other, they have more information about everything than they know what to do with.
The problem is, your prospects are not usually looking for information. They are usually, politely, asking you to go away. Most salespeople at this point shovel a whole lot of information at their prospect, hoping something will stick.
A more effective way to respond to your prospect’s request for more information is to send something that reaches them at a gut level. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming, a subtle message can be as effective as a bold one, as long as it connects. How to achieve that connection on paper or a website is, of course, the big challenge.
How To Apply NLP Techniques To Explode Your Profits On Ebay - Part 1
July 17, 2007
How To Apply NLP Techniques To Explode Your Profits On Ebay - Part 1
by: Dan Lim
This is the first of a two part article.
Introduction
Wouldn’t you like to hypnotize people into purchasing your auction items?
Or what about if you could indirectly influence, sway and control people’s decision-making process, without them even realizing it?
That’s what NLP is all about. NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming, a form of hypnosis based on hidden, subliminally persuasive language patterns either spoken or written.
One famous example is Tony Robbins, a master in motivational success and personal growth training, talks using NLP naturally without him even thinking about it. If you listen to him talk in seminars, on television or cassette tapes, you can become quite inspired and NLP is at the heart of his courses and seminars. He uses NLP to help people change their lives by showing them how to use NLP for personal growth, life management, motivation, combat depression and much more.
Using Outlook to Count Responses
July 16, 2007
Here’s a productivity tip that will save you a lot of time and trouble if you need to collate responses from staff for any reason, especially if you work for an organisation with a lot of staff.
Case Study: I worked for a financial institution with 3,000 plus employees and had to identify how many employees needed compulsory training in certain legislation so that we could plan and resource the training.
I emailed everyone within the centre with a request that if they had not completed the training within the last three months, they were to reply to my email without changing the subject line. They were to reply by a certain deadline … any queries were to be sent via a new email addressed to me and I explained why.
I created a folder called ‘Legislation Training’ and used Rules Wizard to divert any email received with the subject line: ‘Legislation Training Requirement’ into the folder. Every time a new email arrived it automatically went into the folder and Outlook incremented and displayed the number of unopened emails in the folder in brackets at the end of the folder name. It looked like this: ‘Legislation Training (125)’.
The Goal Setting Blueprint
July 15, 2007
Why is goal setting important? Because without goals you don’t go anywhere!
Whenever you see anything worthwhile being done anywhere, it’s because someone is behind it with a passion, a belief and a goal!
When it comes to your personal life and your business, goal setting can make the difference between mediocrity and excellence and accomplishment.
Much is said about goal setting.
But just how do you set and accomplish goals?
Is there some goal setting formula or strategy that can be employed to increase your chances of success?
Thankfully, YES!
What follows is a blueprint for success in goal setting.
The Goal Setting Blueprint
STEP 1. Develop a DESIRE to achieve the goal. The desire must be intense. How do you intensify desire? Sit down and write out all the benefits and advantages of achieving your goal. Once the list goes between 50 and 100 your goal becomes unstoppable.
STEP 2. WRITE your goal down. Once it goes into writing it becomes substantial and starts etching itself into your subconscious.
STEP 3. IDENTIFY 1) the obstacles you will need to overcome, 2) the help you will need to acquire, e.g. knowledge, people, organizations. In each case write them out in a clear list and analyze them.
