The main thing people will remember about you is how easy you are to do business with. Let's look at how Hollywood is doing business these days.
A few of years ago, I conducted a series of programs for government agencies on entrepreneurial thinking. Speaking with me was Carolyn Corbin, author of CONQUERING CORPORATE CODEPENDENCE. Carolyn is a futurist, who projects trends and their consequences.
Her theory is that government imitates business, while business uses Hollywood as a model of how to do business. By the year 2005, she predicts 70 percent of the business world will be doing business like Hollywood where, at any one point, a huge percent of the work force is unemployed.
Today, when people come together in Hollywood, it is for a project with a beginning and end. The old studio system allowed steady employment for tens of thousands who worked with each other for decades. That is now a distant memory.
Today's workers may never have seen or worked with each other before. Yet, the pressure is tremendous to get the job done as efficiently as possible. This leads to a Hollywood fact of life: The people who get hired are those with a reputation for BOTH excellence and being easy to work with.
Today's corporations are imitating this Hollywood model, constantly breaking into smaller units for projects or "outsourcing." Few people can or want to work their whole life for one or two companies. The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor sets average job tenure at 4.6 years, and USA Today cites a trend among fast-trackers to change jobs nine times before age thirty-two! That's a year and four months on each job, assuming there is no downtime in between.
Your job is to be employable, not just employed. No matter what you do and
for whom, be the Chairman of the Board of your own career. Be loyal to your
company, of course. It's good for your career, and it's the right thing to do. But while you're being loyal and dependable, be visible in your company, your community, and your industry. Then, if (or when) you are out of work, the word goes out, "Oh, good, there's a wonderful person available."
Within corporate America, as in Hollywood, people may stay employed, but they
will probably rotate among different teams working on different projects. When you earn the reputation for getting things done and "doing the impossible" (that is, doing at least one thing better than almost anyone else), you are more likely to be selected for the fun, high profile projects. The more in demand you can become, the more your fee or salary goes up. That's "Hollywood economics."
People are going to remember if you did a great job, but they'll also remember if you were professional and easy to deal with, or unreliable and a pain in the neck. Either way they won't forget you, but being a professional will get you hired again. Think about that as you plan your career.
by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE
Rabu, 09 Januari 2008
Communicating Clearly Through Voice Mail and Email
Clear messages are concise, complete, correct, quick and make you look competent. Whether you were a pioneer in the use of email and voice mail, or have just recently been introduced to this technology, making effective use of these forms of communication is not a "by chance" happening. Here are a few tips for polishing your messages.
Follow the rules of etiquette when creating your messages.
Even though technology has changed, the rules of etiquette have not. Avoid remarks that are vulgar, repetitive and verbose, and never write or say anything you wouldn't want forwarded to your company CEO, your customers, your family, or your friends.
Distinguish between fact and opinion when the difference may not be obvious to the person receiving your message.
If you are making a personal judgment, say so, lest your words come back to haunt you. And even then, be sure you really want to state your personal opinion in potentially libelous situations.
Respect others' confidentiality and expect your own to be nonexistent.
Most of us have been comforted by the thought of our guaranteed right to free speech to say what we think and feel with few exceptions. However, messages left in the private sector do not enjoy such immunity; they are considered private domain and are not subject to "free speech" protection.
Respect all copyright and licensing agreements.
Take great care to discover who has authored information you may be tempted to include as yours. Just because you do not claim the ideas as your own, and even if you acknowledge other "unknown" sources, you may still be liable for copyright infringement.
Understand the difference in being informal and looking careless or stupid.
Informal means a conversational tone, a breezy manner, colloquial words and phrases, intentional sentence fragments, and acronyms. On the other hand, informal does not mean unclear and incomplete thoughts, ambiguous references, irrelevant details, repetitive information, disorganized ideas, unclear actions, misspelled words, or grammatical errors.
Use the MADE format to structure your messages.
People rarely understand messages that do not immediately get to the point. Detailed information or situations make more sense to the reader or listener when the message begins with a summary or overview and the required action, followed by relevant details.
Message: Summary of 1-3 sentences.
Action: What action do you plan to take or want the reader to take?
Details: Elaborate on who, when, where, why, how, and how much.
Evidence: Mention any materials you think will make the message clearer or the action easier to take.
Email and voice mail have made our lives increasingly more productive. Use them to their fullest advantage, without abusing others' rights or offending their sense of decency and appropriateness. Common courtesy and good sense go a long way in matters of etiquette. Your coworkers, customers, family, and friends will appreciate your skill and your courtesy.
by Dianna Booher
Follow the rules of etiquette when creating your messages.
Even though technology has changed, the rules of etiquette have not. Avoid remarks that are vulgar, repetitive and verbose, and never write or say anything you wouldn't want forwarded to your company CEO, your customers, your family, or your friends.
Distinguish between fact and opinion when the difference may not be obvious to the person receiving your message.
If you are making a personal judgment, say so, lest your words come back to haunt you. And even then, be sure you really want to state your personal opinion in potentially libelous situations.
Respect others' confidentiality and expect your own to be nonexistent.
Most of us have been comforted by the thought of our guaranteed right to free speech to say what we think and feel with few exceptions. However, messages left in the private sector do not enjoy such immunity; they are considered private domain and are not subject to "free speech" protection.
Respect all copyright and licensing agreements.
Take great care to discover who has authored information you may be tempted to include as yours. Just because you do not claim the ideas as your own, and even if you acknowledge other "unknown" sources, you may still be liable for copyright infringement.
Understand the difference in being informal and looking careless or stupid.
Informal means a conversational tone, a breezy manner, colloquial words and phrases, intentional sentence fragments, and acronyms. On the other hand, informal does not mean unclear and incomplete thoughts, ambiguous references, irrelevant details, repetitive information, disorganized ideas, unclear actions, misspelled words, or grammatical errors.
Use the MADE format to structure your messages.
People rarely understand messages that do not immediately get to the point. Detailed information or situations make more sense to the reader or listener when the message begins with a summary or overview and the required action, followed by relevant details.
Message: Summary of 1-3 sentences.
Action: What action do you plan to take or want the reader to take?
Details: Elaborate on who, when, where, why, how, and how much.
Evidence: Mention any materials you think will make the message clearer or the action easier to take.
Email and voice mail have made our lives increasingly more productive. Use them to their fullest advantage, without abusing others' rights or offending their sense of decency and appropriateness. Common courtesy and good sense go a long way in matters of etiquette. Your coworkers, customers, family, and friends will appreciate your skill and your courtesy.
by Dianna Booher
So You Want to Do This for a Living?
So you want to make a living of speaking - want to buy me lunch and pick my brain? I don't have time!! So save your money I have given you some good free advice. If you like it, I have tapes, I give seminars, and I offer a free newsletter to speakers called SpeakerFrippNews - yours for the asking - just send a message to Subscribe@Fripp.com
Making a Job of It
Most of you will be honing your speaking skills as a tool for advancing your intended career. You may discover you're so good at getting your message across to groups that you're considering doing it full time. If so, here's some Fripp Advice. Even if you'd never consider professional speaking, many of these tips apply to starting any new business.
You bring the same qualities to speaking that you have used in your other business affairs. If you have never been even remotely successful before, you aren't going to be now. My overnight success took nineteen years of gradual, constant growth. I worked all the time to get ready for the opportunities that came. You don't get the opportunities first and then do the work.
You can't make it as a speaker on your looks or the power of your personality, not even on your speaking skills. Audiences expect you to have original material or, at the very least, an original slant on your material. Can anyone else say it? Does anyone else say it? If so, don't say it.
As you develop, new material will too. Start with one good speech that people really want to hear rather than sixteen indifferent speeches. Once you have this speech, work on adapting and expanding it, ultimately turning it into a seminar. Then go for speech #2.
Here are five good business habits that will help you as a professional speaker.
Socialize: Go early, go to the cocktail party or reception, walk around and look at the exhibits at a conference, talk to and learn about your audience. You have to be social. You have to be nice. I'm clear with myself and the organizers that I will go to a social event the night before, such as a dinner with the board of directors and their spouses. However, I draw the line at parties at an off-site location ten miles away with country-western dancing where my presence won't make any difference.
Diversify: Never have all your eggs in one basket. A friend of mine gave a presentation about how he had lost ninety-six speaking engagements in two days. He had three clients that each booked more than thirty dates. Then all three had business reversals. I once met someone who was thrilled that 70 percent of his business came from IBM. Guess what happened when IBM eliminated all outside contractors.
Exercise free speech: There is no such thing as a free speech. There are just speeches that you don't get paid for directly. My early clients didn't realize that my "free speeches" cost me about $130 each for preparation, travel, and lost time at my salon. To get customers for my hairstyling salon, I spoke for civic and community organizations. I told them stories about customer service and funny things that had happened in my salon. At the end of my presentation, I'd put their business cards in a hat and pull out one for a free hairstyling. These cards quickly built my mailing list.
Negotiate: If there's an organization you really want to speak for, but they can't pay, remember these magic words: "What else can you give me?" A chain of sandwich shops wanted to book me but were trying to cut $500 from my fee. I said, "What else can you give me that's worth $500? I don't need 250 sandwiches." They agreed to write a letter saying that I walked on water and send it to a hundred influential program chairs of my choice. First I faxed or wrote the contacts asking if they'd like to hire me. Then a few days later each received the rave letter.
The first year I was a full-time speaker, my calendar wasn't as full as it is now. A woman had heard me speak at the National Association of Catering Executives. "I know you're worth it because I've seen you," she said, "but we can't afford your fee."
"Let's not give up so easily," I said. In the end, my brother and I spent five days at a lovely hotel in Berkeley, with a suite each, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including one with friends - all for one free speech to 150 meeting planners on a day I wasn't booked. If we'd actually paid for these perks, the cost would have exceeded my fee. This was one of the best vacations my brother and I ever had together.
Another time a woman called me and said, "I hear you're the best speaker in the world." "You heard right," I said. She was program chair for Women in Travel and wanted me to speak at their installation of officers. The date was open on my calendar, but they couldn't afford me. "Well, I don't need the practice," I told her, "and I'm not doing it for nothing, but I will take a trade. Why don't you call me back tomorrow with your best offer"
The next day, she called back. "Would you take a free, round-trip, first- class airline ticket to England?" "You negotiator, you!" I said.
Count on payback time: I can't tell you how many people call to hire me, saying they first saw me years ago. My brother told me, "Looking back at my career, sometimes I've performed in these horrible places. One day in 1981, we played an especially miserable dump for an audience that didn't appreciate us. But that day, a young man was in the audience named Steve Ball. Ten years later, he had become a world-famous designer of logos for music groups, creating many album logos including the one for "Discipline.".
How to Gather Material
Material is everywhere. First, do what a good speaker friend of mine did when he decided to go professional. Danny Cox went to the beach with a pad and pencil to review his life for experiences and situations that could serve as good or bad examples. He wrote down the high and low points, successes and failures.
Include the sudden and stunning bits of insight that come to you as you're showering or speeding down the highway. Maybe a friend said something that was especially funny or memorable. Write it all down. Record your life as you live it. Every day, write down something that could be in a speech. For every intriguing, funny, or surprising thing that happens to you, think, "how could I use this in a speech?" Eventually, some of these experiences will become the original stories you use to illustrate a key point in your speech. Nothing bores an audience faster than old stories. Keep it fresh.
Start clipping and collecting. Rather than relying on a brilliant flash of creativity, you can "harvest" stories and quotes. Whenever something you see on television or read about provokes a new insight, cut it out or jot it down. Anything that makes you laugh or cry should be added to your file folder.
Office Mechanics
Think big, but start small. At the beginning, don't be concerned with anything except setting things up right. Don't spend a penny you don't have to.
If you have a spare bedroom, don't go out and buy office furniture.
Don't spend money on razzle-dazzle brochures before you know what your topic will be. These days it's better to have a one-page black-and-white fact sheet you can fax or mail. When you can afford it and have a number of such sheets and publicity pieces to offer, invest in a fancy press packet cover. This gives you the flexibility of constantly changing and updating the contents. Keep your fee sheet separate and date it so that someone running across it a few years from now will realize your prices may have changed.
You cannot say you are in business until you have a dedicated fax line.
If you're serious about your business, you can't function without someone in your office to respond immediately to requests, route important messages, and handle crises. Anytime a potential client fails to connect with you satisfactorily, you've lost them.
Whenever you or your assistant goes to lunch, leave a new message on the answering machine: date, time, when you'll return their call. If someone is calling down a list of potential speakers and isn't sure you'll call right back, they'll call the next name.
Take the cost of postage seriously. Once I used a heart-shaped paper clip to hold several pages together in a mailing of 1000-until I discovered that fraction of an ounce pushed the cost of each piece up to the next postage level, a total of $200!
When you travel, park at approximately the same place at your local airport every time. It will save you time and bother when you stagger home jet-lagged at odd hours.
Make it tremendously easy to do business with you. Customers want convenience, speed, and choice. "You can e-mail me, fax me, call me." I built my entire business on my father's philosophy: "Don't concentrate on making a lot of money. Concentrate on being the kind of person people want to do business with. Then you'll make a lot of money."
Speaking Agents
"Where can I find an agent?" people ask. The fact is that agents don't want to know you until you really don't need them. At the beginning and intermediate stages of your career, you create the bread-and-butter jobs that the agents will come and top with jam.
Good agents are bombarded with prospective clients. Don't contact an agent until you can present them with agent-friendly material:
your publicity packet without your name and address on it so they can fill in their own.
a fine demo video they can sell you with.
a halfway decent fee so they can make some money.
a reputation.
I've spoken at meetings with a number of other speakers who were booked through various bureaus. When this happens, I send copies of the program to the other bureaus, saying, "Hey, I was on with your speaker. Would you like to know about me?"
Frankly, every agent who had booked me is someone I first met at a National Speakers Association event. These people are a lot more open to your call if they sat next to you at a luncheon.
If I think a speaker is superb, I recommend her or him to my agents, who know I'm not going to waste their time. My agents know that when I recommend someone, he or she is qualified.
A couple of my speaking friends are handled exclusively by speakers' bureaus. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be guaranteed a hundred speeches a year? But in actuality, when you get to the "A league," you may find yourself in great demand as the flavor of the month. You must understand that this too shall pass. Popularity is a pendulum. A speakers' bureau may think you're wonderful and send you out, but the next month someone else has become their star. Never relax your own promotion, marketing, and networking, counting on a bureau to do it all for you. Promote yourself, even with the speaking bureaus that already hire you!
If you decide to take some time off, arrange to keep your self-promotion active while you're not working. A very successful speaker I know took a year off, and when she came back, it was like starting over. Her clients had moved or found someone else, or their meeting planning was now "outsourced." I'm not saying you shouldn't take time off, but if you do, keep the energy going.
Some people, as they achieve more success, think, "I'll just get a good salesperson, and then I don't have to sell anymore." But it just doesn't work that way. No one can sell you the way you can. I'd rather talk to a client myself. Then I can say, "Tell me what I should know about your meeting," and I can clarify their responses. Or they may be calling to say, "We only can afford half your fee, so can you recommend someone else?" Then I ask about their event, what else it includes. I point out that my full-day fee would also cover a second speech or a seminar, and often this opens up new possibilities.
Selling Related Products
As speakers develop their careers, many begin marketing products related to their subject matter. However, don't invest in products if you don't know how to market them or don't have a marketing mechanism in place. The simplest way to start is to tape-record a keynote speech. Then you have a demo audio to send to prospective clients as well as a product to sell. When you have a one- hour taped speech, you could also be interviewed by someone on the subject and then you have two cassettes. But don't try to start with a six-cassette tape pack if you have only two tapes.
Make every product do double or triple duty. Each can be something to sell, a gift for meeting planners, and a promotional piece all in one. Make your presentation cases as versatile as possible. I use a six-cassette notebook-style box with a handsome four-color generic cover. I can customize the contents and add a sticker to the outside to identify them. Thus I can have very impressive packaging even for tape programs that may be tailored for a small, specific audience.
Marketing your own audio and video tapes, books, and brochures requires a certain amount of resilience. Resign yourself to the fact that every demo you create will be obsolete the moment it is done, that anything you send out will have a typo, and that when your book is finally in print, you will think of the most brilliant thought you've ever had.
When to Say "No!"
People ask me, "Do you ever bomb?" Yes, but even the worst experience, with a little time, can become funny, and I always learn something. Once I spoke for a group of men who worked in a gravel quarry. I said no, I didn't think it was my kind of audience, but the organizers kept insisting. Finally I gave in and said yes. (I admit to this defect in my character: when people beg me to take their money and I refuse but they keep offering even more money, I sometimes end up accepting.) How bad could it be? I rationalized. I went early, set up the environment, changed the lighting, schmoozed with everyone. I'm not saying they weren't nice, hard working Americans, but it looked as if their friends had given them subscriptions to Tattoo of the Month Club. Fortunately there were a few wives. One woman, very thin, sat up front. "Ah, she must have heard of me," I thought. So I asked her if she liked speakers.
"Oh, no, my husband is a bit deaf so we have to sit up front." I schmoozed, especially with their shop steward and a man they called "The Preacher." who was there. When I met their president, I asked him why I was being paid so much money for just a fifteen-minute speech. He replied honestly that he didn't think I could keep their attention for more than fifteen minutes. "Boy," I thought, "this man hasn't seen me Fripnotize a crowd!" Then I started speaking. It was horrible! No one in the room stopped chatting with their neighbors. I learned that any time you have an hour-long open bar for a blue-collar audience before a speech, your chances of success plummet. They would have done better to have a stripper.
After my speech, awards were given out. I couldn't slip away because my handbag was up front. The first recipient was the hard-of-hearing man,who said, "Talking to the owner of the company, I haven't always agreed with you guys, but when you take someone's paycheck, you don't _____ on them." The second award winner was the shop steward, who said, "I don't know why you bring in these motivational speakers. We're all motivated enough to turn up at work every day." Finally came the preacher. He said, "Most of you weren't listenin' to Patricia. You should have done because she was very good. Now, I have 12 points to make..." His speech was longer than mine.
When I got home, I called my friend Susan RoAne. "It was awful!" I moaned. "Should I send their money back?" Susan's reply changed my attitude for life: "You were fine. They failed. You suffered. Keep the money."
I also learned the importance of your position on the schedule. On one occasion, I sent the advance money back because I learned that I was scheduled to speak on the last night of a conference, following a dinner dance. That's just not the right situation for any speaker. At that point in a conference, everyone has been working hard for several days and wants to party, not listen to a speech. I suggested they hire a male comedian instead.
It's also insulting to be scheduled after a dinner with an audience that has consumed lots of alcohol when your message requires focus and concentration. Unless the corporate culture is "no alcohol," I don't take such engagements. Breakfast meetings or morning time slots work best for me. So, learn not to take all the money offered. Say no based on your past experienceÛand mine.
"Shut Up!"
At every service club, there are invariably two retired gentlemen seated at a table by the door, counting the money. One day while I was speaking, two gentleman were sitting in the back of the room talking. Not whispering, but really talking. I began to get indignant. Here I was, giving them a free speech, and not only weren't they listening, but they were preventing everyone else from hearing and concentrating, too. "They don't realize that I'm an important person," I thought. They kept talking. Finally I stopped in mid- sentence, something I never do.
"Gentlemen," I said, "You may not realize it, but I'm usually paid very well to speak. I also have a business in San Francisco waiting for my time. When people pay you to speak, they treat you very well. You've taught me that when you speak for nothing, you have to put up with people talking through your presentation. I'll be happy to leave right now and go take care of my business. I'll also be happy to stay and finish my speech, but if I do, you will have to shut up and listen!"
The Mayor, the Fire Chief, and the Police Chief leaned forward in their chairs. This was leadership (or foolhardiness) in action. The two men stopped talking. Afterwards, everyone was very appreciative, but I admit that I wondered if I hadn't been just a bit too pushy.
Six months later, I got a call from the President of a Rotary Club wanting to book me the following year. Assuming it was another freebie, I suggested he call a few weeks before his date to see if I had a vacancy. He said, "You don't understand. We want the best speaker, and we're willing to pay for it. Don't you remember us? We're the Rotarians you told to be quiet. We loved it."
Inside secrets on the speaking industry and tips for success as a professional speaker from a pro...
by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE
Making a Job of It
Most of you will be honing your speaking skills as a tool for advancing your intended career. You may discover you're so good at getting your message across to groups that you're considering doing it full time. If so, here's some Fripp Advice. Even if you'd never consider professional speaking, many of these tips apply to starting any new business.
You bring the same qualities to speaking that you have used in your other business affairs. If you have never been even remotely successful before, you aren't going to be now. My overnight success took nineteen years of gradual, constant growth. I worked all the time to get ready for the opportunities that came. You don't get the opportunities first and then do the work.
You can't make it as a speaker on your looks or the power of your personality, not even on your speaking skills. Audiences expect you to have original material or, at the very least, an original slant on your material. Can anyone else say it? Does anyone else say it? If so, don't say it.
As you develop, new material will too. Start with one good speech that people really want to hear rather than sixteen indifferent speeches. Once you have this speech, work on adapting and expanding it, ultimately turning it into a seminar. Then go for speech #2.
Here are five good business habits that will help you as a professional speaker.
Socialize: Go early, go to the cocktail party or reception, walk around and look at the exhibits at a conference, talk to and learn about your audience. You have to be social. You have to be nice. I'm clear with myself and the organizers that I will go to a social event the night before, such as a dinner with the board of directors and their spouses. However, I draw the line at parties at an off-site location ten miles away with country-western dancing where my presence won't make any difference.
Diversify: Never have all your eggs in one basket. A friend of mine gave a presentation about how he had lost ninety-six speaking engagements in two days. He had three clients that each booked more than thirty dates. Then all three had business reversals. I once met someone who was thrilled that 70 percent of his business came from IBM. Guess what happened when IBM eliminated all outside contractors.
Exercise free speech: There is no such thing as a free speech. There are just speeches that you don't get paid for directly. My early clients didn't realize that my "free speeches" cost me about $130 each for preparation, travel, and lost time at my salon. To get customers for my hairstyling salon, I spoke for civic and community organizations. I told them stories about customer service and funny things that had happened in my salon. At the end of my presentation, I'd put their business cards in a hat and pull out one for a free hairstyling. These cards quickly built my mailing list.
Negotiate: If there's an organization you really want to speak for, but they can't pay, remember these magic words: "What else can you give me?" A chain of sandwich shops wanted to book me but were trying to cut $500 from my fee. I said, "What else can you give me that's worth $500? I don't need 250 sandwiches." They agreed to write a letter saying that I walked on water and send it to a hundred influential program chairs of my choice. First I faxed or wrote the contacts asking if they'd like to hire me. Then a few days later each received the rave letter.
The first year I was a full-time speaker, my calendar wasn't as full as it is now. A woman had heard me speak at the National Association of Catering Executives. "I know you're worth it because I've seen you," she said, "but we can't afford your fee."
"Let's not give up so easily," I said. In the end, my brother and I spent five days at a lovely hotel in Berkeley, with a suite each, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including one with friends - all for one free speech to 150 meeting planners on a day I wasn't booked. If we'd actually paid for these perks, the cost would have exceeded my fee. This was one of the best vacations my brother and I ever had together.
Another time a woman called me and said, "I hear you're the best speaker in the world." "You heard right," I said. She was program chair for Women in Travel and wanted me to speak at their installation of officers. The date was open on my calendar, but they couldn't afford me. "Well, I don't need the practice," I told her, "and I'm not doing it for nothing, but I will take a trade. Why don't you call me back tomorrow with your best offer"
The next day, she called back. "Would you take a free, round-trip, first- class airline ticket to England?" "You negotiator, you!" I said.
Count on payback time: I can't tell you how many people call to hire me, saying they first saw me years ago. My brother told me, "Looking back at my career, sometimes I've performed in these horrible places. One day in 1981, we played an especially miserable dump for an audience that didn't appreciate us. But that day, a young man was in the audience named Steve Ball. Ten years later, he had become a world-famous designer of logos for music groups, creating many album logos including the one for "Discipline.".
How to Gather Material
Material is everywhere. First, do what a good speaker friend of mine did when he decided to go professional. Danny Cox went to the beach with a pad and pencil to review his life for experiences and situations that could serve as good or bad examples. He wrote down the high and low points, successes and failures.
Include the sudden and stunning bits of insight that come to you as you're showering or speeding down the highway. Maybe a friend said something that was especially funny or memorable. Write it all down. Record your life as you live it. Every day, write down something that could be in a speech. For every intriguing, funny, or surprising thing that happens to you, think, "how could I use this in a speech?" Eventually, some of these experiences will become the original stories you use to illustrate a key point in your speech. Nothing bores an audience faster than old stories. Keep it fresh.
Start clipping and collecting. Rather than relying on a brilliant flash of creativity, you can "harvest" stories and quotes. Whenever something you see on television or read about provokes a new insight, cut it out or jot it down. Anything that makes you laugh or cry should be added to your file folder.
Office Mechanics
Think big, but start small. At the beginning, don't be concerned with anything except setting things up right. Don't spend a penny you don't have to.
If you have a spare bedroom, don't go out and buy office furniture.
Don't spend money on razzle-dazzle brochures before you know what your topic will be. These days it's better to have a one-page black-and-white fact sheet you can fax or mail. When you can afford it and have a number of such sheets and publicity pieces to offer, invest in a fancy press packet cover. This gives you the flexibility of constantly changing and updating the contents. Keep your fee sheet separate and date it so that someone running across it a few years from now will realize your prices may have changed.
You cannot say you are in business until you have a dedicated fax line.
If you're serious about your business, you can't function without someone in your office to respond immediately to requests, route important messages, and handle crises. Anytime a potential client fails to connect with you satisfactorily, you've lost them.
Whenever you or your assistant goes to lunch, leave a new message on the answering machine: date, time, when you'll return their call. If someone is calling down a list of potential speakers and isn't sure you'll call right back, they'll call the next name.
Take the cost of postage seriously. Once I used a heart-shaped paper clip to hold several pages together in a mailing of 1000-until I discovered that fraction of an ounce pushed the cost of each piece up to the next postage level, a total of $200!
When you travel, park at approximately the same place at your local airport every time. It will save you time and bother when you stagger home jet-lagged at odd hours.
Make it tremendously easy to do business with you. Customers want convenience, speed, and choice. "You can e-mail me, fax me, call me." I built my entire business on my father's philosophy: "Don't concentrate on making a lot of money. Concentrate on being the kind of person people want to do business with. Then you'll make a lot of money."
Speaking Agents
"Where can I find an agent?" people ask. The fact is that agents don't want to know you until you really don't need them. At the beginning and intermediate stages of your career, you create the bread-and-butter jobs that the agents will come and top with jam.
Good agents are bombarded with prospective clients. Don't contact an agent until you can present them with agent-friendly material:
your publicity packet without your name and address on it so they can fill in their own.
a fine demo video they can sell you with.
a halfway decent fee so they can make some money.
a reputation.
I've spoken at meetings with a number of other speakers who were booked through various bureaus. When this happens, I send copies of the program to the other bureaus, saying, "Hey, I was on with your speaker. Would you like to know about me?"
Frankly, every agent who had booked me is someone I first met at a National Speakers Association event. These people are a lot more open to your call if they sat next to you at a luncheon.
If I think a speaker is superb, I recommend her or him to my agents, who know I'm not going to waste their time. My agents know that when I recommend someone, he or she is qualified.
A couple of my speaking friends are handled exclusively by speakers' bureaus. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be guaranteed a hundred speeches a year? But in actuality, when you get to the "A league," you may find yourself in great demand as the flavor of the month. You must understand that this too shall pass. Popularity is a pendulum. A speakers' bureau may think you're wonderful and send you out, but the next month someone else has become their star. Never relax your own promotion, marketing, and networking, counting on a bureau to do it all for you. Promote yourself, even with the speaking bureaus that already hire you!
If you decide to take some time off, arrange to keep your self-promotion active while you're not working. A very successful speaker I know took a year off, and when she came back, it was like starting over. Her clients had moved or found someone else, or their meeting planning was now "outsourced." I'm not saying you shouldn't take time off, but if you do, keep the energy going.
Some people, as they achieve more success, think, "I'll just get a good salesperson, and then I don't have to sell anymore." But it just doesn't work that way. No one can sell you the way you can. I'd rather talk to a client myself. Then I can say, "Tell me what I should know about your meeting," and I can clarify their responses. Or they may be calling to say, "We only can afford half your fee, so can you recommend someone else?" Then I ask about their event, what else it includes. I point out that my full-day fee would also cover a second speech or a seminar, and often this opens up new possibilities.
Selling Related Products
As speakers develop their careers, many begin marketing products related to their subject matter. However, don't invest in products if you don't know how to market them or don't have a marketing mechanism in place. The simplest way to start is to tape-record a keynote speech. Then you have a demo audio to send to prospective clients as well as a product to sell. When you have a one- hour taped speech, you could also be interviewed by someone on the subject and then you have two cassettes. But don't try to start with a six-cassette tape pack if you have only two tapes.
Make every product do double or triple duty. Each can be something to sell, a gift for meeting planners, and a promotional piece all in one. Make your presentation cases as versatile as possible. I use a six-cassette notebook-style box with a handsome four-color generic cover. I can customize the contents and add a sticker to the outside to identify them. Thus I can have very impressive packaging even for tape programs that may be tailored for a small, specific audience.
Marketing your own audio and video tapes, books, and brochures requires a certain amount of resilience. Resign yourself to the fact that every demo you create will be obsolete the moment it is done, that anything you send out will have a typo, and that when your book is finally in print, you will think of the most brilliant thought you've ever had.
When to Say "No!"
People ask me, "Do you ever bomb?" Yes, but even the worst experience, with a little time, can become funny, and I always learn something. Once I spoke for a group of men who worked in a gravel quarry. I said no, I didn't think it was my kind of audience, but the organizers kept insisting. Finally I gave in and said yes. (I admit to this defect in my character: when people beg me to take their money and I refuse but they keep offering even more money, I sometimes end up accepting.) How bad could it be? I rationalized. I went early, set up the environment, changed the lighting, schmoozed with everyone. I'm not saying they weren't nice, hard working Americans, but it looked as if their friends had given them subscriptions to Tattoo of the Month Club. Fortunately there were a few wives. One woman, very thin, sat up front. "Ah, she must have heard of me," I thought. So I asked her if she liked speakers.
"Oh, no, my husband is a bit deaf so we have to sit up front." I schmoozed, especially with their shop steward and a man they called "The Preacher." who was there. When I met their president, I asked him why I was being paid so much money for just a fifteen-minute speech. He replied honestly that he didn't think I could keep their attention for more than fifteen minutes. "Boy," I thought, "this man hasn't seen me Fripnotize a crowd!" Then I started speaking. It was horrible! No one in the room stopped chatting with their neighbors. I learned that any time you have an hour-long open bar for a blue-collar audience before a speech, your chances of success plummet. They would have done better to have a stripper.
After my speech, awards were given out. I couldn't slip away because my handbag was up front. The first recipient was the hard-of-hearing man,who said, "Talking to the owner of the company, I haven't always agreed with you guys, but when you take someone's paycheck, you don't _____ on them." The second award winner was the shop steward, who said, "I don't know why you bring in these motivational speakers. We're all motivated enough to turn up at work every day." Finally came the preacher. He said, "Most of you weren't listenin' to Patricia. You should have done because she was very good. Now, I have 12 points to make..." His speech was longer than mine.
When I got home, I called my friend Susan RoAne. "It was awful!" I moaned. "Should I send their money back?" Susan's reply changed my attitude for life: "You were fine. They failed. You suffered. Keep the money."
I also learned the importance of your position on the schedule. On one occasion, I sent the advance money back because I learned that I was scheduled to speak on the last night of a conference, following a dinner dance. That's just not the right situation for any speaker. At that point in a conference, everyone has been working hard for several days and wants to party, not listen to a speech. I suggested they hire a male comedian instead.
It's also insulting to be scheduled after a dinner with an audience that has consumed lots of alcohol when your message requires focus and concentration. Unless the corporate culture is "no alcohol," I don't take such engagements. Breakfast meetings or morning time slots work best for me. So, learn not to take all the money offered. Say no based on your past experienceÛand mine.
"Shut Up!"
At every service club, there are invariably two retired gentlemen seated at a table by the door, counting the money. One day while I was speaking, two gentleman were sitting in the back of the room talking. Not whispering, but really talking. I began to get indignant. Here I was, giving them a free speech, and not only weren't they listening, but they were preventing everyone else from hearing and concentrating, too. "They don't realize that I'm an important person," I thought. They kept talking. Finally I stopped in mid- sentence, something I never do.
"Gentlemen," I said, "You may not realize it, but I'm usually paid very well to speak. I also have a business in San Francisco waiting for my time. When people pay you to speak, they treat you very well. You've taught me that when you speak for nothing, you have to put up with people talking through your presentation. I'll be happy to leave right now and go take care of my business. I'll also be happy to stay and finish my speech, but if I do, you will have to shut up and listen!"
The Mayor, the Fire Chief, and the Police Chief leaned forward in their chairs. This was leadership (or foolhardiness) in action. The two men stopped talking. Afterwards, everyone was very appreciative, but I admit that I wondered if I hadn't been just a bit too pushy.
Six months later, I got a call from the President of a Rotary Club wanting to book me the following year. Assuming it was another freebie, I suggested he call a few weeks before his date to see if I had a vacancy. He said, "You don't understand. We want the best speaker, and we're willing to pay for it. Don't you remember us? We're the Rotarians you told to be quiet. We loved it."
Inside secrets on the speaking industry and tips for success as a professional speaker from a pro...
by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE
Tribute to Cavett Robert
Cavett always wanted his money's worth out of life! His incredible energy never ceased to amaze me. In 1977, I attended my first National Speakers Association convention and was tremendously excited at the prospect of attending Cavett's weekend seminar with Merlyn Cundiff. Cavett had flown in just a few hours earlier and had been up all night. But even with no sleep, he was magnificent and vibrant.
The last time I saw him was at the Speakers Roundtable meeting in the summer of 1997 after the NSA convention. We were a group of about thirty-two including spouses. Cavett and Trudy had stayed up late the night before for the dinners and events, yet there they were, looking fresh and rested at the 7:00 a.m. prayer meeting. They were almost twice my age, but I knew I could never have done it.
Cavett's extraordinary skills made even "old-timers" feel like kids in the business by comparison. His stories were always exhilarating and vivid. When he recounted his conversations with Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, he had the ability to make us feel we knew Dr. Peale as well as he did.
Cavett Robert
Cavett was unfailingly generous. In 1981, he flew at his own expense to address my Sales and Marketing Executives club in San Francisco. We didn't have enough money to pay him, but that didn't stop him from making it a spectacular event. (While he was there, I became the only Past President ever to cut his hair. We both thought he looked great.)
All of us are constantly meeting speakers from all over the country who were also encouraged by Cavett. At every convention coffee break you hear stories like this one. Leslie Miller from Washington listened to a tape of Cavett and was so inspired she picked up the phone to tell him how much he had influenced her. She knew nothing about NSA and had no idea who Cavett was. He invited her to visit if ever she was in the area. She took him up on that, and he took her for lunch at his club. Later, at his home, she saw photos of Billy Graham and Richard Nixon ... and then he sheepishly admitted, well, yes, he had started this organization called NSA. Cavett was so comfortable with the situation that it was impossible for her to be embarrassed.
Cavett becomes even more special and inspirational when we realize that this exceptional generosity was not an occasional gesture. This was the Cavett norm.
by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE
The last time I saw him was at the Speakers Roundtable meeting in the summer of 1997 after the NSA convention. We were a group of about thirty-two including spouses. Cavett and Trudy had stayed up late the night before for the dinners and events, yet there they were, looking fresh and rested at the 7:00 a.m. prayer meeting. They were almost twice my age, but I knew I could never have done it.
Cavett's extraordinary skills made even "old-timers" feel like kids in the business by comparison. His stories were always exhilarating and vivid. When he recounted his conversations with Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, he had the ability to make us feel we knew Dr. Peale as well as he did.
Cavett Robert
Cavett was unfailingly generous. In 1981, he flew at his own expense to address my Sales and Marketing Executives club in San Francisco. We didn't have enough money to pay him, but that didn't stop him from making it a spectacular event. (While he was there, I became the only Past President ever to cut his hair. We both thought he looked great.)
All of us are constantly meeting speakers from all over the country who were also encouraged by Cavett. At every convention coffee break you hear stories like this one. Leslie Miller from Washington listened to a tape of Cavett and was so inspired she picked up the phone to tell him how much he had influenced her. She knew nothing about NSA and had no idea who Cavett was. He invited her to visit if ever she was in the area. She took him up on that, and he took her for lunch at his club. Later, at his home, she saw photos of Billy Graham and Richard Nixon ... and then he sheepishly admitted, well, yes, he had started this organization called NSA. Cavett was so comfortable with the situation that it was impossible for her to be embarrassed.
Cavett becomes even more special and inspirational when we realize that this exceptional generosity was not an occasional gesture. This was the Cavett norm.
by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE
Hall of Fame Bio
Patricia Fripp is a true American success story--except that she is British, born in a small English town. "Probably the best thing that happened to me," says Fripp, "was growing up with an absolutely brilliant younger brother. I assumed I wasn't as smart as others, which made me work twice as hard. That's where my good work habits started."
At age fifteen, Fripp became a hairstylist in Bournemouth, England. To "keep up," she worked early, late, and through lunch hours, soon earning 30% more income for the salon than the experienced male employees (who were paid three times as much).
Where could she best exploit her talent, tenacity and capacity for hard work? "The Colonies!" she decided. At twenty, Fripp arrived in San Francisco with no job, no place to live, and no contacts. She quickly became known as an innovator, the first prominent woman in the new industry of men's hairstyling. One day, she looked around and realized she no longer had to rush to keep up with everyone else. She had left them miles behind. She cut the hair of Cavett Robert and many past NSA Presidents and Hall of Fame recipients.
She was asked to share her knowledge and energy by speaking for groups of hairstylists for a hair product company. Next, her clients asked her to address their Rotary and Lions Clubs....then she was asked "How much would you charge to say that to my group?"
First Encounter with the NSA
She arrived at her first NSA meeting in 1977, thinking no one would want to talk to her. After all, she had only spoken before hairstylists and Rotary clubs. But past NSA President Mike Frank quickly "discovered" her and booked her to speak on the same program with Robert Schuller.
Today, Fripp is a successful entrepreneur, magazine columnist, and media personality. She is also a speaker's speaker. Meetings and Convention Magazine named her, "One of the most electrifying speakers in North America." She has won every NSA award and designation: the CSP, CPAE (Hall of Famer), and the Cavett Award. She was the first woman to be National President and the only CSP,CPAE, CAVETT winner who has been both a National and Chapter President. She has spoken at more NSA chapters than any other NSA member.
In 1980, Fripp founded the NSA/Northern California Chapter. Because the new chapter had little money, she hosted the out-of-town speakers at her home. After a day of cutting hair in her salon, she would rush home and fix dinner for the speakers and the NSA/NC leadership. Soon, because of her guidance (and possibly her cooking), her chapter was the largest in the world. Their meetings drew more people than the NSA winter workshops. Cavett Robert once joked with her that he'd heard a rumor the National NSA was going to ask to join her chapter.
The NSA/NC chapter continued to thrive. They named a leadership award, the "Frippy," after her, and on the chapter's 15th anniversary, Fripp helped them celebrate by jumping out of a cake wearing a Wonder Woman costume.
Currently, Fripp speaks about 130 times a year to Fortune 500 companies and associations around the world. She is the author of Get What You Want and co-author of Insights into Excellence and Speaking Secrets of the Masters, as well as many audio and video programs. In her spare time, she is a major fund raiser for the Leukemia Society.
(Fripp's brother Robert, no slouch himself, founded the rock band King Crimson. He was her date when she was President of NSA in Washington DC. in 1985 )
Fripp's Keys to Success
Fripp feels that what made her a successful hairstylist has also made her a success as a speaker.
Choose good teachers and role models.
Practice harder than everyone else.
Analyze what you do, and then teach others.
Don't take all the money that is on the table.
Do more than you get paid for.
Of all her accomplishments, what is Fripp most proud of? "First, the fact that, once I left home at age eighteen, I never asked my father for money. Second, that I turned myself from a pitiful victim of technology into a self-proclaimed 'Goddess of Geek.'"
about Patricia Fripp, a True American Success Story
At age fifteen, Fripp became a hairstylist in Bournemouth, England. To "keep up," she worked early, late, and through lunch hours, soon earning 30% more income for the salon than the experienced male employees (who were paid three times as much).
Where could she best exploit her talent, tenacity and capacity for hard work? "The Colonies!" she decided. At twenty, Fripp arrived in San Francisco with no job, no place to live, and no contacts. She quickly became known as an innovator, the first prominent woman in the new industry of men's hairstyling. One day, she looked around and realized she no longer had to rush to keep up with everyone else. She had left them miles behind. She cut the hair of Cavett Robert and many past NSA Presidents and Hall of Fame recipients.
She was asked to share her knowledge and energy by speaking for groups of hairstylists for a hair product company. Next, her clients asked her to address their Rotary and Lions Clubs....then she was asked "How much would you charge to say that to my group?"
First Encounter with the NSA
She arrived at her first NSA meeting in 1977, thinking no one would want to talk to her. After all, she had only spoken before hairstylists and Rotary clubs. But past NSA President Mike Frank quickly "discovered" her and booked her to speak on the same program with Robert Schuller.
Today, Fripp is a successful entrepreneur, magazine columnist, and media personality. She is also a speaker's speaker. Meetings and Convention Magazine named her, "One of the most electrifying speakers in North America." She has won every NSA award and designation: the CSP, CPAE (Hall of Famer), and the Cavett Award. She was the first woman to be National President and the only CSP,CPAE, CAVETT winner who has been both a National and Chapter President. She has spoken at more NSA chapters than any other NSA member.
In 1980, Fripp founded the NSA/Northern California Chapter. Because the new chapter had little money, she hosted the out-of-town speakers at her home. After a day of cutting hair in her salon, she would rush home and fix dinner for the speakers and the NSA/NC leadership. Soon, because of her guidance (and possibly her cooking), her chapter was the largest in the world. Their meetings drew more people than the NSA winter workshops. Cavett Robert once joked with her that he'd heard a rumor the National NSA was going to ask to join her chapter.
The NSA/NC chapter continued to thrive. They named a leadership award, the "Frippy," after her, and on the chapter's 15th anniversary, Fripp helped them celebrate by jumping out of a cake wearing a Wonder Woman costume.
Currently, Fripp speaks about 130 times a year to Fortune 500 companies and associations around the world. She is the author of Get What You Want and co-author of Insights into Excellence and Speaking Secrets of the Masters, as well as many audio and video programs. In her spare time, she is a major fund raiser for the Leukemia Society.
(Fripp's brother Robert, no slouch himself, founded the rock band King Crimson. He was her date when she was President of NSA in Washington DC. in 1985 )
Fripp's Keys to Success
Fripp feels that what made her a successful hairstylist has also made her a success as a speaker.
Choose good teachers and role models.
Practice harder than everyone else.
Analyze what you do, and then teach others.
Don't take all the money that is on the table.
Do more than you get paid for.
Of all her accomplishments, what is Fripp most proud of? "First, the fact that, once I left home at age eighteen, I never asked my father for money. Second, that I turned myself from a pitiful victim of technology into a self-proclaimed 'Goddess of Geek.'"
about Patricia Fripp, a True American Success Story
Jay Leno Does It, Do You?
The following happened when I was recently in Orlando. It bugged me so much I had to write about it.
So there I was, along with Dave, standing in the front of an almost empty meeting room. Dave had heard me speak to a group of managerial accountants in Boston. It went over so well, he invited me to present to a group of 425 college accounting students. He knew my abilities and trusted my judgment.
So there we were, along with the AV guys, setting up the room for my motivational speech, "Want to be Good, Great, or a Champion?" I asked Dave how many students he expected? He told me "at best" 425, but we both surmised that the room had been set up for many more.
Now, it's a fact that people do not like to sit in the front rows. It is human nature for people to want to be comfortable. We tend to spread out, so that we are not too close to others if we don't have to be. That's why most people prefer to cluster in the back, leaving rows and rows of empty seats up front.
This is not fun for the presenter. Speaking is intimate; a speaker looks to connect with the audience. And rows of empty chairs become an invisible barrier, one that literally and emotionally creates distance between a speaker and the audience.
Did you know that when Jay Leno took over the Tonight Show, he added rows of chairs and extended Johnny Carson's stage to allow him to get closer to the audience? Like Jay, it is our responsibility to do whatever we can to connect better with the audience.
Dave had given many presentations himself. So he understood the problem immediately. He and I agreed that we should either remove some chairs or tape off the back rows, forcing people to fill in the front first.
The event planner for the organization came into the room just then. We asked her if she could take care of doing just that. She replied, "We'll just have the room monitors at the doors ask everybody to sit up front." She then ran off to handle another issue.
Dave and I looked at each other in shock. "WHAT? They'll never listen. It doesn't work that way!" Granted, she was trying to be helpful and thought she had solved the problem. And yes, she had about a million things to attend to. But the fact was, she just didn't get it. She never had to give a presentation before. She didn't understand the effect a row of empty chairs had on the speaker.
At almost every conference I've spoken, I've noticed that they put out way too many chairs: "Just in case." Just in case what? In case people walk in off the street to go to an accounting conference? Not very likely.
If you have a track record of 100 attendees, even with better promotion, you still have a good idea as to how many people are registered and how many people might register at the door. So be reasonable. It looks better when tables and chairs have to be added— much better than having lots of empty seats.
In her defense, this was only the second conference so there was not as much of a track record. Yet, I still believe it is better to put out fewer chairs than you need. It lends an air of "excitement" when you need to set out more. Too many empty chairs gives the perception of "low turn out" or "this meeting can't be that good."
In the end, it turned out not too bad in Orlando. As people came in last minute, they did not go to the front. There were five rows on the left side of the room that only had 1 person. It could have been much worse.
Event planners: Yes, it is easier to have all the chairs set out ahead of time. But are you going for easier, or a better event? Speakers will do better when the setting is optimal. Attendees will have a more fruitful experience.
Speakers: It is our job to create the best atmosphere, to generate the best connection with the audience. Sometimes we may have to gently educate the event planners. If they are not open to it, keep in mind that speakers are just one part of their event. Whether we are a big part or not, we must not let our egos ruin our reputations. They are the ones paying you. Do everything you can to optimize the setting for your speech.
Be like Jay: Take responsibility and make the room the best setting for you. If NBC had said "No," do you think Jay would have thrown a hissy fit? Do the best you can with what you have.
by Darren LaCroix
So there I was, along with Dave, standing in the front of an almost empty meeting room. Dave had heard me speak to a group of managerial accountants in Boston. It went over so well, he invited me to present to a group of 425 college accounting students. He knew my abilities and trusted my judgment.
So there we were, along with the AV guys, setting up the room for my motivational speech, "Want to be Good, Great, or a Champion?" I asked Dave how many students he expected? He told me "at best" 425, but we both surmised that the room had been set up for many more.
Now, it's a fact that people do not like to sit in the front rows. It is human nature for people to want to be comfortable. We tend to spread out, so that we are not too close to others if we don't have to be. That's why most people prefer to cluster in the back, leaving rows and rows of empty seats up front.
This is not fun for the presenter. Speaking is intimate; a speaker looks to connect with the audience. And rows of empty chairs become an invisible barrier, one that literally and emotionally creates distance between a speaker and the audience.
Did you know that when Jay Leno took over the Tonight Show, he added rows of chairs and extended Johnny Carson's stage to allow him to get closer to the audience? Like Jay, it is our responsibility to do whatever we can to connect better with the audience.
Dave had given many presentations himself. So he understood the problem immediately. He and I agreed that we should either remove some chairs or tape off the back rows, forcing people to fill in the front first.
The event planner for the organization came into the room just then. We asked her if she could take care of doing just that. She replied, "We'll just have the room monitors at the doors ask everybody to sit up front." She then ran off to handle another issue.
Dave and I looked at each other in shock. "WHAT? They'll never listen. It doesn't work that way!" Granted, she was trying to be helpful and thought she had solved the problem. And yes, she had about a million things to attend to. But the fact was, she just didn't get it. She never had to give a presentation before. She didn't understand the effect a row of empty chairs had on the speaker.
At almost every conference I've spoken, I've noticed that they put out way too many chairs: "Just in case." Just in case what? In case people walk in off the street to go to an accounting conference? Not very likely.
If you have a track record of 100 attendees, even with better promotion, you still have a good idea as to how many people are registered and how many people might register at the door. So be reasonable. It looks better when tables and chairs have to be added— much better than having lots of empty seats.
In her defense, this was only the second conference so there was not as much of a track record. Yet, I still believe it is better to put out fewer chairs than you need. It lends an air of "excitement" when you need to set out more. Too many empty chairs gives the perception of "low turn out" or "this meeting can't be that good."
In the end, it turned out not too bad in Orlando. As people came in last minute, they did not go to the front. There were five rows on the left side of the room that only had 1 person. It could have been much worse.
Event planners: Yes, it is easier to have all the chairs set out ahead of time. But are you going for easier, or a better event? Speakers will do better when the setting is optimal. Attendees will have a more fruitful experience.
Speakers: It is our job to create the best atmosphere, to generate the best connection with the audience. Sometimes we may have to gently educate the event planners. If they are not open to it, keep in mind that speakers are just one part of their event. Whether we are a big part or not, we must not let our egos ruin our reputations. They are the ones paying you. Do everything you can to optimize the setting for your speech.
Be like Jay: Take responsibility and make the room the best setting for you. If NBC had said "No," do you think Jay would have thrown a hissy fit? Do the best you can with what you have.
by Darren LaCroix
The Call Back
Every year the World Championship contest is an amazing event. Lance, the 2005 World Champion, was wonderful! He connected with the audience and executed his speech perfectly. Lance's message was simple and crystal clear. And a speech well worth studying!
My favorite line, however, came from one of the other contestants, Rowena Romero. During her interview she talked about how previous winners were all known for something. Rowena said, "David Brooks is known for his blue Jeans — Darren LaCroix is known for his fall on his face, I'll be know for my stool." (Rowena stood atop a footstool during her speech.)
Note: Rowena's comment is also a great example of the RULE of THREE.)
It was brilliant humor. That's good comedy! Very funny Rowena!
The Call Back
Ahhh! The call back. A "call back" is a comedy term that simply means "calling back" to an earlier laugh line, referring to an earlier joke that worked. (It makes no sense to "call back" to one that does not.)
If you have a laugh line that works consistently, it is a great idea to call back to it later in your presentation. The call back works best after the presenter moves on to a different topic. Then it is aided by the element of surprise, and a psychological connection with earlier laugh.
It can be even more powerful if you refer back to something said by a previous speaker. The audience loves it because they know that you had to be listening, have confidence, and enough presence to add it into your presentation.
An example from the World Championship Interviews: Johnny Uy, Senior Vice President of Toastmasters International, was the contest master. He was simply hysterical! During the interviews he asked the contestants questions in their native language. Most of the audience could not interpret the question. Douglas Kruger, a contestant from South Africa, took the opportunity (the "set up") to translate for humor purposes. Douglas said, "His question was about my underwear." He got a huge laugh.
Other contestants then used this opportunity when they were asked their question. Jerry Aiyathurai responded, "Fruit of the Loom." Rowena Romero said, "Wonder bra." All great call backs.
Most of you have experienced this as an audience member. Now you have a label for it, and can begin to look for the opportunity. I always try to connect to a huge laugh from earlier in a conference. When I hear a big laugh I ask myself, "How can I tie that into my presentation?"
How can you use this?
Imagine what you will learn by spending a day or three with Darren!
by Darren LaCroix, 2001 Toastmasters International World Champion
My favorite line, however, came from one of the other contestants, Rowena Romero. During her interview she talked about how previous winners were all known for something. Rowena said, "David Brooks is known for his blue Jeans — Darren LaCroix is known for his fall on his face, I'll be know for my stool." (Rowena stood atop a footstool during her speech.)
Note: Rowena's comment is also a great example of the RULE of THREE.)
It was brilliant humor. That's good comedy! Very funny Rowena!
The Call Back
Ahhh! The call back. A "call back" is a comedy term that simply means "calling back" to an earlier laugh line, referring to an earlier joke that worked. (It makes no sense to "call back" to one that does not.)
If you have a laugh line that works consistently, it is a great idea to call back to it later in your presentation. The call back works best after the presenter moves on to a different topic. Then it is aided by the element of surprise, and a psychological connection with earlier laugh.
It can be even more powerful if you refer back to something said by a previous speaker. The audience loves it because they know that you had to be listening, have confidence, and enough presence to add it into your presentation.
An example from the World Championship Interviews: Johnny Uy, Senior Vice President of Toastmasters International, was the contest master. He was simply hysterical! During the interviews he asked the contestants questions in their native language. Most of the audience could not interpret the question. Douglas Kruger, a contestant from South Africa, took the opportunity (the "set up") to translate for humor purposes. Douglas said, "His question was about my underwear." He got a huge laugh.
Other contestants then used this opportunity when they were asked their question. Jerry Aiyathurai responded, "Fruit of the Loom." Rowena Romero said, "Wonder bra." All great call backs.
Most of you have experienced this as an audience member. Now you have a label for it, and can begin to look for the opportunity. I always try to connect to a huge laugh from earlier in a conference. When I hear a big laugh I ask myself, "How can I tie that into my presentation?"
How can you use this?
Imagine what you will learn by spending a day or three with Darren!
by Darren LaCroix, 2001 Toastmasters International World Champion
When They Do Not Laugh—What Do You Do?
The eyes of your audience are fixed on you. You deliver your best new humor line. They stare at you in silence.
It has happened to all of us. It will happen again. What do you do?
The conventional wisdom from experienced professional speakers is valid. Pretend you were serious. Humor, properly delivered, should be a surprise. If you told them a joke was coming (telegraphed your punchline), you probably did it wrong. Delivered properly, since it was a surprise, they didn't know it was supposed to be funny. So don't let them know that YOU thought it was funny. The "look of expectation" is what gives you away. It's that look on your face which begs for a laugh. Begging is not a gesture that connects you with your audience!
When a joke dies, one of main things you should do is to learn from it. Consider the silence of the audience a gift that will allow you to grow. After the talk, take some notes. Analyze the structure of the line. Look at the pacing and delivery of the words. Were the funny connections relevant to the audience? Were the setup lines adequate? Was the punchline buried? Was the punchword at the end of the punchline? A bad joke deserves a good autopsy.
Some speakers use savers or bomb-lines to rescue them from a bad line. "That is the last time I will use a joke that Fred gave me." "That line was funny when I practiced it." "Some of these lines are just for me." "Is this thing on? (tapping on the microphone)." "My dog laughed when he heard that story." I personally prefer to ignore the silence and keep on moving.
A good option is to make a serious point. "The reason I told you that story was...." In a speech, hopefully all your humor makes a point, so this technique should be easy to use.
Something you should never do is explain the joke. It only makes a bad situation worse. Remember the "pretend you were serious" advice.
Perhaps you can follow the bad humor line with a sure winner. I have some short humor items that always get a laugh. I call them fence-posts. I usually plan one or two of them before and after trying some new humor which might miss the mark. Hopefully, your bad humor line was not the result of poor judgment. If you considered leaving it out because you thought it might be on the border of good taste...using it is a big mistake. When in doubt leave it out.
Did the joke fail because you did not have "permission" to use it? Did you poke fun at the wrong person? Humor directed at you is always the safest. Humor directed at someone else sometimes requires a setup of some kind. Sometimes that setup is talking to the person in advance. In some situations, a roast for example, poking fun at yourself first puts you in a position (gives you permission) to poke fun at someone else.
Don't panic. Your mind can race as you expect immediate response to your humor lines. Five seconds can seem like 20 seconds when you are in front of an audience. Relax. Give the audience time to absorb the joke. Take a drink of water. I usually find that, given time, most humor lines will connect. Some of my lines I refer to as "time-released humor." This is the type of line that takes a bit longer to register and then washes over the audience like a slow wave. Don't wait forever! Just give your attempts at humor a fair chance before moving on.
Remember the role of eye contact as you deliver the line. Land the punchline to one person. And then maintain eye contact with that one individual for a beat or two AFTER you have delivered the line. Avoid spraying the entire audience with your humor attempts. You are always speaking to one person at a time. If a joke bombs, the tendency is to fall into the trap of nervous eye dart, or to totally avoid eye contact. Immediately after the line is delivered, keep your eye contact fixed on one person. Did you deliver the joke to the wrong person? Were you trying to land the funny line to the person with the crossed arms who appeared to be saying "go ahead, make me laugh." Try to deliver your funny lines to a friendly face. If you find a line is getting a cold reception, switch your eye contact to someone who is laughing, or who is at least smiling.
Unless you are a professional humorist who always connects with your humor, I recommend, when preparing your written introduction to be delivered before you speak, make no mention that you are supposed to be funny. It is best to let it be a pleasant surprise. It increases the chances that they WILL laugh because of the surprise factor. If they are expecting you to be funny, you are then challenged to make them laugh.
Find a safe place to bomb. A friendly open-mike night at a comedy club is a place to test material (some clubs are not so friendly...check out the environment before getting onstage). A Toastmasters club is a great place to be bad. You learn to ride the humor bicycle by falling off and getting back up. Every bombed line is a growth experience.
Always remember that bombing is a state of mind. Don't let your expectations set you up for failure. Expectations can kill a good speech. If they laugh, great. If they don't, it wasn't funny. Don't let your expectations affect your reaction to their feedback.
Do You Read Minds?
I'm not psychic. And I'm guessing that you aren't either. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you can read people's minds. When people aren't laughing, the tendency is to believe that they don't think your line was funny. Many times, that is just not true. Not everyone response the same way to humor. Not everyone responds to everything the same way you do.
I sing in a community chorus. After one of our recent shows, several members expressed disappointment at the audience reaction. The audience was dead compared to the people at a performance earlier that day. Same program, different reactions. But several chorus members also commented on how they had received wonderful comments from the non-responsive audience members AFTER the show. People loved the show but didn't show it during the performance. When they don't laugh, it does not mean they didn't enjoy your talk. It does not even mean that they didn't think it was funny. When I attend a humorous speech contest to support a friend who is speaking, I sometimes warn my friend not to look at me during the speech for feedback. I can enjoy humor without laughing out loud. I can go to a really funny movie and maybe laugh only once during the film.
Everyone is different in their reaction to humor. Some people laugh heartily at everything. Some smile. Some just enjoy it internally! It is said that Groucho Marx, a man with a terrific sense of humor, was never seen laughing out loud. There is no standard humor response. Although we would like to think the response should always be laughter when they find it funny, it is not always the case.
So the next time you give a talk that is supposed to be funny, and it is greeted with silence, convince yourself that you are speaking to a group of non-expressive people who are totally absorbed in your talk and loving the humor. When you talk to them afterwards, their comments will probably prove this to be true. And the positive, optimistic visualization during your talk will energize you to give a better and funnier talk.
by John Kinde
It has happened to all of us. It will happen again. What do you do?
The conventional wisdom from experienced professional speakers is valid. Pretend you were serious. Humor, properly delivered, should be a surprise. If you told them a joke was coming (telegraphed your punchline), you probably did it wrong. Delivered properly, since it was a surprise, they didn't know it was supposed to be funny. So don't let them know that YOU thought it was funny. The "look of expectation" is what gives you away. It's that look on your face which begs for a laugh. Begging is not a gesture that connects you with your audience!
When a joke dies, one of main things you should do is to learn from it. Consider the silence of the audience a gift that will allow you to grow. After the talk, take some notes. Analyze the structure of the line. Look at the pacing and delivery of the words. Were the funny connections relevant to the audience? Were the setup lines adequate? Was the punchline buried? Was the punchword at the end of the punchline? A bad joke deserves a good autopsy.
Some speakers use savers or bomb-lines to rescue them from a bad line. "That is the last time I will use a joke that Fred gave me." "That line was funny when I practiced it." "Some of these lines are just for me." "Is this thing on? (tapping on the microphone)." "My dog laughed when he heard that story." I personally prefer to ignore the silence and keep on moving.
A good option is to make a serious point. "The reason I told you that story was...." In a speech, hopefully all your humor makes a point, so this technique should be easy to use.
Something you should never do is explain the joke. It only makes a bad situation worse. Remember the "pretend you were serious" advice.
Perhaps you can follow the bad humor line with a sure winner. I have some short humor items that always get a laugh. I call them fence-posts. I usually plan one or two of them before and after trying some new humor which might miss the mark. Hopefully, your bad humor line was not the result of poor judgment. If you considered leaving it out because you thought it might be on the border of good taste...using it is a big mistake. When in doubt leave it out.
Did the joke fail because you did not have "permission" to use it? Did you poke fun at the wrong person? Humor directed at you is always the safest. Humor directed at someone else sometimes requires a setup of some kind. Sometimes that setup is talking to the person in advance. In some situations, a roast for example, poking fun at yourself first puts you in a position (gives you permission) to poke fun at someone else.
Don't panic. Your mind can race as you expect immediate response to your humor lines. Five seconds can seem like 20 seconds when you are in front of an audience. Relax. Give the audience time to absorb the joke. Take a drink of water. I usually find that, given time, most humor lines will connect. Some of my lines I refer to as "time-released humor." This is the type of line that takes a bit longer to register and then washes over the audience like a slow wave. Don't wait forever! Just give your attempts at humor a fair chance before moving on.
Remember the role of eye contact as you deliver the line. Land the punchline to one person. And then maintain eye contact with that one individual for a beat or two AFTER you have delivered the line. Avoid spraying the entire audience with your humor attempts. You are always speaking to one person at a time. If a joke bombs, the tendency is to fall into the trap of nervous eye dart, or to totally avoid eye contact. Immediately after the line is delivered, keep your eye contact fixed on one person. Did you deliver the joke to the wrong person? Were you trying to land the funny line to the person with the crossed arms who appeared to be saying "go ahead, make me laugh." Try to deliver your funny lines to a friendly face. If you find a line is getting a cold reception, switch your eye contact to someone who is laughing, or who is at least smiling.
Unless you are a professional humorist who always connects with your humor, I recommend, when preparing your written introduction to be delivered before you speak, make no mention that you are supposed to be funny. It is best to let it be a pleasant surprise. It increases the chances that they WILL laugh because of the surprise factor. If they are expecting you to be funny, you are then challenged to make them laugh.
Find a safe place to bomb. A friendly open-mike night at a comedy club is a place to test material (some clubs are not so friendly...check out the environment before getting onstage). A Toastmasters club is a great place to be bad. You learn to ride the humor bicycle by falling off and getting back up. Every bombed line is a growth experience.
Always remember that bombing is a state of mind. Don't let your expectations set you up for failure. Expectations can kill a good speech. If they laugh, great. If they don't, it wasn't funny. Don't let your expectations affect your reaction to their feedback.
Do You Read Minds?
I'm not psychic. And I'm guessing that you aren't either. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you can read people's minds. When people aren't laughing, the tendency is to believe that they don't think your line was funny. Many times, that is just not true. Not everyone response the same way to humor. Not everyone responds to everything the same way you do.
I sing in a community chorus. After one of our recent shows, several members expressed disappointment at the audience reaction. The audience was dead compared to the people at a performance earlier that day. Same program, different reactions. But several chorus members also commented on how they had received wonderful comments from the non-responsive audience members AFTER the show. People loved the show but didn't show it during the performance. When they don't laugh, it does not mean they didn't enjoy your talk. It does not even mean that they didn't think it was funny. When I attend a humorous speech contest to support a friend who is speaking, I sometimes warn my friend not to look at me during the speech for feedback. I can enjoy humor without laughing out loud. I can go to a really funny movie and maybe laugh only once during the film.
Everyone is different in their reaction to humor. Some people laugh heartily at everything. Some smile. Some just enjoy it internally! It is said that Groucho Marx, a man with a terrific sense of humor, was never seen laughing out loud. There is no standard humor response. Although we would like to think the response should always be laughter when they find it funny, it is not always the case.
So the next time you give a talk that is supposed to be funny, and it is greeted with silence, convince yourself that you are speaking to a group of non-expressive people who are totally absorbed in your talk and loving the humor. When you talk to them afterwards, their comments will probably prove this to be true. And the positive, optimistic visualization during your talk will energize you to give a better and funnier talk.
by John Kinde
A Humorist Adapts Fripp's Presentation Principles
As one of my humorist speaker friends John Kinde, well-known for his Humor Power newsletter says, "Great speaking skills give you the illusion of competence. The flip side: Poor speaking skills give you the illusion of incompetence! If your presentation skills are weak, you will probably appear less than competent even if you happen to be a master of the subject matter."
He is a master at observational humor and wrote some brilliant observations about the Fripp Presentation and Speaking School...from a humorist's point of view! In case you are interested in attending any of the classes offered this year...or just want to learn from the highlights, here is what John wrote:
"Last November I had the amazing experience of watching a master in action. After a combined 55 years of National Speakers Association and Toastmasters experience, I have to say that the Fripp Presentation and Speakers School is the best speakers training workshop I've ever attended. Solid content, no fluff, and brilliant laser-focused coaching. Many of Fripp's coaching suggestions blew us away, and several actually got gasps of amazement from the participants.
Although the primary focus of the two-day school was not Humor Skills, most of the concepts could be applied to make you a more humorous speaker. Here are a few gems from Fripp's speaker school and some comments on how they relate to the design and presentation of humor.
1. Never open a speech with a joke! Great suggestion. Everything in a speech should have a point and purpose. A joke, just for the laughs, is out of place in a formal speech. Yes, it's great to open with humor, but do it with a humorous story that has a payoff which ties into the theme of your talk.
2. Rapport covers flaws. When giving a talk, whether you're getting laughs or motivating the audience, don't worry about being perfect. It's nice to be prepared, but perfection is not a requirement. In fact, an occasional stumble makes you a real person. Audiences identify with someone who is real. The audience likes someone who is real. And when people like you, it's easier to be funny.
3. Stand still at the opening of your talk. The eye goes to movement and not sound. In your opening you want the focus to be on your carefully-crafted words. Likewise, when you're delivering your humorous punchline, it is best if you are not moving. Your set-up is likely filled with animation and gestures. And the space AFTER the punchline is delivered is often punched up with movement, your physical reaction to the punchline, called a 'take.' But the punchline itself is best delivered with no movement. Movement attracts attention and diverts focus from the key words which will activate the laugh.
4. Eliminate unnecessary words. A basic rule of humor: The fewer words between the start of a funny story or joke and the punchline, the better. Keep your wording tight and you'll get more laughs. A long, wordy story better have a huge laughter payoff or you're in trouble. If the punchline is weak and the setup is long, the expression is that the punchline is carrying too much baggage. Trim and tighten for best results.
5. When crafting the opening to a speech, ask yourself, "what are they thinking?" That's also the key to good observational humor. If you can determine what people are noticing, and what they are thinking about what they are noticing, you have the seed for a good humor line. When you can tap a universal truth, in the form of a common thought, humor almost comes automatically. Often all you need to do is just state the obvious. They laugh, as they think, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing!"
6. When you have the right words, the speech is so much easier to deliver. And so it is with humor. A well word-smithed humor story will have the right rhythm and punch that the delivery will flow easily and naturally. You will find it easier to relax and enjoy the experience of sharing the story without having to stress over the word selection.
7. Know your speech so well that you can forget it. Also with a humor story, know key parts of your setup and punchline so well that it comes to you without thinking. It allows you to be 'in the moment' and connect with your audience.
8. Specificity equals believability. And specificity is funnier. A car is funnier than a vehicle. A Yugo is funnier than a car. A yellow Yugo is even funnier.
9. When designing your speech, tie your closing back to your opening scene. Often, I open and close a talk with humor. I call the process 'bookending'. I like to have bookends on each end of the speech. The bookends are similar, that is they match. I gave a speech where I open with a funny line involving an 800 toll-free telephone number. At the end of the speech, I close with a different 800 phone number story.
10. Your audience remembers the mental images that you create. People think in pictures. Paint a funny picture and your humor stories will come to life.
11. Speakers should avoid misusing technology. A speaker can misuse PowerPoint, thinking that the computer program is the key element of the presentation (instead of the actual message and delivery). Likewise, I've observed that speakers who want to include humor in their presentations often misuse props. They rely on the prop to create and carry the humor, just as a speaker could rely on PowerPoint to be the main focus of the speech. For example, when a red clown nose used to get a laugh solely for the sake of wearing a clown nose, a speaker is falling short of the humor potential the clown nose could have if it were blended into a powerful humor story.
12. The pause gives people a chance to think about what you've said and to internalize it. In delivering humor, the pause is what lets people process the relationships and connections that trigger the laughs. Without the pause after the punchline, you don't give the laughter a chance. You subconsciously tell people that there is nothing funny and that they're not supposed to laugh. The pause is one of your most powerful assets when delivering humor.
13. Use verbal shorthand to give your characters a back-story. Describe someone or something with a label that brings with it a rich combination of characteristics. I have a story about an 80-year-old man who gave me some unsolicited advice. I could say that I was approached by a 'George-Patton-style WWII Colonel', because as we talked I discovered that he was a retired Colonel who served in WWII, and that description accurately pictures his authoritarian style.
14. Make them like your characters. As you build your characters, do more than just describe them. Give the audience a reason to like them. In a funny story, just as the audience needs to like you, they also need to like and care about the characters you include in the story.
15. Your life is a comedy routine. Develop your own original humor. Your life is a goldmine of humorous experiences. Dump the jokes and tell your own rich, humorous stories.
16. When looking for interesting stories from your past, ask yourself what questions do people ask about your job or past experiences? I realized that I have 17 years experience as a nuclear weapons launch officer and have never included any experiences from that part of my life in my speeches. I have homework. Certainly there are some story gems from those many years of working at such an unusual job that my audiences would find interesting or fascinating.
17. A movie must have 'five moments.' What are the 'five moments' from your speech that people will be talking about afterwards. If you use funny stories, some of those 'five moments' will most likely be the laugh points in your stories. People remember best what they laugh about.
18. If you want to learn something, teach it to others. She specifically recommended taking what we learned from the speaking school and teaching it to others. I told her I'd write an Ezine article about what I learned and apply it to using humor. She said, 'Great idea.' So here it is.
by John Kinde and Patricia Fripp
He is a master at observational humor and wrote some brilliant observations about the Fripp Presentation and Speaking School...from a humorist's point of view! In case you are interested in attending any of the classes offered this year...or just want to learn from the highlights, here is what John wrote:
"Last November I had the amazing experience of watching a master in action. After a combined 55 years of National Speakers Association and Toastmasters experience, I have to say that the Fripp Presentation and Speakers School is the best speakers training workshop I've ever attended. Solid content, no fluff, and brilliant laser-focused coaching. Many of Fripp's coaching suggestions blew us away, and several actually got gasps of amazement from the participants.
Although the primary focus of the two-day school was not Humor Skills, most of the concepts could be applied to make you a more humorous speaker. Here are a few gems from Fripp's speaker school and some comments on how they relate to the design and presentation of humor.
1. Never open a speech with a joke! Great suggestion. Everything in a speech should have a point and purpose. A joke, just for the laughs, is out of place in a formal speech. Yes, it's great to open with humor, but do it with a humorous story that has a payoff which ties into the theme of your talk.
2. Rapport covers flaws. When giving a talk, whether you're getting laughs or motivating the audience, don't worry about being perfect. It's nice to be prepared, but perfection is not a requirement. In fact, an occasional stumble makes you a real person. Audiences identify with someone who is real. The audience likes someone who is real. And when people like you, it's easier to be funny.
3. Stand still at the opening of your talk. The eye goes to movement and not sound. In your opening you want the focus to be on your carefully-crafted words. Likewise, when you're delivering your humorous punchline, it is best if you are not moving. Your set-up is likely filled with animation and gestures. And the space AFTER the punchline is delivered is often punched up with movement, your physical reaction to the punchline, called a 'take.' But the punchline itself is best delivered with no movement. Movement attracts attention and diverts focus from the key words which will activate the laugh.
4. Eliminate unnecessary words. A basic rule of humor: The fewer words between the start of a funny story or joke and the punchline, the better. Keep your wording tight and you'll get more laughs. A long, wordy story better have a huge laughter payoff or you're in trouble. If the punchline is weak and the setup is long, the expression is that the punchline is carrying too much baggage. Trim and tighten for best results.
5. When crafting the opening to a speech, ask yourself, "what are they thinking?" That's also the key to good observational humor. If you can determine what people are noticing, and what they are thinking about what they are noticing, you have the seed for a good humor line. When you can tap a universal truth, in the form of a common thought, humor almost comes automatically. Often all you need to do is just state the obvious. They laugh, as they think, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing!"
6. When you have the right words, the speech is so much easier to deliver. And so it is with humor. A well word-smithed humor story will have the right rhythm and punch that the delivery will flow easily and naturally. You will find it easier to relax and enjoy the experience of sharing the story without having to stress over the word selection.
7. Know your speech so well that you can forget it. Also with a humor story, know key parts of your setup and punchline so well that it comes to you without thinking. It allows you to be 'in the moment' and connect with your audience.
8. Specificity equals believability. And specificity is funnier. A car is funnier than a vehicle. A Yugo is funnier than a car. A yellow Yugo is even funnier.
9. When designing your speech, tie your closing back to your opening scene. Often, I open and close a talk with humor. I call the process 'bookending'. I like to have bookends on each end of the speech. The bookends are similar, that is they match. I gave a speech where I open with a funny line involving an 800 toll-free telephone number. At the end of the speech, I close with a different 800 phone number story.
10. Your audience remembers the mental images that you create. People think in pictures. Paint a funny picture and your humor stories will come to life.
11. Speakers should avoid misusing technology. A speaker can misuse PowerPoint, thinking that the computer program is the key element of the presentation (instead of the actual message and delivery). Likewise, I've observed that speakers who want to include humor in their presentations often misuse props. They rely on the prop to create and carry the humor, just as a speaker could rely on PowerPoint to be the main focus of the speech. For example, when a red clown nose used to get a laugh solely for the sake of wearing a clown nose, a speaker is falling short of the humor potential the clown nose could have if it were blended into a powerful humor story.
12. The pause gives people a chance to think about what you've said and to internalize it. In delivering humor, the pause is what lets people process the relationships and connections that trigger the laughs. Without the pause after the punchline, you don't give the laughter a chance. You subconsciously tell people that there is nothing funny and that they're not supposed to laugh. The pause is one of your most powerful assets when delivering humor.
13. Use verbal shorthand to give your characters a back-story. Describe someone or something with a label that brings with it a rich combination of characteristics. I have a story about an 80-year-old man who gave me some unsolicited advice. I could say that I was approached by a 'George-Patton-style WWII Colonel', because as we talked I discovered that he was a retired Colonel who served in WWII, and that description accurately pictures his authoritarian style.
14. Make them like your characters. As you build your characters, do more than just describe them. Give the audience a reason to like them. In a funny story, just as the audience needs to like you, they also need to like and care about the characters you include in the story.
15. Your life is a comedy routine. Develop your own original humor. Your life is a goldmine of humorous experiences. Dump the jokes and tell your own rich, humorous stories.
16. When looking for interesting stories from your past, ask yourself what questions do people ask about your job or past experiences? I realized that I have 17 years experience as a nuclear weapons launch officer and have never included any experiences from that part of my life in my speeches. I have homework. Certainly there are some story gems from those many years of working at such an unusual job that my audiences would find interesting or fascinating.
17. A movie must have 'five moments.' What are the 'five moments' from your speech that people will be talking about afterwards. If you use funny stories, some of those 'five moments' will most likely be the laugh points in your stories. People remember best what they laugh about.
18. If you want to learn something, teach it to others. She specifically recommended taking what we learned from the speaking school and teaching it to others. I told her I'd write an Ezine article about what I learned and apply it to using humor. She said, 'Great idea.' So here it is.
by John Kinde and Patricia Fripp
Show Me The Funny!
If there's one thing I've learned in 30 years of studying humor, it's this. You CAN learn to be funny. Some people think you need to be born funny, the class clown. I'm a laid-back, serious, Norwegian from North Dakota and I've won humorous speech contests at the Toastmasters District level four times and three trophies at the Regional level representing the funniest of 10,000 people. If I can do it, you can do it. And if you don't look funny or have a reputation for being funny...great! You'll take advantage of the element of surprise, one of the basic elements that makes humor tick.
In this special report I'll refer to some activities in Toastmasters Clubs that are relevant to both Toastmasters and non-Toastmasters. If you're not a member, consider checking our a club in your local area. Visit the Toastmasters' website: http://www.toastmasters.org
Here's a secret from comedy improv. If you want to be funny, don't try to be funny. Really. Trying too hard kills the joke. Students of improv comedy learn that going for the gag is often a sure way to minimize the laughs from the platform. Relax. Let your humor come organically from your stories, the essence of your character, and your relationship with the audience. Avoid the "Look of Expectation" when a humor bit fails. The look of expectation is what you get from your dog sitting next to the dinner table hoping for a treat from your plate.
The Content of Your Speech
When writing your speech, keep it clean. Sometimes it's tempting to cross the line, but take it from someone who has learned it the hard way. Clean material consistently plays stronger. Not only that, playing it clean takes more talent and skill. Off-color humor is a comedy cop out. Any junior high school student can get a cheap laugh from four-letter words and bodily function jokes. Blue humor puts your reputation at risk. One of your goals is for people to want to hear you speak again and to tell their friends about you. The more experience I have using humor, the more conservative I've become. When in doubt, leave it out!
Joke books are not the best source of funny material. Personal stories are clearly the best. Your own stories are original and compelling. Humor comes naturally from the pictures you paint. Force fitting a "joke" to a point will always be second best to a personal story. And besides, the best kind of joke is not one you've picked off the Internet or found in a joke book. Everyone has probably heard it and your element of surprise is short circuited when you use material that has been widely circulated. A benefit of using joke books is that they can be handy for jump starting your thinking and getting you on the road to writing your own original material.
Identify the key trigger word in your joke and put it at the very end of the joke's punchline. It maximizes the tension build up and the element of surprise. Try to avoid putting even one word after the punch word. Adding clutter after the punchword or punchline buries them and disguises the joke.
Remember that less is more. The more concise you are, the more likely your humor will hit the target. If you have a long setup for a punchline, it is said that the punchline is carrying a lot of baggage. So write your material, and then edit and cut.
It's also a fact that specifics are funnier than generalities. A "1985 yellow Yugo" is funnier than "a car". Paint rich pictures with your word choices. It's also conventional wisdom in the comedy writing business that words with a "K" sound are funnier. Therefore a Cadillac is probably funnier than a Ford.
Invest in your talk by writing and practicing it well in advance. As you're sitting at the speaking venue awaiting your introduction, I recommend that you are not rehearsing your speech in your mind. Instead, hopefully you know your talk and your opening lines so well that you can concentrate on what's going on around you before you speak. Check out the features of the room. Pay attention to the details of the meal and the service. Listen to everyone speaking before you are scheduled. Take notes. Look for humorous connections you can drop into your talk. You'll be adding fresh new material to your talk. The last-minute lines you add have a good chance of being the funniest lines of your entire presentation.
Adding Punch To Your Delivery
Never rush your delivery. When you get to the punchline, deliver it, and then pause. Wait for the laugh and it will normally come. A Toastmaster friend once told me: "I figured out why you're so funny. You INSIST that we laugh!" What she meant was that I wait for the laugh and give the audience a chance to get the joke.
And then, don't be in a hurry to get to the next funny line. Deliver a punchline and let them continue to laugh. Don't step on the laughter. Starting to speak again too soon is like telling them "please don't laugh!" Let the laughter peak and as it starts to fade (but before the laughter completely stops), continue speaking. The proper rhythm will come with experience.
If you try a joke that falls flat, never apologize or explain it. If they don't laugh, pretend you were serious. Your humor is meant to be a surprise. If they didn't laugh, it's you're secret. If a long story meant to get a laugh is greeted with silence, try saying this. "And the point of that story is..." Hopefully your humor has a point!
Animate your speech. Show them rather than tell them. Don't be a talking-head. Don't bury your head in your notes. Doing that will isolate you from your audience. Know your humor well enough, especially your punchlines, that you can deliver the humor without notes and bring your gestures, movement and facial expressions to life.
To maximize the surprise element of your humor don't "telegraph" it. Never use the equivalent of "a funny thing happened to me on the way over here." You'll dull the surprise if you tell them something funny is coming. Just do it.
Try to deliver your humor in a room that it well lit. Because comedy clubs are often dark, we sometimes mistakenly believe that comedy plays best in a dark room. Not true. Humor plays best in a well lit room. Laughter is contagious and people will laugh more when they see others laughing. If possible, arrange the seating so that people can easily see each other.
The Best Place to Practice
The best place to practice delivering your humor is at a Toastmasters Club. There is no substitute for practice and there is no better place to take risks and stretch yourself than at a Toastmasters meeting. What is missing at most speaking venues is good, gentle feedback. That's what you get at a Toastmasters meeting.
In my opinion, the people who you consider the most funny are not actually funnier, they're just more consistent. The main difference between an excellent improv player and a beginner is consistency. Both have moments of brilliance. Both can have an equally wonderful sense of humor. The better player will just hit the mark more often. Your humor consistency ratio improves only with experience. Find a place to be bad while getting better.
If you are not a member of a Toastmasters club, a couple of things they do might interest you: Observational Humor and Contests. Here are some observations from my 30 plus years of Toastmasters experience.
Some clubs practice the Observational minute. This is a humor segment placed near the end of the meeting, normally after the evaluations but just before the Master Evaluator's review of the meeting. The person leading the Observational Humor segment will ask: "Does anyone have any observational humor?" Members create fresh humor out of the circumstances and flow of the meeting. In time, members of your club will gain some genuine humor skills, creating the best and most powerful form of humor (along with stories), observational humor. I've seen tremendous growth in the humor skills of members of several clubs who have used the observational minute. If your club has a JokeMaster, I suggest replacing it with The Observational Minute.
If you're not a Toastmasters member, you can practice your skills of observational humor at any meeting that you attend. Give yourself the challenge to "wear your humor hat" during the meeting and weave in a humorous observation sometime at the end of the meeting. It will make the meeting more interesting for you, sharpen your humor skills, and give you the reputation that people should stay awake while you are speaking!
If you have ever entered a speech contest, always remember that you learn more when you win second place. Losing is a good thing, it leads to growth. When you're second best, you take a harder look at your material and delivery. And besides, when it comes to a perspective on winning, for the most part, you are being judged by people who have not accomplished what you are trying to do. Normally, most judges are not past contest winners. So don't take the results too seriously if you lose...or if you win! If you lose, it doesn't mean that you weren't good. If you win, it doesn't mean that you were great. It just means that on that day, in the subjective opinion of a small number of judges, the points fell a certain way. Compete for the sake of growing. And in the long haul, if you do well, you'll be like Babe Ruth. He is remembered for his home runs, while his record number of strike outs are quickly forgotten. Everyone who competes truly wins a growth opportunity.
When competing in contests beyond the entry level, have comfort in the reality that the higher up the ladder the contest is, the easier it is. Your material becomes more highly refined and tested. The audience is larger. Bigger audiences mean more laughs. The most challenging contest is at the first level. Fact. This also applies to the non-competitive environment. As you speak more often, you get invited to speak to larger and more important audiences. So when you reach the higher levels, step on the platform with confidence knowing that you are prepared and up to the task. And when the audience is sitting there thinking "show me the funny"... you will!
by John Kinde
In this special report I'll refer to some activities in Toastmasters Clubs that are relevant to both Toastmasters and non-Toastmasters. If you're not a member, consider checking our a club in your local area. Visit the Toastmasters' website: http://www.toastmasters.org
Here's a secret from comedy improv. If you want to be funny, don't try to be funny. Really. Trying too hard kills the joke. Students of improv comedy learn that going for the gag is often a sure way to minimize the laughs from the platform. Relax. Let your humor come organically from your stories, the essence of your character, and your relationship with the audience. Avoid the "Look of Expectation" when a humor bit fails. The look of expectation is what you get from your dog sitting next to the dinner table hoping for a treat from your plate.
The Content of Your Speech
When writing your speech, keep it clean. Sometimes it's tempting to cross the line, but take it from someone who has learned it the hard way. Clean material consistently plays stronger. Not only that, playing it clean takes more talent and skill. Off-color humor is a comedy cop out. Any junior high school student can get a cheap laugh from four-letter words and bodily function jokes. Blue humor puts your reputation at risk. One of your goals is for people to want to hear you speak again and to tell their friends about you. The more experience I have using humor, the more conservative I've become. When in doubt, leave it out!
Joke books are not the best source of funny material. Personal stories are clearly the best. Your own stories are original and compelling. Humor comes naturally from the pictures you paint. Force fitting a "joke" to a point will always be second best to a personal story. And besides, the best kind of joke is not one you've picked off the Internet or found in a joke book. Everyone has probably heard it and your element of surprise is short circuited when you use material that has been widely circulated. A benefit of using joke books is that they can be handy for jump starting your thinking and getting you on the road to writing your own original material.
Identify the key trigger word in your joke and put it at the very end of the joke's punchline. It maximizes the tension build up and the element of surprise. Try to avoid putting even one word after the punch word. Adding clutter after the punchword or punchline buries them and disguises the joke.
Remember that less is more. The more concise you are, the more likely your humor will hit the target. If you have a long setup for a punchline, it is said that the punchline is carrying a lot of baggage. So write your material, and then edit and cut.
It's also a fact that specifics are funnier than generalities. A "1985 yellow Yugo" is funnier than "a car". Paint rich pictures with your word choices. It's also conventional wisdom in the comedy writing business that words with a "K" sound are funnier. Therefore a Cadillac is probably funnier than a Ford.
Invest in your talk by writing and practicing it well in advance. As you're sitting at the speaking venue awaiting your introduction, I recommend that you are not rehearsing your speech in your mind. Instead, hopefully you know your talk and your opening lines so well that you can concentrate on what's going on around you before you speak. Check out the features of the room. Pay attention to the details of the meal and the service. Listen to everyone speaking before you are scheduled. Take notes. Look for humorous connections you can drop into your talk. You'll be adding fresh new material to your talk. The last-minute lines you add have a good chance of being the funniest lines of your entire presentation.
Adding Punch To Your Delivery
Never rush your delivery. When you get to the punchline, deliver it, and then pause. Wait for the laugh and it will normally come. A Toastmaster friend once told me: "I figured out why you're so funny. You INSIST that we laugh!" What she meant was that I wait for the laugh and give the audience a chance to get the joke.
And then, don't be in a hurry to get to the next funny line. Deliver a punchline and let them continue to laugh. Don't step on the laughter. Starting to speak again too soon is like telling them "please don't laugh!" Let the laughter peak and as it starts to fade (but before the laughter completely stops), continue speaking. The proper rhythm will come with experience.
If you try a joke that falls flat, never apologize or explain it. If they don't laugh, pretend you were serious. Your humor is meant to be a surprise. If they didn't laugh, it's you're secret. If a long story meant to get a laugh is greeted with silence, try saying this. "And the point of that story is..." Hopefully your humor has a point!
Animate your speech. Show them rather than tell them. Don't be a talking-head. Don't bury your head in your notes. Doing that will isolate you from your audience. Know your humor well enough, especially your punchlines, that you can deliver the humor without notes and bring your gestures, movement and facial expressions to life.
To maximize the surprise element of your humor don't "telegraph" it. Never use the equivalent of "a funny thing happened to me on the way over here." You'll dull the surprise if you tell them something funny is coming. Just do it.
Try to deliver your humor in a room that it well lit. Because comedy clubs are often dark, we sometimes mistakenly believe that comedy plays best in a dark room. Not true. Humor plays best in a well lit room. Laughter is contagious and people will laugh more when they see others laughing. If possible, arrange the seating so that people can easily see each other.
The Best Place to Practice
The best place to practice delivering your humor is at a Toastmasters Club. There is no substitute for practice and there is no better place to take risks and stretch yourself than at a Toastmasters meeting. What is missing at most speaking venues is good, gentle feedback. That's what you get at a Toastmasters meeting.
In my opinion, the people who you consider the most funny are not actually funnier, they're just more consistent. The main difference between an excellent improv player and a beginner is consistency. Both have moments of brilliance. Both can have an equally wonderful sense of humor. The better player will just hit the mark more often. Your humor consistency ratio improves only with experience. Find a place to be bad while getting better.
If you are not a member of a Toastmasters club, a couple of things they do might interest you: Observational Humor and Contests. Here are some observations from my 30 plus years of Toastmasters experience.
Some clubs practice the Observational minute. This is a humor segment placed near the end of the meeting, normally after the evaluations but just before the Master Evaluator's review of the meeting. The person leading the Observational Humor segment will ask: "Does anyone have any observational humor?" Members create fresh humor out of the circumstances and flow of the meeting. In time, members of your club will gain some genuine humor skills, creating the best and most powerful form of humor (along with stories), observational humor. I've seen tremendous growth in the humor skills of members of several clubs who have used the observational minute. If your club has a JokeMaster, I suggest replacing it with The Observational Minute.
If you're not a Toastmasters member, you can practice your skills of observational humor at any meeting that you attend. Give yourself the challenge to "wear your humor hat" during the meeting and weave in a humorous observation sometime at the end of the meeting. It will make the meeting more interesting for you, sharpen your humor skills, and give you the reputation that people should stay awake while you are speaking!
If you have ever entered a speech contest, always remember that you learn more when you win second place. Losing is a good thing, it leads to growth. When you're second best, you take a harder look at your material and delivery. And besides, when it comes to a perspective on winning, for the most part, you are being judged by people who have not accomplished what you are trying to do. Normally, most judges are not past contest winners. So don't take the results too seriously if you lose...or if you win! If you lose, it doesn't mean that you weren't good. If you win, it doesn't mean that you were great. It just means that on that day, in the subjective opinion of a small number of judges, the points fell a certain way. Compete for the sake of growing. And in the long haul, if you do well, you'll be like Babe Ruth. He is remembered for his home runs, while his record number of strike outs are quickly forgotten. Everyone who competes truly wins a growth opportunity.
When competing in contests beyond the entry level, have comfort in the reality that the higher up the ladder the contest is, the easier it is. Your material becomes more highly refined and tested. The audience is larger. Bigger audiences mean more laughs. The most challenging contest is at the first level. Fact. This also applies to the non-competitive environment. As you speak more often, you get invited to speak to larger and more important audiences. So when you reach the higher levels, step on the platform with confidence knowing that you are prepared and up to the task. And when the audience is sitting there thinking "show me the funny"... you will!
by John Kinde
Creating A More Powerful Speech
If you want to improve a speech, you need to record it so you can analyze it. This means making an audio recording, or better yet a video recording. And also making a manuscript of what you actually delivered to a live audience. Then you're able to do an in-depth review of your speech content, structure and delivery.
Thanks to technology, recording your talk is getting easier. Good-quality digital recorders are fairly inexpensive. I use an Olympus Digital Recorder. It's small. It records for many hours.
One button starts and stops it. It easily loads the recorded data into your computer's hard drive. For best results, also get a lapel microphone.
Should you decide to video record your program, you'll have the additional benefit of being able to watch your physical delivery.
When I review a speech, I like to use the process which I call Focused-Replay. I choose a specific area of delivery and attempt to focus exclusively on that area while listening. Then I replay the recording and focus on another area. For example I might focus on:
Rate of speech
Pitch of voice
Volume variety
Effective pauses
Use of force and energy
If I were evaluating my performance on a short 5 minute speech, I'd replay the whole speech for each area of focus. If it were a one-hour speech, I might just play a five-to-ten-minute segment of the speech. If I discovered that that segment was totally lacking in the element I was looking for, I'd listen to more.
I'd also examine the audience response to the humor. Did they laugh where I expected? Did they laugh in places I didn't expect? What were the funniest lines? Which lines bombed? What was the laughter response ratio (amount of laughter as a percentage of total speech time)?
Now that you have a recording of your talk, it's time to create a word-for-word manuscript of exactly what you said. This includes the flaws. You'll need to type out your talk as you listen to it, or hire someone to create a transcript.
Nearly every speech coach I've met highly recommends making a written manuscript of your talk. It gives you the ability to take an in-depth look at what you REALLY said. This isn't often what you planned on saying. Keep in mind that although there may be more than one good way to say something...there is usually only one BEST way of saying something. This process is designed to help you find the most effective way to word your talk.
Read the manuscript and examine:
Your opening
Your closing
Your transitions
Your stories
Your humor
On paper, it's easier to analyze the structure of your humor. Look for the placement of your punchlines. Remember that the punchword almost always goes at the end of a humor sequence. Patricia Fripp also points out that even non-joke lines have a punch word. If you're making a serious point, identify the most critical word or phrase and see if it has more impact when placed last. It probably does. For example if you said, "We can save $100,000 by moving our warehouse closer to the airport;" it would probably be more effective to say, "Moving our warehouse closer to the airport would save us $100,000." The key point, the punchline, would be the savings. It's easier to examine the punchline structure in writing that it is to listen to the talk.
Next, with multi-colored highlighters, read through the entire talk and highlight the humor in yellow. Mark the stories in red. Highlight the learning points in green. Identify the opening and closing segments in blue. This will give you a colorful map of your talk to see, at a glance, the balance of stories, humor and learning points. You'll also visually see how much time you devote to your opening and close.
Avoid the temptation to just "wing it" when you're giving a talk. Doing the deep analytical work will produce a better and more memorable speech. The top pros find that they never outgrow the need to analyze their talks. And that's why they find themselves at the top.
By John Kinde, Observational Humorist and Fripp Friend
Thanks to technology, recording your talk is getting easier. Good-quality digital recorders are fairly inexpensive. I use an Olympus Digital Recorder. It's small. It records for many hours.
One button starts and stops it. It easily loads the recorded data into your computer's hard drive. For best results, also get a lapel microphone.
Should you decide to video record your program, you'll have the additional benefit of being able to watch your physical delivery.
When I review a speech, I like to use the process which I call Focused-Replay. I choose a specific area of delivery and attempt to focus exclusively on that area while listening. Then I replay the recording and focus on another area. For example I might focus on:
Rate of speech
Pitch of voice
Volume variety
Effective pauses
Use of force and energy
If I were evaluating my performance on a short 5 minute speech, I'd replay the whole speech for each area of focus. If it were a one-hour speech, I might just play a five-to-ten-minute segment of the speech. If I discovered that that segment was totally lacking in the element I was looking for, I'd listen to more.
I'd also examine the audience response to the humor. Did they laugh where I expected? Did they laugh in places I didn't expect? What were the funniest lines? Which lines bombed? What was the laughter response ratio (amount of laughter as a percentage of total speech time)?
Now that you have a recording of your talk, it's time to create a word-for-word manuscript of exactly what you said. This includes the flaws. You'll need to type out your talk as you listen to it, or hire someone to create a transcript.
Nearly every speech coach I've met highly recommends making a written manuscript of your talk. It gives you the ability to take an in-depth look at what you REALLY said. This isn't often what you planned on saying. Keep in mind that although there may be more than one good way to say something...there is usually only one BEST way of saying something. This process is designed to help you find the most effective way to word your talk.
Read the manuscript and examine:
Your opening
Your closing
Your transitions
Your stories
Your humor
On paper, it's easier to analyze the structure of your humor. Look for the placement of your punchlines. Remember that the punchword almost always goes at the end of a humor sequence. Patricia Fripp also points out that even non-joke lines have a punch word. If you're making a serious point, identify the most critical word or phrase and see if it has more impact when placed last. It probably does. For example if you said, "We can save $100,000 by moving our warehouse closer to the airport;" it would probably be more effective to say, "Moving our warehouse closer to the airport would save us $100,000." The key point, the punchline, would be the savings. It's easier to examine the punchline structure in writing that it is to listen to the talk.
Next, with multi-colored highlighters, read through the entire talk and highlight the humor in yellow. Mark the stories in red. Highlight the learning points in green. Identify the opening and closing segments in blue. This will give you a colorful map of your talk to see, at a glance, the balance of stories, humor and learning points. You'll also visually see how much time you devote to your opening and close.
Avoid the temptation to just "wing it" when you're giving a talk. Doing the deep analytical work will produce a better and more memorable speech. The top pros find that they never outgrow the need to analyze their talks. And that's why they find themselves at the top.
By John Kinde, Observational Humorist and Fripp Friend
Less is More
Less is more. As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet: "Brevity is the soul of wit."
1. Brevity makes strong structure.
The punchline is the payoff. Traditional wisdom is that the shortest distance between the setup and the payoff is best. When a story has a long set up before getting to the joke, it's said that the punchline is carrying a lot of baggage. Top comedians work hard on writing a tight setup because it's the most effective way to structure a joke.
2. Brevity clarifies.
The key to humor is relationships and connections. Concise writing helps to make crystal clear the precise words that need to be connected to activate the joke.
3. Brevity gives focus.
Wordiness makes for clutter and can hide the punch word or the punch line. That's why the punchline and the punch word normally go last. It puts the spotlight and focus on the key words. Anything added after only camouflages the joke and confuses the mind.
4. Brevity creates scarcity.
The person who is trying to be funny all the time, wears out his welcome. People get tired of the showboating. The person who is selectively funny wins. Scarcity creates value. It wins the attention and admiration of others.
5. Brevity teaches discipline.
By selecting only the best jokes and delivering only the best lines, you develop the discipline of knowing which lines are funnier. When you blurt out all your funny thoughts, you're not having the mental exercise of filtering out the weak lines. Being selective will make you a funnier person because it will make you a better judge of good humor.
6. Brevity makes you appear funnier.
The person who self-selects and uses only the best lines can appear to be funny most of the time. The person who insists on sharing all lines, strong and weak, will appear to be funny a smaller percentage of the time. I'd rather be known as a person who delivers a gem nearly every time he speaks, than someone who speaks all the time and is occasionally funny. One skill set is attractive. One has the possibility of being annoying.
by John Kinde
1. Brevity makes strong structure.
The punchline is the payoff. Traditional wisdom is that the shortest distance between the setup and the payoff is best. When a story has a long set up before getting to the joke, it's said that the punchline is carrying a lot of baggage. Top comedians work hard on writing a tight setup because it's the most effective way to structure a joke.
2. Brevity clarifies.
The key to humor is relationships and connections. Concise writing helps to make crystal clear the precise words that need to be connected to activate the joke.
3. Brevity gives focus.
Wordiness makes for clutter and can hide the punch word or the punch line. That's why the punchline and the punch word normally go last. It puts the spotlight and focus on the key words. Anything added after only camouflages the joke and confuses the mind.
4. Brevity creates scarcity.
The person who is trying to be funny all the time, wears out his welcome. People get tired of the showboating. The person who is selectively funny wins. Scarcity creates value. It wins the attention and admiration of others.
5. Brevity teaches discipline.
By selecting only the best jokes and delivering only the best lines, you develop the discipline of knowing which lines are funnier. When you blurt out all your funny thoughts, you're not having the mental exercise of filtering out the weak lines. Being selective will make you a funnier person because it will make you a better judge of good humor.
6. Brevity makes you appear funnier.
The person who self-selects and uses only the best lines can appear to be funny most of the time. The person who insists on sharing all lines, strong and weak, will appear to be funny a smaller percentage of the time. I'd rather be known as a person who delivers a gem nearly every time he speaks, than someone who speaks all the time and is occasionally funny. One skill set is attractive. One has the possibility of being annoying.
by John Kinde
Tips and Tricks for Binding Documents with Zipbind
For years, plastic comb binding was one of the only methods of binding available. Nearly every document, presentation, proposal, cookbook and training manual was bound with plastic combs. However, over time the novelty and elegance of plastic comb binding has worn off. Documents bound with plastic combs have become common and don’t have demand the same attention that they once did. Yet hundreds of thousands of offices across the country still own plastic comb binding machines. For these offices there is a new solution.
GBC Zipbind binding spines use the same hole pattern as traditional comb binding spines. However, zip bind offers a brand new look and new functionality for your documents. This article is designed to offer a few simple tips and tricks for binding your documents with GBC Zipbind. Here they are…
1. If you plan on using the little zipper tool that comes in the package with the spines you are going to want to click the first few loops closed by hand. You will also want to crease the spine slightly in order to make the closing process easier. You can give the zipper tool a try or simply close the loops by hand and use the zipper to open spines to edit your documents.
2. Every pack of Zipbind spines comes with a blue plastic piece. This is designed to slide over the comb opener on your binding machine. The blue plastic strip will hold your Zipbind spines while you insert the pages onto them. This can come in really handy for the inserting process.
3. Proclick spines are only available in two sizes and two colors. If you are going to need to bind documents with other sizes or need another color you will need to use plastic combs. One of the beauties of using Zipbind is that you can always use combs for thicker documents, odd sizes and special colors. Keep this in mind.
4. One of the great things about Zipbind is that you can very easily edit documents in the field. If you get stuck in the field without a zipper tool you can always use a pen to open the loops and click the loops shut manually. It might also be a good idea to equip your sales representatives with a small comb binding punch such as the CombBind c50 in their car or briefcase. This way they can punch additional pages or sales sheets to add into the documents on the fly.
5. Binding documents with Zipbind is also ideal for organizations that don’t own a binding machine. They can simply buy prepunched comb bind paper and covers and put your documents together without ever touching a binding machine. This presents one of the lowest cost methods of binding available on the market.
These are just a few tips to remember when binding documents with GBC Zipbind. Give zip binding a try and find out just how flexible this new binding style can be.
by Jeff McRitchie
GBC Zipbind binding spines use the same hole pattern as traditional comb binding spines. However, zip bind offers a brand new look and new functionality for your documents. This article is designed to offer a few simple tips and tricks for binding your documents with GBC Zipbind. Here they are…
1. If you plan on using the little zipper tool that comes in the package with the spines you are going to want to click the first few loops closed by hand. You will also want to crease the spine slightly in order to make the closing process easier. You can give the zipper tool a try or simply close the loops by hand and use the zipper to open spines to edit your documents.
2. Every pack of Zipbind spines comes with a blue plastic piece. This is designed to slide over the comb opener on your binding machine. The blue plastic strip will hold your Zipbind spines while you insert the pages onto them. This can come in really handy for the inserting process.
3. Proclick spines are only available in two sizes and two colors. If you are going to need to bind documents with other sizes or need another color you will need to use plastic combs. One of the beauties of using Zipbind is that you can always use combs for thicker documents, odd sizes and special colors. Keep this in mind.
4. One of the great things about Zipbind is that you can very easily edit documents in the field. If you get stuck in the field without a zipper tool you can always use a pen to open the loops and click the loops shut manually. It might also be a good idea to equip your sales representatives with a small comb binding punch such as the CombBind c50 in their car or briefcase. This way they can punch additional pages or sales sheets to add into the documents on the fly.
5. Binding documents with Zipbind is also ideal for organizations that don’t own a binding machine. They can simply buy prepunched comb bind paper and covers and put your documents together without ever touching a binding machine. This presents one of the lowest cost methods of binding available on the market.
These are just a few tips to remember when binding documents with GBC Zipbind. Give zip binding a try and find out just how flexible this new binding style can be.
by Jeff McRitchie
Is the Traditional DistTips and Tricks for Binding Documents with Surebind
As far as binding styles go, GBC Surebind isn’t really all that well known. It offers a look similar to Velobind but with a few interesting twists. Luckily, binding documents with GBC Surebind isn’t really all that hard. However, if you keep a few important things in mind the binding process will be a lot easier. Here are some simple tips and tricks for Surebinding your documents.
1. Surebind binding spines have 10 pins for an 11 inch spine. Unlike Velobind which uses eleven equally spaced pins, the pins for Surebind are not spaced evenly. Instead, the pins for Surebinding are designed to line up with the hole pattern used for plastic comb binding. This means that if you are looking to bind documents with Surebind and have a plastic comb binding punch you can combine the two styles. Using a comb binding punch will allow you to increase punching productivity and offers the flexibility of choosing the type of binding that you want for your documents.
2. The binding produced by a Surebind binding machine is both secure and permanent. Pages cannot be removed, edited and added back to a document without cutting the binding spine off the document and using your machine to rebind the document. This security is one of the greatest strengths of this type of binding system. However, if you are going to use Surebind for your documents you should definitely consider investing $15 in a Velobind/surebind debinder tool. This type of tool is used to safely cut the spines off of a bound document without injuring yourself.
3. Surebind binding strips are available in sizes up to three inches thick. This means that these systems offer the ability to bind documents that are thicker than any other type of desktop binding system. However, if you are going to want to bind documents using three inch spines you are going to need a Surebind System Three. Smaller systems will not bind documents with the larger sized spines.
4. One of the great things about binding with a Surebind system is that you don’t need to stock a huge number of supplies. In fact, depending on the thickness of the books that you are looking to bind you won’t need more than one, two or three sizes of binding spines. This can reduce the need for storage space and the cost of inventorying a number of different sized spines. Just make sure that you buy ten pin Surebind strips when you get your supplies and not eleven pin Velobind strips. This is a common mistake and unfortunately the two systems are not compatible with each other.
5. Like Velobind, you can use your Surebinding system to bind hard cover books. You simply need to order custom hard cover cases to use along with your system. These hard cover cases will include a binding case and two adhesive fly leaves. You will bind the fly leaves into your document and then peel off the adhesive backing and adhere the fly leaf into the book.
These are just five things to keep in mind when binding documents with your Surebind system. Give these things a try and see for yourself just how easy Surebinding can be.
by Jeff McRitchie
1. Surebind binding spines have 10 pins for an 11 inch spine. Unlike Velobind which uses eleven equally spaced pins, the pins for Surebind are not spaced evenly. Instead, the pins for Surebinding are designed to line up with the hole pattern used for plastic comb binding. This means that if you are looking to bind documents with Surebind and have a plastic comb binding punch you can combine the two styles. Using a comb binding punch will allow you to increase punching productivity and offers the flexibility of choosing the type of binding that you want for your documents.
2. The binding produced by a Surebind binding machine is both secure and permanent. Pages cannot be removed, edited and added back to a document without cutting the binding spine off the document and using your machine to rebind the document. This security is one of the greatest strengths of this type of binding system. However, if you are going to use Surebind for your documents you should definitely consider investing $15 in a Velobind/surebind debinder tool. This type of tool is used to safely cut the spines off of a bound document without injuring yourself.
3. Surebind binding strips are available in sizes up to three inches thick. This means that these systems offer the ability to bind documents that are thicker than any other type of desktop binding system. However, if you are going to want to bind documents using three inch spines you are going to need a Surebind System Three. Smaller systems will not bind documents with the larger sized spines.
4. One of the great things about binding with a Surebind system is that you don’t need to stock a huge number of supplies. In fact, depending on the thickness of the books that you are looking to bind you won’t need more than one, two or three sizes of binding spines. This can reduce the need for storage space and the cost of inventorying a number of different sized spines. Just make sure that you buy ten pin Surebind strips when you get your supplies and not eleven pin Velobind strips. This is a common mistake and unfortunately the two systems are not compatible with each other.
5. Like Velobind, you can use your Surebinding system to bind hard cover books. You simply need to order custom hard cover cases to use along with your system. These hard cover cases will include a binding case and two adhesive fly leaves. You will bind the fly leaves into your document and then peel off the adhesive backing and adhere the fly leaf into the book.
These are just five things to keep in mind when binding documents with your Surebind system. Give these things a try and see for yourself just how easy Surebinding can be.
by Jeff McRitchie
Tips and Tricks for Velobinding
For years, Velobind has been the binding style of choice for organizations that wanted both a professional look and a secure bind. However, understanding your Velobind system can sometimes be a little bit difficult. This article is designed to provide you with some simple tips and tricks for binding documents with a Velobind system. Here are five things to keep in mind when velobinding.
1. There are actually several different types of Velobind strips available on the market. It is essential to choose the right supplies for your machine since most of them are not cross compatible. The easiest way to determine the type of Velobind supplies that you need is to punch a sheet of paper and count the holes. If there are eleven holes you will need either 11 pin hotknife strips or GBC One Eleven compression binding strips. If you have ten holes you will need GBC Surebind binding strips. If you have six holes then you will need six pin reclosable binding spines and if you have four holes you will need four pin reclosable spines.
2. With all the different types of Velobind systems there is always a finished side of the spine attached to the comb and an unfinished side that is part of the receiving strip. The finished side is designed to go on the front of the book while the receiving strip is designed to go on the back of the book. This helps to provide a more professional look for your velobound documents.
3. Inserting the comb portion of the strip (the one with the pins) through the pages of your document can be made easier by using the edge of a countertop or table. You can simply hang the binding edge of your book over the edge of the table so that you can see a clear path through the holes on the edge of your document. Hold the document firmly in place with one hand and use your other hand to thread the pins through the holes. This is significantly easier than trying to hold the document in the air when trying to insert the velo comb.
4. Velobind binding strips are available in sizes up to three inches thick. This means that these systems offer the ability to bind documents that are thicker than any other type of desktop binding system. However, if you are going to want to bind documents using three inch spines you are going to need a Velobind System Three hot knife binding system. Smaller systems will not bind documents with the larger sized spines.
5. You can actually use your Velobind system to bind hard cover books. You simply need to order custom hard cover cases to use along with your system. These hard cover cases will include a binding case and two adhesive fly leaves. You will bind the fly leaves into your document and then peel off the adhesive backing and adhere the fly leaf into the book.
These are five tips for binding documents with GBC Velobind. Give them a try and see if you can save some time when binding with your Velobind system. Good luck and happy velobinding.
by Jeff McRitchie
1. There are actually several different types of Velobind strips available on the market. It is essential to choose the right supplies for your machine since most of them are not cross compatible. The easiest way to determine the type of Velobind supplies that you need is to punch a sheet of paper and count the holes. If there are eleven holes you will need either 11 pin hotknife strips or GBC One Eleven compression binding strips. If you have ten holes you will need GBC Surebind binding strips. If you have six holes then you will need six pin reclosable binding spines and if you have four holes you will need four pin reclosable spines.
2. With all the different types of Velobind systems there is always a finished side of the spine attached to the comb and an unfinished side that is part of the receiving strip. The finished side is designed to go on the front of the book while the receiving strip is designed to go on the back of the book. This helps to provide a more professional look for your velobound documents.
3. Inserting the comb portion of the strip (the one with the pins) through the pages of your document can be made easier by using the edge of a countertop or table. You can simply hang the binding edge of your book over the edge of the table so that you can see a clear path through the holes on the edge of your document. Hold the document firmly in place with one hand and use your other hand to thread the pins through the holes. This is significantly easier than trying to hold the document in the air when trying to insert the velo comb.
4. Velobind binding strips are available in sizes up to three inches thick. This means that these systems offer the ability to bind documents that are thicker than any other type of desktop binding system. However, if you are going to want to bind documents using three inch spines you are going to need a Velobind System Three hot knife binding system. Smaller systems will not bind documents with the larger sized spines.
5. You can actually use your Velobind system to bind hard cover books. You simply need to order custom hard cover cases to use along with your system. These hard cover cases will include a binding case and two adhesive fly leaves. You will bind the fly leaves into your document and then peel off the adhesive backing and adhere the fly leaf into the book.
These are five tips for binding documents with GBC Velobind. Give them a try and see if you can save some time when binding with your Velobind system. Good luck and happy velobinding.
by Jeff McRitchie
Tips for Keeping Pages Falling Out of Your Unibind Photobooks
Are you having problems with pages falling out of your Unibind Photo books? Some glossy paper stocks are difficult to bind with the Unibind system. In fact all thermal glue binding systems have difficulty with these paper stocks. Many times, these heavier sheets will have a tendency to work themselves out of the bind over time. This is obviously a problem, especially for photobooks that get used a lot. However, there are a few things that you might consider in order to work around this problem.
1. One of the easiest ways to prevent pages from falling out of your Unibind book is to staple the edge of the documents. When I first suggest this option to customers they are usually hesitant to try it. However, if you do it right, the end users of your books will never know the difference. The key to stapling your document is to use a heavy duty stapler and to set the staples as close to the edge of the document as possible. Remember, the staples are not going to need to hold the book together. Instead, they are being used to keep any single page from working its way out of the bind. By stapling the book block as close to the edge as possible you will ensure that the staples will be hidden inside the steel binding spine (you will never see them) and you will never have to deal with pages falling out.
2. If you aren’t comfortable stapling the pages of your book or if your books are too large to staple you might consider an alternative method for ensuring a superior bind. When using glossy stocks it can sometimes be helpful to use sand paper to rough up the edge of book. This will take the slick coating off the edge of the book so that the glue can better adhere to the book block. This is a technique used by many traditional perfect binding machines to ensure a strong bind. This doesn’t work quite as well as stapling the book blocks but is still effective for binding glossy stocks. If you wanted to take this method one step further you could cut small slits in the edge of the spine of your book. Again this is a technique usually used in perfect binding to ensure superior adhesion.
3. In addition to one of the two possible solutions above there are other things that can help to ensure that pages don’t fall out of your Unibind photobooks. One thing to try is running your books through two binding cycles with your Unibind binding machine instead of just one. This will help ensure that all the adhesive in the Unibind spine is fully activated. Depending on the batch of adhesive used in your Unibind spines (there is no way to tell) the melting temperature can vary slightly. A second binding cycle can sometimes help to solve problems caused by not enough heat in the binding process.
4. Whenever binding documents, reports, presentations or photo books with your Unibind machine it is helpful to remember to tap the spine on a hard surface while the spine is still hot. This will help the pages of the document to fully settle into the adhesive and will result in a stronger bond.
5. Finally, pages can sometimes fall out of books bound with Unibind if they are not completely flush when they are inserted into the cover. If the front or back page is sticking up even an eighth of an inch it is possible that it will not come into contact with the Unibinding glue. For this reason it is important to jog your pages together and make sure that the book block is completely square before starting the binding process.
These are five tips to help solve problems with pages falling out of your Unibind photobooks. Using one, two, three or more of these ideas can help ensure that you have a superior bind that will withstand years of use and abuse.
by Jeff McRitchie
1. One of the easiest ways to prevent pages from falling out of your Unibind book is to staple the edge of the documents. When I first suggest this option to customers they are usually hesitant to try it. However, if you do it right, the end users of your books will never know the difference. The key to stapling your document is to use a heavy duty stapler and to set the staples as close to the edge of the document as possible. Remember, the staples are not going to need to hold the book together. Instead, they are being used to keep any single page from working its way out of the bind. By stapling the book block as close to the edge as possible you will ensure that the staples will be hidden inside the steel binding spine (you will never see them) and you will never have to deal with pages falling out.
2. If you aren’t comfortable stapling the pages of your book or if your books are too large to staple you might consider an alternative method for ensuring a superior bind. When using glossy stocks it can sometimes be helpful to use sand paper to rough up the edge of book. This will take the slick coating off the edge of the book so that the glue can better adhere to the book block. This is a technique used by many traditional perfect binding machines to ensure a strong bind. This doesn’t work quite as well as stapling the book blocks but is still effective for binding glossy stocks. If you wanted to take this method one step further you could cut small slits in the edge of the spine of your book. Again this is a technique usually used in perfect binding to ensure superior adhesion.
3. In addition to one of the two possible solutions above there are other things that can help to ensure that pages don’t fall out of your Unibind photobooks. One thing to try is running your books through two binding cycles with your Unibind binding machine instead of just one. This will help ensure that all the adhesive in the Unibind spine is fully activated. Depending on the batch of adhesive used in your Unibind spines (there is no way to tell) the melting temperature can vary slightly. A second binding cycle can sometimes help to solve problems caused by not enough heat in the binding process.
4. Whenever binding documents, reports, presentations or photo books with your Unibind machine it is helpful to remember to tap the spine on a hard surface while the spine is still hot. This will help the pages of the document to fully settle into the adhesive and will result in a stronger bond.
5. Finally, pages can sometimes fall out of books bound with Unibind if they are not completely flush when they are inserted into the cover. If the front or back page is sticking up even an eighth of an inch it is possible that it will not come into contact with the Unibinding glue. For this reason it is important to jog your pages together and make sure that the book block is completely square before starting the binding process.
These are five tips to help solve problems with pages falling out of your Unibind photobooks. Using one, two, three or more of these ideas can help ensure that you have a superior bind that will withstand years of use and abuse.
by Jeff McRitchie
Selasa, 08 Januari 2008
You Can Succeed Making Money Online
There are many people who say that you can not make money online, they will tell you that it is all scams. Then there are those who tell you that they tried and failed or knew some one who lost money. The problem more likely was that they went about marketing on the internet wrong. When you market online the correct way it will have dramatic effects on your outcome
You need to start by creating an effective marketing plan. There are some simple things that you need to include in that plan. You need to know your product and market, know who and where your prospects are and know your competition.
Getting to know the product or service that you are selling is a must, so make sure you use it yourself. When you use the product then you get to know the strengths and weaknesses of it. You will also have the ability to answer questions that your prospects may have about it.
Once the strong points are known then you have identified who your target audience is. You can now set up a marketing campaign promoting the strengths of the product. This will be advertising to your target audience and not to everyone. This is half the battle in internet marketing, too many people advertise to everyone and not there target audience. Look at commercials do car companies run commercials during children's programming, no that is not there target audience and a waste of time and money. You need to do the same on the internet.
Now you know your target market, so you need to know where your prospects are. Find out where they are online and be there also. Do not openly market your products to them as this will only turn them off. Get to know your prospects, what they are looking for and what problems do they have. Since you know your product and the strengths ands weaknesses you can figure out how your product can provide a solution for them. This is something to incorporate into your marketing campaign.
You will also want to study your competition. Get to know the strengths and weaknesses of their product also. Once you know the weakness you can point that out in your marketing also. See who they are advertising to and how they are advertising. Are they doing something that you can incorporate into your advertising?
Once you have all the information of the the product, your target and your competition you can put together an effective marketing plan. Put it all together by appealing to your prospects, showing the strengths of your product over your competition and how your product help them solve there problems.
In order to succeed online there is one important thing that you must do and that is not quit. Success will not happen overnight. It will take time and research. If once approach does not work try something different. But the only way to fail is to quit.
by: Theresa Stauffer
You need to start by creating an effective marketing plan. There are some simple things that you need to include in that plan. You need to know your product and market, know who and where your prospects are and know your competition.
Getting to know the product or service that you are selling is a must, so make sure you use it yourself. When you use the product then you get to know the strengths and weaknesses of it. You will also have the ability to answer questions that your prospects may have about it.
Once the strong points are known then you have identified who your target audience is. You can now set up a marketing campaign promoting the strengths of the product. This will be advertising to your target audience and not to everyone. This is half the battle in internet marketing, too many people advertise to everyone and not there target audience. Look at commercials do car companies run commercials during children's programming, no that is not there target audience and a waste of time and money. You need to do the same on the internet.
Now you know your target market, so you need to know where your prospects are. Find out where they are online and be there also. Do not openly market your products to them as this will only turn them off. Get to know your prospects, what they are looking for and what problems do they have. Since you know your product and the strengths ands weaknesses you can figure out how your product can provide a solution for them. This is something to incorporate into your marketing campaign.
You will also want to study your competition. Get to know the strengths and weaknesses of their product also. Once you know the weakness you can point that out in your marketing also. See who they are advertising to and how they are advertising. Are they doing something that you can incorporate into your advertising?
Once you have all the information of the the product, your target and your competition you can put together an effective marketing plan. Put it all together by appealing to your prospects, showing the strengths of your product over your competition and how your product help them solve there problems.
In order to succeed online there is one important thing that you must do and that is not quit. Success will not happen overnight. It will take time and research. If once approach does not work try something different. But the only way to fail is to quit.
by: Theresa Stauffer
Why SEO is just the first step...
Picture this. You have a successful online store. Things are going well - all the money you have spent on online advertising has paid off - and both traffic and conversions are up. Your repeat traffic is steadily improving, and your email newsletter is performing well too - driving traffic to your promotions and key products or services.
You can sit back, relax and count the cash, right?
Wrong. Without knowing how your customers reached the point of conversion you don't know whether they are cursing their way to the checkout or just click-click-clicking their way to the credit card field. Furthermore, you don't know whether you are successfully exposing your customers to other products or services that they would have picked up on in that transaction.
Usability is understanding customer flow - the cognitive processes that each user goes through to select where to look, where to click - and when to give up and go and make a cup of tea. You can use tried and true guiding principles to help you design your website - but when your site is live, how can you tell what those users are up to? Website analytics.
Now, some of you may be following all of this, and some may be way ahead already - and that's really the divide that's out there - but if you aren't monitoring user flow and conversion within your site you aren't doing your job.
Imagine if customers couldn't navigate a physical shop - you'd soon spot where they were getting lost and try to arrange things so that they could naturally navigate through and find what they were looking for... Similarly if you built displays to expose them to key products, you would notice when they were performing poorly.
Using a web analytics page is exactly the same, and produces similar effects. Keeping an eye out produces happy shoppers who will return to buy again. However, all is not plain sailing. Web analytics figures can be a blur of percentages and meaningless measurements (bounce rates, exit and entry rates, etc) at first glance. However, FirstRate consultants can help you set up an analytics package in the first instance and, more importantly, determine what metrics are of value to you.
We can help you keep watch over your customer traffic, and spot any bottlenecks that may have gone unnoticed. We can help you to do multi-variant testing of landing pages or paid advertisement creative within your site, improve revenue and provide a better user experience. Because it is all related.
by: Charlie Drummond
You can sit back, relax and count the cash, right?
Wrong. Without knowing how your customers reached the point of conversion you don't know whether they are cursing their way to the checkout or just click-click-clicking their way to the credit card field. Furthermore, you don't know whether you are successfully exposing your customers to other products or services that they would have picked up on in that transaction.
Usability is understanding customer flow - the cognitive processes that each user goes through to select where to look, where to click - and when to give up and go and make a cup of tea. You can use tried and true guiding principles to help you design your website - but when your site is live, how can you tell what those users are up to? Website analytics.
Now, some of you may be following all of this, and some may be way ahead already - and that's really the divide that's out there - but if you aren't monitoring user flow and conversion within your site you aren't doing your job.
Imagine if customers couldn't navigate a physical shop - you'd soon spot where they were getting lost and try to arrange things so that they could naturally navigate through and find what they were looking for... Similarly if you built displays to expose them to key products, you would notice when they were performing poorly.
Using a web analytics page is exactly the same, and produces similar effects. Keeping an eye out produces happy shoppers who will return to buy again. However, all is not plain sailing. Web analytics figures can be a blur of percentages and meaningless measurements (bounce rates, exit and entry rates, etc) at first glance. However, FirstRate consultants can help you set up an analytics package in the first instance and, more importantly, determine what metrics are of value to you.
We can help you keep watch over your customer traffic, and spot any bottlenecks that may have gone unnoticed. We can help you to do multi-variant testing of landing pages or paid advertisement creative within your site, improve revenue and provide a better user experience. Because it is all related.
by: Charlie Drummond
How To Combine The Internet and Playing Games To Make Money
It is interesting when you look at all the different ways the Internet is used today. One of the most fun ways the Internet is used is to play games. This is being done from little kids, all the way up to senior citizens. One thing you may not thought out however, is it is possible to make money playing games and capitalize on this huge market.
In this article we want to consider how you can make money playing games online.
1. First of all you need a business opportunity that allows you to not only play games, but to make money selling games. Because people are online 24 hours a day the Internet has made it possible to play games. How great would it be if you could make money with some of those people?
2. Another exciting enhancement in the world of Internet marketing is called blogging. Initially blogging started out where people would log their thoughts on the web. Now you're able to monetize your blog, allowing you to make money while interacting with other bloggers and your readers.
3. What has happened after websites and blogging has become known as Web 2.0. This has allowed blogging to move to the next level. Web 2.0 is when you allow your visitors to become part of the blogging process.
This can be done through allowing people to make comments, to vote on polls, or to simply in this case, play games. When you blog and your visitors can be involved they will come back. This process is known as social networking.
Playing games online is very easily done thanks to social networking, because you get to meet other people who want play to games as well. Social networking is really just meeting people online that have common interests as you.
You are able to form communities, known as blog communities and social network communities. RSS feeds allow you to quickly keep in touch with each other. People can subscribe to your RSS feed and receive your blog updates as you post them.
Another piece of all of this is internet chatting. This allows for instant contact with people almost anywhere in the world. When you start to consider the number of people playing games, the potential of blogging, social networking, RSS feeds, and combining Internet chatting, you begin to get the idea that to make money online playing games and selling a product that people will want play games is huge.
So the answer is yes, you really can make money playing games online. You can make a lot of friends in the process as well. You just need to find the right opportunity to take advantage of what will offer the best profit and most fun for you.
by: Dan Brown
In this article we want to consider how you can make money playing games online.
1. First of all you need a business opportunity that allows you to not only play games, but to make money selling games. Because people are online 24 hours a day the Internet has made it possible to play games. How great would it be if you could make money with some of those people?
2. Another exciting enhancement in the world of Internet marketing is called blogging. Initially blogging started out where people would log their thoughts on the web. Now you're able to monetize your blog, allowing you to make money while interacting with other bloggers and your readers.
3. What has happened after websites and blogging has become known as Web 2.0. This has allowed blogging to move to the next level. Web 2.0 is when you allow your visitors to become part of the blogging process.
This can be done through allowing people to make comments, to vote on polls, or to simply in this case, play games. When you blog and your visitors can be involved they will come back. This process is known as social networking.
Playing games online is very easily done thanks to social networking, because you get to meet other people who want play to games as well. Social networking is really just meeting people online that have common interests as you.
You are able to form communities, known as blog communities and social network communities. RSS feeds allow you to quickly keep in touch with each other. People can subscribe to your RSS feed and receive your blog updates as you post them.
Another piece of all of this is internet chatting. This allows for instant contact with people almost anywhere in the world. When you start to consider the number of people playing games, the potential of blogging, social networking, RSS feeds, and combining Internet chatting, you begin to get the idea that to make money online playing games and selling a product that people will want play games is huge.
So the answer is yes, you really can make money playing games online. You can make a lot of friends in the process as well. You just need to find the right opportunity to take advantage of what will offer the best profit and most fun for you.
by: Dan Brown
Shut-up and Sell!
Contrary to popular belief, to be a successful salesperson, it doesn't matter how much you know about your product or service. It also doesn't matter how much of an industry expert you are. It doesn't even matter how great your mother thinks you are. The only thing that really matters to be successful in selling is your ability to shut-up and listen.
On numerous occasions, everyone in sales has heard how important it is to get the customer talking, so it's imperative that they have an arsenal of great questions to ask. Despite trying to follow this guideline, every salesperson seems to overstate the amount of time they believe they allow the customer to talk. The many interviews I've conducted over the years with customers and salespeople alike confirm this reality. Therefore, salespeople need to take a step back and consider their sales presentation.
To talk less means you have to ask questions that truly engage the customer. However, this doesn't mean you need to develop complex questions. Instead, the best tactic is to ask shorter ones. Long questions tend to result in short answers, while short questions will generally result in long answers. An example of a great short question is, "Why?" In my opinion, there isn't a better follow-up question you can ask after the customer has shared with you some information. Consider how your customers would respond to other short examples like, "Can you elaborate on that?" and "Could you explain more?" These shorter questions elicit detailed responses and that's just what you want. On the other hand, asking complex questions often tends to perplex customers. Because they are not sure what you are looking for, they respond with the universal answer representing total confusion, "What did you say?" Questions should not be your means of showing your customers that you are an expert. Save that for your statements.
When preparing your sales presentation, a guideline I subscribe to is to limit yourself from talking for more than 20 seconds at a time without asking a question. The question you ask should be one directed at the comments you just made. By doing so, you're checking with the customer to see if they understood what you just shared with them. Again, this is something many salespeople overlook. They get caught up in sharing with the customer their expertise and the features of their product or service and forget all about what the customer is thinking. Even if your product or service requires a complex presentation, you should still follow this rule. Whether you're selling software, high value medical equipment, or technical tools, it's essential to check your clients understanding by asking a question every 20 seconds.
Your goal on any sales call is to talk only 20% of the time. To help ensure that this takes place, you have to plan ahead. Before you start developing your sales presentation, create your list of questions. This is contrary to the pattern of most salespeople who often spend a substantial portion of their time developing their presentation and, at the last minute, develop their list of questions. Consider that if you're expecting to have a 20 minute presentation, you should have 40 questions (2 questions per minute). Even though you may not use all 40, you'll definitely be more prepared. In addition, you'll be able to pick and choose which ones you want to ask. If you're following the rule of asking short questions, you'll ensure that the customer is doing most of the talking. You'll learn valuable information that will help you better understand the customer's needs.
If you want to move your questioning process to the next level, make half of the questions you ask be ones that help the customer see and feel the pain they have. By doing so, they will be much more open to receiving your solution. For example, if you're selling computer back-up systems, you might ask, "Can you explain to me what happens when data is lost?" This short, concise question is designed to get the customer thinking about the risks they face. Furthermore, the beauty of this type of question is that no matter what the customer's response is, some good follow-up questions will naturally arise.
By adhering to these guidelines, you will be able to see dramatic results in the number of sales you are able to close. As simple as it sounds, the more you shut up, the more you'll sell. And, the easiest way to achieve this goal is by asking more, short questions. So, shut up and sell!
Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter", is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability. For more information or to receive a free weekly sales tip via email, contact "The Sales Hunter" at http://www.TheSalesHunter.com
by Mark Hunter
On numerous occasions, everyone in sales has heard how important it is to get the customer talking, so it's imperative that they have an arsenal of great questions to ask. Despite trying to follow this guideline, every salesperson seems to overstate the amount of time they believe they allow the customer to talk. The many interviews I've conducted over the years with customers and salespeople alike confirm this reality. Therefore, salespeople need to take a step back and consider their sales presentation.
To talk less means you have to ask questions that truly engage the customer. However, this doesn't mean you need to develop complex questions. Instead, the best tactic is to ask shorter ones. Long questions tend to result in short answers, while short questions will generally result in long answers. An example of a great short question is, "Why?" In my opinion, there isn't a better follow-up question you can ask after the customer has shared with you some information. Consider how your customers would respond to other short examples like, "Can you elaborate on that?" and "Could you explain more?" These shorter questions elicit detailed responses and that's just what you want. On the other hand, asking complex questions often tends to perplex customers. Because they are not sure what you are looking for, they respond with the universal answer representing total confusion, "What did you say?" Questions should not be your means of showing your customers that you are an expert. Save that for your statements.
When preparing your sales presentation, a guideline I subscribe to is to limit yourself from talking for more than 20 seconds at a time without asking a question. The question you ask should be one directed at the comments you just made. By doing so, you're checking with the customer to see if they understood what you just shared with them. Again, this is something many salespeople overlook. They get caught up in sharing with the customer their expertise and the features of their product or service and forget all about what the customer is thinking. Even if your product or service requires a complex presentation, you should still follow this rule. Whether you're selling software, high value medical equipment, or technical tools, it's essential to check your clients understanding by asking a question every 20 seconds.
Your goal on any sales call is to talk only 20% of the time. To help ensure that this takes place, you have to plan ahead. Before you start developing your sales presentation, create your list of questions. This is contrary to the pattern of most salespeople who often spend a substantial portion of their time developing their presentation and, at the last minute, develop their list of questions. Consider that if you're expecting to have a 20 minute presentation, you should have 40 questions (2 questions per minute). Even though you may not use all 40, you'll definitely be more prepared. In addition, you'll be able to pick and choose which ones you want to ask. If you're following the rule of asking short questions, you'll ensure that the customer is doing most of the talking. You'll learn valuable information that will help you better understand the customer's needs.
If you want to move your questioning process to the next level, make half of the questions you ask be ones that help the customer see and feel the pain they have. By doing so, they will be much more open to receiving your solution. For example, if you're selling computer back-up systems, you might ask, "Can you explain to me what happens when data is lost?" This short, concise question is designed to get the customer thinking about the risks they face. Furthermore, the beauty of this type of question is that no matter what the customer's response is, some good follow-up questions will naturally arise.
By adhering to these guidelines, you will be able to see dramatic results in the number of sales you are able to close. As simple as it sounds, the more you shut up, the more you'll sell. And, the easiest way to achieve this goal is by asking more, short questions. So, shut up and sell!
Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter", is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability. For more information or to receive a free weekly sales tip via email, contact "The Sales Hunter" at http://www.TheSalesHunter.com
by Mark Hunter
Maybe A Genuine Internet Business Opportunity Is Your Answer
The genuine internet business opportunity can bring a change to circumstances, without prejudice, forged with hope and assurance. A genuine place of business has emerged on the horizon, and that place of business is the internet.
A genuine internet business opportunity, once taken, can revolutionize the way we look at things. It's the opportunity to work successfully while we enjoy the relationships, and to recharge those who are in need -- helping one another. It's "people helping people" to share the bounties that life and living offers.
Everyone is always so excited to be a part of such a business. But remember that you have to work with the tools provided by the company -- it is a business, even if it's only virtual. It's the opportunity that someday will eclipse the drudgery of life. An internet business can take you away from the daily grind and gives you the freedom to live as you want.
I invite you to this place of a genuine internet opportunity, where you can work wherever you have a connection to the world-wide web. You can find hundreds of companies with which to work, with just a little searching. Or you can take the freelance approach to an internet business.
The choice is yours!
The same winds of change blows on us all. You can let push you around...or use it to fill your sails and take you to the biggest incomes or your heart's desire.
You have the key to open its doors - an internet business right from home. Don't spend your life only looking at the door, never opening it. Find the genuine business opportunity that is right for you, and walk right through!
Does an internet business sound intriguing? Yes, it's possible and you can do it! For more information on genuine internet opportunity, check out:
http://www.businessathomeincome.com/make-money-effortlessly.html
by: David Nettles
A genuine internet business opportunity, once taken, can revolutionize the way we look at things. It's the opportunity to work successfully while we enjoy the relationships, and to recharge those who are in need -- helping one another. It's "people helping people" to share the bounties that life and living offers.
Everyone is always so excited to be a part of such a business. But remember that you have to work with the tools provided by the company -- it is a business, even if it's only virtual. It's the opportunity that someday will eclipse the drudgery of life. An internet business can take you away from the daily grind and gives you the freedom to live as you want.
I invite you to this place of a genuine internet opportunity, where you can work wherever you have a connection to the world-wide web. You can find hundreds of companies with which to work, with just a little searching. Or you can take the freelance approach to an internet business.
The choice is yours!
The same winds of change blows on us all. You can let push you around...or use it to fill your sails and take you to the biggest incomes or your heart's desire.
You have the key to open its doors - an internet business right from home. Don't spend your life only looking at the door, never opening it. Find the genuine business opportunity that is right for you, and walk right through!
Does an internet business sound intriguing? Yes, it's possible and you can do it! For more information on genuine internet opportunity, check out:
http://www.businessathomeincome.com/make-money-effortlessly.html
by: David Nettles
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