The Jeffrey And Tracey Info Emporium

Public speaking ranks right up there in terms of the things we are afraid to do. Whether it’s the fear of being watched closely by others, or the insecurity and self-conscious feeling of slipping up during the presentation, these six tips will help you give a polished, professional speech that you (and your audience) can be proud of!

1. Know your audience. This is the single best piece of advice for delivering a presentation. What are there interests? Their backgrounds? Why are they coming to hear you speak? What ideas do you have to share with them? Approaching your speech as more of a “me-to-you” discussion rather than a full-blown broadcast makes it less stressful.

2. What do you want your audience to do as a result of your speech? What’s really at the heart of your presentation? By concentrating on the “end result” rather than slogging through the beginning, you create a powerful punch that drives home your message instead of rambling on.

3. Share a story. In public speaking circles, this is called a “hook” - something that gets your audience’s attention and makes them sit up and listen. Start off by asking questions or sharing an experience you had. People like to be active, rather than passive listeners. By giving them something that they can identify with, you’ll find that these people are just like you; that makes giving a presentation a whole lot easier. Be sure your story has a beginning, a point, and an ending. There’s nothing quite as bad as telling a story to an engaged audience and then forgetting why you told it!

4. If you’re selling a product, focus on the benefits instead of the features. People would much rather hear WHAT a product can do for them than HOW it does it. Narrow down your product’s features until you get to the core of how it solves a problem. If you need help with figuring out the difference between a feature and a benefit, ask yourself “So What?” For example, if you’re selling a vacuum cleaner that has a hypoallergenic filter, put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask yourself “so what?” The answer would be something like, “It picks up dust, mold and pet dander”. Again, “so what?” Answer, “You’ll feel relief from runny nose and sneezing plus itchy, water eyes.” Now THAT’s a benefit!

5 Powerpoint presentations are great but they can be overwhelming - or downright boring. Instead, give your audience something to DO by providing them with fill-in-the-blank flip charts or “team activities”. These help reinforce and emphasize your message in ways that a computer presentation simply cannot.

6. Make sure your speech ends in a way that reiterates the beginning. Speakers can get carried away with the details and leave their audiences asking, “What was the point of all that?” People naturally digest information in “chunks”, so focus on the big picture rather than all the pieces. If the details are just as important, save it for an after-speech handout that the audience can take with them and read over at their leisure.

If you keep these six tips in mind, you’ll not only have an easier time overcoming your fear of public speaking, but you’ll have a very appreciative audience who will in turn be more receptive and eager to try your product or service. Go get ‘em!

www.bornspeaker.com is Sintilia Miecevole’s site with all kinds of speaker information from keynote, motivational, professional and dynamic speakers to car, stereo, motorcycle, outdoor speakers and much more. Be sure to visit www.bornspeaker.com for all of your speaker information.

If you’re a busy writer, who sends off several manuscripts a week, then you need a way to keep track of your submissions. I’ve found creating a submission log is the best way to keep track of the large amount of material I send out.

Record the name of the article/or story, whether it is a query or complete manuscript, the day you mailed it, who you mailed it to, the day you received a reply and the response you received from the editor or publisher. Your submission log is also a handy place to record payments. You can easily set up a submission log on your computer or organize your submission log pages, in a three-ring notebook.

There are many ways to set up a submission log. Here’s how I set up mine:

SAMPLE SUBMISSION LOG:

Article/Story Title:__________Query:___Manuscript:___

Date Sent: Editor/Publisher: Reply Date: Comments:

1. ________ ________________ __________ _________

2. ________ ________________ __________ _________

In addition to setting up a log on every submission, I also keep a hard copy file. In each file I keep a copy of my query/cover letter, and/or manuscript, which ever the case may be. I want a record of exactly what I’ve mailed out, and to whom.

A submission log will give you a quick reference tool to the queries, articles and stories you’ve sent out. It certainly would be embarrassing to send out a duplicate letter or story to the same editor or publisher. Once you’ve been writing for a while you will craft a submission log to meet your writing needs.

Carol Boles has a master’s degree in Special Reading and an Educational Specialist degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She has over ten years experience teaching K-12 reading in public schools. She now manages her own business and is a member of The Lieurance Group, a freelance writer’s cooperative. Find out more about her writing services at http://www.lieurancegroup.blogspot.com or email her at Cwrites-56@hotmail.com.

Lyric writing is much like any other style of writing, the more
time you spend working on it, the more you will grow as a
writer. So what exactly are lyrics? Song lyrics can basically be
thought of as singable poetry. The Oxford dictionary defines the
word ‘lyric’ as 1) (of poetry) expressing the poet’s
thoughts and feelings, usually briefly and in stanzas, songlike
(a lyric poem) 2) (lyrics) the words of a song. By using this
definition, we can assume that the process of writing lyrics
draws from some of the same techniques used in poetry.

Why write lyrics? This may seem like an odd question, there are
literary hundreds of answers to this, but it is something you
will need to ask yourself before you start. Is it because you
have a story to tell, because you want to express a particular
emotion to your audience? Some write purely for themselves, like
a kind of personal therapy. Or perhaps it’s simply because the
human voice is an important part of the style of music they are
written for.

What do you want to say? Most lyrics are written with a message
or some kind of effect in mind. You will need to have a clear
idea of what you want out of the lyrics or you will run the risk
of creating weak lyrics. Weak lyrics tend to resort to clichéd,
generic and boring phrases when they are written solely to
‘fit’ the tune. On the other hand, don’t be carried away
with the message, make it a point for the lyrics to be somewhat
cryptic. Do not ‘spoon feed’ your audience, plant the seed
of your idea and let the audience come to their own conclusions.

As with all forms of creativity, lyrics are an expression of
personal ideas, beliefs and themes. Lyric writing is just a
matter of expressing these beliefs and feelings. As with most
forms of writing, it is best to write about what you know.
Because everybody has their own experiences, emotions and
beliefs, it becomes hard to give an exact instruction on how to
write, everyone has their own opinions on how it should be done.
The most I can do in this series is give a guide about how to go
about finding your own style by learning from the music that you
listen to. This is a great way to learn, as many of the bands
you listen to have learned, and draw influences, from other
established artists.

There are several ways you can write lyrics:

* Create a melody & write lyrics to accompany it; or

* Write a set of lyrics & add the melody to it; or

* A combination of the above two examples, i.e. do both at the
same time.

So, where do you actually start with the writing process? Well,
there are countless possible ways (too many to mention here). It
really is a matter of preference; every lyricist has his or her
own style, much like any artist. A couple of simple ways that
are an excellent way to begin are as follows:

1) Start with a possible hook line or chorus and work around it

An example of this can be taken from Coldplay’s hit “Yellow”.
The song was derived from a first line that came about from
where the band was on the night, as explained in October’s SOS:
“‘Yellow’ was written at Rockfield when we where there.
The studio we were in is called the Quadrangle Studio - the
studio is along one side of an open courtyard, and we went out
one night, and because there were so few lights, the stars were
just amazing. Guy just came up with the line ‘Look at the
stars.’”

2) Start with a title and work around it.

For example, using “Written in Sand” as your title, you can
brain-storm around this idea: The phrase suggests that which can
be washed away; it also brings the phrase ‘written in
stone’ to mind; the word “sand” brings to mind the words like
flowing & changing, which brings the words time & water. The
word “written” suggests fate or destiny. So a possibility that
the song will be about how you can change your destiny. Now
there is a basic theme that you can work around.

Tools Of The Trade

What are the tools of a lyricist? One would obviously think a
pen and paper (or a computer & word processor) plus the creative
mind of the lyricist and the possible use of a musical
instrument. There are other tools available for the lyricist to
take advantage of, these may seem painfully obvious, but they
are quite often overlooked by many people.

Dictionary - A dictionary is an essential tool for any
writer, not only for spelling but word meanings. English is a
dynamic language, words are constantly being added so it is
important to keep an updated dictionary on hand, a 20-year-old
dictionary may’ no longer contain the latest words and meanings.
It is important not to be too abstruse for your audience but
neither is there the need to overuse the same monosyllabic
words. It may be of use to keep a couple of different
dictionaries (i.e. Oxford & Macquarie) this is because some word
meanings may differ slightly, and can be used to colour your
lyrics.

Thesaurus - A good dictionary can be supplemented with a
thesaurus. The use of a thesaurus is a great way to avoid
over-using words and can even inspire your ideas leading them to
new directions. This can be very usefully whilst brainstorming.

* — * This is just a simple word-association game; that you
can easily apply to any word. Look up the word ‘remains’
in your thesaurus, you are shown: debris, fragments, leavings,
leftovers, remnants, and scraps. Now look up ‘debris’ and
you will find it also has: flotsam, litter, pieces, refuse,
rubbish, rubble, ruins, wreckage and waste to add to your word
list. You can do this with as many of the words you like. Some
of these extra words will have no use for what you are working
on but there may be those one or two words that will fit
perfectly.

Rhyming Dictionaries - These particular dictionaries are
specifically generated for poets and lyricists. They do not
define words as most dictionaries do; they merely list words
that rhyme. Some scorn the use of this particular tool, sighting
that it is all too easy to rely solely on the list of rhymes
than to put a little thought into your rhyming structure. It is
also true that many people waste a considerable amount of time
listing the words they know to rhyme only to lose the train of
thought they were on thus, killing the creative process. If used
sensibly, like a thesaurus, a rhyming dictionary can be a very
useful tool.

Other Dictionaries - There are other dictionaries
available that may be of use to a lyricist. One that comes to
mind is the ‘slang’ dictionary. I’ve only seen an
“Australian Dictionary of Slang”. Most countries use their own
form of slang so I would assume that there are others available.
It really depends on what you are working on and who your target
audience is, but they may help to put that finishing touch, or
stamp of authenticity on a piece. Check your local bookshop for
the range of other dictionaries available.

Other Means - What other tools are available? There are
many other ways to help with the creative process. Listening to
a wide range of music can be helpful, don’t just listen to your
normal ‘style’ of music, there are thousands of different
music styles around, explore these possibilities. Music has been
inspiring people for thousands of years, so it seems logical to
turn to it when it comes to your own musical venture.

You may not like some particular styles of music, but you can
get an idea from them that you can convert or merge to your
chosen genre. If done correctly, it has the potential of being a
powerful piece of music that is unique. This is why it is
important to be open to all styles and ideas. Some of the most
‘controversial’ bands have reached the popularity they
have, simply because they have a unique sound and the
‘message’ they want to convey is something that their fans
can relate to.

Bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit, Staind, Linkin Park and Disturbed
are given the music ‘title’ of nu-metal (or nu-music)
simply because they utilize a wide range of musical sub-genres
within the ‘rock’ genre. This can be seen in other more
established merges such as ‘country-rock’,
‘pop-rock’ and the recent surfacing of
‘Latin-pop/rock’. If you look throughout music history
(particularly that of ‘rock & roll’) you can see this
trend more clearly. What do I mean by mixing the different
genres? Below are some examples of what I mean.

* ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen is a perfect example of
genre mixing. The song has three distinct phase changes within
it. It starts off similar to many ballads, then phase changes to
a ‘light opera-ish’ stage, and phase changes to
‘rock’ before changing back to the ‘ballad’.

* Another trend that is starting up is adapting a song from one
style of music and transforming it to another. An example of
this can be taken from many of Staind’s songs. The album version
of their song ‘Can’t Believe’ has a distinguished
‘rock’ sound. But if you listen to the MTV: Unplugged
version, you will notice that (although the music has the same
tune) it is acoustic and is sung in a more ballad-like tune.

* — * In Australia, the radio station Triple M’s Breakfast Show
has a ‘Musical Challenge’ in place where they put
musicians (both local & international) “to the test”. The
Challenge: give a song to a band which is the total opposite to
their normal style and get them to ‘remake’ it. Triple M
has released some of these songs on CD (proceeds going to
charity) if your interested in listening. Some of the songs
used: Radiohead’s “Creep” performed by country singer Gina
Jeffreys (one of the stations most requested songs); Coolio’s
“Gangsta’s Paradise” performed by rock musician Richard Clapton,
Men At Work’s “Down Under” performed by The Russian Red Army
Choir (now one of their most popular songs); Silverchair’s
“Freak” performed by country singer Troy Cassar-Daley; the list
goes on. It’s well worth the listen.

Apart from listening to these different forms, you could simply
go to a site like http://www.getlyrics.com and just read the
lyric form of different musical styles. You can easily use the
above example and apply it to just the lyric process of some of
these artists and merge it to your own music. There is a wealth
of knowledge to be discovered from established artists, only if
you are willing to look. It may not be ‘conventional’ but
then, throughout history, music has been about breaking down
pre-existing barriers

As you can see, there is a lot more available to the lyricist
besides the simple pen and paper. If used wisely these various
tools can help to hone your skills as a lyricist, bringing the
best out of your work. Naturally, there may be other tools
available that haven’t been mentioned here that the lyricist can
use. By all means, use whatever comes to mind. You are only
limited by your imagination.

Look out for Part 2 of this series, where you will learn how to
accompany words with music by writing Alternate Lyrics.

I may be missing something, here, but it seems to me that, in
advertising terms, the loonies have taken over the asylum. What
is getting me all lathered up is the preponderance of TV
commercials that go out of their way, not only to confuse their
target audience, but also to project an alarming image of their
product.

I’ll elaborate. The first example is the sad, but fortunately
short story of a current tv spot for a company called Debenhams.
Now, Debenhams is a large UK department store which has branches
in many major cities throughout the country. As such, it has an
excellent reputation and an enviable turnover.

Well, this outfit is running a commercial which has two distinct
scenes. The first shows a man sitting in a room at a table, and
beside him is a back-projection of a pond. As he sweeps an object
off the table and into the pond, we see ripples in the water. The
second scene is of a young girl in a room and the back projection
is of some trees, each carrying a profusion of autumn leaves. As
the girl moves around the room, the leaves begin to fall.

So far so good; and as an exercise in special effects this spot
is exemplary, because the last thing you’d expect to see in your
living room is a pond or a stand of trees.

Anyway, we are now treated to a voice-over which says, to the
effect, that if you drop into Debenhams you’ll find lots more of
the same. My question is: the same what? Throughout this
commercial, we are not actually told what it is we are being
offered.

I assume it is wallpaper, but I could be wrong - it might be
personal back projection.

The second example concerns a new computer from Apple-Mac. The
spot opens with an explosion and a man being thrown against a
tree. The camera then tracks towards a house, in the side of
which is a gaping hole. The camera continues through into the
house, showing us debris falling all around and large holes in
the walls of successive rooms. We finally track towards a
computer, and the voice-over says something like: Introducing the
fastest, most powerful computer in the Mac stable.

The message I interpret from this is that the new Apple-Mac is so
powerful it explodes. Not only that, it will probably reduce your
home to rubble.

Oh, yeah, I must rush out and buy one of those.

Am I alone in thinking that these two commercials, despite their
huge production values, are less than clever? On the one hand,
the advertiser neglects to tell us what it is that he’s trying to
sell. On the other, we have a product that is reminiscent of
Mission Impossible and self-destructs when you switch it on.

Given all of this, I’d like to pose a question. When the
respective ad agencies presented the storyboards for these
commercials to their clients, did nobody on the client side raise
a query or two? Like: since we’re spending all this money,
shouldn’t we at least say what we’re offering? Or: is it really a
sensible idea to associate our computers with explosions?

Of course, it could be that I am missing some wonderful new
marketing strategy that will shortly be revealed and will make me
look extremely foolish. Though I doubt it. And I doubt it because
I saw a beer commercial the other day (Stella Artois, I think),
in which a man on a balcony actually spat on the people below.
You have to be a very brave advertiser -or a very stupid one -to
ally your product to this kind of imagery. And this crudity seems
to be more and more prevalent.

I leave you to ponder all of this. Meanwhile, you’ll do no better
than visit www.wordpower3.com. There, you’ll find an e-book that
could make your working life a whole lot easier. It contains
close to 200 ready-made headlines, taglines, copy openers and
clinchers, plus a comprehensive theme-finder that will give you
just about every promotional word and phrase you’ll ever need.

It’s called Word Power III. Buy it and every word you write, will
Sell.

About the Author

Patrick Quinn is a copywriter, with 40 years’ experience of the
advertising business in London, Dublin, Edinburgh and Miami.

Over the years, he has helped win for his clients just about
every advertising award worth winning

His published books, include:

The Secrets of Successful Copywriting.
The Secrets of Successful Low Budget Advertising.
The Secrets of Successful Exhibitions.
Word Power.

When writing an article it not only has to be informative but interesting as well. Almost anyone can put words down and describe their company, product, or any topic really, but knowing how to effectively write an interesting article is not as easy as it may seem. To write an interesting article you should start with the title, grab your reader’s attention with something both fun and attractive. As the first thing, a reader will see your title, so it should be catchy.

It is a good idea to create your title after you have written your article. This will allow you to combine the contents of your article and create an effective title. The content of your article should combine information with interest. Create an article that is not just a list of facts, but information to back up your facts. For example, if you are writing an article about Abraham Lincoln, include facts that made him a popular president, describe his childhood and/or adulthood home, include dates and facts that can be backed up in another article or later within the article. Your readers want to gain something by reading your article.

If you do not provide some sort of knowledge within the article, they will feel like they have wasted their time. Spice up your article with some humor; make it personable and appealing to the reader. Specifically make the reader feel as if you wrote the article directly to or for them. Writing an interesting article can become an enormous amount of fun, as not only will you appeal to your readers but you will most likely learn something about your topic while you research it. Finally, perform a massive amount of research on your topic. Create a list of fun and interesting facts and combine them into your article. It cannot be said enough that writing an interesting article is extremely important for yourself and your company. You will create an avenue of marketing that can be extremely effective.

Matthew Glanfield is an Internet marketing veteran of 3 years. Receive his free email course on how to use articles to build your website traffic at http://www.internetbusinessformula.com/article/.

Part 1 of this article discussed the experience you need to successfully build a freelance career. Here, I will outline other necessities.

EQUIPMENT: Working from home means you must to have all the necessary equipment. Minimally, a phone, computer and fax machine. Ideally, a [color] copier, modem, fast Internet access, scanner (if your field requires it) and separate work room in your home would complete the picture.

CONTACTS/REFERENCES: The most obvious place to start building your customer base is previous employers. Remember the saying, “Don’t burn your bridges.” It has never been more true than when trying to build a freelance career.

As companies cut back, employers like to use former employees because they already know the work, routines, and systems of the company. Therefore, very little, if any training is needed.

These same industry contacts also make great references as you continue to expand your customer base. There is no better assurance to a potential new client than an ex-employer who says: “I’d hire her back if I could. She does great work for us as a freelancer. One of the reasons we use her as a freelancer is because she did such excellent work as an employee.”

Wouldn’t you feel confident if you were a potential client?

SAVINGS: In utopia, six months expenses (rent, food, cleaners, credit card bills, student loans, travel expenses, etc.) will be in the bank before you embark on your freelance career. In our experience, it takes about two years to build a solid base of clients that will (hopefully) keep you busy.

If this is not possible, try to plan as much in advance as you can. The “fear of the first blues” [when rent is due] can be frightening if you have no income and no prospects on the horizon.

PART-TIME JOB: I suggest that instead of going from a full-time job into a freelance career, that you get a steady part-time job for a while. This will allow you to: 1) transition between the two without taking the financial hit (especially if you haven’t planned), and 2) get a feel for how to organize as a freelancer.

Freelancing usually means intense periods of work, eg, four 12-hour days, and then maybe a week with “nothing” going on. Nothing is in quotation marks because as a freelancer, just because there’s no client project on your desk, does not mean that you should be idle.

During these down times is when you should be organizing your books, re-stocking supplies, prospecting for new clients, tracking advertising in short, running your business. If you think of freelancing as a business and organize yourself accordingly from the beginning, it will make this existence infinitely easier (especially at tax time).

PERSONALITY: Freelancing is an enjoyable experience for some, a painful existence for others. Do a personality check to see if you can ride the roller coaster of this up-and-down existence.

If you don’t take one other thing from this article, remember this: No matter how talented you are, what your background is, or how well connected you are, there will come a time when work just seems to dry up. At this point you may start to question your abilities, seriously consider a full-time jobs, and/or wonder if freelancing is for you.

If this is the existence you’ve decided you want, stick with it. Continue to advertise, even when it seems that no one is interested. The average consumer has to see your advertisement at least 7-28 times (depending on what article you read) before they will act on it. So, be confident that if you advertise consistently, when they need a service/product that you offer, you will be at the forefront, rather than the hit-and-run advertisers.

After all, the quickest way not to succeed is to quit.

Good luck!

May be reprinted with inclusion of the following: Yuwanda Black is an entrepreneur, author, speaker and syndicated small business columnist whose focus is controlling your destiny through small business ownership. Her most recent e-books, How to Really Make a Living as an Editorial Freelancer and Advice from Successful Freelancers: How They Built Their Careers & How You Can Too! are available for immediate download at http://www.InkwellEditorial.com/bizguides.html Visit her on the web at http://www.EntrepreDoer.biz for a complete list of how-to, small business books and articles.

columnist@EntrepreDoer.biz

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to speak to clergy
from a variety of Christian denominations. Early on, it came as
a surprise to me that members of the clergy sometimes find
themselves at a loss about how to add inspiration to their
sermons, how to best counsel their lay leaders, and how to best
utilize the seniors in their congregations. I came to realize
that a pastor is, first and foremost, a human being. As such, he
inevitably experiences times when his well of wisdom and
inspiration run dry. The more conversations I had with clergy
members, the more I came to understand that they use a variety
of tools to help fill and enhance their wells of spirituality -
including reading books, attending retreats, and writing in
journals.

Books are probably the single most important source of
inspiration to members of the clergy. In addition to the Bible,
a pastor often turns to both the writings of great theologians
and books written by present day authors who discuss the human
condition and the means by which we can find comfort and solace.
Biblical references might give a pastor the foundation of his
sermons, but books by psychologists, sociologists, and Christian
authors can inspire him to enhance his sermons with material
that is relevant to the lives of his congregants. The spiritual
challenges faced by today’s church members - whether they’re
just entering college or just entering retirement - may have
roots in ancient times, but may be affected by the complexities
inherent in our culture of globalization.

Writing is often a wonderful resource for those people - whether
they’re clergy members or lay leaders - who find that their
spiritual wells are running low. I’ve spoken to people who use
journals to reflect upon Scriptural verses, and who find that
writing about the meaning of a certain passage puts them back in
touch with their spiritual core. Others write stories of their
own spiritual awakenings, and in turn inspire others to reach to
God for clarity and insight. Still others use writing as a means
of revealing to themselves how the hand of God works in their
everyday lives. By reflecting on one’s day and understanding the
points at which faith influenced choices, one can understand how
God provides enrichment in their lives.

Reading books and writing are but two ways to keep one’s
spiritual well brimming with hopefulness and good will. Yet,
both are paths to leading a fulfilled life and being able to
communicate with others along the way.

Avoid the pain

Which would you prefer - root canal dental surgery without
an anaesthetic or a bit of public speaking? According to the
people who research these things, most of us would prefer
the former.

Public speaking is still one of our greatest fears and it
turns grown men and women into nervous wrecks. The mere
thought of it turns our tongue to cotton wool, causes our
internal plumbing to act up and our kneecaps to start
knocking lumps out of each other.

The problem is that Public Speaking catches up with many of
us at some time both in our business and personal life.
You’re asked to do a short talk at Fred’s “leaving do”. The
organisers of your business club want fifteen minutes on why
you make “kafuffle” valves. A potential client wants a
presentation on why they should give you the contract.
Of course there’s always the confident people who think “I’m
real good at this, lead me to the podium.” The only thing
is
that some of these people could bore your socks off and do
more for insomniacs than the strongest sleeping pills.
Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to be sent on a Public Speaking
course by your enlightened employer. But more likely, when
asked to make a presentation you’ll get hold of a book on
speaking, start writing the speech and lose sleep until the
event.

Well, there’s no need for all of this because help is at
hand. All you need to remember are your P’s and Q’s. Let’s
start with the P’s

Preparation -

When you sit down to write what you’re going to say, bear in
mind who you’ll be speaking to. Will they understand what
you’re talking about; will they understand the technical
stuff and the jargon? If in doubt remember the old saying
“Keep It Simple Stupid”. To quote Aristotle - “Think as the
wise men do, but speak as the common man”.

Make sure that what you say has a beginning, a middle and an
end. Think of some anecdotes that help reinforce your
story.

People think visually so paint verbal pictures for your
audience. And always remember, people want to know what’s in
it for them - so make sure you tell them!

Place -

Have a look at the venue before the event if you can. It’s
not always possible, however, even if you get there half an
hour before, you can check out where you’ll be speaking.
Stand at the point where you will deliver from, imagine
where the audience will be and check that they can see and
hear you. You may even wish to place a glass of water where
you’ll be able to find it.

Personal Preparation -

Before any speaking event, think about what you are going to
wear; when in doubt dress up rather than down. You can
always take things off for a more casual look. Men could
remove their jacket and their tie. Women could remove items
of jewellery.

Part of your personal preparation should include some mouth
and breathing exercises. Practise saying some tongue
twisters to give your speaking muscles a good work out. Take
a deep breath and expand your diaphragm. Then breathe out,
counting at the same time, try and get up to fifty and not
pass out.

As part of your personal preparation, write your own
introduction. Write out exactly what you want someone to say
about you, large font, double-spaced and ask the person
introducing you to read it. Believe me they won’t object and
will probably be pleased and impressed.

Poise and Posture -

Whenever you’re called to speak, stand up or walk to the
front quickly and purposefully. Pull yourself up to your
full height, stand tall and look like you own the place.
Before you start to speak, pause, look round your audience
and smile. You may even have to wait until the applause dies
down. Remember, you want the audience to like you, so look
likeable. Practise this in front of a mirror or your family;
I’ve heard that children make pretty good critics.

Pretend -

I’m suggesting you pretend you’re not nervous because no
doubt you will be. Nervousness is vital for speaking in
public, it boosts your adrenaline, which makes your mind
sharper and gives you energy. It also has the slight side
effect of making you lighter through loss of body waste
materials. The trick is to keep your nerves to yourself. On
no account tell your audience your nervous, you’ll only
scare the living daylights out of them if they think you’re
going to faint. Some of the tricks for dealing with nerves
are:

Get lots of oxygen into your system, run on the spot and
wave your arms about like a lunatic. It burns off the stress
chemicals. Speak to members of your audience as they come
in
or at some time before you stand up. That tricks your brain
into thinking you’re talking to some friends. Have a glass
of water handy for that dry mouth. Stick cotton wool on your
kneecaps so people won’t hear them knocking.
One word of warning - do not drink alcohol. It might give
you Dutch courage but your audience will end up thinking
you’re speaking Dutch.

The Presentation -

This is it, the big moment when you tell your audience what
a clever person you are and have them leap to their feet in
thunderous applause. Okay, let’s step back a bit - if you
want their applause then you’re going to have to work for
it. Right from the start your delivery needs to grab their
attention.

Don’t start by saying - “Good morning, my name is Fred
Bloggs and I’m from Bloggs and Company.” Even if your name
is Bloggs, it’s a dead boring way to start a presentation.
Far better to start with some interesting facts or an
anecdote that is relevant to your presentation.
Look at the audience as individuals; I appreciate that this
can be difficult when some of them are downright ugly.
However it grabs their attention if they think you’re
talking to them individually.

Talk louder than you would normally do, it keeps the people
in the front row awake and makes sure those at the back get
the message. Funnily enough, it’s also good for your
nerves.

PowerPoint -

And for those of you who haven’t heard of it, it’s a
software programme that’s used to design stunning graphics
and text for projection onto a screen. As a professional
speaker, I’m not that struck on PowerPoint. I feel that too
many speakers rely on it and it takes over the presentation.
After all, you’re the important factor here. If an audience
is going to accept what you say then they need to see the
whites of your eyes. There needs to be a big focus on you,
not on the technology.

Use PowerPoint if you want but keep it to a minimum and make
sure you’re not just the person pushing the buttons.
Why not get a bit clever at using the faithful old Flip
Chart, lots of professionals do.

Passion -

This is what stops the audience in their tracks. This is
what makes them want to employ you; to accept what you’re
proposing and make them want you to marry their son or
daughter. Couple this with some energy, enthusiasm and
emotion and you have the makings of a great public speaker.
Just think of our old friend Adolph Hitler, boy could he
move an audience to action. It’s just too bad he was selling
something that wasn’t to everyone’s liking.
Give your presentation a bit of oomph and don’t start
telling me - “I’m not that kind of person.”
There’s no need to go over the top but you’re doing a
presentation to move people to action, not having a cosy
little chat in your front room.

That’s the P’s finished with so let’s look at the Q’s.

Questions -

Decide when you’re going to take them and tell people at the
start. In a short speech it’s best to take questions at the
end. If you take them as you go then you may get waylaid
and
your timing will get knocked out.

Never - never - never finish with questions; far better to
ask for questions five or ten minutes before the end. Deal
with the questions and then summarise for a strong finish.
Too many presentations finish on questions and the whole
thing goes a bit flat.

When you’re asked a question, repeat it to the whole
audience and thank the questioner. It keeps everyone
involved, it gives you time to think and it makes you look
so clever and in control.

Quit -

Quit when you’re ahead. Stick to the agreed time; if you’re
asked to speak for twenty minutes, speak for nineteen and
the audience will love you for it. Remember, quality is not
quantity.

One of the most famous speeches ever - “The Gettysburg
Address”, by President Lincoln, was just over two minutes
long.

Right, that’s my cue to quit when I’m ahead. Public Speaking
will never be easy for most of us but we can all do it a
whole lot better.

Alan Fairweather is the author of four ebooks in the “How
to get More Sales” series. Lots of practical actions you
can take to build your business and motivate your team.-
http://www.howtogetmoresales.com

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About the Author

None

So you got your book published. Congratulations. Having a book
in print helps you build your credibility as an expert in your
field.

But if you’re relying on your publisher to promote your book,
you’re in for a real shock. Unless you’re a celebrity or well
know writer like Stephen King or Mark Victor Hansen, you’ll be
lucky if they include you in a press release with other authors.

A large part of promoting your book is promoting yourself and
making sure your name is recognizable to your target audience.
While you may not reach John Grisham status, you can go a long
way to establishing yourself as the expert on your subject
matter by becoming heavily involved in the community for which
you write.

If you want your book to become more than a blip on Amazon.com,
you’re going to have to do some of your own publicity.

1) Write some more: To promote your book you need to make sure
everyone knows that you wrote it and you need to peak their
interest enough to make them want to buy it. To do that you
should write press releases and articles about your book’s topic
and submit them anywhere that holds your book topic’s audience.

2) Network: Attend meetings and special events everywhere you
can to meet people who would be interested in your book, then
talk about it. Make sure you have a short ‘commercial’ all ready
to say to anyone that shows the least bit of interest in your
book. Convince them that if they only buy one book in a year,
yours is the one they should buy!

And remember, networking doesn’t mean offline events. You need
to network online as well. If you are active on list servs and
bulletin boards that relate to your book’s topic. Mention the
book in your email signature.

3) Arrange public appearances: Call up bookstores to arrange for
a reading and book signing. Also, approach those who organize
events that are related to your book’s topic and ask them if
they’d like you to speak. Experts with free time are very hard
to come by. They’ll probably jump at the chance to have you
contribute.

4) Use an email campaign: Ask colleagues with strong email lists
to help with this for the most impact. Write an email that
drives people to Amazon.com to buy your book on one particular
day. (Just make sure that day isn’t when the next Harry Potter
or anticipated next best seller is scheduled for release.) You
and your colleagues email it out. Depending on how big the email
lists are, you could see your book become an Amazon best seller.