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Digg it UP - Professional Speaking - The Top Ten Skills You Need to Have
Everything you need to know about launching a new product or service you can learn from ... TV? Well, maybe not everything, but the first episode of the 2005 fall season of The Apprentice with Martha Stewart illuminated plenty of marketing lessons that you can learn from.Here's the skinny:In case you've never watched the show, individuals compete against each other in self-made teams in hopes of becoming the apprentice of the mogul who's the star of the show. In the original Apprentice, this was Donald Trump. Now Martha Stewart is seeking her own protege to help her keep her multibillion-dollar media empire thriving.On the season premiere, two teams (known as Matchstick and Primarius) were given the assignment to take an existing fairy tale and turn it into a book for a first-grade audience. Matchstick chose to rework Hansel and Gretel, while Primarius chose Jack and the Beanstalk.After days of brainstorming, project management (and mismanagement), frantic writing and first-class illustrations to go with the stories, Team Primarius was the clear winner.Why did they win? Good question!1. Their target audience had a need for the book. Kids love a good story. And most parents like to buy their kids stories that inspire them, so there is a co
People in leading positions are often in a dilemma: on one hand they are supposed to give great performances, make the right decisions and so forth; on the other hand, they have to fill the role of a very confident and self-assured manager. This may be considered a dilemma because CEOs are expected to be almost supernatural, and asking for assistance in what is supposed to be their core competence (leadership!) simply does not fit the picture, no matter how necessary it may be.It is interesting to draw a parallel to sports. I don't know of any world-class athletes who do not have coaches or trainers to assist them in the development of their core competency (e.g., golf, tennis, etc.). It seems that in the area of sports, it is generally accepted that top performers need top assistance, i.e., coaches. Also, nobody in sports seems to feel the necessity to hide that they employ a coach. Meanwhile, many of the top CEOs (at least in the US) have coaches, but very few want to admit or even talk about it.CEOs are usually in a situation with a unique handicap: being on top of an organization, they must demonstrate powerful and wise leadership but may not be able to share their doubts with others in the organization, as this would not fit the expected image.A trusted and competent executive coach c
1. Select your topic.
Make sure that your topic is defined well. The more narrow the topic, the easier it will be for the audience to grasp it's essence. When a topic is too broadly defined, it can be more difficult to create succinct talking points that will summarize your speech content. Your speech should be interesting and meaningful to the audience, as well as focused on meeting their needs or expectations.
2. Building blocks for success.
As speakers, we all learned there are three main building blocks which comprise a speech. The first component is the speech introduction where the objective is to capture audience attention. Ask a compelling question, offer a quotation, cite a statistic, or begin with a challenging statement. Follow this up with the main points you intend to convey within the body or content part of the speech. The second building block is the content. This is where you will fill in the details of the key points that you alluded to in your introduction. Each point should be supported with factual data, if appropriate, stories, quotations, or statistics. These details will further reinforce your speaking points, making
1. Don't make threats. Have you ever said this, "If you don't calm down, I'm not going to help you." Or, "If you continue to yell at me, I'm going to have no choice but to terminate this phone call." If you've ever made these, or similar, statements, I'd bet that your sole intent was to regain control of the conversation. But the problem is, your customer perceives this type of language as threatening and it does not make them back down and it does not create calm. Try a phrase like this instead: "I really want to help you, but your tone/language is making it really hard for me to do that." And then pause for 2-3 seconds to let your words resonate with the customer.2. Don't argue. Trust me on this one - you can never win an argument with a customer. Certainly, you can prove your point and even have the last word, In a discussion on the futility of arguing with people, Dale Carnegie once said "you may be right, but as far as changing your customer's mind is concerned, you will probably be just as futile as if you were wrong." Your goal in complaint situations is to retain the customer, not to be right. If you win the argument, you may very well have lost the customer. Carnegie encourages us to carefully consider some hard questions before going to battle with customers: "Is my reaction one
1. Select your topic.
Make sure that your topic is defined well. The more narrow the topic, the easier it will be for the audience to grasp it's essence. When a topic is too broadly defined, it can be more difficult to create succinct talking points that will summarize your speech content. Your speech should be interesting and meaningful to the audience, as well as focused on meeting their needs or expectations.
2. Building blocks for success.
As speakers, we all learned there are three main building blocks which comprise a speech. The first component is the speech introduction where the objective is to capture audience attention. Ask a compelling question, offer a quotation, cite a statistic, or begin with a challenging statement. Follow this up with the main points you intend to convey within the body or content part of the speech. The second building block is the content. This is where you will fill in the details of the key points that you alluded to in your introduction. Each point should be supported with factual data, if appropriate, stories, quotations, or statistics. These details will further reinforce your speaking points, makin
As I was preparing for a presentation recently, I was trying to figure out why small businesses have trouble marketing themselves consistently. If we know we need to be marketing, why don’t we just do it? Is it for a lack of planning or that we’re just not sure what to do or where to start?Yes, maybe. But in trying to figure out what those hurdles are that keep us from marketing consistently; I came up with two hurdles that I think might be as big as any other for most. Like a lot of things with regards to our business, if we’re aware of the hurdles that keep us from achieving effective marketing, then we can plan and act accordingly on how we can either go around or over them.So what are these hurdles? Well, they certainly aren't the only hurdles, but the two I keep running into time and again with many small businesses are Perfection and Fear of Failure. In fact, I'm sure they have played a part in delaying some of my own marketing including the launch of my web site and my monthly eZine. Let’s take a look at each hurdle and how we might overcome them.Hurdling PerfectionMany of us tend to be perfectionist in the things we do. You might say... "When I put out this marketing piece, it really has to hit a home run." But because we know that perfection is really
2. Building blocks for success.
As speakers, we all learned there are three main building blocks which comprise a speech. The first component is the speech introduction where the objective is to capture audience attention. Ask a compelling question, offer a quotation, cite a statistic, or begin with a challenging statement. Follow this up with the main points you intend to convey within the body or content part of the speech. The second building block is the content. This is where you will fill in the details of the key points that you alluded to in your introduction. Each point should be supported with factual data, if appropriate, stories, quotations, or statistics. These details will further reinforce your speaking points, makin
An Intra-Company Transfer work permit (ICT) is applicable for the transfer of key staff into a UK subsidiary company. Staff involved in an intra-company transfer must have been employed by their overseas company for at least six months prior to an intra-company transfer application being made. Furthermore the links with the overseas company must be evidenced and it is necessary to provide evidence that the Intra-Company Transfer assignee possesses the relevant company knowledge, experience and necessary qualifications in order for a transfer to the position to be fulfilled.N.B. With intra-company transfers, unlike a full UK Work Permit application, a company is not required to advertise the position to be filled. However they must detail the reasons for the Intra-Company Transfer and also the duration of the Intra-Company Transfer. You can use OISC registered firms to assist in this - we recommend http://www.internationalworkpermits.com as they have a good presence and have dealt with a number of the larger organisations relocating to the UK.Employers can expect an Intra-Company Transfer processing time of between one and four weeks once the application has been lodged with Work Permits (UK) for initial approval. The Intra-Company Transfer visa candidate will then need to apply for UK Entry Clear
The first step in preparing your marketing plan is look at where you are today. You must know who is your target customer. You must know the workings of direct and indirect competitors. You must understand your industry and where you stand in it.In order to market to your target customer, you must know who they are, what they want, and what motivates them to buy. In order to understand your competitors, you must know who they are, how they do what they do, and how you are better than they are. In order to understand your industry, you must know its current status, its history, its anticipated future, and any possible trends.Good marketing enhances your brand when you can say what is important about your product in three or four words. For example, “Best tasting chicken,” “A world apart,” and “It’s the real thing.” Your brand must be simple and easy to articulate. You can still have a longer tag line, but your brand should be recognizable by a three-four word statement. Think about major brands, and you will see they all use these short, simple statements that relate to their product.The foundation for your marketing should be to deliver a message that helps brand your product and conveys your unique selling proposition. You must know your unique selling proposition, and you must
3. Analyze your environment.
In order to effectively communicate with your audience, you need to know some things about them. First, you need to know who they are. Understanding who they are will allow you to tailor appropriately your vocabulary, approach, and delivery. Are you speaking to a company or to a professional organization or to a public group? Are you speaking to adults, teenagers, or children? Second, you need to determine the audience expectations. Why are they coming to listen to you? What are they hoping to learn? What do they plan to do with what they learn? This will help you in selecting a speech topic that is focused on solving a problem or fulfilling a need. Third, you need to understand your role. Are you a keynote speaker, a workshop presenter, a speaker invited to provide entertainment? Your role will influence your approach and the visual aids that you use. And, fourth, you need to know where you are presenting, the actual physic
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