########################################## GREAT SPEAKING Circulation 8578 Vol. 1 Number 21 - December 1, 1999 Publisher: Tom Antion tomAntion@aol.com http://www.Antion.com (C) Anchor Publishing 1999 ########################################## No one ever lost credibility by being interesting. ========================================== Please feel free to forward this E-Zine to anyone you know that is interested in being a better presenter, or who may want to make money speaking and training. If you are receiving this issue as a forward, and would like to get your own free subscription, please visit http://www.antion.com/ezinesubscribe.htm PRIVACY STATEMENT: We will not distribute your address to anyone. Period. ============================================= IN THIS ISSUE ============================================= 1. Quick Presentation Skills Tip 2. Advanced Presentation Skills Article (Beginners should read this too) 3. Humor Technique Series 4. Speaker Marketing Tip 5. Speaker Humor 6. Websites for Speakers 7. Tech Tip with Mike Rounds *** SPEAKER BUSINESS LEADS *** Will be delivered to full subscribers when available. ********** OUR SPONSOR *********** Give yourself a holiday present (or give this ad to your spouse) "Wake 'em UP!" The # 1 Rated Professional Speaking System on the Internet Who rated it? Tom did (so you know the rating system was fair hahahaha). HOLIDAY SPECIAL Order the "Wake 'em Up System" by Dec. 6th. Get the lowest price currently available, receive delivery by Christmas AND Tom will call your home on Christmas day and sing Jingle Bells to you and your family. (You can pick another day if you don't celebrate Christmas) http://www.antion.com/speakervideo.htm ************************************ ===================================================== 1. Quick Presentation Skills Tip ===================================================== EQUIPMENT PHOTOGRAPHS by Tom Antion I've talked about this tip before, but ran into the same situation again this month. While speaking in Morocco where the primary languages are Arabic & French, just arranging for an overhead projector was very difficult. When I arrived as the opening speaker (after having confirmed three times an overhead projector and screen), none was to be found in the room. The manager of the gigantic ballroom could not speak English and because of tight scheduling of other events, I was not able to be in the room early as I always am. I forgot to bring my equipment photographs which would have gotten the point across to the manager immediately whether he spoke English or not. It really didn't matter though, because the projector he finally brought was so terrible I had to scrap all the overheads. I am ALWAYS prepared for total equipment failure and went on with the program without hesitation. Tips when speaking in a foreign environment: 1.) Have photographs of the equipment you need. 2.) Have a backup plan and be ready to use it 3.) When you leave you own country start smiling and don't quit until you are locked safely in your bathroom (smile then too if you want to). Getting upset will only make things worse for you. ************ SPONSOR ************ MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKERS WANTED ...to participate in new audio anthology, "Million-Dollar Secrets of Success from Today's Motivational Master-Minds(tm)" featuring the legendary Dottie Walters. Album is designed to drive people to start making positive changes in their lives NOW. You will be featured with up to 14 other expert motivators in this content-heavy program. Album will include your name, photo, bio, voice and teachings in a product of national bookstore-chain quality. Very low participation fee. Tremendous speaker-credibility booster and profit potential. For consideration, send your bio via email to:Drew@AdSurgeon.com ********************************** ********* New Kick Series TeleSeminar Audio Tapes********** #7 "Kick Up a Media Storm: How to Get FREE or REALLY CHEAP Publicity" #8 "Kick the Ears of Your Audience: How to Be Really Great on the Radio" #9 "Kick Through Your Database to Sell Tons of Products and Services on the Radio" http://www.antion.com/telesemtapes.htm ********************************************* ===================================================== 2. Advanced Presentation Skills Article ===================================================== DYNAMIC RANGE Part I by Tom Antion I invented the concept of Dynamic Range to help you improve your versatility as a business presenter, and to help you pick appropriate audiences for your skill and interest level (Did he say "pick" my audiences?). Yes, I did say pick your audiences. Some of you may not have this luxury because you must present as part of your job, but those of you that do, will move up faster in the speaking world. When you are a beginning speaker it is important for you to experience different types of audiences just FOR the experience. You will find that you enjoy certain types of audiences more than others, and certain types of audiences enjoy you more too. As you climb the speaking ladder where the audiences are bigger, or more important to your career, and the stakes are higher, you must learn to just say no. Most top speakers don't accept every request to speak even if they are available, and the money is right. They pick their engagements to put themselves in front of audiences whose profiles indicate the greatest chance of success. If you are a highly technical presenter, you would not want to be speaking to a widget sales group at their annual retreat. Conversely, as a really fun retreat facilitator, you would not want to be speaking to a group of radar technicians who are only interested in performance data of the latest missile protection system. You knowledge of your own Dynamic Range will help you learn to pick your audiences and how to expand your abilities so you are capable of handling a wider range of audiences. I based the concept of Dynamic Range in speaking on the same concept that is used to rate stereo equipment. Dynamic range in the electronics world means the ability to reproduce soft sounds as well as loud ones. I have expanded on this to include several other parameters that are important to a speaker. These include: Serious/Outrageous Content, Slow/Fast Speed of Delivery, Slurred/Articulate Diction, Stationary/Animated Movement, and Audience Needs. The first step to use this system is to evaluate yourself on each parameter. Many people have trouble with this, so it might be time to call in an objective third party like a coach or other accomplished presenter to watch you present or to review several of your tapes. Try to avoid using friends for this initial evaluation because they will be reluctant to tell you the truth. Here are some examples of how this works. Parameter: Your Material Maximum Range: Totally Serious to Totally Outrageous Zero Point: Arbitrarily set for you Goal: Have the widest range possible and always cross the zero point. Example A: Let's say you are a fairly serious presenter, but you do try to lighten things up once in a while with a few one-liners. You get a mark deep on the serious side of zero and another mark just on the outrageous side. Congratulations, you crossed the zero point. Your one-liners helped you become a NO ZZZZZs presenter. Totally Totally Outrageous Serious X X 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 Example B: Now, let's say you are a really serious presenter. Your range of material is from totally serious to pretty darn serious. You have not crossed the zero point. You could be considered a Z presenter. You will have a very high likelihood of your audience "spacing out" on you because your material is too heavy with no relief. Totally Totally Outrageous Serious X X 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 Lets flop the last example over. You have outrageously funny material so you get a mark well to the right of the zero point. In fact, all your material is pretty funny with little or no content, so you get another mark still to the right side of zero. Same rules apply. You also end up with a poor range, not because you put them to sleep, but because we are talking about business presentations here. Unless you are a stand-up comic, you are expected to give some serious information, supported and enhanced with humor. It's not as obvious, but it is likely that you have failed because you did not provide the content that is demanded by most business presentations. Next issue in Part II we will look at some techniques that will increase your dynamic range quickly. *********** SPONSOR *********** "Speaking Successfully: 1001 Tips for Thriving in the Speaking Business" is a 196-page special report of the best tips from three years of SpeakerNet News, the award-winning free weekly e-newsletter for and by speakers, trainers and consultants. Price is $49 for the electronic version, $59 for the electronic/printed combo, plus applicable shipping, handling and California sales tax. For a 20-page sample or to order go to http://www.speakernetnews.com ******************************** ===================================================== 3. HUMOR TECHNIQUE ===================================================== ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS An acronym is basically a form of abbreviation where the letters of the abbreviation form a new word, i.e., HUD means the Department of Housing and Urban Development. There are many acronyms and abbreviations that are universally known such as the IRS and the CIA. There are many more that are unique to your audience. All you have to do to make them humorous is to change one or more of the words that go with your well-known abbreviation or acronym. Here are some examples: IQ Idiot Quotient CPI Consumers Poorhouse Indicator IRA Individual Rest-in-Peace Account TQM Totaled Quality Management With a little thought, it is very easy to customize acronyms and abbreviations to your audience. Now, here are some examples and explanations from a custom talk I did for a hotel franchise: OCC in the hotel industry means Occupancy Rate. I changed it to Oh! C'mon Clinton because certain taxes were being proposed by President Clinton that would affect their industry. I always try to connect with the audience by mentioning the topics that are foremost on their minds. This gives you the greatest chance of succeeding with an item of humor. ADR to hoteliers, means Average Daily Rate. This was changed to All Dated Rooms which is something no hotelier wants to hear. This would mean a fortune would have to be spent to upgrade and modernize the rooms. IOC was the name of the group I was addressing (International Operator's Council). This was changed to Im Ordering Chinese and Im Out of Coffee. These phrases arent particularly funny in themselves. They were coupled, however, with the fact that these people had just completed rigorous and exhausting inspections by the Franchisor. That is what made it funny. ANA This is one of my generic favorites. ANA represents Al Nippon Airlines. I mention that it is a good thing that this company had an American advisor before they used this acronym because the original version was . . . ANAL (this is revealed on an overhead projector just after a pause following the word was). This gets good laughter. I extend the humor with the line, "How would you like to see that on a 747 coming at you? This gets even bigger laughs. For the hotel job, the acronyms were on an overhead transparency and were displayed using a reveal technique (where individual overhead lines were covered until it was time to reveal the funny version. You don't have to project acronyms to use them in a presentation. You could also print them in handouts, or just tell them out loud. ********* GREAT SPEAKER REFERENCE ******* BE THE HIT OF YOUR NEXT PRESENTATION! "Wake em Up! How to Use Humor and Other Professional Techniques to Create Alarmingly Good Business Presentations" "Toms program and materials will cut five years off a speakers learning curve." -- Cavett Robert, Founder National Speakers Assn. For a FREE Chapter visit http://www.antion.com/products/produc~3.htm ********************************************** ===================================================== 4. $$$$$$$ SPEAKER MARKETING TIP $$$$$$$$ ===================================================== ON LINE MARKETING by Tom Antion The last two years have been really wonderful for me businesswise . . . less grueling travel, higher fees, and more product sales. I attribute this mostly to one thing . . . on line marketing. The shock came to me when I got a website statistics program and found out that my website (that I had up for two years) got only 400 visitors. 400 VISITORS IN TWO YEARS! I knew I had to do something about this so I started studying everything I could about website marketing. I must tell you there is a lot of junk out there on this topic. Then I found the Internet Marketing Center http://www.marketingtips.com/t.cgi/12273/ . The guy that runs it pulls in 5.2 Million dollars per year all from a very small office in Canada. I went to his site which is full of credible tips on how to sell your products and services electronically. I've only been able to apply a few of the tips I found there, but it has meant a massive increase in my business . . . with a lot less work I might add. Since, I've applied the techniques I found at the Internet Marketing Center I have: => Taken my website from 400 visitors in two years to 400 visitors per day. => Regularly gotten referral and direct speaking business with NO COLD CALLING! => Received product sales from many, many countries that would have never heard of me along with a dramatic increase in domestic product sales. => Massively decreased my costs for printing, postage, press kits and videos. If you want to do the same thing here is what you must do: => Get a statistics package to find out who is coming to your website and where they are coming from. (Many times your hosting service gives you this for free. You just have to learn how to use it.) => Visit the Internet Marketing Center http://www.marketingtips.com/t.cgi/12273/ => Automate your electronic tasks with a really good email program. I use mailloop (see below). I am no techie, but I realize we are in an electronic age. Those of you that try to fight it out by printing thousands of dollars worth of brochures may have a difficult time competing in the future. Invest your money and increase your world wide reach and speed to market by getting up to speed electronically. Want to really take advantage of your E-mail marketing . . . WITHOUT BEING A SPAMMER? GO TO http://www.marketingtips.com/mailloop/t.x/12273 ********* SPONSOR ********* DUNN and ASSOCIATES DESIGN NOTE: I have seen the work this firm puts out. They are fabulous!!! . . . AND they are doing my next book cover -- Tom Design That Sells YOU and Your PRODUCT! Best-selling book covers. Hot-selling back-of-room product package design. Attention-grabbing speaker presentation kits. Quick-response promotional one-sheets. We know what it takes to get you noticed. Since 1985 we have served clients like Tony Robbins, Ken Blanchard, Dottie Walters, Simon & Schuster, Prentice-Hall, and HarperCollins. Call DUNN+ASSOCIATES DESIGN at 715 634 4857 or mailto:mjirik@win.bright.net http://www.dunn-design.com **************************** ===================================================== 5. SPEAKER HUMOR ===================================================== => Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I dont know and I dont care. William Safire => It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech. Mark Twain => If the opposite of "pro" is "con," then what is the opposite of "progress?" => Congress is so strange. Someone gets up to speak and says nothing . . . Nobody listens . . . and then everybody disagrees. Boris Marshalow => Football is not a matter of life and death . . . .It is much more serious than that. Bill Shankly => Marriage is the only war where you sleep with the enemy. => The most dangerous food is the wedding cake. => I am sort of a paranoic in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy. J.D. Salinger => The greatest distance between two points is between where you mouth is and where your money is. Samuel Diamond (accountant) => If I would have known how old I was going to be, I would have taken better care of myself. Adolf Zukor at age 99 => I dont even know what street Canada is on. Al Capone => You would be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap. Dolly Parton => Sometimes I have believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. Lewis Carroll => Start every day off with a smile and get it over with. W.C. Fields => People, like sheep, tend to follow a leader . . . . occasionally in the right direction. Alexander Chase => Money is always there, but the pockets change. Gertrude Stein => When down in the mouth, remember Jonah. He came out all right. Thomas Edison => Hard work never killed anyone, but why take a chance? Edgar Bergen => Advertising is the art of making whole lies out of half truths. Edgar Shoaff => The only reason I would take up jogging is so I could hear heavy breathing again. Erma Bombeck Lot's more FREE speaker humor at http://www.antion.com/humor/speakerhumor/speakerhumor.htm ===================================================== 6. USEFUL WEBSITES ===================================================== Fighting Computer Hoaxes: It is easy to get taken in by a hoax about a computer virus, particularly when a warning comes in a hysterical e-mail message from a friend. Separate fact from fiction. http://www.datafellows.fi/news/hoax.htm Computer Virus Myths: http://kumite.com/myths/myths/ Get a financial life at Money Magazine's straightforward, understandable money management site. Test your mutual fund IQ, get tax tips, check the college guide, or search the extensive archives back (1986 through today.) http://www.money.com ===================================================== 7. TECH TIPS WITH MIKE ROUNDS ===================================================== Giving another Ho Hum presentation? Want to make your PowerPoint slides come alive? Try http://www.karta.com/kn/ to add animated characters that you can program to speak. Mike Rounds' Quick Tech Tips www.RoundsMiller.com ****** EARN BIG REFERRAL COMMISSIONS ****** You can earn a 10 - 25 percent commission for referring Tom for speaking engagements and bulk product sales. Commissions normally start between $500.00 and $1250 depending on your level of involvement. For complete details visit http://www.antion.com/referrals.htm *********************************************** ===================================================== FREE ARTICLES FOR YOUR PUBLICATIONS ===================================================== I have many articles available for reprint in your publication, company newsletter, etc. You may use articles written by me that you see in great speaking. Back issues can be viewed at http://www.antion.com/ezinebackissues.htm OR mailto:freearticles@antion.com for an automated list of additional articles. All you have to do is print the article in its entirety along with the by line at top and the credits, and complete contact information at the end of each article. I would appreciate a tear sheet or electronic copy too. 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