Welcome to our many new subscribers who signed up through, Antion.com, public-speaking.org, and our many other signup partners. (see bottom to leave "Great Speaking") Headlines TeleSeminar with Tom coming up in 72 Hours "How to Sell a Ton at the Back of the Room" also Listen to the fabulous Mark Joyner seminar on the web (details below) ########################################## GREAT SPEAKING Circulation 115,229 The largest speaking ezine in the world Vol. 5 Number 5 - June 24, 2003 Publisher: Tom Antion tom@Antion.com http://www.Antion.com (C) Anchor Publishing 2003 ########################################## No one ever lost credibility by being interesting. ========================================== *** Speaker business leads *** Your subscription gets you free speaking leads when available. We pay you to send us subscribers http://www.listpartners.com/cgi-local/cashpartner?406 Please recommend 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. (It's a good way to stay in touch with clients too. Send this and tell them you were just thinking about them.) http://www.antion.com/recommend.html If you are receiving this issue as a forward, and want your own subscription, visit http://www.antion.com/ezinesubscribe.htm To leave this list see below http://www.antion.com/privacystatement.htm ============================================= 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 *** How to Sell a Ton at the Back of the Room *** Tom Antion (the publisher of this ezine) has sold millions of dollars worth of products and services at the back of the room. 30-60K in one speech is not uncommon for him. He even knows how to sell where you are not allowed to sell and he NEVER gets in trouble for being a hard core salesman from the stage. He makes people "want" his products so he doesn't have to "sell" them. In this revealing Teleclass he will tell all the easy to implement secrets he has honed over 15 years of presenting to make people run to the table to get his stuff. Warning: You may have to take out extra business insurance after this seminar in case someone gets hurt rushing to your products table :) Telephone bridge line space is limited and Tom's events fill up fast. Get more details and register at http://www.GreatInternetMarketing.com/teleseminars.htm Extra bonus: You get a free tape of the seminar after it's recorded. ************************************ ===================================================== 1. Quick Presentation Skills Tip ===================================================== Add Weight by Tom Antion No I'm not promoting obesity. I'm referring to outdoor presentations. If you are ever forced (I say "forced" because you should try to avoid outdoor presentations at all costs) to do an outdoor presentation, then make sure you have several different kinds of weights handy to help control your presentation. You might need a sand bag or dumbell to hold down the easel of your flipchart. How about taping some heavy coins to the bottom of the sheets and clamping the edges to keep the breeze from lifting up the pages? Paperweights, or in a pinch, plain old rocks are great for holding down papers you have on a table on stage. What else do you commonly have with you on stage that could blow around in a breeze? Make sure it's secured. Ties and scarves that look gorgeous in a no wind hotel room look terrible and distracting when flapping in the wind. Keep your weight up and you'll make the best of a windy situation. *** Listen to Tom Interview Mark Joyner *** Tom's telephone interview of the fabulous Mark Joyner is now up on the web for you to listen to for free. "How to Sell Millions on the Internet and Retire Young" Mark is the living proof that anyone can do it. He started his Internet business on a shoestring a few years ago -- actually while he was in the military. Listen to his story that's filled with the exact techniques he used. Note: Since he's selling out I had no trouble getting him to reveal all his secrets. Visit http://www.GreatInternetMarketing.com/markjoyner.htm to listen or download to your MP3 player (I'll leave the file up there for 24 hours) ********************************** *** Find Your Million Dollar Voice! *** Susan Berkley, international communications expert, reveals the secrets of vocal persuasion in VoiceShaping, a complete voice improvement program. Speak with confidence and enthusiasm! Check out http://www.greatvoice.com/products/ta_voiceshaping.html or call 800-333-8108 and mention Tom Antion for a special discount. ********************************************* ===================================================== 2. Advanced Presentation Skills Article ===================================================== AFRAID OF FREEZING DURING A PRESENTATION? SOME THOUGHTS ON WHY WE "CHOKE" by Susan Berkley In a memorable scene from the movie "8 Mile" the character played by rapper Eminem enters a competition and gets on stage to prove his prowess in front of a rowdy crowd. Using rhyme and rap, he must show his skill at cleverly putting down the reigning champion. Winning the contest could mean fame, fortune and a way out of his grimy, dead-end life. We know he's up to it. In the preceding scenes he's brilliant in front of his friends and the bathroom mirror. But when he faces the jeering crowd on the big night he freezes and is unable to speak. As the crowd chants "Choke! Choke!" he leaves the stage in shame. Freezing in front of an audience is every speaker's worst nightmare. Eminem was clearly facing a hostile crowd. But why do some speakers freeze even when they are in front of an audience that is friendly and receptive? Our voice is especially sensitive to our state of mind. It mirrors our emotional state. Public speaking, of course, is inherently stressful. During stress, the body secretes the fight or flight hormones of adrenaline and noradrenalin and a sudden, over-abundance of these hormones in the bloodstream is responsible for the uncomfortable symptoms we associate with the fear of public speaking: sweaty palms, rapid heartbeat, shakiness, "brain freeze, " and a sudden but temporary loss of voice. While these symptoms can be scary for people who aren't used to them, in most cases, they are temporary and feel worse than they look. However, losing a normally healthy voice during a speech is a warning sign that there are deeper psychological issues at work that should be examined so the problem can be resolved. So why do we get so nervous? Recent psychological research conducted by psychoanalyst Dr. Norberto Keppe, shows that the hardest thing for us to accept in life is goodness. We create the most stress, and consequently the most illness, by unconsciously rejecting and fighting against success, opportunity, love, and all the other good things life has to offer. It's as if we are inverted, says Keppe, and on a deep unconscious level we push away the very things we should rationally want the most. This was certainly the case with Eminem's character in 8 Mile. Street smart and savvy, well prepared and dedicated to his craft, he certainly had the right stuff to handle a tough crowd and rise to the occasion. Yet these were precisely the qualities he resisted, and because he was terrified of looking at this resistance in himself, he blocked and froze. Eventually, he succeeded, and you will too if before your next talk, you take a moment to gather up your courage and try to listen to the message behind the nerves. What precious awareness is waiting for you there? It is through this process that the masterful communicator within you will be born. Norberto R Keppe's new book The Origin Of Illness is available at bookstores everywhere, from www.analyticaltrilogy.org or from The Great Voice Company at 800-333-8108. ©Copyright 2003 Susan Berkley From "The Voice Coach" ezine by Susan Berkley. reprinted with permission. For a free subscription visit http://www.greatvoice.com. Susan Berkley is a professional speaker and international communications expert. She is a top voiceover artist and author of "Speak to Influence: How to unlock the hidden power of your voice, " available at bookstores or from The Great Voice Company at 201-541-8595. 616 E. Palisades Ave., Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 USA *********** Sponsor *********** FREE 7 Day Electronic Marketing Mini Course mailto:minicourse.GS054@aweber.com ******************************** ===================================================== 3. Humor Technique ===================================================== Tease People by Tom Antion This is supposed to be an ezine for people that want to get "Great" on the platform. Sometimes that entails a little calculated risk. If someone comes into the session late I might stop what I was doing and say, "Why were you late?" 98 percent of the time, the person will tease me back, give me a smart alec answer back (not really maliciously), or in some other way go along with the fun. The voice inflection I use obviously says I'm just playing and not trying to embarrass them. I would say 2 percent might act a little irritated because I pointed out the obvious. I can tell you in several thousand presentations, not once have I received a negative comment or bad evaluation because of saying that line. (That doesn't mean, of course, that someone didn't think poorly of me because of it -- they just didn't say anything about it) When someone gets up to leave the room during his presentation a comic speaking magician I know stops the performance and pulls out a hall pass from his briefcase and runs over to give it to the person. It brings down the house. Besides their comic effect, these activities of stopping what you are saying have a practical use. Someone arriving late or getting up in the middle of your presentation is very distracting to the audience. If you keep talking over the distraction, the audience won't hear what you're saying anyway. You may as well sneak in some comedy since the audience's mind is elsewhere. Warning: Teasing the 2 percent can be hazardous to your evaluations so be careful and make sure you've established a likable playful demeaner before teasing people without permission. *** Keep Kids Pot Free *** Have you done all you can to keep your kids from smoking pot? When you talk to them, can you tell them the single best reason for not smoking pot? Learn more http://www.potfreekids.com *** Exclusively for Parents of 18-24 Year Olds *** How to Help Your Child Land the Right Part-Time or Fulltime Job - Without Being a Pain in the Neck Groundbreaking ebook for college students (and their parents) guarantees success in careers, classes, and relationships. Find it at http://www.graduationsecrets.com or subscribe to the newsletter at mailto:subscribe@graduationsecrets.com ********* 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. Now available for immediate download in pdf format http://www.antion.com/speakershop.htm click on "E Books" For a FREE Chapter visit http://www.antion.com/products/produc~3.htm ********************************************** ===================================================== 4. Speaker Marketing Tip ===================================================== Make Your E-Mail Signature File WORK for You! by Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen" You're probably familiar with e-mail signature (or "sig") files. They're the few lines of contact information that many of us put at the bottom of every e-mail we send. Most e-mail software programs allow you to create and use sig files -- even the newer versions of AOL. I've heard some people who don't use sig files defend their position by saying, "All my clients know my info -- I don't need to remind them with every e-mail." Stop! You're missing a perfect opportunity to promote your business, as well as do your clients and prospects a favor. When you think about how many e-mails you actually send a day, it's probably more than you realized! Some people send over 100 a day. That's a lot of mail -- and a lot of chances to slip in your own subtle marketing messages. Sig Files Put You at Their Fingertips People love it when you make information easy to find. Sure, your clients have your phone number somewhere, but they'll really appreciate it when they can grab your number right from an e-mail they're looking at. In fact, e-mail is such a part of our lives now, that if someone needs your phone number quickly, she may be more likely to grab it off your latest e-mail than to dig up your business card. (Don't underestimate this occurrence -- there are many disorganized people in the world!) Also, if people want to put your info into their contact management software (Outlook, ACT, Palm, etc.), they can simply copy and paste it right from your sig file. Good Sig Files Tell Strangers What You Do As a former co-chair of New York's Women in Communications Inc. (WICI), I booked speakers for our monthly cocktail events, conducting most of this work via e-mail. The speakers I corresponded with only knew me as a representative of WICI; they had no idea what I did for a living. But one woman, after spotting my sig file, promptly wanted to learn more about my copywriting services. She then hired me for a $5,000 project. Thank you, sig file! Sig Files Are Ready to Travel E-mails are forwarded all the time. You never know where yours may end up, and one of the recipients may be very interested in your service or product. I learned this when I got a call from a prospect in Israel. A colleague of hers here in the U.S. had forwarded her an interesting issue of my newsletter. She learned about my services and got my phone number from the sig file at the bottom. Sig Files Are a Great Promotional Tool Now, let's move beyond the obvious stuff. Think of your sig file as a little messenger who speaks to everyone you send an e-mail to. What do you want him to say? Do you have great news? A new product or service? A free newsletter or report? Let us know via your sig file! Your Sig File Checklist Here are several items to consider putting into your sig file. CAUTION: Do not attempt to insert them all! Choose what's most important for you and your business. -your name and title your company name your company tagline, or a short phrase that describes what your company does your address your phone, cell phone, and/or pager numbers your fax number your e-mail address (sometimes people can't get it directly or quickly from your actual e-mail) your Web URL (be sure to include the "' http://" prefix to ensure it will translate as a hyperlink on most e-mail programs) Now, also consider putting promotional info in your sig file, such as: an offer for a free report or product you offer an offer for a consultation or tr^ial offer a company announcement (new client, new product, award won, etc.) a hyperlink to your latest press release, article, or Web site feature an invitation to subscribe to your free e-newsletter In the interest of space and your reader's time, keep your offer or announcement to one or two sentences only. (Tip: Always throw in the word "free" when possible. It's everyone's favorite word!) Bonus: Most e-mail software programs allow you to create and keep several signatures on file, so you can change them easily and often. This makes it a cinch to switch your messages weekly or even daily, and maintain ones for different businesses. Choose What's Important to You Of course, it's possible to get carried away and include too much information. We don't need random quotes that have no relation to your business, cute illustrations made up of keyboard characters, or your weekend phone number in the Hamptons. Try to keep your sig file to a maximum of eight lines. More than that will overwhelm the reader, and it will look silly if your sig files are always longer than your e-mail messages! Here's a good example: Jane Smith, President Smith I.T. Consulting 'Take a Byte Out of Network Headaches' ph: 800-321-0000 fax: 212-321-0001 jane@smithitconsulting.com * Visit http://www.smithitconsulting.com and get your FREE report on the top 10 most common computer network problems and how to solve them!* Notice that "Jane" opted not to give her mailing address here, in order to use the space for her tagline and an invitation to receive her free report. It's all up to you. If your customers frequently need your mailing address, then you should include it. (I don't include it in mine, since 99% of my work is done via e- mail.) Decide what bits of info are most valuable to keep, and use the rest of the space for a unique message or promotion! One Last Thing: Make Sure We "Get" What You Do I've seen some seemingly complete sig files that still leave me wondering, "Thanks for all the info, but what do you DO?" We all know what IBM and Kodak do, but the whole world doesn't know what your business does (yet). For now, it's your job to help us all learn. Include a tagline that describes what your company does or a short phrase that helps us understand. If your sig file consistently delivers a clear impression of what you have to offer your prospects, it will reward you numerous times in the future! (c) 2000-2003 Alexandria K. Brown. All rights reserved. Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," is author of the award- winning manual, "Boost Business with your own Ezine." To learn more about this step-by-step guide, and to sign up for more great tips like these, visit http://www.boostbizezine.com/ Shopping cart system that Tom uses. You get a three-hour taped orientation with Tom narrating to lead you through the basic set up and advanced sales strategies. http://www.kickstartcart.com The email list management company I use http://www.postmastergeneral.com/?affiliate=antion Tom's Top Ten Marketing Resources page http://www.antion.com/marketingtools.htm *** Speaking to Help Your Family *** Read exactly what it's like to sell your knowledge by means of speeches and see if it's right for you. Visit http://www.antion.com/public-speaking.htm **************************** ===================================================== 5. Speaker Humor ===================================================== => Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. => What is a "free gift"? Aren't all gifts free? => I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it. => We are born naked, wet and hungry. Then things get worse. => Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film. => For Sale: parachute. Only used once, never opened, small stain => Diplomacy is saying "nice doggy" until you find a rock. => Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine. => You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you. => I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges? => Despite the cost of living, do you notice how it remains so popular? => He who laughs last, thinks slowest. => Support bacteria - there're the only culture some people have. => I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol. Much more FREE speaker humor at http://www.antion.com/humor/speakerhumor/speakerhumor.htm ===================================================== 6. Useful Websites ===================================================== http://d72703.u25.hurricane-internet.com/login.html Find out how to put audio on your website immediately and cheaply. http://www.amazingpopups.com/power Pop ups still make money and get subscribers for savvy marketers. This is by far the best software out there to create pop ups. http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Humor/Names/Name_Generators/ Funny name generators http://www.voiceacting.com/vo101/ Lots of articles on voice acting. http://www.id.ucsb.edu/detche/library/humor/library1.html Dumb questions asked at libraries ****** 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 $850.00 and $1700 depending on your level of involvement. For complete details visit http://www.antion.com/referrals.htm *********************************************** ===================================================== 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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