|
Welcome
In
Oregon, Mother's Day is the official frost free day
of the year, a day to begin planting. If you don't get
something into the ground now, time passes and summer
comes, and before you know it, it's too late. Since
my husband planted a vineyard, okay 10 plants, I decided
that a nice complementary crop would be lavender. I
borrowed a book from the library, drove an hour to a
special nursery and bought a colorful and pleasantly
scented variety called "twickel purple" also
known as English Lavender. I sowed so that I will reap.
Do you have anything that you need to sow?
What
Makes a Great Speaker
One
of the best ways to attract potential clients is to
do public speaking engagements. You can exhibit your
expertise and become known. So all of us should have
an outline prepared for that "spur of the moment"
opportunity.
Having
attended talks by several great speakers of late, it
got me thinking: What makes them great? I thought about
the four or five of the best speakers that I had seen
and noted aspects of their presentations that made them
stand out:
Move
Around
I like speakers who move around, pace, walk up the
aisles. You never know where they'll go. They keep me
on my toes and their energy is infectious.
Mingle,
Listen, and Remember
One
of my favorite speakers arrived early and made a point
to do a lot of mingling. She met people, remembered
their names and occupations, and then peppered the information
throughout her talk. Impressive!
Get
Personal
My
favorite speakers are those that aren't afraid to reveal
themselves. They tell of their past struggles, personal
details, and how they've come to be where they are today.
These speakers engage the audience on an intimate level
and win them over.
Tell
a Story
In
addition to telling one's own story, speakers who illustrate
their message through storytelling make an impact. It's
more entertaining to the audience and the point is more
memorable.
Engage
the Audience
Speakers
who involve their audience provide a more lively and
entertaining experience. Often this is done in a question
and answer format, and this can be risky at times, but
it is worth the risk. The audience becomes part of the
talk, they sit on the edge of their seat, and they learn
more.
Select
Tools Carefully
I know it is popular to use PowerPoint and handouts,
and I use them too, but I must say that my favorite
speakers don't need them. Their messages are so clear
and important that I don't need to write them down.
I can still remember parts of Michael Gerber's (author
of the E-Myth
series) talk and he used the technique of repeat, repeat,
repeat, and very effectively I might add.
You've
all seen speakers who distribute handouts and then lose
their audience as everyone bows their head to read.
If handouts are necessary, an extremely brief outline
is best in my opinion. Better yet supply handouts at
the end so they don't disrupt the presentation.
Humor
and Exaggeration
Who
doesn't like to laugh and learn at the same time? Not
everyone has the gift of being humorous, but I've seen
exaggeration used to good effect. For example, one speaker
who made up a story to illustrate her point had her
characters doing almost unbelievable things and it was
a great learning tool.
Summary
These
are the components of the great speaking experiences
that I've had. Maybe these aspects of memorable speeches
resonate with you as well. If so, maybe you'll incorporate
them into your next speaking engagement.
What
Do I Do?
I
often get asked "What do you do?" Sometimes
I reflect this question by asking what the person needs
because a successful VA/Client relationship is more
about the fit between the two people than the "things"
they do together. But I do concentrate on these 5 areas:
- Web
pages
- Ezines
- Editing
- Invoicing
- Project
management
And
I love referrals!
Quick
Tip: Getting a Fast Definition
You
may know that I'm a fan of Google.
I just learned something new, a quick way to get a definition
using Google. If you need to know what a word means,
one that may not be in your dated dictionary, try this:
To
see a definition for a word or phrase, simply type the
word "define" in the Google search box, then
a space, and then the word(s) you want defined.
Example:
Try typing "define blog" into the Google search
box and see what you get.
|
