Surprise guest Bill Clinton said, “Ed Bradley was a brilliant, insatiable, curious traveler on a relentless quest to get to the bottom of things. He was like the great jazz musicians he so admired. He always played in the key of reason. His songs were full of the notes of facts; but he knew to make the most of music you have to improvise. We’ll never forget what his solos were: the disarming smile; the disconcerting stare; the highly uncomfortable stretches of silence, the deceptively dangerous questions, and the questions that would be revealing, no matter what your answer was. Watching him was mesmerizing — because you knew you were watching a master at work.”
Read More...Publicity: The Fifteen Most Common Publicity Mistakes Businesses Make
The Fifteen Most Common Publicity Mistakes Businesses Make By Patricia Fripp’s PR agent Pam Lontos As a business owner, you probably know that publicity is important to your success. But many businesses (and maybe you’re one of them) make crucial mistakes in their publicity campaigns. While some of the mistakes are more detrimental than others, […]
Read More...Selling Yourself And Your Ideas to Senior Management
Where to Start
1. What is the topic or subject you are reporting on? Be clear with yourself so you can be clear with your audience.
2. Why is your topic important enough to be on the busy agenda of senior level managers?
3. What questions will your audience be asking? Can you answer them early in your presentation?
Say It With Fewer Words
Reducing Your Hour-Long Speech You’ve got a great, major presentation, and suddenly you’re asked if you can get your message across in five minutes! Don’t panic. For today’s television generation, sound bites can be more powerful than lengthy dissertations. Here’s how to compress your speech without losing impact.
Read More...5 Sure-Fire Tips for Great Speeches
1. Come out punching! Grab your audience’s attention. One way is to make a startling statement. For a recent speech to the National Speakers Association, I walked out and immediately started building a word picture: “Columbus, Ohio, December, zero degrees, 2,000 people trudging through the snow to hear four speakers…” Don’t waste your audience’s time […]
Read More...Scoring with Overseas Audiences
How to “Speak Their Language” Even When It Isn’t English Now I finally know why my friends are so interested in speaking abroad. It is a wonderful, rewarding, exhilarating, ego-building experience, even when the audience doesn’t speak your language. Why forego local engagements to fly half-way around the world, suffer terrible jet lag, and put […]
Read More...Acting Techniques for Speakers
This article was written by my pal Ed Brodow. It will be featured in Professional Speaker magazine, the publication of the National Speakers Assn. As Ed interviewed me for this, and I found it very interesting, I asked if I could offer it to my friends and visitors to my website. He granted his permission and I […]
Read More...Capturing Your Audience: (Part II)
Previously, we discussed the components of speech preparation and delivery that will make your presentation shine when you are addressing your association audiences. However, the speech only becomes truly vibrant when you tie all of the pieces together and package them into a compelling presentation. Remember humor helps freshen content, movement keeps the audiences’ eyes […]
Read More...Capturing Your Audience: (Part I)
Today’s audiences have very short attention spans. They are stimulation junkies with limited interest levels. Their television habits have coined a new term–channel surfing. With the advent of remote control no one watches anything that stands still enough to bore. Click, switch, fast forward, record and mute give them power over the medium. Sub-standard content, […]
Read More...Presenting Your Talk – For Business and Professional Speakers
The big day has come. You’re ready to deliver your talk. But there are still a few final things to do before you face your audience. Check in early. Arrive early so you can check out the logistics of the room in which you’ll be speaking. Where is the platform? Where will you be when […]
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