Want to market yourself? By Patricia Fripp There is an old saying, “If you build a better mouse trap people will beat a path to your door.” That might have been true once but it is not true now. Having the best product or service does not automatically guarantee your success. That is because of […]

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Blogging is a great way to serve your professional community and expand your marketing reach. Thank you for reading mine! For the years, I’ve had the honor of keynoting the Ragan Speechwriters Conference several times. I met amazing people who write for history – presidents and corporate leaders. Since then, when a Ragan Communications notice appears […]

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If you are a leader, manager, executive, professional speaker, Toastmaster, or ambitious professional, most likely you will have the opportunity to moderate a panel. If you believe there is nothing duller than a bad speech, may I suggest a dull panel is even worst? As with any great presentation, when opening a panel discussion, the […]

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Are your presentations lacking humor? The late John Kinde is remembered as a comedy mentor for many. Know for his skill with observational humor claimed his most frequently-asked question was,  “How do I get to be funny?” After delivering a fun-filled, brilliantly-crafted presentation, an audience member referred to his Observational Humor monologue. “You certainly have […]

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In sales, what would happen if your prospects could vividly remember why others choose to do business with you? Would it be profitable for you if they felt that you were more focused on their needs than your competitors? You can have that impact with a memorable pitch, or speech. If people are making hiring decisions for consulting contracts or a large investment, they are probably going to be discussing with a team or committee what they heard from various vendors, consultants, or sales professionals. Your goal is to have them remembering and repeating your key ideas and benefits: you need to be a memorable speaker.

Your goal should be always to say something that will be remembered and repeated. If we ask audience members, “Who was the hit of last year’s convention?” usually they can recall the topic and that it was entertaining and dynamic, but if they can recite your key points, profound statements, or even that you appeared to know exactly what their lives are like, you’ve made yourself memorable. To be remembered and repeated, you need a simple structure for your speech. The following tips will help you construct your speech so that you and it will not be forgotten.

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Professional speakers, business coaches, presentation skills coaches, seminar leaders, consultants and entreneurs all have something in common! How do we position ourselves ahead of the competition. We do that when we can help our prospects get to know us in advance of their emails or calls. If you have been to my website fripp.com you know that whatever service you click on small “mini fripps” talk to you one on one about the reason you are searching for a speech coach, keynote speaker, or sales presentation skills trainer. Assuming this is something you would like to investigate for your own business here is an interview with my secret weapon and business adviser Bob Chesney.

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Be creative. Think Hollywood! Tell stories and give examples as you go through your program, the same way you would in person. However, your Webinar needs more visuals to help engage the audience. Use more slides than with an in-person presentation. Add bullet points one at a time as you “build.” Don’t present a list of all your points before you discuss them. Keep it simple, keep it moving, and interact often.

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services.

Oh, by the way, my author-speaker never did speak directly to the other well-respected coach. Whenever he called he was always directed to the coaches “people.” It may interest you to know the author speaker has added $15,000 to his fee since we worked together.

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■Use testimonials. Nothing sets you apart like a delighted client. Exploit your client list and try to obtain both video and textual testimonials.
Unlike fish in a school for protection, you want to be caught!

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