Opening Keynote

Keeping Meeting Notes Organized

2010-02-01T13:50:00.000-05:00

If you're overwhelmed by what crosses your desk, it's worth considering the benefits of having a file folder for each month of the year and a file folder for each day of the month. This idea, the "tickler file," sytem has been in practice for years.

Create a file for days 1-31 of the month, and place it at the front of one of your file drawers. Behind that, have a file for each month of the year. If it's the second day of the month, for example, but you receive something that you won't need to deal with until the 15th, then put it in the file for, say, the 13th to allow yourself some slack. If anything comes in that you don't need to handle now, put it in your tickler file. This yields some immediate benefits. It keeps your desk clear and eliminates a lot of worry about where things go.

As the days and months go by, you continually take files that were in front and put them in the back. Once you get this system in place, you'll find that many of the things you file may not need to be acted on later. The benefits of this system are immediate.

Having More Breathing Space

2010-01-24T17:23:00.000-05:00

What would your life be like if you had more breathing space: www.breathingspace.com/differentials

Reaction, Behavior, Results

2010-01-22T13:33:00.000-05:00

When a speaker is making a presentation to an audience there are three observable indicators of effectiveness:

1. Reaction - How do audience members respond to the speaker while the presentation is in progress? What kind of feedback do they offer following the presentation? Were they informed, inspired, and entertained? Were they glad they attended?

2. Behavior - What observable changes in behavior have taken place following the presentation? Can participants cite changes in their own behavior? Do they take steps to alleviate problem situations? Are they better able to perform their jobs as a result of something that they learned at the presentation?

3. Results - Here's the ultimate payoff; what long-term changes have ensued as a result of what participants learned from the presentation? How have they been more effective at their jobs? How have they supported the overall goals of their organizations? Was the presentation sufficiently worthwhile such that they want to hear more from the same speaker?

Hire an Author to Speak

2010-01-10T08:24:00.000-05:00

According to an Association Press-Ipsos poll (AP) "one in four adults say they read no books at all in the past year. " !!

"Of those who did read, women and seniors were most avid, and religious works and popular fiction were the top choices. The survey reveals a nation whose book readers, on the whole, can hardly be called ravenous. The typical person claimed to have read four books in the last year -- half read more and half read fewer. Excluding those who hadn't read any, the usual number read was seven."

The upshot for meeting planners: Hire an author to speak to your group because the odds are that few people in the audience are reading book length works, they'll probably appreciate the words of someone who has the rigour to write a book, and some may be inspired to actually read the book.

Maintaining Contact

2010-01-09T08:16:00.000-05:00

Some meeting professionals fear that if they book speakers through a bureau they will lose the interpersonal contact that is so crucial for assuring success. As the client, however, you largely get to dictate what kind of relationship you want with both the bureau and the speaker.

For example, if you insist that the speaker call you directly on all matters related to the presentation, that the speaker stay in touch with you during the time leading up to the presentation, and that there be a full exchange of participant materials prior to the actual meeting date, all of this can be stipulated to the bureau representative.

Unusual Speaking Experiences

2010-01-04T09:41:00.000-05:00

A World of Unusual Speaking Experiences!

In the course of speaking to more than 770 audiences around the world, I have encountered my share of unique engagements. For example, when I spoke to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, a division of the U.S. Treasury Department, every audience member was carrying a gun. Understandably, I felt compelled to give a great presentation.

At a leadership conference sponsored by the St. Alfonsus Regional Medical Center, I was introduced by a staff member, wearing skis, whose conclusion involved sliding down the stairs off the podium.

Concentration: So Vital

2009-12-11T11:57:00.000-05:00

Notes from Sam Horn's session on Concentration from September 15th, 1981. Still great advice to this day!

* Concentration defined; voluntarily focused attention.
* Discipline of ignoring irrelevant matters
* Fixing ones' powers, efforts and attention
* Most people work best under a deadline; when their concentration is focused.
* Fatigue is a big road block to concentration

This last note is telling!:
* Society is moving towards a lower frustration tolerance with less discipline, and more need for immediate gratification. These are detriments to concentration.

Working with Bureaus

2009-12-03T15:10:00.000-05:00

Some of the advantages of working with a speakers bureau include the following:

Should the situation arise in which you are not happy with the speaker's performance or any other aspect of your interaction with the speaker, you have a legitimate third party, the bureau, to handle your concerns. You are in a position of even greater leverage because it is in the bureau's best and long-term interest to ensure that you are happy. The bureau's loyalty is to you – you are the customer – not the speaker they assign to meet your needs. Some speakers never quite understand that, but the bureaus have a very clear understanding of who signs the checks.

In the rare event that the original speaker cannot make the appointed date, the bureau can more easily get you the right back-up speaker than if you face this task by yourself, especially at the last minute. Many bureaus require speakers to sign various pledges indicating, for example, that they will abide by certain travel expense limitations, not use offensive or off-color language, and so on. In this manner, working with the bureau affords many more protections than you might otherwise have when working with a speaker directly.

The bureau can also help enforce your policies regarding selling from the platform and engaging in other types of promotional behavior. A small percentage of speakers will flat out upset the tone of your meeting by using a portion of their time in front of your group to engage in aggressive marketing. The incidence of this happening when retaining speakers through a bureau is far less, and for the most part can be eliminated all together.

Use of Vacation Time

2009-12-01T08:27:00.000-05:00

Americans schedule an average of 14 vacation days a year, the average Englishman schedules 24. Americans typically don't use 3 of those days, giving back time to their employers.

Meeting Industry Resources

2009-11-26T10:23:00.000-05:00

Relocation sale: After 16 years in Chapel Hill, we recently packed up and relocated to the state capitol, Raleigh NC. To make space in the new location, we're offering an unprecedented learning resources package. Only $83 gets you $261 of our best resources:

$63 worth of Books
[ ] Getting New Clients (Wiley, hardcover, 268 pages, $37.95)
[ ] Breathing Space (BookSurge, 202 pages, $14.95)
[ ] The 60 Second Self-Starter (Adams Media, 142 pages, $9.95)

$198 worth of CDs and Audio Books
[ ] The 60-Second Procrastinator (Oasis Audio, 140 minutes) $19.95
[ ] Surviving Information Overload (NIBM, 72 minutes) $14.95
[ ] Relaxing at High Speed (ACHE, 32 minutes) $9.95
[ ] Blow Your Own Horn (Simon & Schuster, 60 minutes) $10.95
[ ] Time, Stress, Simplicity (Skillpath PersonalQuest, 300 minutes) $59.95
[ ] Getting Articles Published (PR Leads, 57 minutes) $19.95
[ ] Selling Your Book's 'Sub Rights' (PR Leads, 59 minutes) $19.95
[ ] Foreign Rights Sales (PR Leads, 60 minutes) $19.95
[ ] Creating a Brilliant Book Outline (BSI, 53 minutes, $15.95)
[ ] Giving Better Presentations (Dreamcoach, 55 minutes, $16.95)

Plus CD and Article Bonuses

order here
Description: career advancement
Amount: $83

Speaking Tips Resource Guide

2009-11-16T12:47:00.000-05:00

Here is a wonderful roster of speaking tips and related websites:

www.aresearchguide.com/3tips.html

Losing Sight of Goals

2009-11-11T14:08:00.000-05:00

In our hectic, fast-paced society, most of us have so many things competing for our attention that it's relatively easy to lose sight of the goals we set for ourselves, even big important goals.

Here are some simple suggestions for turning your goals into realities:

* Pare down your list of current goals. Your chances of reaching your goals is improved if you are only working on a few of them at a time.

* Be sure that each of your goals is specific and quantifiable. If you intend to lose ten pounds, attach a date to your goal.

* Whether your goal is to lose weight or to achieve a business victory--periodically measure your progress. Daily is NOT too often.

* Post your goal or goals on your bathroom mirror or elsewhere, where you will automatically notice them as you start each day. If it helps, share your goals with others and get their support. Finally, join groups that have similar resolutions or goals.

Strive to Be Creative

2009-10-23T19:23:00.000-05:00

I know people who will take courses on topics completely out of their field, who try new dishes at restaurants, and who strive to keep themselves open to new ideas. The odd and wonderful thing is you can do all kinds of new and different activities in your personal life that will serve to stimulate your creativity at work, break free of attachment, and overcome the inertia of immobility when you want to get things done. Here are a few ideas:

At work:
* Take a planned 15-minute break twice daily
* Eat away from your desk
* Brainstorm with people not in your department
* Furnish your workspace with plants, pictures, or art that inspires you
* Learn some aspect of the organization that is completely foreign to you

Away from work:
* Change your magazine subscriptions
* Read a literary novel or epic
* Dress differently for different occasions
* Relax on your porch
* Install a hammock in your backyard

In general, to develop your awareness:
* Take an impromptu weekend trip to someplace you haven't visited
* Enroll in a course
* Join a book discussion group
* Volunteer at a charity
* Take up a new sport

How It Felt, How it Ended

2009-10-15T15:56:00.000-05:00

Nobel-prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman has shown that recollection of past experiences is almost entirely determined by two things: 1) how the experience felt when it was at its peak and 2) how it felt when it ended.

When people evaluate past experience, they only recall two things: how it felt at the peak and whether it got better or worse at the end. As a result, a slight improvement, even an improvement from "intolerable" to "pretty bad," makes the whole experience seem better, and a bad ending makes everything seem worse. This "peak-end" rule is how we summarize the experience and then we rely on that summary to remember how the experience felt.

Best Practices

2009-10-02T17:08:00.000-05:00

Best Practices Among Meeting Planners:
* Complete the speaker's pre-program questionnaire well in advance.
* Avoid over-scheduling their meeting attendees.
* Produce a professional, accurate flier or other meeting literature.
* Set up the room as the speaker has requested, including the type of microphone, arrangement of seating, lighting, and even ventilation.
* Plan in advance for adequate food and restroom breaks.
* Keep the speaker informed as to any last-minute program changes, room arrangement, or meeting objectives.
* Make the speaker feel welcome, needed, and liked.

Certified Meeting Professional

2009-09-14T09:10:00.000-05:00

The Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) credential was developed to increase the professionalism of meeting professionals in any component or sector of the industry. The Professional Convention Management Association offers comprehensive information on the topic.

A Speaker to Count On

2009-08-28T12:32:00.000-05:00

What Makes for a Speaker You Can Count On?
* The speaker bills the client only for agreed upon reimbursable expenses and within three days following the event.

* The speaker never engages in inappropriate language, off-color jokes, or unprofessional behavior, either on or off the platform. The speaker pledges to you the highest standards of professionalism at all times.

* The speaker recognizes that trust is the essence of all effective long-term relationships and pledges to approach each situation by listening, reflecting, and seeking to follow the path to the highest good for all concerned.

* The speaker maintains consistent fees, whether booked by you or himself. The speaker absolutely never raises client fees for bureau-generated engagements. The speaker follows your direction regarding all product and ancillary service sales, keeps you informed as to purchases made, and promptly submits any agreed upon commission of the gross amounts of such sales.

* In addition to being excellent on the platform, the speaker serves as your emissary with the meeting planner, all meeting planning staff, and all attendees at all times.

Keep Them on Time

2009-08-11T08:53:00.000-05:00

Strive to be the one speaker at their meeting or convention who gets the meeting back on schedule. If you were scheduled for 60 minutes and you're given 42, still end at the original time, on the button.

It's an old saw that few speakers are ever penalized for speaking too little. Many are penalized in the minds of their listeners for speaking too long. You can become a hero to the host or meeting planner and possibly the larger group, by getting them back on track.

Visiting All Three Blogs

2009-08-05T11:16:00.000-05:00

If you have yet to visit my other two blogs, start August off right by clicking below:

* for the time-pressured: www.BreathingSpaceBlog.com
* for the info-whelmed: www.CommunicationOverload.com

Win Over the Middle

2009-07-13T08:33:00.000-05:00

The most effective presentations are offered to the audience participants in “middle,” not at the extremes. Let me elaborate. When I worked with Domino Pizza's distribution corporation in 1992 on a book titled The Domino Effect, I learned from their division president that among any target or audience group, roughly 6% to 8% will dislike you no matter what you do because they associate you with something or someone negative! Hence, their evaluations are essentially invalid.

A similar percentage, roughly 6% to 8%, will approve of you almost regardless of what you do
because they like the way you look or your personality! Their feedback is invalid too.

Your real task becomes reaching the middle 84% to 88% of the audience who arrive relatively-free of inclinations towards the presenter one way or the other.

No More Off-the Shelf

2009-07-07T09:42:00.001-05:00

Today, every audience requires at least some form of a tailored presentation. There are no more off-the-shelf programs that fit every audience every time, even when the topic is as generic as management, leadership, or stress. The speaker has to take time to know the audience, what they're specifically facing, their daily challenges, and so on.

The true professional speaker will spend more time asking you about your audience than conveying the essence of his or her message, at least at the outset. Be wary of any speaker who claims to have just the right message but who does not ask you a lot of questions.

The How of Wow

2009-06-29T10:17:00.002-05:00

Notes from The How of Wow by Tony Carlson

* According to Tony Carlson only 1 in 500 speeches is good enough to be remembered. To be among those remembered, Carlson says you need to give audiences insight, enlightenment, meaning, stimulation, wit, and entertainment.

* Emulate the greats and soon your own style will take over but with the power of the greats

* Few speakers ever rehearse enough. Every extra moment you have ought to go into rehearsing.

* Your opening line can be a shocker that lets the audience know you mean business. Don’t be afraid to say something that people already suspect, but noone will say except for you.

* Show your vulnerability early in the speech. I recall when Tom Peters said at an NSA convention. “It’s intimidating to think about speaking to a roomful of speakers.”

* Keynotes benefit by a strong start, a rising middle, that grows and grows until you feel a sense of catharsis, a climax of emotion that your audience enjoys.

Top Bureaus, Great Results

2009-06-14T08:42:00.001-05:00

As a professional speaker, I have had the privilege of working with many outstanding bureaus. Among the many traits that excellent bureaus have in common, these seem to show up often: they return phone calls properly, keep advised as to the status of held dates, gather comprehensive background materials from the client, collect fees as originally negotiated, and have a well-developed follow-up procedure in practice.

Think of using speakers bureaus in this way: You use a lot of professional services in your organization and your life, including attorneys, accountants, bankers, computer consultants, and tax advisors. The essence of any good professional is that the price you pay for his or her services is more than justified by the benefits. As it turns out, dealing with speakers bureaus works exactly the same way.

Relying on Bureaus

2009-06-09T18:07:00.000-05:00

Why Would You Want to Use a Speaker Bureau?
* because the agents are dedicated professionals and among the tops in the field.
* because they work with only the best speakers who do a consistently outstanding job at every speaking engagement.
* when they've been in business for at least 10 years and know how to serve meeting
planners effectively.
* because they are efficient, responsible, flexible, and stay highly attuned to your needs.
* when their bureau representative will meet with you on site at your location.

Save Time & Money

2009-05-25T10:44:00.001-05:00

Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE offers eight tips for corporate meeting planners to save time and money:

Tip #1. After every meeting and event, do an "after action analysis." Write down what went right, what went wrong, what you would do differently if you were planning the meeting today, and who the vendors were who made your life easier.

Tip #2. In hiring vendors, do not always go for the lowest price. Whoever you hire, it affects your image. Reliability and follow-through are more important than a lower bid. Everyone is downsizing and looking for new ways to cut costs, but a vendor at a lower price may not be the answer.

Tip #3. Learn to make other people heroes. Whether dealing with vendors or people in other departments of your own company, if the person works hard and well, write a note of thanks to them and send a copy to their boss.

Tip #4. Make sure your speaker knows the terms used in your associationi.e. these people use "clients" not "customers." Also, alert the speaker to particulars of his/her audience...for example, mention the women in the audience are members, not spouses. One professional speaker was not warned and spoke "down" to his audience, making them feel bad, and the meeting planner look bad.

Tip #5. If you do mailings before a meeting or convention, be sure to put the speaker on the mailing list. This way the speaker knows what else is going on at the meeting, what the various topics are, if the schedule has been revised, and if his/her speaking time has been changed and no one remembered to tell the speaker.

Tip #6. If you are expecting a speaker to arrive the night before an event, leave them a note asking them to let the meeting planner know they have actually arrived. If you know the speaker has in fact arrived, you will undoubtedly sleep better. Leave an emergency number where you can always be reached.

Tip #7. Don't save the best for the last. Often corporations take their top performers to a fancy resort for a meeting of several days. They have one important outside speaker and they want to send the employees back to work with a bang. You will get more value for your money if you schedule the speaker the first day instead of the last. At the end of the conference the employees may be tired, hungover, or worried about packing and making the plane.

Tip #8. Use E-mail. Get on-line with networks of meeting planners who can share their experiences. Find a group similar to yours and find out the names of the most successful speakers they have used and which vendors made their lives difficult or easy.

Call 800 634-3035 or email PFripp@Fripp.com to request other articles.