Archive for Writing Speeches

Write an Expert Ebook: How Are a Book
and a Speech Alike?

Expert-Ebook-SpeechIf you want to write an expert ebook, here’s another way to make it simple and easy. Think about this: writing a speech is similar to writing a book.

Many of the executive coaches and consultants I work with are great speakers. They tell me, “I can’t write, I’m a speaker!” But if you can deliver a keynote speech, there’s no reason you can’t write an expert ebook.

One of the take-aways from the Publishing at Sea conference last week was a presentation by Judith Briles, founder of AuthorU, about how to market your book through speaking engagements. She gave us her speech mapping template, which included these items:

Speech Mapping (abridged)

  • What is your topic?
  • What is your expertise?
  • Why do you talk about this?
  • How are you different from others?
  • What are two things you want your audience to stop, start or do differently?
  • What success stories do you share about this? Read More→

Are You Truly Persuasive When You Make Presentations?

To be truly persuasive, all professionals must make presentations. Let’s face it, not all marketing is online, nor is all content marketing published information.

The most persuasive marketing tool that exists is face-to-face human interaction. Are your presentations truly persuasive, or could you improve?

Even if you’re not in sales, and even if you’re a natural born speaker, you need to hone presentation skills so that you connect as confident, knowledgeable and trustworthy. I don’t often promote other people’s webinars, but I honestly feel this is worth it.

Tanja Parsley is a presentation expert who has a successful career helping smart professionals improve their persuasiveness through presentation skills. She is founder of Partners in Performance. Next week, September 13, she and her business partner will deliver 13 Expert Tips for Truly Persuasive Presentations. You can get the details here.

Here are a few things she promises to deliver: Read More→

Content Marketing Tasks: Practice Makes Progress

If you’ve spent your career avoiding certain marketing tasks because you don’t think you’re any good at them, you struggle each time you try, and you end up with weak results, take heart. Persistence has been touted by poets for a reason.

Your brain learns a lot each time you try something, even if you fail. If you stop trying, you’ll walk away with nothing. If you persist, however, the rewards are huge.

Example: public speaking. Many small business owners and entrepreneurs including many of my clients love the chance to get up and speak. The larger the group, the better. In my experience, they are extroverts. They love people and love conversations.

On the other hand, they usually don’t like writing. (Which is why they are my clients… they need content and they need to publish on the web – blogs, e-newsletters, ebooks, etc.)

Other people tend to focus their online marketing on content; they write books and they publish blogs and newsletters… and they hate speaking. They would rather have a root canal than deliver even a 3 minute elevator speech at a networking event.

While you can outsource your written content, especially online, you can’t outsource your speaking. You’ve got to deliver a speech yourself in order to represent your business and get clients.

Make no mistake, there is magic that comes from speaking from the podium. It works like a magnet for drawing people to you, creating credibility and potential working relationships.

You have to persist at things in order to learn them. Writing gets better each time you write, the same goes for blogging, revising web pages, writing sales copy, email promotions. The more you practice the better you are and the easier the task becomes. Here’s an example: Read More→

Content Marketing Tasks: Practice Makes Progress

If you’ve spent your career avoiding certain marketing tasks because you don’t think you’re any good at them, you struggle each time you try, and you end up with weak results, take heart. Persistence has been touted by poets for a reason.

Your brain learns a lot each time you try something, even if you fail. If you stop trying, you’ll walk away with nothing. If you persist, however, the rewards are huge.

Example: public speaking. Many small business owners and entrepreneurs including many of my clients love getting the chance to get up and speak. The larger the group, the better. In my experience, they are extroverts. They love people and love conversations.

On the other hand, they usually don’t like writing. (Which is why they are my clients… they need content and they need to publish on the web – blogs, e-newsletters, ebooks, etc.)

Other people tend to focus their online marketing on content; they write books and they publish blogs and newsletters… and they hate speaking. They would rather have a root canal than deliver even a 3 minute elevator speech at a networking event. Read More→

7 Mistakes Speakers Make with Presentations

We’ve often heard the brain can only hold seven things in mind. The brain research behind this is valid, and in everyday life we experience it with 7-digit phone numbers.

This week in Las Vegas, at Chris Farrell’s and Mike Filsaime’s Affiliatedotcom.com event, many speakers presented “7 Steps” to better internet marketing. But I think there’s a perception that an audience will listen and remember 7 things from a presentation which is wrong.

What’s true for phone numbers isn’t true for concepts.

Try 3-4 things instead. There’s no way anyone can  remember seven tips from a presentation. No way. Especially when there are 6-7 other speakers on the podium per day, over two days.

Let’s get real, folks. The other things is, that to be effective, you need to repeat your message several times. Now some of the speakers were able to do this, even in spite of having 7  tips. But that makes for a lot of repeating and it’s still not going to be remembered.

But with 3 things, yes, you can drill them home. 1-2-3. Repeat at least 7 times, and you’ve got a message that will be remembered and associated with your name.

The more I think about this, this “rule of 3” should also apply to other content you publish and communicate: newsletters, blogs, white papers, ebooks, etc.

Especially in this era of information overload, we need to become more aware and considerate of our target audiences’ capacity to receive and retain messages. Only 3 main points or steps to your solutions. Not 7. Read More→

The Brain Science of Online Persuasion

What has brain science taught us about how people are persuaded to take action online? And, how can we use that wisdom when writing content that serves to market ourselves and our businesses?

These two questions have been fueling my mental energy for the past few years. As a journalist-turned-psychologist, turned-online-content-marketer, you might imagine that these issues keep me up at night … or not! I believe this is important stuff for any professional who wants an effective online presence.

Here’s what I see as an important shift in online marketing tactics. It has significance for you if you’re trying to create content for your own business.

Business persuasion skills, whether for presentations in person or for web pages online, have always centered on problem solving using rationality and logic. Smart professionals believe that people make decisions based on clearly laid-out arguments and intelligent thinking.

  • What’s the problem?
  • What does this mean to your target audience?
  • Why hasn’t this problem been solved?
  • What is your solution?
  • What should people do now?
  • What will happen if they don’t?

Business professionals approach online content marketing and writing for the web with this mentality. It makes sense and there’s nothing wrong with it… except it’s probably not getting good results.

Ad people, however, copywriters and marketers don’t use this approach. The people who write ads for TV, or print, or direct mail letters have been using persuasion tactics that appeal to emotions rather than reasons. Read More→

Content Creating Processes: Do you know too much?

Have you ever felt like a secret agent who knows too much? Hopefully, you’ve learned what to share and what not.

Most educated professionals I know will tell you they struggle when it comes to preparing speeches and writing content.

Content creation, whether for speeches, classes, articles, or web pages, should produce a clear message to influence people. One clear message, that leads to an action, a shift in thinking. Write to teach and persuade.

We know too much! We want to explain everything. When I teach a simple thing like how to write a blog post, I’ve got slides and paragraphs that go back to the invention of the printing press!

When I finally come to the main teaching points … it’s an hour too late and people have gone to sleep.

My solution is to flow chart everything, put it into a PowerPoint and rush through the slides.  Not good, and I know better, but my same brain that loves blogging in 350 words goes hog-wild with an hour-long presentation.

Every speech should have only one intention. You’re supposed to build your content around this intention. You may want to educate or entertain, but truth be told, you want to persuade your audience to do something. Read More→

Speak Your Way to Wealth: Success Tips from Top Speakers

Successroadsign
Denise and I had an amazing experience at the 3-day Speak Your Way to Wealth event in Manhattan Beach. Arvee Robinson and Lee Pound were delightful hosts and well-organized.

One of the most important reasons for going to in-person events is to connect with people and find out more about what people really need in the way of Internet marketing for small businesses.

This crowd was not as computer-savvy as some, with only one fourth of them already blogging. Almost all were in service businesses, and were passionate about helping others. Many were aspiring speakers.

Since Denise and I are being called upon to speak more often at such events, we stayed throughout the 3 days to observe and learn from the line up of accomplished speakers.

Here are some notes I took:

Mark Victor Hansen: When you get up on the platform to speak, Mark says to get physical with your audience. He does this by asking them to touch their temples and say things like, "Hmmm, that’s interesting."

He says to get vulnerable with your audience (which is why it is so typical for a speaker to start off by telling the audience they once were bankrupt, addicted to drugs, etc.).

Read More→

3 Must-Do Business Keys: Marketing, Speaking & Success Principles

We’ve got an opportunity for you to spend an hour with
the fantastically successful speaker and Internet marketer Tom Antion
on Thursday, August 14, at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.

Can’t make it? Register anyway and we’ll email you a link to the recording.

Tom, our marketing mentor, will be discussing his new concept
seminar "Fusion" where he is mixing Internet Marketing, professional
level speaking and timeless success principles.

Fusion_banner_2

This
interview will NOT be just a sales pitch for Tom’s seminar. Tom is
known for his high content. We’re sure he wants you to attend his
event, but we’ve known him for years and there is no way he’ll get on a
call without giving you great tips.

Tom has been our mentor for the past two years and he’s helped us bring in well over $300,000.00 since we’ve met him.

Don’t miss listening to him Thursday, August 14. We’ll be discussing with him what it takes to be successful on the Internet and in your business.

Visit http://www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/fusion/ to register for the call. There’s no charge and you’ll get a copy of the audio program if you cannot attend the live event.

P.S.
Tom is in the top 1 percent of speaker income in the world and only
speaks 5 or 6 times a year. We’re going to make sure he tells you the
exact methods he’s used to get and stay there.

Check out Denise’ video about how Tom Antion has helped The Blog Squad

Press Release: Expert Click.com

Wishy-Washy Writing: Just delete these 5 words

Delete_key
This is worth reading and not just because it echoes my thoughts every time I read someone’s blog writing that’s too wishy-washy: 5 Words You Can Cut Out, from the Daily Writing Tip:

  1. just
  2. really
  3. quite
  4. perhaps
  5. that

I have to add two:

  1. maybe
  2. very

Every time you re-read your writing, be on the look-out for these wishy-washy offenders and make your writing stronger, better.