How to retain new members in Toastmasters clubs?

Today I answered a question on LinkedIn, on how to retain members in a club with 70 members and large new member turnover. My response is applicable to all Toastmaster clubs and is posted here for your convenience.

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To improve your situation, assign a mentor to each new member. As President of a smaller club and having filled various officer roles in the past, I have experienced the same universal problem.

The way to improve the situation is usually to ask more experienced members to guide new members through all the technicians roles and the first 3 speeches. The challenge is that seasoned members become worn out from always mentoring new members.

Also, mentorship is not all that it takes to keep members.

Mentoring increases retention, but members also leave for other reasons such as finding that the challenges of public speaking are just too much for them, the TM program consumes too much time or have higher priorities. You can't solve these personal decisions through mentoring.

Mentoring new members helps to retain members and eliminates some of the reasons people leave Toastmasters, such as:
1. Not understanding the meeting roles
2. Not feeling welcome in the club meeting
3. Not knowing where to turn for answers and guidance

Try to get a mentoring committee together so that the full load does not fall on your VPE. Also, try to find creative ways to mentor. We used a teleconference every week for new members and covered a different topic on each call. This allowed 3 seasoned TM's to lay the groundwork for mentoring the 10 new members.

We also often overlook the benefits that the Mentor gets out of the relationship. As a mentor you learn how to provide information in small doses so that your mentee can absorb your wealth of TM knowledge at a moderated pace. This trains mentors to be effective mentors as business leaders and mentors as well. You can also look for mentors outside your club. Perhaps your district officers can assist with conference calls, or a nearby club has members willing to assist?

In summary, Mentoring will increase retention, but is not the silver bullet. Even so, I recommend that you work to institute a mentor program.

Be a better speaker

"Wayne, how do I become a better speaker?" is the question I am often asked by new Toastmasters.

The answer is simple, although it takes some effort. It requires the new Toastmaster to invest time to develop, rehearse and present new speeches. You can only become a better speaker by practising the craft.

Then you get to a point where mere rehearsal and practise is not enough. If you limit yourself to only seeking advice, instruction and feedback from your fellow Toastmasters club members, then you are holding yourself back. To grow exponentially, you need to seek out advice, instruction and feedback from the best speakers in the world.

But how can the average Toastmaster afford coaching from top-flight professionals? Top speaking coaches charge over $10,000 per day.

I had this same problem. I was at a crossroads in Toastmasters in 2006. I had outgrown my club and the feedback from my Advanced Toastmasters club was only as good as the club members. I was about to quit Toastmasters when I found out about the best speaking membership program in the world.

Learn how you can get advice, instruction and feedback on public speaking, especially geared to members of Toastmasters. Sign up for this inexpensive program and then you will find new inspiration along your Toastmasters journey.

Rehearsal - The simple word that speaks volumes for presenters

Rehearsal - The simple word that speaks volumes

It is said that Winston Churchill invested one hour of preparation for every minute that he presented a speech in public. This week I was subjected to yet another instance of PowerPointledness. I was in the audience where a University professor presented the results of his research on best practices. Our presenter obviously did not rehearse the presentation.

His comments such as "This slide is purposely too busy for your to see all the details because it is so complex you won't understand it", and "We have to many slides here for the time tonight, so we will just flip through some of them", builds resentment in the audience.

Our presenter invested all of his time in collecting slides from previous presentations and mixing up a brew of disparate thoughts with no clear message. He seemingly invested less than 30 minutes in preparing for a 60 minute presentation - which he also exceeded due to his incessant rambling.

In this presentation, I wondered - and your audience will also think to themselves - "Why am I listening to this presenter? He is insulting me and wasting my time". Let's share the solutions to presentations like this that take place all over the world, every day, so that you can excel in your presentations.

Let's do our part to make the world of PowerPoint Presentations better again by committing to set the example. How do you overcome these issues? Through rehearsal - The simple word that speaks volumes.

Learn how to improve your presentations through rehearsal in the October 2008 Pow'Rful Presentations Newsletter.

Project Management Speaker Excellence

Last night, at the Southern New England Chapter of PMI (SNEC-PMI) in Meriden, Connecticut, our speaker addressed the topic of a schedule. All PMP's and Project Managers know that the basis to manage any project is a project schedule. On the face of it, this topic seemed to be a non-starter for experienced Project Managers like myself.

However, as the presenter acknowledged the fact that all of us have mastered schedules, she further reinforced the need to constantly reinforce the basics of our Profession. Comments of "She is so right", and "Amen" were heard around my table as we nodded in agreement. Sometimes, in the heat of the project we all tend to buckle under the pressure from project sponsors and devote all attention to putting out the hottest fire while allowing the project schedule to become out of date. Without a current schedule, our project soon becomes unmanageable and easily meanders off track.

This is the same in speaking. Just because you know the basics, such as to "Speak hungry" and to drink 1/2 a gallon of water every day, doesn't mean that you are not tempted to sometimes speak after consuming a hearty bowl of pasta. The basics are the basics because they are the basics. This holds true in Project Management and in Public Speaking.

I cover many of the basics of public speaking in my new audio CD for Professional and Public Speakers in most situations.

P.S. As usual, the presenters PowerPoint slides left much room for improvement. I am too drained of blogging on the topic of text-laden and eye-chart slides to comment on yet another terrible waste of a projector bulb.

How to Give a Better Speech - Proven and Practical Speaking Strategies That Anyone Can Use

How to Give a Better Speech - Proven and Practical Speaking Strategies That Anyone Can Use is now available.

This is the product that I wish had been available when I started my Toastmasters journey in District 53. I made many mistakes over the past four years and there is no reason for you to make the same mistakes.

Purchase this CD today and get the best lessons that I have learned from 20 years of public speaking crammed into a packed 65 minute audio CD. You can't go wrong for this price.

Triple Crown Winner Again

I have just received notification that I am again a Toastmasters District 53 Triple Crown winner, for the third consecutive year. I presented the Toastmasters module "How to conduct productive meetings" this past Tuesday to complete the requirements for my Advanced Communicator Gold award.

Have you considered the coveted TRIPLE CROWN ? It is doable. What is holding you back? Is it the fear of growing too much, too quickly as a speaker?

D53 Fall 2008 Educational Session - Panic To Power

After runaway successes at the Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 conferences, I have been invited back to present another educational session at the Toastmasters District 53 Conference. This time, I will help my audience to go from Panic to Power on the platform.

If you attend this session on October 11, 2008, you will learn the Swift and Simple Speaking Strategies that anyone can use.

Specifically, we will cover the following public speaking techniques, that public speakers can use to overcome the fear of public speaking:
1. Physiological and Psychological tips and tools to eradicate the fear of speaking in public.
2. The Ten X Phenomenon
3. The benefits of "You are in my house" attitude.
4. Diaphragmatic breathing,
5. Foods to avoid before making a presentation and,
6. How to prepare for the "moment" before a presentation.

Three lucky participants will also win a free "Panic to Power" audio CD (which alone is worth the price of the conference, if you ask me).

If you are going to be in the area on October 11, 2008, then come on down to the District 53 Fall conference, and learn the Swift and Simple Speaking Strategies that anyone can use, to go from "Panic to Power" on the platform and banish your fear of public speaking forever.

Screen Captures

I was in the audience the other day, and we were subjected to a MEGO presentation. (MEGO = Mine Eyes Gloss Over).

Our presenter did the following, and I warn you about this, so that you can rethink your strategy if you are tempted to follow this example.

Our presenter demonstrated a website, live on the Internet, and then clicked on "View" then on "Source". This shows the audience the code on a webpage.

Here are the problems with this setting, and the solution follows:

1. Never, ever, demo live websites during a presentation. You run the risk of at least the following, and possibly much more going wrong. Firstly, you may not be able to connect to the Internet. Who knows what can go wrong - your PC card fails at the last minute, your ISP account is cancelled, or martians land on the roof of the building. If you plan to demo a live website during your presentation then don't cry to me when you are left apologizing to your audience for your stupidity. Secondly, the website may not look the same as when you prepared for your presentation. You look stupid when you point out the ingredients for your case study and your case study is no longer valid. Thirdly, the website may look very different through the projection equipment. The vibrant yellow on the website may be a dull, dark distortion when the audience sees it through the aging projector. The audience sees this as your poor preparation.

2. Believe it or not, people at the back of the room cannot read the details of a page full of 10 point font. Yes, yes, I know, some people drool at their ability to decipher HTML code from a projector screen. The rest of your audience will politely (and soon become less polite) allow their minds to visit the beach while MEGO prevails.

3. You turn to the screen and point out the code which makes headlines, sub headlines and graphics while your audience looks at your back. If your audience did not mentally visit the beach in point 2 above, they are sure checking out now.

So, what is the solution? Put in some effort and use Camtasia to capture the screens you believe will cure world hunger, and highlight the all-important html code. Then put up your slides and go to the back of the room to see if you can read it from where your audience is reading from. If not, then put the code on handouts, with larger font and highlights so that your audience can play along with you at home.

Amazing and Ethical SEO Speaker

Yesterday I had the pleasure of listening to professional speaker Steve Mertz. Steve is an expert in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). He shared tips with us on how to easily and inexpensively improve all websites and blogs so that we can help people find our expertise in order to help them solve their problems.

SEO is more than just trying to stuff keywords into your web copy or fiddling with META TAGS like some so called "SEO" gurus are preaching. Steve speaks professionally on SEO topics to non technical audiences get out of the code and use common sense to optimize sites and blogs that are Google friendly.

I found Steve's presentation very informative and walked away with a list of inexpensive actions to take to improve my own websites which will help more of my clients. Steve doesn't focus on sly tricks, as do so many SEO gurus.

Instead, Steve showed us how to think better and create win/win/win situations. We win with more customers finding our websites, customers win because they can get access to our expertise and solve their problems and Google wins because our websites and blogs are ethically cooperating with Google search spiders.

I recommend that you hire Steve for your SEO presentation, because you will not feel like you need to take a shower after learning from Steve - I can't say the same about other SEO "Gurus"...

How could I improve this speech?

Here is my performance from the Area B2 District 53 Toastmasters Humorous Speech Contest on Tuesday night. I placed 3rd.

How can I improve this performance? Post comments and let me know your thoughts.

Close, but no cigar

I came in 3rd last night at the District 53 Area B2 Humorous contest. Congratulations to the winner and 2nd place winner.

Will post the video clip shortly.

My speech is much improved since I won at the club contest on 8/5/2008 thanks to feedback from District 53 Toastmasters and my fellow speakers at Champions EDGE.

Although it is painful to be in 3rd place, I am glad I competed, and will do so again. I have learned more about humor and this contest forced me to work on my speech and stories. I have recorded my "lessons learned" from this contest which will help me prepare for the Spring 2009 contest season.

Now that I am out of the running for this Fall contest season, I can focus more energy on preparing for the upcoming educational session at the District 53 Fall Conference on Oct 11, where I am presenting "Panic to Power".

Also working on a new CD product "Give a better speech".

Specificity builds credibility

Patricia Fripp taught me that "specificity builds credibility" when telling a story. If I say "On the way to a store, I saw a dog", then my audience does not know what sort of store I went to, nor the type of dog.

If I relate the story as "On the way to Home Depot, a white poodle barked frantically..." then you have a very clear picture of the store and the dog, just by using words that are specific.

Here is a video clip of Patricia demonstrating the learning point:




Here is my comment on this learning point:


The lesson is clear. Always be specific in your stories. Describe the store, the time of day, the number of people in involved, because Specificity builds credibility.

A Fair lesson

Last night my family visited the 116th Annual Wapping Fair in our town of South Windsor. We always watch one performance of the racing pigs and enjoy the bumper cars. I particularly enjoy this fair because it proves once again that we are living our dreams by being able to attend a small town country fair in the USA.

While watching the live country music band, I realized how luck we are as speakers and presenters. I counted 8 microphones, with stands and cables on the stage. Having just purchased a new Samson G-Track Microphone this week, I realize the cost of equipment. During my research, I visited a local music store, and was offered studio quality microphones up to $1,000 and saw electric guitars at $8,000 a piece. Add in speakers, cables and paraphernalia, I recognize the investment that musicians make in equipment in order to give free performances.

As speakers, our investment in equipment is inconsequential compared to a live band. We are lucky. We get by with a portable microphone and recorder. We don't need expensive instruments to perform our craft.

I would have bought a CD on the spot if this band sold products because I enjoyed the entertainment. But alas, no products on sale. And the audience can't buy what you don't sell.

We are expecting downpours this afternoon and I believe the Wapping fair will suffer with slim attendance today.

Show, don't tell

Today I took part in the volunteer activities of "Day of Caring" at American Red Cross in Farmington, CT. I forgot my camera and berated myself for not being able to take video podcasts of the event. Oh Well!! These things happen. I hope to get photos of the event from some colleagues who were smart enough to bring cameras.

Our day started out with a presentation of the American Red Cross, mission and activities. I observed a common mistake that many presenters make. Novices and experienced speakers alike sometimes tell the audience how great something will be, and don't allow the audience to find out for themselves.

As I have explained before in this blog, when the introduction is a page long, and tells us all about how dynamic the speaker is, then my first thought is "He must be very boring if he has to tell the audience repeatedly that he is a dynamic speaker. I guess we would not have seen the dynamism if he did not tell us about it first. Or else he is insulting my intelligence by assuming that he has to tell me, since I am unable to identify a dynamic speaker when I see one." (Personally, I think that a speaker who needs to introduce himself as "dynamic" needs a therapist, not an audience.) I have yet to see a person introduce himself as "dynamic" and then live up to the promise.

Today's presenter introduced a video clip as "Very emotional". We watched the clip and I wasn't moved at all. Now what does that mean? I have no emotions? I looked around the audience who were also politely paying attention, but I did not witness any emotions.

I recommend that you do not set up your stories and video clips with introductions such as "This is a funny story" or "This is an emotional video". Just get right into it, and let your audience decide for themselves.

Have a look at your introductions. Are you telling your audiences how great you are? If so, then stop. Make your introduction "you focused" and show your audience that you are a dynamic, humorous and exciting speaker. This does not insult your audience and also saves you from looking like a fool when you don't deliver on what your introduction billed you to be.

All in all, this was a very productive day and a great volunteer event. I also purchased an emergency FM/AM radio with a hand-powered generator to use in case the power goes out. This is a fascinating invention and brings out the engineer in me.

Getting the most out of your Toastmasters Journey

When I joined Toastmasters in District 53, I thought that all the benefits of the Toastmasters program was available in my club meeting. I realized that there were many other clubs around the world, but missed some critical points. And wow - did I miss huge opportunities in my Toastmasters Journey to this point.

My fellow club members Toastmasters did not have much more experience than I did, and we did not comprehend the abundance of opportunities available beyond the club role of timer, speaker and general evaluator. I did not know about the Champions EDGE program which I have come to recommend to every Toastmaster who is serious about learning the craft of public speaking.

I have made this video to pass on my what I have learned about what I did not know when I joined Toastmasters. I wasted my first year in Toastmasters because I did not even know about the opportunities available. This video guides and emphasizes to all new Toastmasters to get the most from our journey together.

Please forward this video to everyone in your club, so that we can share what we have learned in Toastmasters so far.

Swift and Simple Speaking Strategies anyone can use

Recording equipment for presenters

I am now in the market for new audio recording equipment for my next series of CD products. This week I researched microphones, digital recorders and audio editing software packages.

The variety of microphones, software packages and recording equipment available is eye-opening to a neophyte sound engineer. Hundreds of microphones, dynamic type, condensor type, cardiod patterns, with shock mounts, and stabilizer bars. Oh wait - that's for my trailer. Never mind :)

In my research I realized that my trusty Sony digital recorder is outdated as well. I purchased the ICD-P320 in August 2006 and have recorded over 150 speeches with it. The downside for me has always been that it is monoaural and I would have liked stereo recordings.

While browsing in Best Buy on Friday I realized with a shock that new portable digital recorders have stereo capability and was instantly dissatisfied with my ICD-P320. A new stereo digital recorder is on the cards for me now.

I advise you to also take a fresh look at your equipment. Technology advances so quickly, that if your laptop, projector and recorder are more than 2 years old, you should be thinking of upgrading again. For those of us who have been through the upgrade cycle a few times, it is still hard to realize your equipment is obsolete. But you have to agree with me that your time is too valuable to be struggling with far outdated equipment. Make the investment and purchase good recording equipment and a new portable audio recorder. You never know when you will be speaking to the right audience and get a "magical" moment that you can use in future presentations.

What I would do with 5 Million Dollars

This was the first week for students back at Ben Bronz Academy aka BBA. My wife and I enjoyed the annual pot luck dinner on Thursday evening. BBA is the school of choice for many children with Learning Disabilities in Connecticut, and is home to the smartest educators I have met in America.

As veteran parents of this revolutionary Academy, it was our pleasure to reach out and welcome first-time parents. New parents shared their war stories. We encouraged each other on the emotional and financially draining journey up the educational path that leads to BBA.

I am saddened to confirm that the sorry state of public education has still not improved over the past three years. School districts are still allowing the following to take place in schools every day:

1. Verbal abuse in the classroom of children who don't fit into the teacher's perception of "normal".
2. Punishment for inappropriate home work assignments.
3. Unwillingness to accept reports from private specialists and insisting on never-ending examinations and tests while the clock ticks and students are denied Free and Appropriate Education during the exasperating delays.
4. Preference for engaging in legal battles instead of using tax dollars to serve the community and educate children.

New parents asked "Is this situation the same in your school district". The answer is "Yes. It is the same in all districts. The level of aggravation, deceitfulness and stupidity is comparable. The only differences are the names and places involved."

This is a case of the "open door, closed mind" syndrome. Public school teachers can learn to teach children with LD, if anyone is willing to ask. (Kudos to the teachers who transfer from public systems to BBA.) The answer is available to educators all over the world to help astoundingly smart children with Learning Disabilities, if Public School educators were just willing to learn the proven teaching methods. But there are none so deaf as those who will not hear. I am not going to attempt to change the thinking of public school teachers, but wish that I could do more for the children that don't have access to the appropriate education that they deserve and are entitled to.

BBA is the best academic institution on the face of this earth, but obviously twenty or so staff members can only do so much and are only able to help a finite number of children each year.

If I had five million Dollars, I would create a foundation to spread the word on BBA. I would create a chain of BBA's across the nation, where children who need an education, and are entitled to Free and Appropriate Education under Federal Law, have access to open-minded and educated educators.

If you have 5 Million Dollars earmarked for a good cause, then consider working with me to create a foundation and expand the BBA reach.

P.S. On a side note - My message to all new parents of BBA "Welcome - This will be the best year of your family's life".

Two mice and a handgun

After years of service my computer's mouse needed replacement. At the Best store to Buy electronics I inspected umpteen varieties of wireless, wired, optical, roller, trackball, 3, 4 and 5 button mice. Many have rubber grips - when last did you need to move the mouse so fast that you lost your grip? Perhaps you need rubber grips for those white knuckle Internet browsing experiences?

My conclusion is that I am the only person on the planet who has human-like hands. The mice I tested are all uncomfortable to work with, and even the least uncomfortable wireless Razor Fish mouse that I chose has buttons on the side which activate desktop functions every time I reach over for it. The wireless Razor Fish uses blue tooth, which in theory increases the reception area. In practice, the blue tooth reception only makes for jerky movements.

When I needed to replace the mouse on my other PC, I opted for a GE wired mouse, with a roller ball. For under $10 I now have a reliable mouse that works, every time, unlike the 5 button whiz-wonder, rubber grip, countered Razor Fish model.

This is a breakthrough. Why on earth do mouse designers think that a mouse needs to be any thing other than a pointing device?

Oh yeah - and who in their right mind makes a wireless mouse that needs to be in a 24 inch reception area of the USB receiver?

"Boring reliable" is the way that a gun reviewer once described the Browning Hi-Power Semi-Auto pistol. This classic 9MM P pistol has been a simple workhorse pistol for militia, police forces and sportsmen since 1935. My first pistol was a Browning Hi-Power Mark III and it set the standard by which I judge all pistols. "Boringly reliable" are the words I want to see on computers, mice and my telephone system. There is no need to integrate a coffee maker or throw in the kitchen sink with office systems. Just make them "Boringly reliable" and eliminate the hassle factor.

Why can engineers develop a no-frills tool in a Browning Hi-Power but cannot produce easy to use wireless mice? Come on guys, please make mice that are "Boringly Reliable".

P.S. What mice do mouse designers use to design new models? How about an International law that a mouse designer uses his own mouse for one year after designing it?

But I'm not funny !!

Do you enjoy humor in presentations? Do you know how to create humor in your presentations? Why should you even bother? Why not just find a joke on the Internet for your next presentation?

For the answers come with me on a deep dive into humor in the September 2008 Pow'Rful Presentations Newsletter, by clicking here.

The Good Ship Asterix

Yesterday I went out with good friends on the Long Island Sound. We sailed over to Fisher's Island for lunch. This is a 15 minute trip with the motor, but as my Captain says "You throw away your watch when you pull up the sail, because nature has no time pieces". Our trip took a few hours as we enjoyed each other's company, the fresh air and a touch of sun under a gentle 10 knots per hour wind.

We saw many sailboats on the Long Island Sound, but speedboats are few and far between thanks to the price of gas. Fisher's Island is serene and I could live on the Island should the opportunity arise.

The top photo shows a "Class Race". This is a race with the same boats which levels the playing field and the only way to win is by applying superior skill.

Applying Project Management Principles to Presentations

The essence of Project Management is "Plan the work, and then work the plan". The end result of a project does not happen by accident. Neither a successful nor failed project happen by accident. Actions taken during the project deliver a result.

How does this essence help presenters? Well, successful presentations don't just happen by accident either. Your memorable presentation is a result of actions that you have taken at appropriate times. In order to deliver a powerful presentation, you must have decided on the content for your presentation, created PowerPoint slides that fit your message and rehearsed your presentation. You probably confirmed the date and time of the presentation and tested your equipment before the audience walked into the room.

How do you keep track of everything? How do you remember to send your introduction a week before the presentation? Do you even know who to send it to? The easiest way to deliver powerful presentations every time, is by creating a simple project plan of the work to be done, and then working your plan.

In this podcast, you can learn "How to use Project Management Principles to plan your next presentation".

In short, here are the steps to take:
1. Put the date of your presentation at the bottom of a new Excel spreadsheet.
2. Working up the page, and back from your presentation, create interim target dates. For example, make a note of the date that you must send your introduction, and the date that you must deliver your PowerPoint slides to the meeting planner.
3. Add to your plan, as you uncover more work that needs to be done.
4. Keep your plan for your next presentation , and improve on it as you move forward.

Visualization for presenters

Coincidentally, (or not coincidentally according to your belief), a fellow Toastmaster gave a touching speech this week explaining how the Law of Attraction has worked in her life. This is in the same week that I received my copy of "Living the Law of Attraction". (Coincidence? Who knows?)

Which reminded me to again discuss the benefits of using the Law of Attraction and visualization for your presentations. You definitely get better results when you do one or more of the following:

1. Visualize your meeting room. Visualize your audience. Now visualize, with strong positive emotions, your audience hanging on your every word and paying attention to your presentation. What does the room smell like? What is the temperature? How is the lighting? Then also visualize a successful presentation - depending on your definition of a successful presentation. If it is a business presentation, you can visualize closing the deal. If it is a wedding speech, you can visualize everyone laughing at your jokes. For maximum benefit, visualize every morning and evening in the days leading up to your presentation.

2. Write out affirmations by hand. Affirmations such as "I see the crowd going wild". "Everyone came up to me afterwards and shook my hand".

3. Put up pictures of a successful speaker on your vision board and imagine that you are that speaker.

4. Use positive self-talk in the time leading up to the presentation. Consciously say to yourself things like "I feel comfortable speaking to these people". "This audience came a long way to hear my message today".

Now, before you think that visualization is the only key to being the best speaker in the history of the world, I need to make sure you also take tangible steps in the right direction. Remember that actions determine results.

Larry Winget says it best in this quote: "What you think about, talk about, and get off your ass and do something about comes about".

After you have completed the important steps of visualization, you need to craft your presentation and then rehearse it. Rehearse it out loud, and time your presentation so that you know how long it is.

This is the Law of Attraction in Action for presenters.
Step 1. Visualize.
Step 2. Take appropriate actions.
Step 3. Enjoy the results of your labor with a memorable presentation.

The Elements of Style for Presenters

You may have heard of the "The elements of Style" by Strunk and White. I first read about it while reading a book on Freelance Writing success by Bob Bly, and snapped up a copy at Barnes and Noble last week.

This morning I was in a doctor's waiting room and read my new copy of "The elements of style". I have never read it before and like the concepts. The foreword introduces us to Professor William Strunk, the passionate English Professor who self-published the first version of his little book on English usage that was the precursor to "The elements of style".

"The elements of style" requires concentrated reading. It is hard to determine what the rule is, the example, and the annotation. This is not a book to skim through, rather one to study. I found the book to be fun, once I focused all my attention on the message and the book does not take long to read through the first time. I will mark it up with my highlighter for future reference.

Rule 14 is particularly relevant to all presenters: "Use the active voice" For example, "I shall always remember my first trip to Dallas" is much better than "My first trip to Dallas will always be remembered by me".

As presenters, using the active voice to speak is even more important than when we write. Listening to a speaker in passive voice is very tiring. For example, when you follow the line above with "The burgers at McDonalds were enjoyed by the family" and continue in this vein, then I am likely to completely lose interest in the speech.

Therefore, always use the active voice in your presentations. You can google for sites that offer more examples of active and passive voice. Also, purchase a copy of "The Elements of Style". My copy was around $10 and is a fabulous investment to improve my writing.

We communicate with our language, and consequently we must always be improving our communication tools.

Personal Photos for Slides

I just enjoyed a car show close to home in South Windsor, Connecticut. Photos of old cars can be used to connect with seniors in my audiences, and the exquisite paint jobs on the hot rods will connect with hot rod enthusiasts.

These photos do not do justice the to paint jobs. The paint work on these hot rods left my drool marks on the tarmac.

What about you? Do you collect personal photos to use in your presentations? Just as you should keep on collecting stories for your story file, you need to also collect personal photos for your presentations. You never know when you will be able to connect with your audience through a personal photo. As Darren would say "Photo time, photo time, photo time".

Tips to Live the Law of Attraction

Here I am holding the newly published book. Here are some tips to help you manifest your dreams, starting today.

1. Put up a vision board and pin photos or pictures of your dream on the vision board. When you see your vision board imagine that you already posses the object you desire. How will you feel when you possess that object? Will you be happy? Use your emotion to strengthen your desire by feeling the happiness every time you look at the photos on your vision board.

2. Create a "Dream book". Write down the accomplishments that you want to achieve, even if you have no way of reaching them currently. Write your desires in your dream book and keep it on your bookshelf to review from time to time.

3. Use affirmations each morning when you wake up. Write down ten to twenty desires that you would like to achieve, one desire on each 3 x 5 index card. Each morning you read the card, visualize the desire for 30 seconds, and then read the next card.

4. Be open to new opportunities in your life. The Law of Attraction may manifest your desire through new experiences. Be willing to undertake new adventures and go where you have not gone before.

5. Do your part. If you want to manifest a promotion, then you also have to do your part and apply for open positions. You may attract the open position, but it will pass if you don't apply for the position and visualize acing the interview.

Living the Law of Attraction

My copy of "Living the Law of Attraction: Real Stories of People Manifesting Health, Wealth, and Happiness" arrived in the mail today". Disclaimer up front - I don't make any money on this book. Rich German and Robin Hoch have done a nice job of gathering stories and publishing this compilation. You should have a copy for your bookshelf if you want to improve any area of your life and you can purchase your copy here.

I immediately turned to page 145 and read what I had written. That's right. I contributed my story of how I manifested our immigration to the USA using the Law of Attraction. My hope is that readers around the world will vicariously experience our success by Living the Law of Attraction in their lives. Seeing your words in a printed book is an ego enhancing event, no matter how small your contribution. To be honest, I contributed my story to stroke my ego and to give others the opportunity to learn from my experience (in that order).

Now that I have read the final version of my contribution, I will read the other fabulous stories in this book to learn how others benefit from Living the Law of Attraction. I bet each contributing author is feeling good about themselves right about now.

Fly me to the moon - in 3D

I just enjoyed "Fly me to the moon" in 3 D. The movie was released today and we thoroughly loved the experienced. If you get the chance, and your kids are over 8 years old, then go and enjoy "Fly me to the moon" with your children.

This was my first 3D movie and "Fly me to the moon" in 3D is the first animated movie shot in 3D, so it was an evening of firsts. The story line was OK, the 3D experience was magnificent and the images were educational. I am sure that all the early teenagers in the movie theater today know more about the moon landing than their public school teachers.

We put on the 3D glasses for the movie. Afterwards, we brought the glasses home. I now need to find a way to dispose of them safely. I am too scared to put them on again. If 3D glasses make a movie scene come to life, what happens if you wear 3D glasses in real life? Do you see life in 6D? The thought will give me nightmares until I dispose of the glasses, safely.

I recall studying math in college. In one course we learned how to calculate the area and circumference of a sphere in the 5th and 6th dimension. I enjoyed the class and found it fascinating, and consequently did well. So well in fact, that I was able to always get the correct answer to calculate the area and circumference in n dimensions. That's right. Even in the 21st or 35th dimension, which is mind boggling. And the cool thing is that no-one can prove you wrong. How can anyone prove anything in the 35th dimension, as you can't even imagine 35 dimensions. That was twenty years ago and I still have not found a need to got beyond 3 dimensions.

Anyway, this is a fabulous movie. Enjoy it in 3D. And dispose of the glasses safely afterwards :)

P.S. I wonder how we can get PowerPoint slides in 3D? Wouldn't it be so cool to hand out 3D glasses to your audience for a PowerPoint experience instead of the boring text-laden slides we are exposed to? Let your imagination run wild and envision 3D PowerPoints. Maybe we will be lucky enough to experience this one day?

Social What?

I have updated my profile on Linked in, and invite you to join my network. Social Networking could be the start of the next evolution of electronic relationships. Join my network and we will see in a few years what the benefits are to each of us.

Preparing to speak

I am often asked - "Can you give me a few tips for a presentation that I have to make?"

Here are Wayne Botha's six top speaking tips.
1. Drink half a gallon of water each day in the three days leading up to your presentation. (Yes - drink water, not soda, tea nor Triple Caramel Vente decaf with extra milk). You can take water on stage with you, but it is the water in the days leading up to the presentation that lubricates your vocal cords.

2. Start your preparation early. Don't wait until the week before the presentation. Preparation takes longer than you think. Start to prepare as soon as you know you are going to speak. Preparing the night before you speak will show up the minute you realize your PowerPoint slides are on your other computer at home.

3. Rehearse your presentation, out loud, at least once before you go live. Use a stopwatch or clock to verify how much time your presentation will take. It may be way over time, way under time, or just on time. This knowledge is essential for you to know if you can expand on points while you are presenting.

4. Get exercise before your presentation. Either take a walk on the night before your presentation, or take a walk before you go on stage. Get oxygen into your system and take the time to clear your mind from irrelevant distractions.

5. Speak hungry. Do not start your presentation with a full bladder or full stomach. Either skip your meal, or eat light before you present. You cannot perform well on a full stomach. You can pig out after you wow the audience.

6. Get there early. If you have PowerPoint slides (Do I need to remind you that Murphy's law will be lurking?) test your equipment before you present because something will not work. The power cord is too short, the remote presenter batteries just died, the Mac's cable doesn't fit the projector cable. Who knows what else will go wrong. Get there early.

There you have it. Wayne Botha's six top tips to prepare for your next speech or presentation. Use these tips to have your audience beg for more.