Craig Valentine, The Mindset of PowerPoint Champions

Readers this is so exciting. Today we have a special blog entry from Craig Valentine.

Craig Valentine is the 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking and is one of my mentors. Craig is THE master storyteller and is sharing his years of study and practise with students through his Story Telling bootcamps. I attended this bootcamp with Craig, Patricia Fripp and Darren LaCroix. It was the best investment I have made.

Here is Craig's entry. (Craig, thank you for giving us insight to mindset of Champions)

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"Hi Craig. This is Brent Joyner and I run a small business that is seeking funds from venture capitalists. We need help with our presentations to potential investors. Craig, we already have the presentation, we just need to know what we are going to say. Can you help?"

Now you might think this question is confusing because Brent stated that "he already has the presentation" but he does not know what they are going to say. However, I knew exactly what he was saying because I have heard if far too often. Basically what he meant was that they already have the slides laid out and now they need something to say in between them.

This is a classic mistake that ruins most business presentations. Brent started developing his presentation by creating slides. You should NEVER do this.Instead, start by creating your message and then determine whether or not you even need slides to say it! This is so important that it needs to be repeated.

Do NOT start by creating slides and then figuring out what to say DO start by creating your message and then figuring out if slides will help you say it.

Craig Valentine, MBA

1999 World Champion of Public Speaking

Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach

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How do you apply what you learn?

How do you apply what you learn? After you have invested your time (and perhaps your money) into attending a course, how do you apply what you have learned on the course? Are you like most people who file the notes away after the course with the intention of applying the lessons one day, or do you start right away by applying one lesson?

I got back from the Story Telling Champ Camp this morning. It was a marathon weekend. I left Connecticut on Friday evening, flew overnight to Vegas, attended two outstanding, remarkable and captivating days with Patricia Fripp, Darren LaCroix and Craig Valentine. Then flew overnight from Vegas to put in a full day at the office on Monday in Connecticut.

I know that if I put away my notes with the lessons that I learned over the weekend, I will probably not find time to ever review them. How often do you attend a seminar and then never get around to practising what you learned? To start getting benefit from the champ camp, I will implement at least one lesson in my speech at a Toastmaster club on Tuesday night. I will also keep my notes on my desk until I have had a chance to type them up.

OK - Enough said. I cannot hope to implement every lesson that I learned this weekend. There was just so much good information. But I will definitely implement as many of the lessons as I can. How will I do this you ask? One lesson at a time. I started today at the office by describing things in more detail. We no longer have "stuff" on my team. We now have detailed plans and documentation. One key to memorable story telling is to describe your characters and the settings. How can you describe the details of your characters and settings? Think about.

Planning, Planning, and ProSpeakers

Once upon a time there were three great Storytellers in Vegas at the same time. It was September 14, 2007. The World Champions hosted the first every Story Telling Champ Camp. You could feel the tension in the class as students perched on the EDGE of their seats. Darren encouraged us to continue getting Stage Time. Craig shared the 9 C's of Story Telling. Patricia Fripp showed us how to tell a story with a British accent. (This is easier for me than other students as I already have a South African accent).

Planning #1.
All this is pure speculation on my part. You see, I am planning for the Story Telling Champ Camp in Vegas on Sept 14 and 15. This will be the first training I receive in Story Telling and I am so looking forward to it. People have complimented me on how much they enjoy it when I tell stories, and I enjoy telling stories. I want to take it to the next level at this champ camp. Why don't you join me? Click here or on the link below, to sign up for this fun event. You will hang out with Craig, Darren, Patricia and myself for two full days. I am planning the stories I need to work on at this champ camp, and setting my personal objectives for this event.

Planning #2.
I am planning the Area B2, District 53 Toastmasters Fall Contest for Oct 1, 2007. Being an IT Project Manager I am used to planning and this is no big deal. The challenge is always time. Where do I find enough time in every day to plan the contest, get volunteers, make sure we have all the forms we need and so on. Thank goodness the Windsor club has stepped up to host the contest. Fortunately I still have a week or so to finalize planning of the event, although time is running out quickly. Having a speaking schedule and volunteering for Toastmasters activities certainly keeps me busy though...

ProSpeakers.
ProSpeakers is simply the best Advanced Toastmasters club I know of. We meet in Springfield, Mass. on the 3rd Thursday of every month. We are focused on Professional Speaking and indepth feedback to every speaker. If you are within a one hour drive of Springfield, Mass. then come and visit us. You won't be sorry.

Post your comments. What are you planning for the next few months? How do you manage to fit in your Toastmaster events while living your busy life? Do you have time management tips to share with us?