Insider Secrets of Professional peaking

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Insider Secrets of Professional peaking
herbert_at_idea4u.com
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Being on the rope is everything. All else is
waiting to perform.

• -- Karl Wallendacircus tightrope performer

herbert_at_idea4u.com
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Insider Secrets of Professional Speaking

• What Professional Speaking is and What it is
  not
• 9 Skills of Professional Speakers
• Your next step to becoming a Professional

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What is Professional Speaking?
Better still, what it isnt!

• It is not a career there are no rungs up the
  ladder
• It is not a professional no degrees available
• It is not a business no one has ever bought
  another speakers business

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Demand for Professional Speaking is increasing
1995 US27.5 Billion
1983 US19.5 Billion
Meeting Expenditures
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In Hong Kong

• The new Convention Centre has added over double
  the capacity of the original
• Hong Kong Centre is one of the most used
  Convention Centres in the world
• The new airport has increased traffic
• Hong Kong government has committed Hong Kong to
  become a prime MICE location

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Places Professional Speakers Perform

• Conventions
• Clubs. Associations
• Seminars
• Professional Groups
• Cruise Ships
• Colleges Universities

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Skills of Professional Speakers

• a passionate expert on a topic
• compassionate towards the audience
• a target specific marketer
• able to customize the topic to a particular
  audience within their market
• a creator of marketing tools
• a sales-person
• a service-person
• a business person
• a great speaker

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1. Passionate Expert

• Love the business of speaking.
• List the business subjects you know and approach
  with enthusiasm.
• You must develop expertise in your chosen topic
  and constantly keep working to improve your
  knowledge to stay on.

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Why ?

• What people are willing to buy are experts.
• Passion will drive, not only you to become that
  expert, but it will give enthusiasm and zest on
  stage that compels.
• Brilliant speakers do not say "I could speak on
  100 topics" or even worse, "I can speak on
  anything"

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2. Compassionate to People

• Love the audience you speak to.
• Research will show you the aspects of each
  audience for which you will be able to feel
  empathy.
• Speak to several members of your audiences before
  the presentation, then you will hold a
  conversation, not a talk.

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Why ?

• Cavett Robert, founder of the National Speakers
  Association, NSA, says, "They don't care how much
  you know, until they know how much you care."

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3. Target Specific Marketer

• From the topics you are passionate about, ask
  yourself, which of these subjects are ones that
  audiences will pay to learn more about?
• Find the appropriate and specific market.

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Why ?

• Audiences believe that a "jack of all trades is a
  master at none." They want experts who can solve
  their problems practically.

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4. Customize for Audience

• By carefully researching the problems of this
  specific audience.
• Personal interviews with former and current
  attendees before the presentation

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Why ?

• Even an expert on a specific topic and a specific
  market will have that extra magic touch-they also
  know and understand the actual group in front of
  them. Customization can often be an extra fee
  item and can be lucrative.

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5. Creator Marketing Tools

• Create presentation folders, content one-sheets,
  demo tapes (audio or video), business cards and
  letterhead.

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Why ?

• A professional has these tools.
• Without them, clients will find it almost
  impossible to book you.
• And you will find it hard to book them.

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6. A Salesperson

• You will need to learn to sell yourself to buyers
  and speakers bureaus, then to sell your products
  to all kinds of companies.
• Follow the ideas and suggestions in the
  recommended books.
• Study and apply the ideas of many successful
  speakers' great ideas, to give full measure and
  value packed deals to clients.

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Why ?

• Nothing happens until somebody sells something.
  If you wait for someone else to sell you, you may
  never be bought!

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7. A Service Person

• Cultivate a 'you' (not 'me') attitude.
• Make everything you produce to serve your
  clients' needs, wants and potential problem
  situations.
• Make it easy for them to buy you.

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Why ?

• Sales skills get them the first time, service
  brings them back.
• The market is very competitive, there are
  thousands of brilliant professionals out there
  working towards the same buyers you are.
• Often the victor is simply the one who offers
  ease and pleasure in the purchase.

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8. A Businessperson

• Follow up all booking leads and sales in an
  immediate, business-like, concerned, friendly,
  and consistent manner.
• Have a professionalism surrounding everything
  concerned with you your letterhead, the people
  who answer your phone, etc.

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Why ?

• There is nothing which turns a buyer off faster
  than not being able to reach the speaker. Time is
  of great importance.

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9. A Great Speaker

• Practice, practice, practice.
• Then constantly strive to be even better by
  improving delivery, content, and knowledge.
• Speak with a sincere, eloquent speaking style.
• As you speak, keep your eyes on the audience,
  talk to them as if they were one person.
• Tape yourself speaking, and listen carefully.
  Always practice out loud.

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Why ?

• Pope Pius II said, 'A mighty thing is eloquence
  ... nothing so much rules the world.' Your
  passion pulls you to gather your expertise, and
  as Benjamin Disraeli put it, 'Eloquence is the
  child of knowledge.'

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Top Books for Professionals

• Speak And Grow Rich, Dottie and Lilly Walters
• Stuff from the Internet
• Book you wrote yourself
• The Bible
• In Search of Excellence, Tom Peters
• Million Dollar Consulting, Alan Weiss
• Money Talks, Alan Weiss
• Thriving on Chaos, Tom Peters
• What to Say When You're Dyin' On the Platform!,
  Lilly Walters

Based on a survey of speaking professionals in
the US
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1Book
Speak and Grow Rich by Dottie and Lilly Walters
(Upper Saddle River Prentice-Hall, 1997). The
Walters, a mother and daughter, have put together
a valuable resource on the speaking business.
Having taken a seminar of the same name from
Dottie, I would highly recommend the book to
anyone who wants to get paid as a speaker. Has a
bias towards working with speakers bureaus
(agents) as Dottie and Lilly own one of the
largest in the US.
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6 Book
I couldnt put this book down. Really delivers
excellent advice from someone who has done it and
is still doing it! Alan Weiss is a great person
and this book proves it. To the point,
no-nonsense approach, he kills a lot of myths
about the consulting business.
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7 Book
Alans latest book destroys any ideas of grandeur
you may have about the business of speaking.
Dont expect any tips or advice on how to be a
better speaker that is a given. He shows you
how to get yourself set up in the speaking
business. Lots of sage advice and humorous
observations. An excellent read. You may find
what he says hard to take but this no
holds-barred, spill-the-beans guide tells you
about the real world!
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9 Book
A speakers emergency guide. Could have been
titled Murphys Law and Public Speaking. Covers
the waterfront of what can and will go wrong!
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Written by members of Speakers Round Table
the top 22 speakers in America. Selected by their
peers in the National Speakers Association.
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Coaching Available
Herbert Lee, a 20 year speaking veteran is
available for private coaching. Whether you are
interested in improving your writing ability,
presentation skills or would like help on
becoming a professional speaking, Herbert can
help you set up a learning path to achieve your
goals. Email Herbert at herbert_at_idea4u.com for
more details.