May, June, July and August are busy times for us and probably for you. We've decided to combine May and June in one issue and July and August in another issue. We hope you have an exciting, enjoyable summer. ----------------------------- No Sweat Speaking(sm) Ezine ----------------------------- Speaking Tips for Greater Confidence, Skill, Influence & Profit ----------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 4, Number 5 May/June, 2005 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Allan Kaufman & Allan Misch, Editors, Allan and Allan, Inc. mailto:cust-serv@nosweatspeaking.com http://www.nosweatspeaking.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- This monthly newsletter is distributed by request only. If you want to stop it, you can find instructions at the end of the newsletter. (c) 2005 Allan And Allan, Inc. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Please send this Ezine to those you know who (1) need to give technical, sales, marketing, or management presentations; (2) are interested in developing or improving their presentation skills; (3) want to make money speaking and training; (4) need to improve their performance; or (5) have a fear of speaking or are nervous when they speak. This newsletter also is good for building relationships with your clients, customers, associates, and friends. Send this to them with a note that you're thinking about them. ----------------------------------------------------------------- *** Attention *** If you're receiving this issue from someone and would like to get your own complimentary newsletter plus TWO valuable BONUS reports, please visit... http://www.nosweatspeaking.com or... mailto:nssezine@nosweatspeaking.com?subject=Subscribe ----------------------------------------------------------------- PRIVACY STATEMENT: We absolutely will not share your address with anyone. Period! ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Learning to communicate is like taking out an insurance policy. You never know when you'll need it, but it's too late to take it out after you need it." Allan Kaufman as quoted in Baltimore Magazine ----------------------------------------------------------------- *********************** Check This Out! *********************** "Last year, I made a career change from engineering management to marketing at a new company. Public speaking and even presentations to small groups were my greatest fears and I had gone to great lengths to avoid them throughout my career. In my new company, public speaking was not something I could avoid and my speaking ability would be quickly tested. After a lot of research, I turned to Allan & Allan. Most other companies only offer skill training. What I needed was to overcome my life long fear of speaking in front of groups. The No Sweat Speaking system seemed illogical to me at first and I was skeptical. The great part about the system is that you don't have to understand it or believe that it will work. It just happens. Today I speak in front of groups, give media interviews and conduct training sessions on a routine basis. Not only is my speaking anxiety gone, but my skills continue to improve and I look forward to my next opportunity to speak. I give my highest recommendation for Allan and Allan's system. If it works for me, it can work for anyone." Thanks, Jim M. Connecticut --------------------------------- Is Speaking Fear Holding You Back, Costing You a Lot of Money? --------------------------------- Are you not getting the job you want or the promotion you deserve because you suffer from speaking anxiety? How much money, loss of opportunities, or damage to your reputation is this fear costing you? A whole lot. Let's be honest. If you have performance anxieties, you know you need to kill those butterflies in your stomach, but you're afraid to take the next step and/or you're not willing to invest in yourself to make it happen. One man just said to us that he knows he really needs us to coach him, but he thinks he can't afford to. What he can't afford to do is do nothing and continue NOT getting promoted and continue NOT seeking better job or business opportunities because he may have to speak in front of people. This is so sad. It's especially sad when that same person will take out a $20,000 car loan on a depreciating asset. Getting rid of your speaking anxieties and developing your speaking skills are appreciating assets. They increase your value. This means once you do it, you continue to reap the rewards. One promotion leads to another one and another one, but if you don't do what you need to do to get that first promotion, you can forget about it. You could be promoting your businesses and increasing your income by speaking to groups who need your products and services, but your speaking anxiety and other performance blocks are holding you back. Probably, you're reading our ezine because you have some speaking anxieties. If they're bad enough, don't you think it's time to do something about it and improve your self-confidence? How much is having a sense of confidence worth to you? Not just in your work and business life but also in your social life? Have you ever thought about being the life of the party? About being less shy? --------------- We Can Help You --------------- Using our No Sweat Speaking(sm) techniques, we provide personal coaching to help you get rid of your speaking anxieties in a relatively short period of time. Send us an email and tell us you want assistance. In the SUBJECT line of your email, put "I need speaking coaching." We will email you some questions to assess your situation and then send you a proposal as to how we can help you. It doesn't matter where you live as this can be done via email and phone consultations. mailto:allank@nosweatspeaking.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- In This Issue ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Featured Article 2. Presentation Skills Tip 3. Humor Tip 4. Dear Allan and Allan (Answers to Your Questions) ----------------------------------------------------------------- *** Attention Small Business Owners *** Here's one of the best websites on the Internet for small business marketing. We use this site and its great information as a resource. Get a free 24-page Marketing Plan Workbook. Visit... http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/aftrack.asp?AFID=50478 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Featured Article ----------------------------------------------------------------- **How to Get Your Audience Laughing Before You Say a Word** by Allan Kaufman In our January, 2005 through March, 2005 humor tips articles, Allan Misch spotlighted three ways to get your audience laughing before you start your presentation. They are... 1. Use an in-joke. 2. Use a funny title. 3. Add some humor to your introduction. Now, let's examine number 3 above in more depth. Should you use humor in your introduction? Yes... Yes... Yes in many cases. However, for very serious presentations or when you need to generate a very high-degree of professional credibility, you may want to be judicious about using humor in your introduction. What's important about using humor in your introduction? By using humor in the introduction that *YOU WRITE,* (always write your own introduction) you... >> Put your audience in a good mood. >> Develop rapport with your audience. >> Establish yourself as an interesting speaker even before you open your mouth. The safest kind of humor to use is self-deprecating humor -- where you are the target of the humor. When you use self- deprecating humor, you communicate that you do not take yourself very seriously. Your audience feels that you are "regular," just like them. Here's how you do it: A. Start your introduction with a serious statement. For example, "Our next speaker is world-renowned." Then add the humor line: "I mean, he WISHES he was world-renowned." B. Add another serious statement: "He is in Who's Who in Business." Then add a humor line: "Just mention his name to anyone in business and they say, 'Who? Who?'" C. One more time. First a serious statement: "Actually he is a NOTED authority on the subject of Cost/Benefit Analysis... yes, it's NOTED right here on this page." [HOLD UP PAGE.] D. Then add a number of facts that build you up and add to your credibility: "The fact of the matter is he really is an expert in finance. He's been written up in many newspapers and magazines. He's taught many finance courses. He was a major presenter at a Certified Public Accountants' Convention. He was recognized for his work on the 'Analysis of Budgetary Constraints of Local Governments.' And he has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters in the field of Number Theory as it relates to Finances." E. Follow this with another line of humor: "Now he doesn't want anyone to make a fuss over him -- just treat him as you would any great man." F. End with the purpose of your presentation and a humorous welcoming line: "Today he's going to share with us his secrets for using numbers to solve your financial woes. Please help me welcome a great guy and the man who wrote this introduction, Dr. Allan Smith." In summary, using humor in your introduction, makeS your audience feel good about you even before you begin your presentation. Do this by surrounding the facts of your bio with intertwining humor. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Keynote was a huge success! You were right about everything -- from bringing my introduction to adding humor. I ended up adding about 9 humorous things to my presentation -- I actually brought the house down with the expandable ball visual. Thanks for everything. You made all the difference." Best, Trish "In minutes you were able to do for the audience what some people have been trying to do for themselves for a lifetime. You two helped audience members get rid of the fear of public speaking right before my very eyes.... Any organization can benefit greatly by witnessing your seminar.... You two are a great team!" Craig Valentine Toastmasters International 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Presentation Skills Tip ----------------------------------------------------------------- **Overloading Your Presentation Spells Failure** by Allan Misch Some speakers just don't know when enough is enough. They try to cram every conceivable point and fact into their presentations. Instead of informing, they usually wind up boring their audiences. Remember this presentation truth: Less is Better. Mind-mapping research indicates that most people can only deal with three to five bits of information at a time. So limit your presentation to three main points. Put any other important information in a handout and distribute it at the end of your program. Remember, if you overload your presentation with information, you'll send your audience to dreamland. Limit your number of points and remember, Less is Better. ----------------------------------------------------------------- *** Great Speaking Resource *** Turn your speaking, training, or sales skills into cash. Check out a great professional speaking resource. We recommend it highly. Lots of great tips and tricks. Just click on or paste the URL into your browser. http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/aftrack.asp?AFID=50475&u=www.antion.com/public-speaking.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Humor Tip ----------------------------------------------------------------- **Some Humor Don'ts** by Allan Misch There are some strategies that you should avoid and employ when using humor. To increase your odds of success when presenting, avoid these strategies. - Don't tell your audience that you're telling them a joke. If the joke bombs, so do you. - Don't use jokes or humor involving sex, politics, religion, or "sacred cows." These make your audience uncomfortable. - Don't make women, such as wives and mother-in-laws, the butt, or target of your humor. - Don't step on your punch line. Pause and wait until your audience stops laughing, then continue. In the next issue, I'll offer some positive strategies for using humor in your presentations. ----------------------------------------------------------------- **If You're Looking for a Home for Your Website, iPowerWeb Makes Website Hosting Simple!** We did a lot of research on Web hosting companies and compared many of them. We decided on iPowerWeb to host our website, and we made a good decision. iPowerWeb is rated #1 for affordable, high quality web hosting. You get an incredible 1,000 megs of space, 500 POP email accounts, 40 gigs of transfer, website builder, 24/7 customer support, free setup, marketing package, and much more... all for an incredible $7.95 per month! So if you're interested in establishing a presence on the Web for the first time, or if you want to change your Website hosting company because you're tired of getting ripped off, check out iPowerWeb. http://www.ipowerweb.com/cgi-bin/tracker/trackeraf.cgi?rid=afftrend ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Dear Allan and Allan (Answers to Your Questions) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Allan and Allan, I'm a venture capitalist and have to present maybe 3 or 4 times a month. I get very anxious and panicky. I feel that the groups I present to don't approve of me. What can I do? Dan in Dallas. Dear Dan in Dallas, We empathize with you. This is a daunting situation. We've worked with several other people who've had a similar challenge. In each case, the presenter was male. It turned out that each didn't get needed approval from his father. When each went before a business audience, it would trigger an emotional anchor related to the need for approval. We don't know if this is your situation, but it could be. If it is, you need to remove the emotional baggage associated with the issue of approval from your father. When you do that, most probably your speaking anxiety related to this issue will disappear. We can help. Allan and Allan Submit questions to mailto:questions@nosweatspeaking.com. ----------------------------------------------------------------- *** Hot Internet Business Secrets *** Over 1,000+ PAGES of the Hottest, Proven Profitable Internet Business Secrets Broken down Into An EASY-TO-DUPLICATE System! We highly recommend checking out this site. It's jam-packed with THE EXACT INFORMATION YOU NEED to start, build, and grow your very own, profitable Internet business. This is what we used to get started. 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I've even taken an extended course at UCLA Extension in California. The course was about $500.00 and lasted 8 weeks. I've learned more from 2 of your newsletters than I learned in an 8 week course... your newsletter is incredible, enlightening, informative... the best I've read to date... and I've read some good ones!" Janice Smallwood-McKenzie, The Networking Coach/Author "101 Commandments of Networking: Common Sense But Not Common Practice" http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/2513 (The link is for your information. We make nothing on it.) ----------------------------------------------------------------- No Sweat Speaking(sm) Ezine ----------------------------- Publisher: Allan and Allan, Inc. Editors: Allan Kaufman and Allan Misch P.O. Box 2721 Columbia, Maryland 21045-1721 USA Tel: 410-363-0080 Fax: 410-356-8374 mailto:cust-serv@nosweatspeaking.com http://www.nosweatspeaking.com "Your next presentation doesn't have to make you sweat!" 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