----------------------------- No Sweat Speaking(tm) Ezine ----------------------------- Speaking Tips for Greater Confidence, Skill, Influence, & Profit "Your next presentation doesn't have to make you sweat!" ----------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 5, Number 4 May, 2006 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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) 2006 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- *** Need a Speaker for a Seminar or Workshop? *** "I was very impressed by Allan's (Kaufman) extensive preparation -- he knew exactly how to customize his public speaking seminar for the unique needs of our professional association. Allan led the informative seminar with great enthusiasm and encouraged a high degree of interaction among participants. While we are not sweating our next public speaking opportunity, we enjoyed the seminar so much that we'd like to ask him back to next year's meeting." Christopher Symanoskie Director of Corporate Communications Laureate Education, Inc. Baltimore, MD 21202 www.laureate-inc.com President, NIRI Baltimore Chapter www.niribaltimore.com If you need a speaker to conduct a customized seminar or workshop for your organization or company, go to: http://www.nosweatspeaking.com/speaking.html and http://www.nosweatspeaking.com/contact.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- *********************** 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. 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 unique No Sweat Speaking(tm) techniques, we provide personal coaching to help you get rid of your speaking anxieties in a relatively short period of time. Go to our website and complete the Coaching Inquiry Questionnaire at http://nosweatspeaking.com/coaching_inquiry.html. Completing the questionnaire doesn't obligate you or us to work together. We will assess your situation and send you a proposal about how we can assist you. It doesn't matter where you live. Our coaching can be done via email and phone consultations. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- **The Ten Biggest Public Speaking Myths and How to Bust Them! -- Part 1** by Allan Misch President John F. Kennedy said, "The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." Public speaking myths abound. Many treat them as "gospel," and don't see the illogic in them. As a result, their presentations suffer. In this issue and the next two, I'll examine ten presentation myths and explain how to free yourself from them to improve your speaking performance. The ten myths are... 1. You need to be nervous or anxious when presenting. 2. The speaker needs no introduction. 3. If you know your topic, you can just wing it. 4. Tell your audience you're nervous and they'll support you. 5. If you can't tell a joke properly, you can't be funny. 6. Technical presentations should inform, not entertain. 7. Content is the most important aspect of a presentation. 8. If you have a loud voice, you don't need a microphone. 9. Telling a joke is the best way to start a presentation. 10. Experienced speakers are the most effective. *Myth #1 -- You Need to Be Nervous or Anxious When Presenting.* This is one of the most damaging myths to believe. If you're nervous, anxious, and fearful about doing something, you'll lack the needed confidence to be effective at it. Do you think surgeons, lawyers, and professional athletes are nervous, anxious, and fearful when they perform? Obviously, not. Do you think steel workers, airline pilots, and fire fighters must be nervous, anxious, and fearful to perform effectively? I don't think so. What about corporate leaders, software engineers, and astronauts? Not a chance. So why would you think only a speaker HAS to be nervous, anxious, and fearful to be effective? That doesn't make sense! And it isn't true. It's a massive myth. Starting today, replace that myth with this belief. "You need to feel confident and powerful when presenting." Then, find the root cause of your negative feelings and work on eliminating those feelings and replacing them with positive ones. If you need assistance, seek out a professional coach who doesn't hold that myth, and who can help you. *Myth #2 -- The Speaker Needs No Introduction.* How many times have you heard this said? It usually sounds like this, "Our next speaker needs no introduction, so here's Joe Shmoe." Here's an important rule of thumb. Every presenter, even a well- known one, needs an introduction. The introduction tells the audience why the speaker is eminently qualified to address the audience on the topic. An exception to this rule would be where no speaker on the program gets a formal introduction. So don't believe this myth. Instead, when you give a presentation, make sure you prepare an introduction for your introducer. If you're tasked to introduce a speaker, get an introduction from the presenter. *Myth #3 -- If you know your topic, you can just wing it.* Take a lesson from professional athletes. They're constantly practicing the basics both physically and mentally. Why should a presenter be any different? This myth, if followed, usually leads to presentation disaster. When you present, you're providing information that the audience needs. So, you should know your topic. More importantly, you need to transmit this information in an interesting, clear, well- constructed manner. This takes planning, organizing, and practice. So don't believe that just because you know your subject you can "wing it." Learn the art of organization and construction. Learn how to "spice up" your presentations. Practice out loud and prepare mentally. Like professional athletes, have a game plan. Your presentations will be content rich, clear, and interesting. The late business leader and author, Harold Geneen wrote "We must not be hampered by yesterday's myths in concentrating on today's needs." Determine not to believe these public speaking myths that hamper your performance. Free yourself from them, and watch your performance soar. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- **How to Recover When Your Mind Goes Blank -- Part 2** by Allan Kaufman In our March, 2004 issue, (http://www.nosweatspeaking.com/ezine/back_issues-2004/nss-ezine03-04v3-3.txt) Allan Misch addressed how to recover from mind blanks. He wrote... Often, mind blanks cause the inexperienced speaker to panic and become anxious. So make sure you have a powerful tool to minimize any damage to your program and your psyche that mind blanks may cause. The most important tool you can use to recover from a temporary mind blank, or "senior moment," is a key-word outline. On one side of 5"x8" index cards, write an outline of your program using one or two key words for each point, illustration, and story. Number the cards in the top right corner of each card. If you know your program but you go blank during it, the key-word outline will jog your memory. Here is my addition to the above tip. When my mind goes blank (and it seems to be happening more often now), this is what I do. I announce, I am having a "senior moment." Then I ask my audience, "Where was I?" Ninety-nine times out of a hundred someone will tell me. I recommend you do the same thing. If no one speaks up, then just say, "Well, since no one else knows what I was talking about or where I was in my talk, I guess it does not matter what I say next." So, make a joke about it. Everyone laughs because they can empathize with me, and I move on. Remember, mind blanks are normal. Everyone has them at some point or another. Just go with the flow. Use them to build rapport with your audience. ----------------------------------------------------------------- *** 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- **Personalize your Humor** by Allan Kaufman Never told a joke before? Oh, my! Too scared, huh? Gee, I know how you feel. People may not laugh. Or maybe they might laugh at you. Now that would be ... devastating! Or would it be FANTASTIC? One of the humor secrets I teach is to personalize your humor. Tell stories and jokes about you, about your partner, about your wife or your brother. Okay, you forced me to do this. Here is a story I recently told as I roasted my partner, Allan Misch, at his birthday party. Ever have a Senior Moment? Allan and his wife Sandy had dinner at another couple's house, and after eating, the wives left the table and went into the kitchen. Allan and Bob were talking, and Allan said, "Last night we went out to a new restaurant, and it was really great. I would recommend it very highly." Bob said, "What's the name of the restaurant?" Allan began to concentrate, and finally asked Bob, "Aahh, What is the name of that stuff you walk on when you go to Ocean City?" (Maryland beach) Bob replied, "The boardwalk??" "No. No. The stuff near the ocean" Allan said. Bob said, "Do you mean sand?" "Yes, Yes that's it. Thank you!" Allan said. He then turned toward the kitchen and yelled, "Sandy, what's the name of that restaurant we went to last night?" So don't be afraid to tell stories and jokes about your family, your partner, and especially yourself. The objective is to get your audience to laugh while tying your humor to a point you are making. This enables you to establish rapport with your audience, and at the same time, to help them remember your message. ----------------------------------------------------------------- **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 10,000 megs of space, 2500 POP email accounts, 250 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://partners.ipowerweb.com/z/52/CD1893/&dp=1622 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Dear Allan and Allan (Answers to Your Questions) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Allan and Allan, Recently, I briefed the vice president of our division. I wanted him to authorize additional money for my project. I had 3 reasons for him to do so. I only got through the first reason, my least important one, when he had to leave for another meeting. I didn't get the money I needed. How can I avoid this problem in the future? Busted in Boston Dear Busted, Sorry about the missed opportunity. We tell our clients to order their points from most important to least important when presenting to decision makers. If you get cut off, as you did, you'll get your most important 1 or 2 points across and improve your possibilities for getting what you're requesting. If you don't get cut off, in your close, summarize by reordering your points from least important to most important. This way, you can make your request immediately after stating the most important point. 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. So visit... http://www.marketingtips.com/t.cgi/769587 ----------------------------------------------------------------- *** A Fantastic Resource *** Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links? "Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for using *free* articles to drive Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links... without spending a dime on advertising! We use this resource and it's incredible! The idea is simple and ingenious. Find out more at http://hop.clickbank.net/?aanosweat/ezarticles. ----------------------------------------------------------------- **************************** Earn Referral Fees **************************** You can earn a 15 percent finders fee for referring Allan and Allan, Inc. for speaking and training engagements. For details contact us at... mailto:cust-serv@nosweatspeaking.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- Complimentary Articles for Your Publications ----------------------------------------------------------------- We have articles available for reprint in your publication, company newsletter, etc. You may use articles written by us that you see on our website at... http://www.nosweatspeaking.com/articles/article_index.html and in the NSS Ezine. View back issues at... http://www.nosweatspeaking.com/ezine/back_issues-2002.html Print the entire article along with the by-line at top and the credits, and complete contact information at the end of each article. Also, please send us a tear sheet or electronic copy. Thanks! ----------------------------------------------------------------- We don't send out an unsolicited newsletter. You must request it to receive it. We don't like receiving SPAM, and we sure as heck try not to SPAM others. But sometimes people sign up their friends. If you received this issue and don't recall requesting it, refer to the email address at the end of the Ezine. If it's not yours, then someone sent it to you. To get your own copy, sign up now. To stop the newsletter, refer to the instructions below. ----------------------------------------------------------------- To Request the No Sweat Speaking(tm) Ezine: http://www.nosweatspeaking.com or mailto:nssezine@nosweatspeaking.com?subject=Subscribe To Stop Receiving the Ezine: http://www.nosweatspeaking.com/unsubscribe.html For Personal Coaching Inquiries: mailto:allank@nosweatspeaking.com For Back Issues: http://www.nosweatspeaking.com/ezine/back_issues-2002.html To Submit Questions to Dear Allan and Allan: mailto:questions@nosweatspeaking.com For Feedback on the Content of This Issue: mailto:cust-serv@nosweatspeaking.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- "... 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(tm) 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!" Experience No Sweat Speaking(tm)! -----------------------------------------------------------------