Member You - Writing and Speaking

Linking: Viral Advertising is a Good Virus
You've built your website. I don't think I need to explain to you that you won't get anywhere with your online business if no one ever sees it. So traffic is what you're looking for. Ideally, targeted traffic. What's that, you ask.Targeted traffic is people who know what they're looking for and have been led to believe that they'll find it on your website. How did they hear about you? Word of mouth? An ad on another website? Search engines? An ezine ad, safelist email, traffic exchange splash page?Let's take one of those, search engines, and talk about it for a bit. Let's face it, that's the starting point for a lot of people looking for information online. But how far do they search? Here's what I usually do when I'm looking for something. Like yesterday...sigh...I spent hours looking for the driver, then the image editing software, for my scanner.Adventures with Search EnginesI typed something into the search box. I looked at the first page of answers to my query. Not much was useful, but I did pick up on a few more targeted terms to type into the se

nd for those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a software programme that's used to design stunning graphics and text for projection onto a screen. As a professional speaker, I'm not that struck on PowerPoint. I feel that too many speakers rely on it and it takes over the presentation. After all, you're the important factor here. If an audience is going to accept what you say then they need to see the whites of your eyes. There needs to be a big focus on you, not on the technology.

Use PowerPoint if you want but keep it to a minimum and make sure you're not just the person pushing the buttons. Why not get a bit clever at using the faithful old Flip Chart, lots of professionals do.

Passion -

This is what stops the audience in their tracks. This is what makes them want to employ you; to accept what you're proposing and make them want you to marry their son or daughter. Couple this with some energy, enthusiasm and emotion and you have the makings of a great public speaker. Just think of our old friend Adolph Hitler, boy could he move an audience to action. It's just too bad he was selling something that wasn't to everyone's liking. Give your presentation a bit of oomph and don't start telling me - "I'm not that kind of person." There's no need to go over the top but you're doing a presentation to move people to action, not having a cosy little chat in your front room.

That's the P's finished with so let's look at the Q's.

Questions -

Job Compliments That Reach Employees
As a manager you are responsible for the smooth running of company affairs. You know that this takes the effort of every person who reports to you.When an employee has brought a big project in on-time and on- budget you may want to express your gratitude in a personal way that shows total understanding and appreciation.You may want to provide a compliment that will motivate him/her, as well as to thank them for the work that they have already achieved.Here’s how to make your compliments reach their heart, not just their head, to impart a positive affirmation that will make them feel that you really understand and care.There are three parts to a successful compliment, namely: the Reason, the Feeling and the Result. Putting these parts together will send a message to your employee that will lift their spirits and send their ego flying!THE REASONTo give a successful compliment you need to identify what the other person did that encouraged you. Why do you want to give the compliment? What did your employee do to warrant it?You need to

Avoid the pain

Which would you prefer - root canal dental surgery without an anaesthetic or a bit of public speaking? According to the people who research these things, most of us would prefer the former.

Public speaking is still one of our greatest fears and it turns grown men and women into nervous wrecks. The mere thought of it turns our tongue to cotton wool, causes our internal plumbing to act up and our kneecaps to start knocking lumps out of each other.

The problem is that Public Speaking catches up with many of us at some time both in our business and personal life. You're asked to do a short talk at Fred's "leaving do". The organisers of your business club want fifteen minutes on why you make "kafuffle" valves. A potential client wants a presentation on why they should give you the contract. Of course there's always the confident people who think "I'm real good at this, lead me to the podium." The only thing is that some of these people could bore your socks off and do more for insomniacs than the strongest sleeping pills. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to be sent on a Public Speaking course by your enlightened employer. But more likely, when asked to make a presentation you'll get hold of a book on speaking, start writing the speech and lose sleep until the event.

Well, there's no need for all of this because help is at hand. All you need to remember are your P's and Q's. Let's start with the P's

Preparation -

When you sit down to write what you're going to say, bear in mind who you'll be speaking to. Will they understand what you're talking about; will they understand the technical stuff and the jargon? If in doubt remember the old saying "Keep It Simple Stupid". To quote Aristotle - "Think as the wise men do, but speak as the common man".

Make sure that what you say has a beginning, a middle and an end. Think of some anecdotes that help reinforce your story.

People think visually so paint verbal pictures for your audience. And always remember, people want to know what's in it for them - so make sure you tell them!

Place -

Have a look at the venue before the event if you can. It's not always possible, however, even if you get there half an hour before, you can check out where you'll be speaking. Stand at the point where you will deliver from, imagine where the audience will be and check that they can see and hear you. You may even wish to place a glass of water where you'll be able to find it.

Personal Preparation -

Before any speaking event, think about what you are going to wear; when in doubt dress up rather than down. You can always take things off for a more casual look. Men could remove their jacket and their tie. Women could remove items of jewellery.

Part of your personal preparation should include some mouth and breathing exercises. Practise saying some tongue twisters to give your speaking muscles a good work out. Take a deep breath and expand your diaphragm. Then breathe out, counting at the same time, try and get up to fifty and not pass out.

As part of your personal preparation, write your own introduction. Write out exactly what you want someone to say about you, large font, double-spaced and ask the person introducing you to read it. Believe me they won't object and will probably be pleased and impressed.

Poise and Posture -

Whenever you're called to speak, stand up or walk to the front quickly and purposefully. Pull yourself up to your full height, stand tall and look like you own the place. Before you start to speak, pause, look round your audience and smile. You may even have to wait until the applause dies down. Remember, you want the audience to like you, so look likeable. Practise this in front of a mirror or your family; I've heard that children make pretty good critics.

Pretend -

I'm suggesting you pretend you're not nervous because no doubt you will be. Nervousness is vital for speaking in public, it boosts your adrenaline, which makes your mind sharper and gives you energy. It also has the slight side effect of making you lighter through loss of body waste materials. The trick is to keep your nerves to yourself. On no account tell your audience your nervous, you'll only scare the living daylights out of them if they think you're going to faint. Some of the tricks for dealing with nerves are:

Get lots of oxygen into your system, run on the spot and wave your arms about like a lunatic. It burns off the stress chemicals. Speak to members of your audience as they come in or at some time before you stand up. That tricks your brain into thinking you're talking to some friends. Have a glass of water handy for that dry mouth. Stick cotton wool on your kneecaps so people won't hear them knocking. One word of warning - do not drink alcohol. It might give you Dutch courage but your audience will end up thinking you're speaking Dutch.

The Presentation -

This is it, the big moment when you tell your audience what a clever person you are and have them leap to their feet in thunderous applause. Okay, let's step back a bit - if you want their applause then you're going to have to work for it. Right from the start your delivery needs to grab their attention.

Don't start by saying - "Good morning, my name is Fred Bloggs and I'm from Bloggs and Company." Even if your name is Bloggs, it's a dead boring way to start a presentation. Far better to start with some interesting facts or an anecdote that is relevant to your presentation. Look at the audience as individuals; I appreciate that this can be difficult when some of them are downright ugly. However it grabs their attention if they think you're talking to them individually.

Talk louder than you would normally do, it keeps the people in the front row awake and makes sure those at the back get the message. Funnily enough, it's also good for your nerves.

PowerPoint -

And for those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a software programme that's used to design stunning graphics and text for projection onto a screen. As a professional speaker, I'm not that struck on PowerPoint. I feel that too many speakers rely on it and it takes over the presentation. After all, you're the important factor here. If an audience is going to accept what you say then they need to see the whites of your eyes. There needs to be a big focus on you, not on the technology.

Passion -

That's the P's finished with so let's look at the Q's.

Questions -

Relationship Between the Brand Strength and Customers' Loyalty at Different Involvement Levels
One of the first references in the realm of branding was presented by Robinson (1933), who maintained that it is possible to sell to different target audiences a variety of brands of the same product that are similar to one another. The reason is that they are different in quality, have different names, and bear different labels. Since this historical reference, branding has become a major marketing domain. In recent years, branding has been transformed from a means of identifying merchandise into a main element in the strategy of organizations. The changes in the perception of branding and the recognition of the importance of the new perspective were slow. Until recently, many organizations in the world tended to analyze marketing problems from a broad perspective of product perception. However, today the business viewpoint has changed and is more focused on than in the past, and is guided by the brand perception. The recognition of the importance of branding in the realm of marketing management has become very significant in recent years.The objective of this paper is to

to write what you're going to say, bear in mind who you'll be speaking to. Will they understand what you're talking about; will they understand the technical stuff and the jargon? If in doubt remember the old saying "Keep It Simple Stupid". To quote Aristotle - "Think as the wise men do, but speak as the common man".

Make sure that what you say has a beginning, a middle and an end. Think of some anecdotes that help reinforce your story.

People think visually so paint verbal pictures for your audience. And always remember, people want to know what's in it for them - so make sure you tell them!

Place -

Personal Preparation -

Poise and Posture -

Pretend -

The Presentation -

Talk louder than you would normally do, it keeps the people in the front row awake and makes sure those at the back get the message. Funnily enough, it's also good for your nerves.

PowerPoint -

Passion -

That's the P's finished with so let's look at the Q's.

Questions -

Consolidating Debts - Practical Ways to Reduce Credit Card Debt
Reducing credit card debt is not easy. In fact, it may take several years to completely payoff balances. Nonetheless, the sooner you begin the journey in becoming debt free, the sooner you can reap the benefits. In order to eliminate debts, it is important to outline a realistic plan. Additionally, sacrifices are necessary. Here are a couple of tips to help you quickly reduce credit card debts.Transfer Credit Card BalancesThere is no easy way to eliminate credit card debt. However, there are various tactics to help you payoff the balances sooner. For starters, if you have a high interest credit card, you may consider transferring the balance to a low interest card.If you have good credit, it may be possible to obtain a special six or twelve month introductory rate of 0%. During this period, you are not charged interest. Thus, all payments will go toward reducing the balance. However, if choosing this option, avoid late payments. Submitting a single late payment will void the initial agreement, and the creditor is free to charg

r diaphragm. Then breathe out, counting at the same time, try and get up to fifty and not pass out.

Poise and Posture -

Pretend -

The Presentation -

Talk louder than you would normally do, it keeps the people in the front row awake and makes sure those at the back get the message. Funnily enough, it's also good for your nerves.

PowerPoint -

Passion -

That's the P's finished with so let's look at the Q's.

Questions -

Easy Steps To A Million
We have all dreamed of it, we have all spoken about winning it but how many have actually worked towards that magical million ? We go to work each day to earn our salaries but how many of us actually think we can earn a million in a relatively short period of time ? Well, that Million might not be that far away.In a lifetime someone earning on average ?25,000 a year would take 40 years to earn a ?million but the expenses you have over the period of a lifetime would eat away at most of that. Work to earn that in 1 to 3 years and your living expenses over this shorter period are a small fraction of this total, making a comfortable retirement a lot easier and closer to hand.The following idea is so simple, it seems too simple but when you break it down you can actually see the logic and can then start building your ideas up to make it work.We have probably all seen the show "who wants to be a millionaire" where you start with ?100 (or $100).You then answer a question correctly to double your money to ?200 then ?400, ?800 (or often rounded up to ?1,000)

t like a lunatic. It burns off the stress chemicals. Speak to members of your audience as they come in or at some time before you stand up. That tricks your brain into thinking you're talking to some friends. Have a glass of water handy for that dry mouth. Stick cotton wool on your kneecaps so people won't hear them knocking. One word of warning - do not drink alcohol. It might give you Dutch courage but your audience will end up thinking you're speaking Dutch.

The Presentation -

Talk louder than you would normally do, it keeps the people in the front row awake and makes sure those at the back get the message. Funnily enough, it's also good for your nerves.

PowerPoint -

Passion -

That's the P's finished with so let's look at the Q's.

Questions -

A Glance At Internet Marketing
Internet Marketing is a concept of business marketing, both to customers and to other businesses, via the internet. But, to explore and understand this black box is not simple. The main reason is that the internet is forever evolving and is subjected to waves of changes.With new advances in internet technology, businesses are able to leverage on it and add to their marketing approach and content. Similarly, more people are logging onto the internet every day as the internet access are made more affordable and readily available. The demographic is changing, and no longer is the wealthy individual the only target of internet marketing. Today, we should consider all income levels in our internet marketing approaches of business.In the 1990s, internet marketing went berserk. It was a brand new concept, and caution had been thrown to the wind in all the hype. Companies did not take into consideration that the same variables of marketing in other forms of media should logically be applied to internet marketing as well. Their failure to study markets and create sound s

Passion -

That's the P's finished with so let's look at the Q's.

Questions -

Decide when you're going to take them and tell people at the start. In a short speech it's best to take questions at the end. If you take them as you go then you may get waylaid and your timing will get knocked out.

Never - never - never finish with questions; far better to ask for questions five or ten minutes before the end. Deal with the questions and then summarise for a strong finish. Too many presentations finish on questions and the whole thing goes a bit flat.

When you're asked a question, repeat it to the whole audience and thank the questioner. It keeps everyone involved, it gives you time to think and it makes you look so clever and in control.

Quit -

Quit when you're ahead. Stick to the agreed time; if you're asked to speak for twenty minutes, speak for nineteen and the audience will love you for it. Remember, quality is not quantity.

One of the most famous speeches ever - "The Gettysburg Address", by President Lincoln, was just over two minutes long.

Right, that's my cue to quit when I'm ahead. Public Speaking will never be easy for most of us but we can all do it a whole lot better.

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When it comes to some of the most uncomfortable situations and discussions that arise in the workplace, mulling over the issue of your salary might be one of the most intimidating and stressful topics to deal with.

I believe that money can buy many luxuries. However, I feel that health is still the most important. I would rather be healthy than wealthy. If you are rich but do not have the health to enjoy spending your money, then money is truly useless. This is common sense. Thus, in order to be happy, a person has to be healthy and wealthy.

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