Helposter Blog

Public speaking is comfortably the quickest and easiest way to improve your company visibility, establish yourself as an expert, get you face known and get businesses coming to you.

Most small business owners and managers fully recognise this yet even the thought of standing up in public to speak to a room full of strangers can evoke a somewhat nauseous feeling in many people.

Some of the most confident business people often do their best to avoid public speaking. But not taking advantage of every public speaking opportunity is a serious mistake.

Public speaking is great for your business in two main ways.

One – you gain face recognition, and

two – it establishes you and your company as industry experts.

Let’s start with face recognition. This sounds like a simple thing, but don’t discount its importance. Imagine you are at an industry trade show. You are side by side with another company in the exhibit hall. You sell basically the same product.

But you are delivering the keynote speech at the conference. Your picture, name and company is on each of the entry-way signs into the conference center.

Which company are attendees at the conference (who, by the way, are qualified prospects) likely to visit?

Odds are they will stop at your stand.

Even people who are just walking by may stop to talk to the person they saw speak at a conference session. Sometimes that’s all the edge you need to make that lucrative sale.

The other reason they decide to stop is they recognise you as the industy expert. You must be. How else did you get invited to give the prestigious keynote speech? The prospects assume you know your business or you wouldn’t have been invited to speak at the conference.

This is true regardless of industry. If you are a psychologist with a local practice and people see you speak at a conference, or even at a local Rotary meeting, they will begin to see you as an industry expert. Should the occasion arise for that person to need to visit a psychologist, or to refer a colleague or friend, your name may come to mind simply because they’ve seen you before.

It is important, however, that if you decide to take public speaking engagements, that you deliver a good speech.

The good news is that you don’t have to be perfect. In fact, usually public speakers do not have to be particularly good to be a great success. Your audience is usually more than half on your side. They want you to do well.

And providing you deliver good, solid content in a professional manner your audience will leave well satisfied.

But be prepared.

There is nothing worse than letting a prospect see you give a less than well prepared speech. If your lack of preparedness causes you to pause a lot, stumble over sections of presentation, or fumble with slides or other presentational aids, that will give you the air of incompetence just as surely as a well prepared and delivered presentation will give you the air of expertise.

Here are my top 7 tips for preparing presentations.

1. Choose 3 or 4 key topics – no more.

2. Make sure your have researched your content.

3. Write a script – you may not need to use it but the act of writing out a script is a great way for getting your thoughts and ideas straight.

4. Structure your speech around your core topics. Make sure you have a beginning, middle and end.

5. Make sure your presentational aids are prepared well in advance. Test them in the conference hall.

6. Rehearse – words that look great on paper often don’t flow well when spoken aloud.

7. Rehearse again.

Just as much as being seen and heard can gain you recognition and business, being seen and heard giving a poor presentation can lose you business.

So you may want to look into taking a few public speaking courses to brush up on your skills.

Public Speaking may well seem like a lot of effort and trouble. It might even cause you enormous personal anxiety. But there is not doubt that it is worth the time and energy it takes any manager or business owner to give public speaking presentations.

There are few better ways to gain recognition for your name, company and to establish yourself as the obvious expert in your industry.

Keith Longmire is the owner of JKL Business Growth Solutions. JKL specialises in bringing main stream business improvement and marketing solutions into the reach of smaller businesses. His website Breakthrough Business Growth has been designed to help owner-managers cut through the hype and produce innovative marketing plans that deliver results.

I love Venn Diagrams because nothing comes to close to expressing the logical relationships between different sets of elements that well.

With Microsoft Word 2003 you can create fantastic looking and colorful Venn Diagrams on the fly, with as many elements and colors as you need.

It helps to launch your DRAW toolbar first before you do anything else.

Then follow these steps:

1) Click the 3-balls icon (the tooltip text should read “Insert Diagram or Organization Chart”) to display the Diagram Gallery dialog box.

2) Click and select the Venn Diagram icon on the lower-center to insert a default Venn diagram and also to display the Diagram mini tool-bar.

3) To add a new set of elements (represented by each CIRCLE in the diagram), click the Insert Shape button on the mini tool-bar.

4) To move the circle shapes around, click the clockwise or counterclockwise buttons until you get the desired positioning.

5) Click the “Click to Add text” text to enter any text you want to identify the individual elements.

6) Click the Text Wrap button to apply text wrapping, if there is any need.

7) Click Autoformatting button on the mini tool-bar to select a pre-saved format template for the whole diagram.

You can change the formatting of any individual slice by selecting it and then clicking the appropriate formatting buttons on the DRAW toolbar.

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When people sit down to start writing articles, many times they catch a case of writer’s block. I’d like to share with you an article writing tip that helps me to clear writer’s block when I catch it. I just keep writing. I write whatever comes to mind.

I will usually have several articles going on at the same time so when I get blocked at one I go to another and continue that one. Then when I get a block again I move on to a different one and write about that topic. As long as I keep writing I eventually get all the articles completed. The idea is not to get bogged down with one article where you end up wasting time trying to think of what to write. Just leave it for the time being and move on to the next one. You eventually will come back to the other one later.

Using this method I am able to complete several articles good enough for submission in about an hour or so. I learned this from the undisputed king of article writing. As of this writing this man has written over 7,000 articles in the EzineArticles database. I think he knows a thing or two about writing articles.

Always remember that when writing articles for article marketing purposes the key to making it work is to do it in bulk quantities. It won’t work for you if you have just one or two articles written. You need tons of them. So using this method you would be able to complete a several decent articles within an hour or so and a handful if you committed a day to doing it. That’s my article writing tip for today. Hope this helps.

When I was doing my Ph.D. it was common for graduate students to mull around and beef about having to write a dissertation.

Finally, someone blurted out the most practical wisdom we had ever heard: “A
dissertation doesn’t have to be great; it just has to be DONE!”

I share this with you if you’re an aspiring article writer because it applies to you.

Don’t worry about writing a good article or a great one or even a stinker. Just start
your articles and then finish them. Articles have no chance of being good, better or
best if they’re not completed.

Only completed ones can find an audience.

I’m constantly amazed, by the way, at which articles of mine are most read and
most appreciated.

My favorites, the ones I just couldn’t wait to compose, are not the most popular, by
a long shot. In fact, it is the others, the ones I believe are “lightweight” that lots of
people adore.

So, I don’t censor myself, or even edit my own work, anymore.

Once I have an idea, I sit down right away and work on it.

And if I can’t think of a snappy closer, I’ll just let the end dangle.

I’m waiting for the diligent reader who will come along and chastise me for my
neglect, but it hasn’t happened, yet.

And do you know what the best cure is for bad writing?

More writing!

So, bang out your articles, and then forget about them. As long as they’re done,
they’re perfect!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote
speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of
12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring &
Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers:
How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a
frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg
School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont
Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous
universities, trade associations, and other organizations from Santa Monica to South
Africa. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is
headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or
at: gary@customersatisfaction.com. For information about coaching, consulting,
training, books, videos and audios, please go to:
http://www.customersatisfaction.com

One glance at the following sentence causes a reader to pause and wonder what is wrong since some words don’t seem to “fit”: The peasant trotted into his bungalow, his shoulders dipped from languor and cold.
Good writers find ways of tightening and strengthening their work by using appropriate, specific words. They create concrete images as they avoid general, overused, “cringe,” and/or incorrect words, whether in stories, articles, business letters, policy manuals, or speeches.

One source of appropriate and specific words is a thesaurus or synonym dictionary. However, as illustrated in the sentence in the preceding paragraph, unless the word is appropriately specific, it doesn’t work. Several words in the sentence are synonyms of general ones, but are not specific enough. For example, the word trotted indicates a jaunty type walk or run. A bungalow is a house or dwelling, but one that would be better than something that a peasant would occupy. Shoulders may dip, but only momentarily. Languor creates a picture of almost laziness.

Rewriting the sentence using appropriate synonyms results in something such as “The peasant stumbled into his hovel, his shoulders bowed from weariness and cold.” Using the right word or words makes a big difference.

William G. Tapply (“Don’t be a SHOWOFF,” The Writer, November 2005) states to stay away from fancy words. He gives a quote from Mark Twain that underscores the need for using the right word, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.”

Being specific is a must for vivid, strong, and correct writing. Avoiding “cringe” words is also necessary. Words that cause a reader to cringe include those that are repugnant, outdated, painfully inept, old hackneyed and archaic, cloyingly sentimental or weaselly, or misused. According to Arthur Plotnik, in the April 2005 The Writer, some medical terms have become popular, but their use is repugnant to many readers, especially when the medical term is used metaphorically, out of synch with the context of the term. “The gravy oozed like ______ from a _______.” Cringe words don’t belong in business, but in fiction works, such language should come from the mouths of characters or narrators who are themselves cringey.

According to Tapply, “If creative figures of speech risk distracting readers, old hackneyed ones will surely bore them.” Therefore, such wording shouldn’t be a part of anything that needs to appeal and keep the attention of a reader.

Misused words or grammatical errors hurt writing. A business letter with incorrect or misused wording harms a company’s reputation. Such errors weakens all writing. So does the use of outdated, inept, or archaic words.

For example, certain words or word usages make a person or company appear ignorant even if neither is. Intriguing needs to tell with whom, with what, or what is meant. Puzzling, enigmatic, ambiguous followed by “because …” are better usage. It’s means it is, not its, the possessive pronoun of it. Irregardless isn’t a word, but it is one of those inept useages. Highlight, signpost, and transisiton are not verbs. Verbs impact, finalize, interface, or share do not mean to talk or to discuss. Input and outgo as the opposite should be avoided.

Then between you and I shows poor grammar usage, since the correct form is between you and me. Between is a preposition and requires the object form of any pronoun. All right is always two words. Affect is always a verb; effect is usually a noun. The list of misused words continues possibly into the hundreds. The following is a very short list of those which should be examined:
Who and whom are often used incorrectly. Who is the subject form of the pronoun while whom is the object form.

They, their, them are plural forms. He or she are singular. Due to politically correctness, many people use he (him, his) or she (her) IF the gender of a person isn’t known. Such usage is awkward. Some writers then use he in places and she in others. Perhaps a better way would be to make the antecedent plural and use they (them, their), such as in the following examples:
Anyone who likes honesty will give his or her honest opinion. Anyone who likes honest will give his honest opinion. People who like honesty will give their honest opinion.

Please note that using anyone with their is incorrect: “Anyone who likes honesty will give their honest opinion” mixes a singular antecedent (anyone) with a plural pronoun (their). A singular antecedent requires a singular pronoun which refers to it.

The verb to lay means to place and requires a direct object. The verb to lie (unless meaning to tell untruth) means to recline and never has a direct object. The forms of lay are lay (present tense), laid (past tense), and laid (past participle). The forms of lie are lie (present), lay (past), and lain (past participle). Yes, lay is found as the present tense of to lay and as the past tense of to lie. One needs to look at how each is used.

A complete course in grammar and composition or a book over the same subject would show more problems and ways of correcting errors. However with work, consideration, and a large dose of common sense, we can learn to write the right word and realize that the correct word does matter.

Sources:
1. William G. Tapply, “Don’t be a SHOWOFF,” The Writer, November 2005.
2. Michael Creurer, “Using the right words,” www.changing.ca/right_w3ords.php
3. Arthur Plotnick, “Clear out the cringe words,” The Writer, April 2005.
4. Constance Hale, “Writing basics: 7 ‘deadly sins’ of grammar,” The Writer, May 2006.
5. “Writing Better: A Handbook for Students,” www.amherst.edu/~writing/writingbetter/pitfalls.html
6. Lesson plans and note from Vivian Zabel

Vivian Gilbert Zabel taught English and composition for years after a career in the business world. She as a portfolio at http://www.Writing.Com/authors/vzabel and books Hidden Lies and Other Stories and Walking the Earth through Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com. This article has been submitted in affilation with http://www.Facimile.Com/, a site for http://www.Facimile.Com/ which is a site for Fax Machines

As an online writer someone asked me, why do I write about things that are not in my area of expertise? Well I found the question fascinating really and had one of my own. Why do online writers only write about one thing or topic when obviously they have personal interests in other areas and knowledge in those areas as well.

Why would I write an article about long-term in-home care? Well in my prior business we had franchisees who are nurses with burn-out before buying franchises. And the insurance industry and health care industry have always been car wash customers too. And I have been studying up on the issues having to do with Presidential Policies on healthcare and social security.

Additionally Greenspan is correct, social security is a time bomb. Hell look at the French President today trying to pass a “jobs law” due to rioters who are worried about jobs, benefits and healthcare? Meanwhile the EU is looking at France and Germany’s borrowing saying this was not the deal when we all went to the Euro and everyone is wondering who on Earth will pay for it.

It seems long-term in-home care in the future will be a trend due to costs associated with Hospice, Hospitals and retirement homes. There are issues and I see that trend moving forward. I have been reading a lot on the subject, as I watch one of my grandparents deal with this issue.

The industry seems to be quite robust and aggressive, however as soon as something starts to move they tax the crap out of it. If it keeps moving they regulate the crap out of it and when it fails they will have to subsidize the crap out of it; you know what I mean? So that is why I wrote several articles on long-term in-home healthcare and insurance.

Meanwhile I told the questioner that; “I made your last question into an article, so I will make this one into an article also.”

http://ezinearticles.com/?id=170434

I make every question asked into an article. Why answer a question, a worthy question without giving the information to the world? Unless it is a secret may as well help everyone by putting it onto the Internet rather than, letting the information, observation, experience, knowledge or wisdom go down the drain!

Also not everyone is stuck in linear thought on this Planet. Figure a tenth of one-percent are non-linear problem solvers. Besides I am into robotics and artificial intelligence and see a number of killer apps for the long-term home health care industry due to nurses shortages. Everything is all one thing, everything is inter-related, there is no one category, industry or space. It is all connected. You should think like that. My question to other writers is not why I wrote an article on long-term healthcare insurance, my question is why haven’t you thought of it and therefore why didn’t you write those articles? Consider all this in 2006, when looking for content to write about.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Great Books Aren’t Written, They’re Mutilated and Pieced Back Together in Groundbreaking Intensive Surgery

A few weeks ago, I opened up the manuscript of my novel that’s about to be published for a quick fact-check on something I needed to know for my current work-in-progress, the fourth book in my series. As I skimmed the pages, I found myself cringing at excess adverbs, dragging prose and melodramatic over-punctuation. It was then I came to a painful conclusion:

I had to edit the whole thing. Again.

Some wise author–it may have been Michael Crichton–said that great books aren’t written, they’re rewritten. Let me tell you: this axiom is a gross understatement. “Rewritten” is just not a strong enough word to describe the process of transforming a rough draft into a polished work. One cannot simply run spellcheck and call the thing a book. The editing process takes time and willingness to attack your work with hatchet and hammer. Editing is a bloody, ruthless procedure that turns authors into shrieking, self-abusing demons.

It’s the most difficult phase of writing–and it is also the most crucial.

These are your words. You will experience tremendous difficulty in stepping back to view them through the eyes of a reader, who may not be impressed with your clever comparison of your heroine’s cheeks to “fleshy tennis balls” (written at three in the morning, when everything you come up with seems brilliant). However, it can be done; indeed, it must be done. Here are some tips to get you started on the editing warpath:

Distance yourself from your work. This step cannot be avoided. After you type “the end,” the temptation to jump in and start contacting all those agents and editors who are dying for your masterful book is overwhelming. Resist the power of the dark side. Put your manuscript aside for at least a week, longer if you can. No peeking! Work on something else: start the next book, write your query letter if you’d like (but don’t send it!), and then come back and reread the manuscript. You’ll be shocked to discover how much you’ll want to change.

Distance yourself from your work, part II. This technique has worked wonderfully for me. After you’ve been away from your manuscript, print the whole thing out, set that lovely stack of paper next to your keyboard, open a new word processing document and retype the whole bloody mess. Beginning to end. The act of keying the words in helps you regain the flow you had while you were writing it. Yes, it takes time. But it’s worth it.

Adverbs are not your friends. Nor are the words had, that, up, down, over, and very. Exclamation points should be regarded as the enemy. Attack these things with enthusiasm, and eliminate them whenever possible. However, each of them can and should be used sparingly (with the exception of very. . . you never need to use that word except in extremely rare instances of dialogue). Trying to take them all out will result in some ridiculous sentence constructions reminiscent of Winston Churchill’s famous tongue-in-cheek statement, “This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.”

Find a trusted reader and ask them to review your work ruthlessly. Do not ask your mother or your best friend. Other writers can make good reviewers, but you can also benefit from the reaction of a voracious reader. Whomever you press into reading service, be sure to stress that you’re looking for an honest reaction, not a pat on the back. And then be ready to receive an honest reaction. It’s going to sting-but it’s also going to help you become a better writer.

Last but not least: when you learn a new technique that improves your writing, go back to the beginning of your manuscript and apply it consistently throughout. Every single time. Even if you already have queries out; even after you’ve already rewritten the thing six times. Make it seven. The only thing that should stop you from working toward a better book is publication. By then, it’s too late.

I scoured, edited and rewrote the manuscript of my debut novel Fallen Angel eight times, with plenty of minor tweaking sessions in between. The last time, a few weeks ago, followed a frantic phone call to my publisher. My end of the conversation went something like this: “Why did you agree to publish this dreck? My prose is horrible! Look at all these adverbs. . . have you seen this line on page 154? Please, for God’s sake, don’t ever let anyone read this steaming pile of cow dung. I have to fix it. Give me three days, okay? Maybe four. . . “

Fortunately, my publisher understood. She’s an author, too.

After the anxiety attack, I locked myself in the operating room and went at it. What emerged was a better manuscript, which is now firmly entrenched in the pre-publication process. In other words: it’s too late for me now. I can’t change another word. But if it’s not too late for you, go forth and edit with as much passion as you put into writing.

Here…you can borrow my scalpel.

Get more writing resources and free stuff when you sign up for S. W. Vaughn’s free bi-weekly newsletter LIT: A Slightly Addictive Newsletter for Writers and Readers, with writing tips, writing markets, book reviews, contests and giveaways, and more. To sign up for LIT, e-mail author@swvaughn.com with the subject: Get LIT!, or visit the LIT Home Page. Also, check out S. W. Vaughn’s main website at swvaughn.com for free fiction, contests, and even more resources for writers.

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Writing an article or press release is one thing; winning an editor’s favorable opinion is something else — and far more important. Editors are gatekeepers: If your message doesn’t resonate with them, it’ll never reach their readers.

Put yourself in the editor’s shoes.
The economics aren’t complex. The more readers, the more ad revenue; the greater the ad revenue, the greater the likelihood the editor will keep her job. She needs to fulfill her periodical’s promise to provide meaningful, relevant content to her readers. You want to be in her pages? Help her with her mission.

“Why is this important to my readers?”
That’s the key question asked of every release and article that comes over the transom. Your job is to answer it. So skip the hyperbole about your company’s importance, the significance of your vision or the “excitement” surrounding your new product. Instead, go straight for the why: Why does your message matter to readers?

In press releases:
Be sure to articulate the significance of your announcement by the standards that matter — those of your audience. Suppose you’re announcing a new software release. What does it offer, or what need does it fulfill, that hasn’t been offered or fulfilled before? Announcing an event? Then articulate the value of attending: What will participants get by coming?

In your query letters:
When you submit an article for an editor’s consideration, be sure your cover note connects your article’s message to the readers’ interests. There’s no need to extensively summarize the article beyond a sentence or two. Instead, articulate the article’s significance. Perhaps it addresses an emerging trend. Or offers a contrary perspective to conventional wisdom. Or helps readers do something practical, like save money on taxes or lower cholesterol levels. Whatever your subject, your cover note must complete this thought: “Readers will appreciate my article because…”

The greater the relevance, the greater the reward.
Look, editors are overwhelmed with writers who want space in their pages. But they don’t have enough who understand their needs. Be one of the few who really get it — who understand who the editor’s readers are and what they want — and you stand a good chance not just of making that one-shot hit, but of being a favored source for future publications.

Jonathan Kranz is the author of Writing Copy for Dummies, http://kranzcom.com/book.html, and the principal of Kranz Communications, http://kranzcom.com, a marketing communications and public relations writing firm specializing in B2B and consumer services marketing.

As a journalist, the all-important interview is a staple for any good story. Here are five tips to make that interview count:

1) Be on time. Don’t offend your source, or waste his or her time, by showing up late.

2) Be prepared. Research your story and subject thoroughly and re-read your notes and background facts just prior to the interview. You don’t want to waste interview time asking questions that reveal you are uninformed.

3) Help your subject feel comfortable. Writers can get so used to interviewing that they sometimes forget many subjects don’t like the interviewer copying down every word they say, or worse, recording them. Be friendly and polite. Begin your interview with easy, comfortable questions. Also try to maintain good eye contact. Learn shorthand, or create your own shorthand, so you can write without always looking at the paper.

4) Make sure you get the facts right. Don’t be afraid to interrupt. Your job as a writer is to get the facts correct. If you don’t understand something, don’t assume you’ll figure it out later. Ask right then so you are clear. You can also repeat back to the person what you think he’s said. This gives him the opportunity to clarify and many times restate the same information in a different way. Now you have additional choices for quotes that cover the same material.

5) Ask if you have covered everything. There just may be a very important element of the story that you haven’t thought of. Ask your source is there is anything else he or she would like to add, or if you have hit the most important points. Many times a source will add crucial, additional information.

While you are driving away from the interview, start forming the lead for your article. This moment is when you have the best impression of the subject and the surroundings. Your notes won’t make as much sense if you wait a week to begin writing.

Diane Samson is a writer with The Lieurance Group, a freelance writers’ cooperative in Kansas City, Missouri. Samson can provide writing, reporting and editing services for magazines, newspapers, corporate communications and especially animal publications. Find out more about her writing services at http://www.lieurancegroup.blogspot.com or email her at dianesamson@birch.net.

Starting out in the writing industry can become quite a challenge. There are many ways to get published. You must first decide what you want to write. Perhaps you are a writer of fiction, nonfiction, articles, or opinions. It really doesn’t matter what you write. You just have to get the “in,” from someone.

One way to do this is to submit your manuscripts to publishers, agents, or newspapers depending on what you are writing. I have found from my experiences, that knowledge is only good as the source it comes from. You shouldn’t take advice from an expert newspaper columnist if you are seeking to get a book of poems published.

Most people are experts in a certain field. Hardly ever, is a person an expert in many fields. If they claim to be, you should run from them. It just isn’t feasible to hold extensive knowledge in many areas. That’s why many successful people study for one career and not three. It just makes sense.

A good way for a novice writer to learn more about the publishing industry is to join a writer’s group. There are many across the country and some are even international. I know that some groups hold conferences, book signings, clinics, and writing exercises. One could learn much knowledge from the experienced authors who belong to these groups. They are usually very generous in offering help to a “newbie.” Many enjoy helping, that’s why alot of them join.

http://www.wizardsofwords.com is an international group of authors that are seeking to advance in the writing industry. They do hold National book signings and the things that I mentioned above.

No matter what group you ultimately decide to join, it should be an enjoyable experience. The more that you expect from the group, the better off you will be. Ask questions and seek answers. Doing this, will give you an edge in the writing industry.

Jeffery S. Miller is the author of Higgins: An American Story. Miller invites you to visit his website http://www.freewebs.com/jefferysmiller. Jeffery S. Miller is a published author, national award winner, former talk show host, inventor and retired professional wrestler.