Guest post by Tom Antion

I’m darn good at selling at the back of the room. In fact, just this month I did three speaking engagements at multi speaker events and I outsold all the other speakers put together. What’s unique about this is the way I do it is not obnoxious and high pressure. Today I want to give you a low pressure technique that can give you way more sales than when you nervously wait till the end of your talk to suggest people buy your book.

What I want you to do is put a copy of your book on the chair of every attendee at your event. You will put a note in the book that says something like, “You don’t have to buy this book. We are just going to use it during the presentation.”
Yes, I know this is a scary thing to do. I know you’re thinking, “What if everyone just walks out the door with all my books?” Relax . . .this won’t happen. People are generally honest.

You will pick the two best parts of the book and read them from stage as you are teaching a related point. You might use the three best parts if you are speaking for several hours.

Here’s what will happen. You’ll sell three times as many books and you’ll hardly have to even mention it’s for sale. Just put a box in the back of the room at your table and mention that you’ll be at the table if anyone wants to take the book home with them it will be 20 bucks (or some round number). Also, tell them you will personalize it for them.
The idea here is that instead of just “selling” your stuff, show the value of it and you’ll sell way more than you ever have before.

Tom Antion is a professional speaker with over 2700 paid speeches to his credit. He is the founder of the largest public speaking membership site on the Internet, and the author of the best selling professional speaker course of all time “The Wake ‘em up Video Professional Speaking System“

Here is a six-part conversation by some of the World Champs of Public Speaking. These are the guys that you get to hang out with if you attend the Toastmasters International Convention.

Here is a six-part video – Conversation with the Champs. For many more free educational videos from Darren, check out his YouTube site.

Anyway, here are the videos – enjoy!

Then listen to these free mp3’s, in which Patricia Fripp, CSP interviews Al Hops, creator of The Interview Edge.

Al Hops is an award-winning sales professional who has consistently developed innovative ideas leading to success in job interviewing and closing sales.  As part of his consulting practice with President Clinton, Bob Costas and Jim Carrey, Al helped open the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville.

The two 20 minute long MP3’s can be downloaded for free of the World Champions Edge website. Thanks to World Champions Edge for making them available.

Here is a workshop that may interest you. It is being run by two very good friends of mine, and it promises to be a first-class event.

Find the Storyteller inside

Telling stories as a lure to the future is an ancient strategy of sages, philosophers and great religious leaders. – Diarmuid O’Murchu

This workshop will show you how to ritualise and energize your life though engaging with stories – those of your own and of others. Climb inside stories and tell them from the inside. Listen to them, Shape them. Taste them on your tongue. Reconnect to creativity, memory and imagination. This workshop experience will energize you. You will get a clearer understanding of how we construct our lives as fiction and how this can release us into a more abundant life. You’ll emerge with stories in your heart and on your lips.

Storyshop Programme

Week 1: The Why of Stories

The power of storytelling to send us travelling and bring us home.

Week 2: Archetypal Stories

Myths and Fairy tales – the story underneath the story.

Shapes, patterns and rituals. Engaging symbols.

Week 3: Sourcing Stories through observation

Listen with the ear in your chest. (Rumi)

Inner and outer looking. Our looking ripens things. (Rilke)

Week 4: Structure your own Stories

Story stones to step on: the symmetry of a tale. Beginnings and endings.

Week 5: Practical: telling Stories

How to tell a story: how to breathe, climb inside it; ‘if you can’t see it, you can’t tell it’.

Make up stories, finding your voice, your silences.

Fabric and fabrication.

Week 6: The Circle and the Fire – A celebration of Story telling

Participants tell and receive stories.

The Joy and Call of Stories Will:

• explain the power of storytelling
• give you an understanding of how stories work
• give you practical tools to work with in the telling of stories
• help you develop the ability to tell a good story
• ignite your creativity and imagination

Facilitators

Dorian Haarhoff is a storyteller, writer, mentor and a former Professor of Literature. He is passionate about developing innate creativity and imagination. He believes that stories can heal, build communities and create new worlds.

Kirsten Pearson is a Dialogue facilitator, published poet and the volunteer Project Lead for the Movement for Sharing Life Stories. She promotes story telling as a way to support change, create new realities and transform the potential of our future.

Who will benefit from attending:

Writers, storytellers, readers, travelers, lovers of words, images, silences…therapists, artists, spiritual seekers, coaches, teachers, magicians, tricksters, ecologists…anyone who wants to raise their story IQ.

Dates

• Saturday, 26 September 09: 14:00 – 17:00
• Saturday, 03 October 09: 14:00 – 17:00
• Saturday, 10 October 09: 14:00 – 17:00
• Saturday, 17 October 09: 14:00 – 17:00
• Saturday, 24 October 09: 14:00 – 17:00
• Saturday, 31 October: 14:00 – 17:00

Venue

Novalis Ubuntu Institute – 39 Rosmead Avenue, Wynberg (a white domed building between Wetton and Ottery Road)

Cost

R900.00 (or R150 per week)

Should you wish to pay in instalments of R150 per week, that option is available.

To register

To book, contact Kirsten Pearson on 021 461 3145 or email: kirstenpea@gmail.com

Last night I watched a speaker say something like this: “Do you remember the scene where they tore the page from the textbook in Dead Poet’s Society? ”. He then proceeded to relate the scene in the movie to his speech.

While using a quote, idea or story from a movie to help make a point is a useful and powerful technique, you need to be a little careful not to make one of these two assumption:

• We had all seen the movie
• We all remembered the scene/quote.

Those of us who had seen the movie will try to remember exactly what happened, and the rest of us have no idea what the speaker is talking about. This confused the audience and they loose the connection with the speaker.

Here are three suggestions.

1. Pick an example that most of your audience can relate to.
2. Give a brief summary of the scene; just enough to help the audience understand why it emphasises your point
3. Provide context for people that may not be familiar with the example, so that they can relate to the story.

This doesn’t just apply to scene’s from a movie, it could be a quote from a famous speech, or even an important event. For example if I was giving a speech on national unity, I could say something like this

“Do you remember when Nelson Mandela walked onto the rugby field in 1995 after South Africa won the world cup final?”

The South African’s in the audience will remember the moment, but not many others will. Here is an alternative:

“It was 1995, and South Africa having just come out of years of racial segregation, was hosting the Rugby World Cup competition. Due to anti-apartheid sporting boycotts, this was the first year that South Africa was allowed to enter, and they beat New Zealand in the finals to take the trophy. Nelson Mandela walked onto the field wearing a springbok rugby jersey, and presented the trophy to the captain Francois Pineaar, and a nation cheered.”

Which example do you prefer?

Mandela, Rugby World Cup Final, 1995

Even if I gave that story to an audience that does not follow rugby, they can probably relate it to a similar story that is relevant to sporting matches that they follow.

Keep your examples powerful, relevant and simple to capture your audiences, build powerful connections and leave memorable messages.

Do you give your own memorable messages, or do you sound just like everybody else? Here is an interesting lesson from Darren LaCroix, the 2001 world champ of speaking. He tells an interesting story:

Never use someone else’s story. This is a small industry… it won’t take long for the ‘owner’ to find out. After doing my “Ouch!” speech at NSA a few years ago, it was copied by somebody overseas just a couple of months later. One of my mentors happened to be in the audience, and called the speaker on it. At first, he denied it. But later, he admitted it. As speakers, we can be inspired by others — but it’s important that we be original in our own messages, techniques, and stories.

As Darren would say “Ouch!”

You can read the entire article on Darren’s website.

Whammey Bar Gig

Before I started getting stage time giving presentations, I spent many years on the stage as a musician. In fact, you will still see me occasionally playing a few tunes in a restaurant or pub. One of the things that I learnt from playing and from listening to live music is to leave them wanting more.

I have heard great bands that just don’t know when to stop planning, or that insists of playing every song they know. What happens? Everybody gets board, and leaves before the band has finished. So when they do finish, they end to a lukewarm applause from the few people still there.

I have also heard bands finish their set with the entire audience is on the dance floor, while everybody is having a party. They end the gig with a bang, to huge applause. When this happens, everybody remembers a great party, and is back next week.

Why does this happen? Simple – the last impression is what people remember. The same applies to speaking.

If you speak for too long, people will get board and loose interest. If you finish on time, and with a strong finish, they will remember how great you were, and will want more. Next time they hear you speak, they will wait with anticipation for your presentation, and not with dread as to how long you are going to speak for.

Leave them shouting “encore”, and not “thank goodness its over”.

By the way, if you want to listen to some of my music, go here.

Talk about being economical with your words! Speakernet news have created a contest to find the best six word speech. Each speech is exactly six words, and is assigned to a particular category,  such as “Advice to speakers”, “About Life”, or  “Motivation”

You can vote in this fun contest here.

Craig Valentine has created a list of ten things that you can do to improve your next speech.

Here is a summary of just a few tips.

• Facial Expressions
• Gestures
• Emotions
• Movement with a purpose
• Smile

You can read the full list on Craig’s website.

One of the common comments that I receive from people who have attended presentation skills training, is that they are given a whole lot of rules that they should be following. In fact, it is very often a list of dos and don’ts.

For example:

Don’t

• • face away from the audience
• fill your slides with words
• hide behind the lectern
• talk to fast
• read the slides
• look at the screen
• use cliché’s
• pace across the stage

Do

• face the audience
• speak slowly and clearly
• ask you-focused questions
• use body language

But then as soon as they hear a good presentation, the speaker seems to breaks all of the rules.

I think that we are missing a couple point here. Firstly, the rules are not rules, they are guidelines. Now this is not a cheap excuse to discard everything because you don’t know any better. Ignorance of the law is no excuse! But, a guideline is there to guide you; rules are there to enforce your behaviour.

Secondly, rules are generally there for a reason. Simply put, they exist because they work! If you are an inexperienced speaker, and you are looking for some guidance, it is probably a good idea to follow the rules. They will make your presentation more effective!

However, experienced speakers constantly break the rules, but they do so with intent, and for specific effect. They do so knowingly!

Almost every time I have seen somebody break a rule without knowledge of the rule or without reason, it has backfired and resulted in a poorer presentation. However, when I have seen rules broken for specific reason, it has generally enhanced the presentation.

Go ahead and break the rules, but do so with intent!