Public Speaking Archives

This morning I had the pleasure of being the featured speaker at the Central Florida Economic Cooperative's Executive Seminar Series, with my new presentation Becoming a Recognized Leader in Your Industry.

The audience was fantastic! They were very engaged and asked a lot of great questions.

The books I mentioned when asked what I am reading now:

Rescuing Sprite: A Dog Lover's Story of Joy and Anguish by Mark Levin - read that this past weekend. It's an incredible read for anyone who has ever lost a beloved dog (or any pet for that matter). Grab a box of Kleenex before you open the cover. Trust me.

Life's Golden Ticket: An Inspirational Novel by Brendon Burchard - I actually read this earlier this Spring (thanks BB for the autographed copy). It will make you think, and I love those type books (there may even still be time to get in on the gifts if you use this link to purchase the book). Brendon is hosting The Life's Golden Ticket Seminar Sept. 26-28 in LongBeach Shoreline (CA). If I wasn't co-hosting the Small Business Summit in Orlando Sept. 26, I would be there. I'm a huge Brendon fan, which is why I readily agreed to provide a giveaway for his recent sweepstakes promotion.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About Itby Michael Gerber, one of our featured speakers at the Small Business Summit on Sept. 26.

The Appeal by John Grisham (I was on vacation; besides, he's one of my fav fiction authors). Thinly veiled as fiction, The Appeal is a scary depiction of politics when you consider how close to reality it actually is.

I didn't mention it this morning, but I also read Honor Thyself by Danielle Steel while I was laying on the beach a few weeks ago. Her writing style has always fascinated me.)

Special note for those who attended this morning: the presentation has been uploaded to my website. If you gave me your card, I'll be emailing you shortly with the specific URL; if you didn't have a card with you, leave a comment (or email me directly) with your email address and I'll get the link to you.

Wendy's PR Crash Course
January 10-11, 2008
Orlando Marriott Downtown

It's official. After years of friends and clients asking why I produce killer seminars and conferences for other people and organizations but never host my own, I'm going to do so.

I've already lined up some of the top PR and business development experts in my personal database (developed over 20 years of actually working in the corporate world and PR industry, not just reading about them). From launching your own publicity campaign to streamlining your business, you'll hear from some of the best.

This will NOT be a "sit in your chair and listen to one talking head after another drone on about how they got super rich in just a few hours with very little effort" seminar. If you're looking to catch lightening in a bottle and get rich quick, this event is NOT for you.

Wendy's PR Crash Course WILL be a highly interactive, hands-on educational seminar from which you will leave with tangible results. You'll actually implement some of the tips and techniques we teach before you ever leave the event. That way, if you have questions, you'll still be in the room with the instructor and can ask questions RIGHT THEN to make sure you've got it.

Normally, I like to have every little detail finalized before I promote an event, but this is going to be so big, I wanted to let you know NOW so you can save the date and plan to make 2008 your best year ever.

For more details, visit our seminar page and look for Wendy's PR Crash Course

This morning, I had the pleasure of speaking to NAWBO's Orlando chapter at their breakfast meeting.

My presentation was on effective communication. Below are three things you never want to be heard saying if you want to be effective in your communication.

1. "That's the way we've always done it."

I believe it was Albert Einstein or Ben Franklin who defined insanity as doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Don't be afraid to try something new. Break out of your comfort zone.

Jack Canfield has a formula I've found very helpful: E + R + O (Event + Reaction = Outcome). The only part of the equation that you can control is the "R" so if you want to change the outcome, you've got to change your reaction to the event. Sage advice.

2. "We could never do that."

There's a saying that it doesn't matter whether you think you can or can't, you're right. That pretty much sums it up, doesn't it?

3. "You should..." (or "You need to...")

Don't ever should on anyone, especially yourself! Besides, most people don't like being told what they should or need to do.

I picked Wally Amos up at the airport and headed downtown for a late lunch. We were walking to Dexter's in Thornton Park and passed a house where there'd obviously been a little partying going on the night before. There were some party cups laying around on the sidewalk. Without missing a beat, Wally bent down, picked them all up as if it were his own yard, and carried them down the street until we got to a garbage can.

It's just part of who he is. He cares about his environment and is not too proud to clean up after others' thoughtless behavior. I've found myself stopping to pick up a few pieces of trash myself this afternoon. Wow, if only we could start a movement, sorta like the old Prell commercials: I pick up two pieces, and you pick up two pieces...and so on and so on...

Lots of great events coming up, more details to follow, but mark your calendar now:

April 26, 7:00 p.m.
Journey to a Hate Free Millennium
A Community Conversation and Program
Apopka, Florida

Featuring Brent Scarpo, producer of the multi-award-winning Journey to a Hate Free Millennium documentary and educational program. A former teacher, actor and Hollywood casting director (Shawshank Redemption, Air Force One) Brent has presented the Journey to more than 1,000,000 in all 50 U.S. states and 12 foreign countries over the past eight years.

May 24, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
SMART Awards Luncheon
Hosted by the Association for Corporate Growth Orlando chapter
Downtown Orlando Marriott
Orlando, Florida

Featuring Wally "Famous" Amos, father of the gourmet chocolate chip cookie industry, and recognizing Central Florida companies leading our business community in financial strength, active social and community participation as well as appreciation for the company and its employees.

Nominate a client's, associate's or even your own company.
Register by May 11 to receive early bird pricing.

May 31, 2007 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
MEGA Book Marketing
A One Day Crash Course in Book Marketing
Hosted by Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Enterprise
New York, New York
Seating is limited. Register today!

July 26-28, 2007
HDPR: Creating the Clear Picture
PRSA Sunshine District Annual Conference
Disney's Contemporary Resort
Orlando, Florida

Hosted by the Orlando Chapter of PRSA.

Conference calls offer a great alternative to on-site meetings. You don't have to find a conference room that's available. There's no travel time to build into your schedule. You can "attend" in your sweat pants and no one knows. You can eat even if you don't have enough for everyone (as long as you're on mute so others don't hear you chew). However, it seems the relaxed nature of a conference call leads some people to relax their manners as well.

I was on a monthly conference call today for leaders of a national organization. One of these "leaders" joined the call late and even though someone else (who had joined the call on time) was talking, she butted right in and introduced herself - literally cutting off the person speaking. And she kept talking, apparently oblivious to the dead silence that met her introduction.

She reminded me of another conference call participant with whom we had to deal recently (different group). He consistently joined the call late, often 20-30 minutes into the one hour call. He always announced himself with a lengthy explanation for his tardiness, never bothering to notice he was interrupting someone. He repeatedly asked questions and brought up discussion points that had been discussed before he joined the call. His behavior was rude and disruptive, and frequently extended the call much longer than necessary, much to the consternation of other committee members.

Here are a few simple rules for conference call etiquette:

1. Notify the call leader in advance - If you know you are going to be late, let the call leader know ahead of time, especially if you have a discussion item on the agenda. This way, s/he can tailor the agenda order and advise others to expect you late.

2. Place your discussion item(s) on the agenda - If you have something you want to discuss during the call, let the call leader know in advance so s/he can add it to the agenda. If you think of something during the call and it doesn't fall under an item already on the agenda, hold it until the "other business" portion of the agenda.

3. Review the agenda before the call. Jot your questions and comments next to the corresponding agenda item so you don't bring them up out of order. This is especially important if you are going to be late for the call. You don't want to alienate other participants by going back over what you missed.

4. If you're tardy, be extra courteous. If you must join the call late, be respectful of other participants. Wait for an appropriate pause in the conversation to announce yourself. (Note: many automated conference services ask you to state your name, but resist the urge! The call will be interrupted with a recording of you saying your name - it's the same as jumping on and announcing yourself.)

5. Take responsibility for following up on what you missed. If your question or agenda item was discussed before you joined the call, don't force the rest of the team to rehash it. Contact the call leader or another participant post-call for an update, or wait for the minutes to see if your question was answered.

6. Mute the phone unless you are speaking. This helps reduce distracting background noises and, if you're in sweats, you're probably at home, and other callers shouldn't be subjected to your dog barking when the FedEx guy knocks on your door.

7. Get to the point - Nothing irritates participants more than a call running beyond its scheduled time because someone drones on and on and can't get to the point. Keep your comments on target and limit the editorializing unless you're in a free-flow or brainstorming stage of the call.

Do you have other tips to share or pet peeves from conference calls you participate in? Share them with us!

When leaving a voice mail for someone, take a deep breathe, then force yourself to speak slower than you would in normal conversation. Be sure to clearly annunciate your words. Voice mail playback is not always as clear as a live telephone connection, particularly if you are on a cell phone.

I'm working on a big conference right now and getting dozens of voice mails every day. The challenge with many of the messages is understanding the person's name or, even worse, their phone number. Most of us will stop for clarification if we miss something someone is saying during a conversation, but we don't have that luxury when listening to a voice mail. I often replay a message three and four times yet still am unable to understand what the caller is saying.

Of course, even if I can't get the caller's name, I still call them back, telling whomever answers the phone I am returning a voice mail but did not understand the caller's name. Usually I am able to get to the caller, but not always. Unfortunately, if I can't understand their phone number, I have no way to call them back and have to just sit back hoping they will call again.

Another good rule of phone etiquette to follow: Always leave your phone number twice.

Remember the entrepreneur who forgot to update the landing page for a teleclass he was promoting? I tried to get on that call tonight and the nightmare continued.

First, the call was automatically answered with a recording telling me "the new number is..." and directing me to dial another number. OK. So, I dialed the new number roughly ten minutes past the start time (I like to avoid all the chit chat and opening sales pitches).

I was surprised to find two women chatting back and forth about network marketing, Cancun and other chatter one typically endures when dialing in before a call's published start time. Thinking perhaps I had misdialed the phone number or entered the wrong passcode, I hung up and redialed the original number listed in the call announcement email. Nope, same message directing me to the new number, which I called again and entered the passcode again, to hear these same 2 women bantering back and forth.

Suffice it to say I'm no longer interested in the particular entrepreneur and have asked to be removed from his mailing list.