You can be the best meetings chair in your organization. You can also become the most popular presenter in your group. These are learnable skills and are not just reserved for those with magnetic personalities. You can do it. I can show you how.

Come with me and let’s discover how much better you can be. Click here for the details and the full table of contents in this training system.

Happy Audience = Happy Speaker

Jim Cathcart on campus at USC

Here is the link to explore the details and to contact NSA/GLAC for materials and recordings from the event.

http://www.nsaglac.org/meetings/meeting_1-14-2012.php

USC-NSA_GLAC Distinguished Speakers Symposium

In addition to the presentations both Cathcart and Salsbury allowed NSA to auction off some personal coaching

NSA/GLAC Presents: Distinguished Speakers Symposium Hosted by The University of Southern California January 14, 2012  During this dynamic, content rich event, you will learn how to:  Become a successful, more engaging presenter  Build instant rapport with every audience member  Capture and hold every audience’s attention  Discover proven techniques for handling distractions  Observe the styles and techniques of some of the best in the business Secure more paid speaking engagements   Reserve your seat NOW!    THE ART OF CONNECTION Making a Difference from the Platform Presented by Glenna Salsbury, CSP, CPAE  Are you sharing The Authentic You™ in all your richness with your audiences? Your ability to discover and communicate your unique message is the essence of powerful platform presence. Glenna will identify specific ways for you to enhance your effectiveness (and your joy!) in your calling as a speaker. This may well be the pivotal message of your entire career. Don’t miss it! We will together consider several “avenues of access” which will help you identify your own authenticity. These will include: Finding your own voice Unearthing your own stories Creating an atmosphere of intimacy Learning the art of rhythm Daring to let the real you shine through Glenna Salsbury provides keynotes and seminars nationally and internationally. Glenna graduated from Northwestern University and holds a Masters Degree from UCLA and a Masters from Fuller Seminary. An active member of the National Speakers Association, Glenna has received the highest awards given in the realm of professional speaking.  In her personal life Glenna was married to the late Jim Salsbury, a former Detroit Lion and Green Bay Packer. She resides in Scottsdale, Arizona. (866) 416-7252info@nsaglac.orgwww.nsaglac.org USC Campus Popovich Hall, room 112  Parking $8.00  Click here for Parking Map Meeting at a Glance 8:00 AM – Registration 9:00 AM – Welcome 9:10 AM – Member Spotlight 9:30 AM – Glenna Salsbury Presents 12:30 PM – Lunch 1:15 PM  – Meet the Pro 1:30 PM – Jim Cathcart Presents 3:00 PM – Conclusion   Registration Includes BREAKFAST and LUNCH Member/Apprentice: $49 Platinum Member: $39 USC Professor: $49 Non-Member: $69 USC Student: $49 At the door: Member/Apprentice: $69 Platinum Member: $69 USC Professor: $69 Non-Member: $89 USC Student: $69 GET REGISTERED TODAY! PROFESSIONAL STORYTELLING TECHNIQUES Presented by Jim Cathcart, CSP, CPAEEven business speakers and educators can increase their impact through the intelligent use of stories. Learn how the top professional speakers use storytelling to imprint their messages on their audiences. Discover how to find your own stories See how to bring stories alive Recognize what amateur speakers do that kills their chances of success Hear examples of stories that have stood the test of time Understand the concept of a “Signature Story” to craft your own Jim Cathcart is an active motivational speaker, radio host and prolific author plus anexecutive coach to numerous high-achievers. In his personal time he plays Rock n Roll guitar in night clubs, rides his motorcycle on the twistiest roads he can find and runs the trails of the mountains near his home at least twice each week. He’s a proud parent and grandparent and an active civic leader. He serves as an advisor to the Schools of Business at both Pepperdine University and California Lutheran University.   January 14, 2012 USC Campus Popovich Hall, room 112

The National Speakers Association, the professional voice for those who do this for a living, has just completed a new book that will be announced publicly in June of 2011. I had the honor of writing the Introduction for this book.

If you’ve ever been interested in learning how to become a paid professional speaker, this is THE book for you. It is built around all 8 professional competencies needed to thrive in speaking professionally.

Covering every aspect of launching, building, and maintaining a successful speaking career, Paid to Speak is a must-read for professional speakers–whether keynote speaker, motivator, coach, trainer, facilitator, or consultant–as well as those aspiring to a speaking career.

Divided into four sections, the content corresponds with the four core competencies that the National Speakers Association (NSA) has identified for success as a professional speaker:

• Eloquence: platform mechanics, presenting, and preparing
• Enterprise: business management, sales, and marketing
• Expertise: topic development, authorship, and product development
• Ethics: professional awareness and professional development

Thirty-four working NSA members who have built thriving speaking businesses weigh in with valuable insights and proven strategies on a gamut of topics, making Paid to Speak essential to any speaker’s list of reference materials.

Here is the link to the full Table of Contents of Paid To Speak.

LEARN HOW TO

• Create compelling presentations using stories of humor
• Hone your presentation and facilitation skills
• Convey a professional image through dress and body language
• Market and sell yourself effectively
• Develop an authentic and innovative brand
• Partner with speakers bureaus
• Spice up your writing and sell book proposals
• Establish yourself as an expert in your niche
• Leverage the virtual world
• Adhere to an ethical code of behavior
• And much, much more!

Read Paid to Speak from cover to cover, or open it to any chapter, for tried-and-true, hands-on information on taking your speaking career–and your bank account–to the next level.

Call me once you’ve read this book and let’s explore your opportunities in speaking.

In the February 2011 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine Ruth Parry wrote an article called “Making A Connection: Ten tips for engaging an audience.” It is an excellent article, especially if you are a musical performer…and…

It is ALSO an excellent article if you are a public speaker or any kind of presenter/entertainer. Ruth has isolated ten excellent steps for connecting with any group. Here they are. (Go to her article for the full treatment.)

Acoustic Guitar: Make a Connection

1. Look people in the eye and smile.

2. Tell a story.

3. Be a good observer.

4. Include special announcements and thank yous.

5. Get people singing or clapping. (involve them)

6. Satisfy children’s curiosity. (or shy observers’)

7. Ask for input.

8. Throw a change-up.

9. Make ‘em laugh.

10. Play with passion.

Contact me if you need some coaching or insight into speaking with confidence. 800-222-4883  info@cathcart.com

“Profiling”

What do you think of when you hear that word? Racial discrimination or intelligent decision making?

The media has demonized this concept over the past decade or so. They’ve made it popular to believe that one should never use profiling as part of decision making. I say, that is a foolish point of view. Absurd in fact.

Profiling; the act of identifying the patterns of difference that separate individuals into general groupings, is a vital life skill. I said “vital”, meaning that we cannot get through life without it. It is as natural and useful as thought itself.

When you look at a forest, it is in your best interest to distinguish between deer and bears, squirrels and rats, rabbits and weasels. That’s the only way you’ll know the appropriate reaction to each: threat or not. The same process takes place as you walk through a crowd in a public place. You identify the people who look threatening and those who don’t. And you should do this. It is in your best interest to do so.

Security personnel at political events have to use profiling to speed their identification of threats. If they looked at the bulk of the crowd in the same way they looked at the scary looking people then much time would be wasted and threats might be identified only after it was too late to deter them. The same applies to you and me.

Everyday intelligence demands that we develop the habit of identifying patterns, “profiles” if you will. The more we recognize patterns in behavior, in appearance, in language use, and in movement, then the more we will know about who to move toward and who to avoid. Our schools teach us to recognize patterns in all parts of life, mathematics/grammar/physics, so that we can predict where the threats and opportunities will be.

So, let’s get over this hyper-sensitivity to the concept of Profiling. It is the only efficient way to use our time, attention and resources wisely in any situation. Now, having said that, I also want to acknowledge that just because you look like you’re carrying a gun or angry at the world doesn’t mean that it’s so. So, even though I might identify you as a “likely” threat it doesn’t justify my treating you as an actual threat, convicted before found guilty. But it totally justifies me in paying closer attention to you until I’m sure that you’re not a threat.

The essence of intelligence is making distinctions, noticing more. So let’s encourage our security personnel, our law enforcement officers, our military and even each other to use our Profiling skills to the optimum, while remembering that appearances aren’t realities. They are simply indicators of likely realities.

Every person in America is innocent until proven guilty under the law and that is how it should remain. So, if you belong to a minority that has a track record of violence or crime, then I sympathize with your dilemma, but I’m still going to be more cautious around you than I am around others. It is a reality of life that how we look and what we do sends messages to others as to what we are probably like. Our choices tell others what to expect from us.

And now I have a personal request. Last week I traveled from Barcelona to Los Angeles. In doing so I went through several security check points. One of them involved a full body pat-down, the intimate and intrusive new procedure that is getting so many people outraged. Well, count me among them. If I had behaved in a threatening way, shown any evidence of belligerence or threat then I’d say, check me out thoroughly. But since I was randomly selected without the use of intelligent Profiling, then give me the treatment that is justified based upon my appearance, credentials and behavior. As a multi-million-mile frequent traveler on multiple airlines with plenty of credentials to identify myself, I think that less groping is needed to eliminate me as a threat. Let’s change the policies that our TSA officers have to follow. Let them single out the likely threats and treat the rest of us with a bit more dignity and respect. It will save them time and keep us safe.

Notice more.

The 101 Leaders Institute “Prosperity Seminar Series” featured Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE on January 23, 2010 at the beautiful Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California. Her topic was Presentation Skills and she Wowed the audience, as expected!

The amazing Miss Fripp not only taught, but also practiced the techniques and strategies that have allowed her to reach the absolute top of the field of professional speaking. She is:

• Past President of the National Speakers Association and its first female president,
• a Certified Speaking Professional, CSP
• an inductee into the Professional Speakers Hall of Fame, CPAE
• a Cavett Award winner
• a regular presenter on many of the most prestigious programs in the country
• and a speech & sales presentation trainer to celebrities, politicians, and corporate executives around the world.
• She has delivered thousands of speeches in every conceivable setting over a speaking career that spans more than thirty years.

Some of her key points, as remembered by the attendees, include:

Focus on what the audience will get, not on what you will tell them.

Reduce your “I” count, talk about them not about you.

Structure Frees you, it doesn’t “freeze” you. Organize your information into a logical flow.

Use your technology, don’t let it use you. Learn how to use PowerPoint and your other tools well.

The packed audience was engaged from beginning to end of this 3 hour program. Host Jim Cathcart, president of the 101 Leaders Institute and also a past president of the National Speakers Association, said, “I’ve known Patricia Fripp for over 30 years and, of the thousands of speakers I know NOBODY is a more dedicated student of their craft than Patricia. She is amazingly dedicated to learning: story telling, script writing, speech craft, stage techniques, choreography, voice control, writing techniques, comedy, acting and performance. There is no better presentation skills coach on Earth! And I defy you to prove me wrong.”

Fripp & Cathcart with Bob Hope's chief comedy writer, author Gene Perrett

Attendees at the Prosperity Seminar (the 4th in the 7 event annual series) included; screenwriters, business owners, executives, attorneys, CPAs, entrepreneurs, comedy writers, radio personalities, authors, professional speakers, consultants, civic leaders, students, hoteliers, and club managers.

The next seminar is scheduled for February 25th at Westlake Village Inn. The featured speaker is Don Hutson, coauthor of The One Minute Entrepreneur, one of the nation’s leading sales trainers. His topic is “Selling Value over Price”.

To enroll in the next seminar or the series of seven seminars click here.
Enroll Now!

You’ve seen excellent presenters over the years who were able to move people to action even when their “argument” for doing so was weak. You’ve also seen people who had the right message at the right time but didn’t deliver it in the right way to produce results. The difference in the two is “presentation skills.” The ability to convincingly deliver a compelling message is a skill that can be learned…by you.

Come & spend the morning with the nation’s leading speech coach, Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE and me on Saturday, January 23, 2010 at Sherwood Country Club in Westlake Village, California. (Click here for directions)

“Miss Fripp” is the private coach to politicians, celebrities, business executives and world leaders. She travels the world helping people tell their stories and move their audiences to action. I’m bringing her to Ventura County in January for a 2 hour seminar on Presentation Skills that will blow you away! Come and join us.
The enrollment in this single event is just $199 and if you want to enroll in the entire year long series of Masters Level Seminars, it is only $795.

Click here to enroll. You’ll be VERY impressed with the value of this seminar.

Here is one of Patricia’s articles I know you’ll enjoy.

The 10 Biggest Traps to Avoid When You Speak:
How to Turn Dull into Dynamic! (1085 words)

By Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

Whenever you open your mouth, whether your audience is one person or a thousand, you want to get a specific message across. Maybe you want your opinions heard at meetings, or perhaps you are giving a formal presentation, internally or externally. Possibly your sales team needs to improve its customer communication, or you’re in a position to help your CEO design an important speech.

Anyone who sets out to present, persuade, and propel with the spoken word faces 10 major pitfalls.

1. UNCLEAR THINKING. If you can’t describe what you are talking about in one sentence, you may be guilty of fuzzy focus or trying to cover too many topics. Your listeners will probably be confused too, and their attention will soon wander. Whether you are improving your own skills or helping someone else to create a presentation, the biggest (and most difficult) challenge is to start with a one-sentence premise or objective.

2. NO CLEAR STRUCTURE. Make it easy for people to follow what you are saying. They’ll remember it better–and you will too as you deliver your information and ideas. If you waffle, ramble, or never get to the point, your listeners will tune out. Start with a strong opening related to your premise; state your premise; list the rationales or “Points of Wisdom” that support your premise, supporting each with examples: stories, statistics, metaphors, and case histories. Review what you’ve covered, take questions if appropriate, and then use a strong close.

3. NO MEMORABLE STORIES. People rarely remember your exact words. Instead, they remember the mental images that your words inspire. Support your key points with vivid, relevant stories. Help your listeners “make the movie” in their heads by using memorable characters, engaging situations, dialogue, suspense, drama, and humor. In fact, if you can open with a highly visual image, dramatic or amusing (but not a joke!), that supports your premise, you’ve got them hooked. Then tie your closing back to your opening scene. They’ll never forget it.

4. NO EMOTIONAL CONNECTION. The most powerful communication combines both intellectual and emotional connections. Intellectual means appealing to educated self-interest with data and reasoned arguments. Emotional comes from engaging the listeners’ imaginations, involving them in your illustrative stories by frequently using the word “you” and by answering their unspoken question, “What’s in this for me?” Use what I call a “high I/You ratio.” For example: Not “I’m going to talk to you about telecommunications,” but “You’re going to learn the latest trends in telecommunications.” Not, “I want to tell you about Bobby Lewis,” but “Come with me to Oklahoma City. Let me introduce you to my friend, proud father Bobby Lewis.” You’ve pulled the listener into the story.

5. WRONG LEVEL OF ABSTRACTION. Are you providing the big picture and generalities, a sort of pep talk, when your listeners are hungry for details, facts, and specific how-to’s? Or are you drowning them in data when they need to position themselves with an overview and find out why they should care? Get on the same wave length with your listeners. My friend Dr. David Palmer, a Silicon Valley negotiations expert, refers to “fat” and “skinny” words and phrases. Fat words describe the big picture, goals, ideals, outcomes. Skinny words are minute details and specific who, what, when, and how. In general, senior management needs fat words. Middle management requires medium words. Technical staff and consumer hot line users are hungry for skinny words. Feed them all according to their appetites.

6. NO PAUSES. Good music and good communication both contain changes of pace, pauses, and full rests. This is when listeners think about what has just been said. If you rush on at full speed to crowd in as much information as possible, chances are you’ve left your listeners back at the station. It’s okay to talk quickly, but pause whenever you say something profound or proactive or you ask a rhetorical question. This gives the audience a chance to think about what you’ve said and to internalize it.

7. IRRITATING NON-WORDS. Hmm–ah–er–you know what I mean–. One speaker I heard began each new thought with “Now!” as he scanned his notes to figure out what came next. This might be okay occasionally, but not every 30 seconds. Record yourself to check for similar bad verbal habits. Then keep taping yourself redelivering the same material until such audience-aggravators have vanished.

8. STEPPING ON YOUR PUNCH WORDS. The most important word in a sentence is the punch-word. Usually, it’s the final word: “Take my wife–PLEASE.” But if you drop your voice and then add, “Right?” or “See?!” you’ve killed the impact of your message. (To discover if you do this, use the tape-recording test described above.) Don’t sabotage your best shots.

9. MISUSING TECHNOLOGY. Without a doubt, audio/visual has added showbiz impact to business and professional speakers’ presentations. However, just because it is available, doesn’t mean we have to use it! Timid speakers who simply narrate flip chart images, slides, videos, overheads, or view-graphs can rarely be passionate and effective. Any visual aid takes the attention away from you. Even the best PowerPoint(r) images will not connect you emotionally. Use strong stories instead if at all possible. Never repeat what is on the visuals. If you do, one of you is redundant. Make technology a support to your message, not a crutch. The trap is that information presented through technology tends to be about the speaker and the speaker’s organization, while communication should be about the AUDIENCE. One executive I was asked to coach had 60 PowerPoint slides–58 about his company and 2 about the prospective client. We halved the number and reversed the ratio!

10. NOT HAVING A STRONG OPENING AND CLOSING. Engage your audience immediately with a powerful, relevant opening that has a high I/You factor. It can be dramatic, thought-provoking, or even amusing, but never, never open with a joke (unless you are a humorist with original materials! Get your listeners hooked immediately with a taste of what is to follow. And never close by asking for questions. Yes, take questions if appropriate, but then go on to deliver your dynamic closing, preferably one that ties back into your opening theme. Last words linger. As with a great musical, you want your audience walking out afterwards humming the tunes.

When you can avoid these 10 common pitfalls, you’re free to focus on your message and your audience, making you a more dynamic, powerful, and persuasive communicator.

Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE
Sales Presentation Trainer,
Keynote Speaker, Executive Speech Coach

527 Hugo Street, San Francisco, CA 94122
(800)634-3035, (415)753-6556, Fax (415)753-0914
PFripp@fripp.com, www.fripp.com

A final note from Jim Cathcart:

Learn the techniques of the Top Professionals:I’ve been a professional speaker since 1974 and have delivered over 2,700 paid speeches and seminars around the world. It has also been my privilege to personally know and work with folks like: Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Earl Nightingale, W. Clement Stone, Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, Og Mandino, Cavett Robert, Bill Gove, and Dr. Kenneth McFarland. I’ve been hired by: Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Brian Tracy, Denis Waitley and Tom Hopkins to deliver speeches to their audiences. And I’ve sat in the audience of literally thousands of presentations by the best speakers on earth.

You can do what they do. I’m not saying you can be the kind of speaker that these giants are but you can definitely learn their techniques and strategies to become the most powerful speaker you can be. These Hall of Fame professional speakers have shared their methods with me and my colleagues and now you can learn them too. Come see and learn from Patricia Fripp and then stay connected with me.
Let me be your speaking mentor. Have me in your corner to coach you on the presentations that will make a big difference in your world. None of us is as good as we could be.
Let’s discover just how much better you could be. Click here for more on how this works.