Julie Mergen is fascinated with business systems. She admires those who create products from concepts. Along with her innate entrepreneurial spirit, she simply finds money interesting — even more intriguing is the multiple, seemingly endless perceptions we as humans have about money. Julie says: “Money stops us, blocks us, money molds us, holds us, money is freedom, money is greed, money is a tool and a crutch, money is anger and happiness, money is love, companionship, affection, money is scarce, money is security, money is prosperity and abundant, money is influence and power. Money can be build an empire and destroy a marriage — if that is how money is perceived, that is what money becomes.”

Julie started a women’s investment club in 2004. During its existence the club has touched the lives of 16 diverse women. Together, these women learned and implemented strategies for investing one dollar to earn two in return. They studied the stock market; learned about real estate investing; explored several business models; held a club portfolio which fostered courage for many members to move outside their comfort zone; and expanded their individual portfolios. They made some money, they lost some money — but most importantly, Julie led these women through a learning process to change their perceptions about money. Perceptions about money had restrained each of them from achieving financial freedom, which meant something different to each of them in turn.

Spending six years in a club with these magnificent women was an immense gift that Julie is eternally grateful for. Along with her interests, this experience shaped the concepts for workshops, one-on-one mentoring and a monthly publication, Her Money Magazine. Julie’s passion now is to reach out and share in creating a new community which includes all women, anyone who wants to discover their relationship with money and create financial freedom — freedom in all aspects of life.

Through workshops, mentoring, and public speaking Julie’s sets a standard for women to rise up authentically with confidence and achieve what each individual woman believes is her standard of financial well being.

Her Money Magazine is a pillar in the financial realm of women’s lives; sparking an interest and cultivating confidence; demystifying fears and broadening views about money in ways that educate, encourage, empower and even entertain while women of all ages all over the world take action to achieve financial well-being; living dreams that come true.

Through a newly founded non-profit, Her Freedom Foundation, Julie will reach out specifically to the single mothers who find themselves struggling financially, feeling trapped and possibility seeing themselves as victims of circumstance. The Foundation offers support and education to show these women the way to financial empowerment.

Julie is a leader making a difference in the lives of women, so that they in turn may make a difference in the lives of those who surround them.

Speaker’s Academy Archive

I caught up with Julie at a National Speakers Association Northern California Chapter meeting immediately prior to the start of the Speaker’s Academy program. To hear what she told me about her plans to publish the magazine and her best single piece of advice for women who want to learn to manage money, click on the podcast icon below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:45 — 1.6MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Stephen Apkon’s new book, The Age of the Image: Redefining Literacy in a World of Screens more than lives up to last week’s preview in the Financial Times. This is one of the most thought provoking books I’ve ever read on corporate and political communications.

Images are replacing written communication

Newspaper circulation is down while YouTube views number in the billions. These facts are not unrelated.

Apkon argues that we are on the threshold of a new era where the democratic reach of media can now stretch to a level never before possible in human history. This phenomena is enabled by the ubiquity of screens to consume video; the universal language of the image over the specificity of written communications; the power and reach of the networks of distribution through YouTube and the web; and, finally, our ownership of the means of production via smart phone cameras and inexpensive editing tools. Apkon notes:

What we are now seeing is the gradual ascendance of the moving image as the primary mode of communication around the world: one that transcends languages, cultures, and borders. And what makes this new ear different from the dawn of television is that the means of production–once in the hands of big-time broadcasting companies with their large budgets–is now available to anyone with a camera, a computer, and the will.

The power of images

Akpon details how the human brain is wired for images (the province of 85% of our grey matter) and why we trust the evidence of our eyes above all else. Images are understood in context, which can be manipulated with narrative to hook an audience emotionally. We expect nothing less from Hollywood, we should not deny ourselves this facility.

Every picture tells a story

Images have energized corporate storytelling. Apkon shares examples where the old rules no longer apply: from the low-budget Dorritos Super Bowl ad to Gillette’s instructional video on How to Shave Your Groin, corporate video appeals directly to our ‘reptilian mind’, prior to logic and rationality.

Lawyers and journalists are tapping into the power of the image to bolster reasoned arguments.

Implications for executive communications

For anyone involved with corporate, political or executive communications the implications of Apkon’s thesis, even if he only partly right, are profound. Those who wish to succeed in the corporate world need superior communication skills. Today, these include not only listening, speaking, reading and writing, but also superior visual communications skills.

The days of the copy editor, speech writer, or PR professional who focuses on the language of the press release alone are numbered. We need to relax our obsessive focus on a logical, written narrative. Instead of endless meetings about the nuances of a product announcement, we should look for ways to craft images that will emotionally connect with an audience. Apkon recommends we learn from the black arts of the political advert:

Political images are much less logical that they let on–in fact, they rely on the image makers’ ability to tap into primitive emotional centers that govern adaptive urges such as fear, comfort, and love.

Remember, America is a country where one of the more popular of recent Presidents was a trained actor; California a state where we elected an inarticulate Austrian body builder with an outsized fictional screen presence as Governator. The biggest stumble made by the Republican challenger in the last election was being caught on video talking about “the 47 percent”.

Corporate communications professionals need to grab their Flip cameras (or whatever is available to them), fire up Windows Movie Maker and go stick the lens in the face of customers, partners, employees, and, yes, even executives.

Apkon’s important book challenges us to recognize the importance of the image over the written word, to learn to become literate in this medium, and to be willing to step forward and say “Lights, Camera, Action!”.

Jan Dalley writes in the Weekend FT on the paradox that in an age of increasing digitization of our culture (via music downloads, YouTube video and more) people still seek out the unique personal experience of attending live performances: at literary festivals, rock concerts, and lectures.

Historically, authors like Charles Dickens drew crowds of many thousands. Modern literary festivals such as the annual Hay-on-Wye event attract tens of thousands.

Dalley speculates that the appeal of these live events is

..because of something to do with attention … you (feel) the full beam of someone’s focus right on you.

Professional speakers and executives who deliver their content at live events rather than virtually know there is a special magic in being in front of an audience. For attendees, there is the thrill of attention Dalley speaks of, but also, I would suggest, the chance to congregate with others of a like mind in a shared experience that touches something in us which pre-dates the modern world.

There’s the truth of the moment which our ancestors shared around the fire on dark evenings, enchanted by the tale, drawn together in a common understanding.

Christopher Caldwell writes in the Weekend FT about a new book, The Age of the Image: Redefining Literacy in a World of Screens, by Stephen Apkon (available tomorrow on Amazon).

Apkon argues that there is a new kind of global literacy, based not on words, but images. This looks like a significant book for anyone involved in executive communications, speechwriting or professional speaking. The Amazon review states:

We live in a world that is awash in visual storytelling. The recent technological revolutions in video recording, editing, and distribution are more akin to the development of movable type than any other such revolution in the last five hundred years. And yet we are not popularly cognizant of or conversant with visual storytelling’s grammar, the coded messages of its style, and the practical components of its production. We are largely, in a word, illiterate.

But this is not a gloomy diagnosis of the collapse of civilization; rather, it is a celebration of the progress we’ve made and an exhortation and a plan to seize the potential we’re poised to enjoy. The rules that define effective visual storytelling—much like the rules that define written language—do in fact exist, and Stephen Apkon has long experience in deploying them, teaching them, and witnessing their power in the classroom and beyond. In The Age of the Image, drawing on the history of literacy—from scroll to codex, scribes to printing presses, SMS to social media—on the science of how various forms of storytelling work on the human brain, and on the practical value of literacy in real-world situations, Apkon convincingly argues that now is the time to transform the way we teach, create, and communicate so that we can all step forward together into a rich and stimulating future.

Caldwell quotes Elizabeth Daley, Dean of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, who believes writing today is like Latin on the eve of the Renaissance–the language of scholars. YouTube clips are now the street language and the medium of creative thinking–the equivalent of vernacular Italian.

Apkon’s book includes chapters on why the brain sees pictures first and the rules of grammar in the age of images.

This sounds like a fascinating and provocative book and I’ve just pre-ordered my copy. I’ll overlook the fact that this is 260-page printed book and not a 120-minute movie. I’ve always considered myself more of a scholar like Cicero than some street-smart guy haggling on the Via Salaria.

Collaboration Done Right – The secrets of a successful project between corporate staff and outside consultants, by Ian Griffin and Kate Peters

At the March 21, 2013 meeting of the IABC Silicon Valley Chapter vocal impact coach and author Kate Peters and freelance speechwriter Ian Griffin reviewed lessons from a two-year collaborative project at Cisco.

In early 2010, Ian worked as an Executive Communications Manager supporting George O’Meara, the SVP for Services Sales at Cisco in San Jose. He knew George needed presentation skills coaching and found Kate’s book Can You Hear Me Now? on Amazon. He sent her a note asking if she could provide coaching services. That began a highly successful working relationship which lasted until George left Cisco two years later.

Kate Peters is a vocal impact coach, singing performing artist, and author. She focuses on finding each person’s strengths and helps individuals express themselves in ways supportive of their professional and personal lives, whether speaking or singing. She helps public speakers clarify the articulation and organization of their ideas. She aligns their personal brand with the message they want to deliver and enhances presentation content with stories to increase the potential for connection with the audience.

As an Executive Communications Manager at Cisco, Ian’s role was to research and gather content for presentations and aligned the material to the overall corporate message.

Collaboration not competition

Ian hired Kate to work with George on improving his presentation skills, specifically to make it easier for the audience to understand his Chicago accent.

The original engagement grew into a two-year engagement where Kate was closely involved with many presentations.

Ian and Kate were aware that working together brought a potential for competition. Turf battles can happen. This is an obstacle many outside consultants face when they work with staff in large corporations.

Indeed, there were times when Kate suggested enhancement to content, an area that Ian was responsible for. Likewise, Ian, as a long-time member of the National Speaker’s Association, had his own presentation skills suggestions.

The solution, they found, was to work together as a team, not against each other. The benefits of this were apparent in a number of ways. Kate, with a background in music, performance and video, helped Ian make George look better on camera in the many short video messages that were a common way Cisco executives communicated with their teams. Ian became skilled in filming video and became known for his expertise by other Cisco communications managers.

Ian reciprocated by introducing Kate to other communications managers at Cisco which helped to expand her presence across the company.

Lessons learned

Kate lists a number of things to keep in mind as an outside consultant working with staff in a large corporation.

• We are better together. Our combined skills are better than either one working alone.
• Be an advocate. Bring attention to the work of the employee at times when executives might take it for granted.
• Keep in touch. Regular meetings help the employee and consultant work more effectively.
• Show appreciation. Say thank you often and in different ways.
• Know when to keep quiet and let the employee do their work.

Ian found there were a number of secrets to success working with a consultant.

• Choose wisely. Be ready to interview multiple candidates to find a consultant who is the right fit.
• Secure initial buy-in. Ian sold the executive on the idea of hiring a consultant as a “swing coach” for his presentation “game”.
• Know the “cut-over point” – where and when the consultant will augment your role, and don’t be reluctant to explore new areas where they can support the outcome.
• Manage the budget. Keep the executive and managers in the loop on costs and make sure invoices are paid in a timely manner.
• Respect the consultant’s time.

Advantages of collaboration

The three advantages Kate found when working with Ian were:

• As an employee, he knew people she didn’t and was happy to put her in front of others who could use her services. The initial $5,000 contract evolved into a multi-year engagement.
• Ian knew the organization and kept her abreast of important organizational changes and processes about which she would otherwise not have known.
• Ian did things she didn’t want to do and vice versa.

The three advantages Ian found when working with Kate were:

• He valued the support she gave the executive. It augmented his role. Some of the least stressful and most effective meetings were between George and Kate with Ian as an observer, seeing results he could never have achieved alone.
• Ian benefited from using Kate as a consultant who was able to mentor him on his own presentation skills.
• He found new ways to amplify the unique skills the consultant brought to the organization among his peers.

Relationships that last

Now that Ian has left Cisco, the relationship he established with Kate continues. Corporate employees never know when they might want to or need to go out on their own. Relationships that are formed through organizations like IABC and one-on-one contacts with industry leaders like Kate are useful bridges to life after corporate employment.

Both Kate and Ian acknowledge the value of having a strong professional network both inside and outside an organization. In fact, they are charter members of the newly formed Silicon Valley Speechwriters Roundtable which is a forum for professionals interested in presentation excellence.

The annual Ragan Speechwriters Conference was held March 20 – 22, 2013 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC.

I was not able to attend this year, but, like anyone who has access to Twitter, I enjoyed following the conference virtually via the hashtag #raganspeech.

If you’d like to read more speechwriter tweets, check out these 138 tweets from the 2012 Ragan Speechwriters Conference.

All of these tweets are a great source of information to anyone who wants to know about the things speechwriters are interested in. We owe a special debt of gratitude to anyone who tweeted, and especially to the three most active people:

• Jay Robb
• Sam Hosenkamp
• Alex Marklew

Here’s a fun picture that shows at a glance the topics and presenters that attracted the most comments.

Click to enlarge – Image by Wordle.

The list, like Twitter, is in reverse chronological order, with the most recent tweets at the top.

1. @MarklewA Doing the same corporate crap in more channels is still corporate crap – @Crescenzo
2. @SamHosenkamp Take the ‘corporate’ out of ‘corporate communications’ and replace it with ‘creative.’ – @Crescenzo
3. @sveng We’ve gotta stop doing corporate communications. It doesn’t work. Nobody reads it – @Crescenzo
4. @jayrobb Corporate communications is dying. No one paying attention to suits & boilerplate – @Crescenzo
5. @jayrobb Doing corporate speak on social media will get you killed – @Crescenzo
6. @MarklewA Be creative, compelling, concise and conversational – advice for corporate communicators from @Crescenzo. So many C’s.
7. @SamHosenkamp Our job as communicators is to make the important interesting – @Crescenzo
8. @jayrobb Leaders should communicate what & why down into the org with the how coming up from employees – @Crescenzo
9. @jayrobb Corporate is out & conversational is in for leadership communications – @Crescenzo
10. @jayrobb 4 keys to leadership blogs: start personal, swing back to business, stories about others & ask for comments – @Crescenzo
11. @sveng We have to be the ones who say, lighten up man. The corporate style doesn’t work anymore – @Crescenzo
12. @JodiReef Great writing is talking edited – @Crescenzo
13. @MarklewA So far at #raganspeech we’ve had talk of zombie apocalypses, freelancers being hunted and killed, and audiences being punched in the throat.
14. @jayrobb 1st question audience will ask – why should we listen to you? Answer with a story of self – Rune Kier
15. @jayrobb All great speeches need to tell 3 stories: story of me, us and now – Rune Kier cites Marshall Ganz
16. @jayrobb Tell a story that underscores why your audience needs to think or act differently with urgency now – Rune Kier
17. @jayrobb The hero of your speech is the audience and never you. You’re the helper for their goals – Rune Kier
18. @jayrobb 3 social media tools to make the podium longer for your speeches: Twitter, Pinterest & Storify – @TrineNebel
19. @jayrobb Use Twitter to crowd source ideas for your speech: also build buy in and buzz – @TrineNebel
20. @jayrobb If your executive insists on being the hero of her speech (and not the audience) she’ll become the villain – Rune Kier
21. @jayrobb 4 most powerful words an executive communicator can say “I have an idea” – Jill Giacomoni
22. @JodiReef Ask: Am I the only one in the room who is not going to understand this? – Jill Giacomoni
23. @TrineNebel Link to ALL material used in our #raganspeech-session about Storytelling, Speeches and Social Media – @TrineNebel
24. @moorghen What I learned at #raganspeech: speeches are like songs, with structure and meaning, to be delivered with focus & aplomb.
25. @MarkRaganCEO If you want to show power when answering a question, follow with “yes” or “no” then follow with an explanation – @TMucci
26. @MarklewA All speechwriters secretly want to be Rob Lowe in the West Wing – Jeff Shesol
27. @jayrobb The power of the bully pulpit: educator in chief & articulating values – Jeff Shesol
28. @jayrobb What’s the speech about? What’s the one point & take away? Persuade don’t overwhelm – Jeff Shesol
29. @jayrobb President Clinton used 3/4 of speechwriters’ words and 3/4 of his own in a typical speech – jokes Jeff Shesol
30. @MarklewA Shesol observes that Blair’s words carried more weight than Clinton’s because he had a legislative majority behind him.
31. @jayrobb The right words said in the right way at the right time can make a difference – Jeff Shesol
32. @MatthewJBondy Ceremonial speeches hold up the mirror to audience’s innermost feelings – Lucinda Holdforth
33. @jayrobb Catharsis is the ultimate ambition of a ceremonial speech – Lucinda Holdforth
34. @SamHosenkamp Speeches still have mystic power, they are about the things that bind us as a community – Lucinda Holdforth
35. @jayrobb Too many audiences feel battered by a monologue rather than engaged & enhanced by a dialogue – Lucinda Holdforth
36. @SamHosenkamp Embrace the elephant:The more you incorporate doubts,ques of audience into speech, the more powerful it will be – Holdforth
37. @JodiReef Generating Buy-In, great book for structuring storyline into a speech – @taylorclark
38. @jayrobb Hope and overcoming should be the leader’s message in a commemorative speech – Lucinda Holdforth
39. @aaron2hoover Great speeches are an axe for the frozen sea between us – Lucinda Holdforth riffs on Kaftka
40. @jayrobb In a ceremonial speech, the audience wants to know where we go from here & put our emotional energy – Lucinda Holdforth
41. @SamHosenkamp Fabulous tips for speechwriters and speakers from Lucinda Holdforth
42. @SamHosenkamp Listen to music. If you look at lyrics as language you’re going to learn a lot – Michael Long
43. @jayrobb Telling stories help reveal a speaker’s humanity to the audience – Rob Friedman
44. @cbjorlin Speaker at #raganspeech Used what think is my new fav phrase “they’ll look at you like a dog shown a card trick, they just won’t get it.”
45. @jayrobb One common theme to inspirational stories: got knocked down and got back up – Rob Friedman
46. @jayrobb The best source for stories are letters to your organization from customers, patients, staff – Rob Friedman
47. @jayrobb To get a good story out of your speaker ask what they’re most proud of or disappointed by – Rob Friedman
48. @sveng Hangin tough at the #raganspeech conference. Heard @taylorclark compare speechwriting to a zombie apocalypse.
49. @MarklewA Content must drive comedy – write the speech, then funny it up. Don’t try to write a “funny speech” – David Glickman
50. @jayrobb In speechwriting, content drives the comedy / humor and not the other way around – David Glickman
51. @jayrobb Write the speech 1st and then add the humor – David Glickman
52. @jayrobb The more specific the humor, the more terrific the humor. And customized humor doesn’t have to be as funny – David Glickman
53. @MarklewA 2nd session at #raganspeech where someone has referenced 50 Shades of Grey. What does this say about the profession, I wonder…
54. @MarklewA Won’t be tweeting any of David Glickman’s jokes, they’re far too good and I plan to steal them shamelessly.
55. @rebeccajshaffer Not every laugh has to be huge, small laughs in context add up nicely in a speech – David Glickman
56. @jayrobb Think of your speech as an EKG. Laugh lines are the upward blips – David Glickman
57. @rebeccajshaffer Use planned mispronunciations (and other mistakes). Normal, normal, surprise. People will laugh! – David Glickman
58. @MarklewA If nobody laughs at your joke, keep ploughing on and pretend it wasn’t meant to be funny – David Glickman
59. @SamHosenkamp Find out what’s going on in news and see if there’s a way to make it humorous – David Glickman
60. @SamHosenkamp Thinking of using humor in your speech? When in doubt, leave it out – David Glickman
61. @MarklewA Interesting how much overlap there is between the different elements of writing – funny or serious, it’s all about research.
62. @MarklewA Know your audience, know your venue, know your subject.
63. @jayrobb Humor can put an explanation mark on key points in your speech – Lucinda Holdforth
64. @MarklewA If you value your sanity, being able to eat and having a home, don’t be a freelancer. Wise words.
65. @jayrobb Don’t deliver a speech that’s like a love letter addressed to whom it may concern – Fletcher Dean
66. @SamHosenkamp Every audience has the same question ‘what is this person going to say that’s going to make my life better? – Fletcher Dean
67. @jayrobb All audiences want the same thing: how to be healthier, wealthier or happier.
68. @sveng Important to know your audience and understand their problems – Fletcher Dean
69. @SamHosenkamp Begin your speech at the end. Otherwise it’s like packing without knowing your destination. – Fletcher Dean
70. @jayrobb Eliciting action from your audience is the Holy Grail of speechwriting – Fletcher Dean
71. @SamHosenkamp Amplification through simplification: Keep your message short and clear – Fletcher Dean
72. @sveng Think like a reporter when you’re crafting your key messages – Fletcher Dean
73. @SamHosenkamp How to craft your key message: Write it as a headline you’d want to see in the paper – Fletcher Dean
74. @rebeccajshaffer A quick look at what Monroe’s Motivated Sequence – Recommended by Fletcher Dean
75. @rebeccajshaffer Anecdote trumps facts every day. Emotion matters!
76. @SamHosenkamp Logic, character and emotion – 3 key elements of a compelling speech.
77. @SamHosenkamp The best stories shouldn’t be written, they should be told – Fletcher Dean
78. @SamHosenkamp You have to be a speechthinker before you become a speechwriter – Fletcher Dean
79. @jayrobb Fletcher Dean ends his talk with a call to action – think deliberately before you begin writing your next speech.
80. @jayrobb Find stories by finding out who are your speaker’s heroes – Fletcher Dean
81. @MarklewA Mike Long threatens to “hunt down and kill” any freelance who bids low for a job. I don’t doubt that he means it.
82. @jayrobb In first 5 min. establish your credibility & show that you care & you’re paying attention to the audience – Fletcher Dean
83. @jayrobb Yes. Fletcher Dean’s talk was worth the price of admission to 2013 #raganspeech and his book should be a must read for speechwriters
84. @MarklewA If lecterns were good for speaking from behind, we’d wear them to work – @TMucci
85. @SamHosenkamp Elements of crowd pleasing when speaking. Eye contact, reaching out, interaction, agreement and smiling – @TMucci
86. @MarklewA The speechwriters’ convention does not have a million people in it because a million people can’t write speeches. Go us!
87. @SamHosenkamp You’re special creatures, speechwriters! “You were born a visual creature. Ability to craft speeches is special talent.” – @TMucci
88. @MarklewA Wow. Seems the Greeks didn’t just invent how to write speeches, they also twigged how to stand while delivering them.
89. @jayrobb Advice for turning a speaker into an orator: shift your weight, show your palms & smile – @TMucci
90. @EjazWrites How to know you’ve got a key message…Can you get your speech down to one tweet? – Fletcher Dean
91. @jayrobb Find 5 friendly faces in the audience to be your anchors. 2 on each side and 1 in centre of room – @TMucci
92. @jayrobb If you’re not having a good time speaking, your audience won’t have a good time listening – @TMucci
93. @jayrobb All the tone in your conversation is from the tilt of your head – @TMucci
94. @JodiReef Leaders need to give direction. Never leave an audience rudderless – Fletcher Dean
95. @SamHosenkamp 93 percent of speaking is nonverbal – @TMucci
96. @SamHosenkamp Slides should be viewable but not readable. Limit your text in presentations – @TMucci
97. @MatthewJBondy It’s all got to boil down to a single message.
98. @MatthewJBondy Student learners absorb speeches very differently than professional learners. How vs Why.
99. @SamHosenkamp Telling speaker to “just be better” is like telling patient “I just need you to be healthier” w/o sharing steps to take – @TMucci
100. @JodiReef Details engender authority and belief – Michael Long
101. @MarklewA About half the people in this session appear to be speechwriters for universities. Much more common in N America than UK.

“Speech is my Music. Music is my Speech” – Emiko Hori

A native of Japan, Emiko Hori grew up in California. An accomplished musician, she has been actively speaking and giving presentations to corporate clients and young adults about the connection between musical performance and public speaking and presentation skills.

A graduate of the renowned Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Emiko has give piano recitals throughout the US, Europe, and Canada including masterclasses in Bergamo, Italy, the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada, and at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany.

Her new book Let’s Play Speech!: How to Give a Better Speech Using the Principles of Musical Performance is now available. The book is an entertaining and instructive exploration of the ways public speakers can improve their “performances”, learning from the ways musicians use pause, rhythm and tonality and the way they have to learn to listen to the audience:

Did you know there are many similarities between piano performance and public speaking? They both have a clear message to deliver in front of the audience. They both impact the audience’s life and way of thinking. Interestingly, the musician’s mindset seems to coincide with many aspects of public speaking.

It is packed with practical tips that will improve anyone’s speech preparation and delivery.

Speaker’s Academy Archive

I caught up with Emiko at a National Speakers Association Northern California Chapter meeting immediately prior to the start of the Speaker’s Academy program. She surprise me by sharing why what she calls the “Strippers Walk” is a crucial skill both professional musicians AND speakers (not to mention strippers!) need to learn. By this, she means the first five seconds when the person steps onto the stage and the audience judges exactly what you look like, your expressions, how tall or short you are, and most importantly, what kind of personality you have, just by watching how you walk. To hear Emiko explain more about the connection between stripping, speaking and musical performance, click on the podcast icon below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:30 — 1.7MB)

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NSA/NC Meeting Report: Saturday March 2, 2013

The Saturday meeting of the Northern California Chapter of the National Speakers Association featured two savvy businesswomen who shared ways professional speakers and information entrepreneurs can book more business and own their niche markets. Stephanie Chandler is a Silicon Valley refugee who left a stressful job on the Peninsula for the life of a successful information entrepreneur. Lois Creamer knows the speaking business. She has worked with the superstars of speaking as both a cheerleader and strategist. She is endorsed by none other than Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE.

Stephanie Chandler: Living the good life after corporate America

Stephanie was inspired by the film Sleepless in Seattle to move to Sacramento, open a bookstore and write novels. Neither worked out for her. She quickly moved on to Plan B, launching herself as a speaker and non-fiction author on the urging of superstar literary agent Mike Larsen.

She launched BusinessInfoGuide.com, her first website, in 2004. Now, six books and a series of websites later, she is in demand as an author, speaker, Forbes blogger, and expert on content marketing, internet marketing, small business growth strategies, and publishing.

8 keys to owning your niche

The importance of speakers owning a niche has been a core lesson taught in NSA/NC Speakers Academy classes for many years. Stephanie walks the walk when it comes to knowing how to do this in the digital age. Heck, she’s even written a book on the topic.

She shared eight simple strategies to increase website traffic and own a niche:

1. Define your target audience. Decide who you want to reach and what challenges you can solve for them.
2. Tap into the power of community. Figure out where your audience spends their time and engaged them there.
3. Optimize your website. Incorporate keywords and phrases that your audience would use to find you. Update your site frequently, generate incoming links, and continually add new content.
4. Implement a blog. This will help build your audience, increase website traffic, generate new clients, create consulting opportunities, and attract media interviews and speaking engagements. It’s also the heart of your social media strategy. Stephanie recommends updating it at least twice a week.
5. Develop a content marketing strategy. Create ebooks, white papers, and special reports that you give away. Distribute articles to websites to reach your target audience or write articles for print publications.
6. Expand with video and podcasts. Even speakers who hate writing can record their presentations to communicate their message.
7. Embrace social media. There are great reasons why executives are signing on with social media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest each have their own unique advantages. You can automate much of the distribution of the content between these different sites.
8. Commit a little time each day. just as you need to spend time weeding and planting seeds to enjoy a luxuriant garden, so you need to set aside time each day to develop content, engage in social media, and cultivate community. Stephanie advises that a little effort goes a long way in expanding your brand.

More details are available in her slides:

Lois Creamer: Business Strategies for Professional Speakers

Lois’s advice starts with the way we say hello. As professional communicators, the worst way to introduce ourselves is by NAME and TOPIC. We need to learn to introduce ourselves in a compelling and interesting way. Much better is an introduction by CONCEPT and OUTCOME. This captures your unique differentiation. She calls this a positioning statement and uses these words whenever she meets someone:

“I work with professional speakers who want to book more business, make more money and avoid costly mistakes.”

This is far more effective than using an elevator speech, which is typically too long and boring. An effective positioning statement should go on your website, one-sheet, email signature, and be part of any voice mail message you leave when calling prospects.

Effective voice mail messages

If Lois can’t reach a decision maker she’ll leave four voice mail messages over a period of a couple of weeks. Each will use the positioning statement and end with a qualifying question to encourage them to take action:

“Mr. Prospect, I’m sorry I missed you. This is Lois Creamer, I’m a consultant, I work with speakers just like you who want to book more business, make more money and avoid costly mistakes. I’m calling to see if I might be a fit to be helpful to you in your business in any way. And I’d love to send you something about what I do. I want to make sure it would be welcome. Could you call me and let me do that.”

If four messages bring no results, she’ll leave a 5th indicating she’s been trying to reach them, but this will be the last call she’ll make and she’d love to hear from them. This is often the message that gets a return call from a busy executive.

Negotiating fees

Many speakers have a hard time negotiating fees.

Lois advises to speak for full fee where possible, or be willing to waive your fee, but never give a “free speech”. If you are willing to waive your fee or speak for a reduced fee, ask the event organizer what else, if you are willing to do that, they are willing to provide you of value. Her blog lists suggestions on items of value speakers can negotiate.

If you need to raise your fees, do so with a few months advance notice and give clients the chance to book you at the existing fees before then. look on raising fees as promoting your success in the marketplace.

Interview: Lois Creamer on the future of the speaking business

To hear Lois’s thoughts on changes in the speaking business and what she sees coming over the next 5-10 years, click on the podcast icon below …

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:18 — 1,019.0KB)

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There are a number of things to look for when hiring a freelance writer for any project. For a once-a-year event like an Annual Report the stakes are even higher. A well-written and attractive Annual Report, especially one that wins awards, is a competitive differentiator, helping brand a company by listing past accomplishments and strategic direction.

Whether you hire me or someone else, you’ll know you’ve found a world-class freelance writer when they can show they’ve mastered these seven key skills:

1. Simplifies large amounts of complex data

By definition, an Annual Report covers a company’s entire achievements for the year. The writer needs to review sources of data that include Press Releases, the company website, competitor’s websites and their Annual Reports, financial data, research reports, white papers and more. Their task is to produce copy that summarizes and simplifies the raw material in a way that meets the requirements for the report. In my experience, this requires an ability to sort, organize, prioritize and retain massive amounts of incoming data.

Key Skill: You need a writer with the experience to review vast amounts of data from every division in the company. Then turn around and write simple 50-, 100- or 500-word summaries.

2. Communicates as well in person as on the page

In addition to the raw data, content from the report comes from people throughout your organization. While conducting research, I might meet with engineers and product specialists one day, review numbers with the finance team the next, and interview the CEO to better understand their point of view. My writing skills are table stakes. But the ability to communicate with people is just as important. A big part of being an effective writer is talking with other people and gaining their trust.

Key Skill: In addition to world-class writing skills, the person you hire needs to be able to communicate with people at all levels in the organization.

3. Is a team player who respects your goals

No one person will create the Annual Report. It’s a team effort and a time-consuming task. Engaging a freelance writer takes the burden off full-time staff, and brings a valuable outside perspective to the content. A freelance writer must be willing to collaborate on drafts until everyone has reviewed and signed off on the content. This is often easier for a freelancer, who does not have a stake in the politics of the organization. The writer needs an ability to handle constant change and the humility to make the full-time staff look good. They need to check their ego at the door and respect the ideas and values of the client.

Key Skill: Like a speechwriter, a freelance writer must be comfortable working anonymously. No writer should expect a byline on an Annual Report.

4. Has what it takes to survive in the corporate world

Many successful writers prefer to work alone. Novelists and poets are often uncomfortable away from their desk. While you need an accomplished writer, a recluse won’t survive in the corporate world. Look for a freelance writer who assumes full responsibility for their commitments.

Key Skill: Hire someone who has what it takes to work in a corporate environment, shows up for meetings on time, meets deadlines and respects the chain of command.

5. Is a diplomatic and impartial observer

Each division of a company would like to be the star of the Annual Report. A freelance writer can be a fair judge of content that comes from different divisions. In addition to resolving competing claims for column inches, someone from outside can manage style variations and write with a consistent voice and style. The last thing you want is a report that seems as if it’s written by divisions with different agendas. Someone has to be the guardian of the core message.

Key Skill: Asses the writers’ diplomatic skills. They must be comfortable with conflict and have absolute discretion when resolving competing claims for attention from divisional heads.

6. Excels at storytelling

Stories humanize content. They provide the narrative and context which heightens interest and helps the reader remember the information. Effective storytelling requires command of the language plus the flair to find ways to differentiate achievements.

I’m impressed by the team at NPR Planet Money who bring dry economic data alive through compelling stories. This should be required listening for all budding Annual Report writers.

Key Skill: Beyond the ability to synthesize the facts, a good writer should be able to weave a story from the content so the report is as rich and interesting as possible.

7. Understands the world of business

While a freelancer might lack the deep subject expertise of your employees, they should have a solid understanding of the changing world of business and the major issues of the day. This knowledge base helps calibrate the value of the content and puts the issues faced by your company in perspective. It comes from the writer’s commitment to being a student of business.

Key Skill: Look for a writer who is well read. Subscribers to the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal or Economist have the edge.

Next Steps

If you are considering hiring a freelancer writer to help produce your next Annual Report, start interviewing candidates early. Ask for writing samples. Expect to work with a freelancer writer for two to three months to produce a report. They should be flexible about billing, either charging by the hour or a flat-rate fee. If you find a writer who does good work, make sure to lock them in for next year’s report as soon as you have finished the current project.

If you check all these boxes your next Annual report should be an award winner.

I was delighted to open my favorite newspaper this morning and learn that the FT celebrates 125 years in print today. The special insert included a facsimile of the front page of February 13, 1888, when the news included updates on railway bond issues and the profitability of a machine that manufactures glass bottles:

“…these machines will, it is stated, turn out about 80 gross bottles a day, as compared with eight gross as the produce of two men and three boys by the hand process”

There was also an evaluation of European politics that warned of “the perpetual scheming of kings and emperors … resulting in that to-day we stand face to face with a huge and impending European conflagration, from which no human foresight can forsee or forestall who shall escape” — this 26 years before the First World War began.

Reprints of past front pages marked JFK’s funeral, Nixon’s resignation, the fall of the Berlin wall, 9/11 and more. Apart from my subscription copy, delivered before 7am on pink paper to my doorstep in Castro Valley, I see Barack Obama states “I read the Financial Times…” and that Clinton-era Treasury secretary Robert Rubin claims the FT “was invariably more useful than his daily CIA digest.” There’s also a Chinese ambassador who says that “We always read the FT in the embassy because capitalists never lie.”

But it’s the Weekend Edition that has been my Saturday morning treat for many years. Likewise for Nichols Serota, the director of the Tate Gallery (“The Weekend FT was a brilliant invention”) and fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg (“I look forward every week to reading the weekend edition.”)

If you are not yet hooked on the FT then do yourself a favor. For today only you can subscribe for a year for only $125.