I attended a fantastic event last Saturday. It was brilliantly organised by Roger Harrop, my very good friend and my successor as PSA President, when I hand him the reins this November. And yes, it was a PSA event.
The standard of speaking was excellent, with a mix of contrasting styles on display. It just goes to show that there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to professional speaking. In addition, there were a couple of "question time"-type panel discussions where the experts fielded tricky questions. That's the bit that often unnerves even the best speaker, but these guys were very polished in their responses. I learnt a lot. I always do, despite the fact that I've been speaking on stages around the world for thirty years. One day I'll crack this business....
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
So what did Mark tell you?
OK, I've had so many requests for this piece of brilliant business advice, I've decided to put it in here.
This comes from a meeting with Mark LeBlanc, President of the National Speaker Association, when we met in Halifax Nova Scotia last year. I've used the advice since, and it works. Here it is -
Don't worry about calendar or financial years - focus on the next 30 days.
Decide how many bookings you want at what fee in each 30 day period - "X days at a fee of Y"
Every morning ask yourself - "What am I going to do today to help me book X days at a fee of Y?"
Every evening, ask yourself - "What did I do today to help me book X days at a fee of Y?"
That's it. It's that simple.
It doesn't even matter when you do the work, as long as you make the bookings.
Go on - try it out!
This comes from a meeting with Mark LeBlanc, President of the National Speaker Association, when we met in Halifax Nova Scotia last year. I've used the advice since, and it works. Here it is -
Don't worry about calendar or financial years - focus on the next 30 days.
Decide how many bookings you want at what fee in each 30 day period - "X days at a fee of Y"
Every morning ask yourself - "What am I going to do today to help me book X days at a fee of Y?"
Every evening, ask yourself - "What did I do today to help me book X days at a fee of Y?"
That's it. It's that simple.
It doesn't even matter when you do the work, as long as you make the bookings.
Go on - try it out!
Friday, 18 April 2008
Back with a vengeance
Well back, anyway. I know, I know, I've done the usual blogging thing of starting off enthusiastically and then disappearing. Well, with the advent of the brilliant new website, I'm back in action.
Over the past month, I've spoken on five continents - in Paris, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur and Durban. Yes, I am a bit tired,and somewhat bored with airline food. The great thing was meeting professional speakers all over the world at their national events. The standard is very high (though we in the PSA can hold our heads up on the world stage), and I learnt a great deal. I'll be passing that on to you over the next few messages.
Watch this space! (Well not this one, because there's text in it already - but you know what I mean).
Over the past month, I've spoken on five continents - in Paris, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur and Durban. Yes, I am a bit tired,and somewhat bored with airline food. The great thing was meeting professional speakers all over the world at their national events. The standard is very high (though we in the PSA can hold our heads up on the world stage), and I learnt a great deal. I'll be passing that on to you over the next few messages.
Watch this space! (Well not this one, because there's text in it already - but you know what I mean).
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