A disclaimer: Below are the definitions I use to keep all this stuff straight in my mind.

Amateur: Someone who does something for the love, joy, excitement of doing it. It’s fun. That’s the big reward. They are not the opposite of professional — they are a whole different animal.

Non-professional: These people are kind of the flip side of the professional coin, but they are either not there yet or they are satisfied to be where they are. The big point is, again my opinion, they are not fully committed to their art, craft or calling.

Professional: These people are committed. When they are doing the thing, they are determined to be the best they can be and to getting better. I think they can be described as fully committed to their chosen profession or craft. The definition on the street is that they are the ones that make money doing the thing. I beg to differ. I think there are a lot of people who make money doing something who, in my mind, fall far short of professional.

OK.

I saw a brilliant example of professionalism this past Saturday at the National Speakers Association Georgia chapter meeting. It was something my friend David Greenberg did.

Everyone who knows or who has met David knows he is the complete committed professional, perhaps the best presentation coach there is. That is not in doubt. But what he did, this little, maybe unnoticed, switch, showed how devoted he is to his profession and his audience.

He gave the main talk. The piece everyone comes to hear. And he did it brilliantly. A hundred take-away techniques and ideas. He told stories. He had examples. He brought people on stage for coaching. He gave formulas and step-by-step blueprints. All the stories, jokes and examples.

But he also did this…

He made it all about the audience. Everything he said was in their terms, for their use and their benefit. Right from the start. Right to the close.

That is what a professional does. Those of us who speak, love to be on stage. We love to get the attention. We love the applause. We love to sign the books. But when we make it all about what we can do to ultimately help the audience reach their goals, I think, we have stepped into the world of the true professional.

There is a challenge in there somewhere for anyone who wants to take it.

Speak on friends…

Tom

In the 1960s there was a Batman TV show, based on the DC comic book superhero. It stared Adam West as Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Burt Ward as Dick Grayson (Robin). If you never saw it, it was super camp — totally overacted with obviously phony special effects.

A couple of things to learn.

#1 It made fun of itself. A very effective and safe way to include humor in any presentation. My good friend, Jeff Justice, taught us many moons ago in his Master Comedy Class, “You should only make jokes about a group you are a member of.” That’s exactly what Batman did.

We are always in our own personal group. Go ahead poke fun. Especially if you are gently teasing yourself with something that has obvious universal concepts.

Your audience is probably smart enough to catch the lesson you are teaching them by making fun of yourself. Plus, it can show you off as a more humble, genuine and transparent person. All good things.

Well…HOLY COW SPEAKER GALS AND GUYS here is the #2 lesson from Batman. Their camp treatment of the story line was unique. No one else was doing it. For this show it was their signature. It made them very successful.

GOSH! GOLLY! When you set yourself apart with something unique like this it may fall flat. BAM!!!

Or it may, HOLD ON EVERYONE!!!, soar to amazing heights.

My suggestion, whatever your unique deal is, whether it is a special talent, trick or gimmick, go for it. Try it out. Your audience will let you know pretty quick if it works.

Then you can regroup and/or refine.

Final point is, if you want to become an in-demand top level speaker, maybe even commanding more of the Penguin’s ill-gotten treasure as payment, look for and experiment with that WOW! Factor—the thing that makes you totally unique.

Juggle live puppies, paint landscapes blindfolded, give your entire talk backwards. Whatever it is, audiences enjoy unique. They want an experience they can tell the folks back on the farm about.

BIFF! BOOM! Just do it. It might even work.

If you are serious about your speaking career and want a 45-minute strategy call with me, then GOOD GIGGLY-WIGGLY what are you waiting for???

Serious talkers only.

Here’s the link to book a session with me

We’ll jump on the phone for about 45 minutes, and get you clear on:

• Where you are as a speaker
• What your frustrations and strengths are
• Where you want to be
• How we can work together to get you there

There’s no charge for this, but book a spot NOW…I only have limited spots on my calendar for these calls and spaces are limited.

To your amazing success,

Tom Nixon
Ready2Speak

Anyone who has listened to me for any length of time knows how much importance I place on a strong start to your presentation. It’s a show biz maxim. Start strong – finish strong.

That first minute sets the tone, wakes them up, grabs attention and tells them you mean business.

And here’s a technique I often mention: say something counter-intuitive.

Say something crazy.

Start right off and bust a myth or two. After all you are probably not there to tell them things they already know. You probably want to break some of their misconceptions and replace them with your brilliance. Or maybe even your affordable widget.

A good exercise is to explore these counter-intuitive ideas and even list them. What are the most outrageous things you can say about your topic?

I have found, from reading a lot of scripts and seeing a lot of presentations, that these controversial nuggets are often right there in the material. They are frequently buried and not up front.

If you are sure about your convictions. If you know you can show them a better way, then bust open those bad ideas and promote your better ones. Maybe even right in the beginning.

An example: The best way to almost instantly improve your presentation is not to learn better presentation skills. The best way is to build a clearer, more logical presentation. Once you have created a great presentation, then you can learn to deliver it more effectively.

Search for those commonly held beliefs that you can break. It will set you and your ideas, products or services apart as leaders. Just make sure you can back it all up.

I know this sounds crazy, but…

Get more crazy but proven ideas here: https://ready2speak/coaching

Tom

Before I get into this email, I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you.

For the questions

For the comments

For the critiques

And, of course, for the registrations to my course 6 WEEKS TO YOUR BEST PRESENTATION. It has been very gratifying to me to see the enthusiasm you have shown.

For those who have registered: I will try to send you a daily email to discuss what you should be thinking about and doing. Sort of to give additional insights, keep you on track and to remind you to send me any feedback, questions or comments.

I wanted to give you a bit of what to expect Monday when the first Module goes live…

I have 3 major goals to give us some basic understandings:

1) Discuss the natural but conquerable fear of public speaking and how you can build real confidence.

2) I go into detail about my Intelligent Practice System. This is a critical component to my course and to your success. Please take this seriously – it is the professional’s secret.

3) Another core feature of my course is to do a deep dive into understanding who you are presenting to — your audience. This is way more than just knowing demographics or even psychographics (whatever the heck that is). Mastering this will place you so far in front of just about every other run-of-the-mill presenter it is almost unfair. Almost!

There are a few worksheets and there is homework (good news – you don’t have to turn it in).

Here is an important point: These videos and worksheets won’t take that long. Each week’s module is meant to keep you engaged over the whole week. Take your time. Explore the concepts. Do the worksheets and put in the practice. I would recommend setting aside 15 minutes to an hour 3-5 times during the week for practice.

This is how you will get the most from this course.

Question: What if I can’t keep up with the work every week?

Answer: Take the lessons on your schedule. They are set up to be released over 6 weeks so that you won’t be overloaded with too much at once. After that you can take them or review them on your timetable for the next year.

Question: Can I get them all at once?

Answer: Sorry no. See above.

So that’s it for now. If you haven’t registered, please do it now. Registration closes soon. (Midnight tonight Eastern Time)

6 WEEKS TO YOUR BEST PRESENTATION

Go here: HTTPS://ready2speak.com/course

Use this code for a 50% Charter Member discount and the 2 for 1 offer: CHMEM50-62

For those who have taken the plunge – thank you again. I am excited to have you on board. We will talk more Monday!

Gratefully,

Tom

If you’re on the procrastination-bus, then it’s time to get off.

We’re closing in just a few hours:

Registration for my course 6 WEEKS TO YOUR BEST PRESENTATION is closing in just a few hours

Now is the time to act. We’re down to the wire.   :-)

best regards,

Tom

P.S. I created my course specifically to help you experience the success I have seen so many of my clients achieve. I understand that it’s a big decision to step into that commitment…

But if not now, when?

If not you, who?

Register for 6 WEEKS TO YOUR BEST PRESENTATION, now… the deadline is now

https://ready2speak.com/course

Use this code for a 50% Charter Member discount: CHMEM50-62 until midnight Eastern Time.