Friday, March 9, 2012

Introduction tips — Michael Podolinsky After years of botched introductions, emcees losing my intro sheets and introducers not following instructions and "ad libbing" extra lines, I finally came up with my own 30-second intro slides. It has 6 action pictures, a couple of quick credentials and then benefits like, "Want to motivate your people and get more done?" The last 10 seconds show client logos, with last logo being the organization I'm standing in front of. I ask the introducer to have them stand up when it starts and clap in unison to my music (some even mess that up so I do it myself). At the end, they clap for themselves, sit down and we start the program. No one else does it in Asia so I'm unique and it brings them from texting and idle banter to a "high" and focus on the program.

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— Mindy Gibbins-Klein

• Print out the introduction in a LARGE font (I use 16-point font), just to make it easier for the person introducing you, or in case he/she has forgotten their glasses.
• Emphasize the key words you want them to stress in bold and italics.
• Laminate the intro sheet so it can't get folded, wrinkled or lost. I sometimes get the intro back at the end, if it's still lying around, and I can reuse it.

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Going paperless — Mace Horoff Moving towards a paperless office is proving to be a worthwhile experience. I've already eliminated one of two filing cabinets by scanning files with the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500 high-speed scanner which scans both sides at once and has an intuitive drag-and-drop file system. I use Carbonite (carbonite.com) online backup ($59/year) to eliminate the fear of a hard drive failure, fire, or theft, and the resultant loss of data. However, having the Carbonite free app installed on my iPad and Android phone gives me immediate access to every backed-up data file on my office computer, wherever I am. I can also log in from any computer to access and print files. The instant accessibility of data proves useful whenever I'm out of the office.

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Movable white boards — Heather Hansen If you have a small office space, but would like to have a large white board or two, try a Whiteyboard (whiteyboard.com). These are white board films that stick directly to your wall and can be removed and re-applied up to 10 times. I bought two of these to cover the walls in my office, and they are perfect for training sessions and brainstorming. They come in a number of different sizes. (Editors' note: Heather shared nuances every speaker needs to know in her SNN teleseminar "Speak So Every Audience Understands: How Your Language Makes (or Breaks) Your Presentation")

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Be conscious of your off-stage behavior — Donald Cooper At an event, we are always "on stage"! At a few recent speaking engagements, I've noticed fellow speakers showing up for receptions, dinners, and other "off-stage" events dressed in a way-too-casual, sloppy manner. My niece is an accomplished opera singer and after performances she and her fellow cast members gather in the lobby to greet the audience and they always do it dressed in character. It's part of the "theater" of the experience. or the experience of theater. Take your choice. The point is, I think we should be congruent, we should be "in character," and we should honor the event and our "employers."

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Social media expert resource — Janelle Brittain If you want more posts on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook, I recommend working with Monica McPherrin at Online Marketing Intro ( monica@onlinemarketingintro.com). First, she'll teach you how to get the most out of it, then she'll create or spruce up your pages and research articles, videos, and other sources in your subject area and submit them as posts every day or week for you. She'll also help you build up your following. She doesn't work with clients in the same topic so there won't be any duplication.

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Good speaking guide — Jeff Deutsch Peter Shankman's "How to Survive SXSW With Your Health, Dignity, and Most Importantly, Your Reputation Intact" is great for major events—even when you're speaking, you'll also be participating at other times!Display your iPad/iPhone on your Mac and video projector — Rebecca Morgan Read the article from Tim Cimbura on how to display your iPad/iPhone on your Mac and video projector.

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Animated video background — Bob Mason I recently ordered some animated video backgrounds from Hypereye Motion Graphics (hypereye.tv). They have a large selection and I was very impressed with their excellent service.

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Graphic resource — Dina Lynch Eisenberg If you're like me, and have no design ability, you'll really appreciate iconfinder.com. It's a resource of icons (free and paid) that includes some interesting social media icons, but also arrows, stars, and other tools to jazz up your next report, presentation, or email.

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Virus and malware protection — Andy Holoubek Installing virus and malware protection is critically important. You must run frequent full-scans with both the virus and malware (spyware) programs in order to get maximum protection. Yes, these take time. Sometimes hours. Best times to run these are usually at night, while you're sleeping. Run the virus full-scan one night (Norton, Comodo, whatever), and the malware full-scan the next night. Weekly full-scans are a minimum. I recently saw an article that said computers are attacked as often as 1,000 times per minute by robot software trying to get in. Since SNN readers are road warriors, I hope you never connect to unsecured WiFi and especially never do any financial transactions (banking, paying bills, buying anything) through unsecured WiFi. You are your last line of defense against viruses and malware, not your protection software.

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Cool app for presentations — Ian Griffin Screen.io's (screen.io/en/) Slides and Polls is a tool for making participatory presentations. Slides & Polls is a powerful presentation tool for speakers who want to use the Web during their presentations for capturing audience attention and communicating with them. The $9.99 Apple app enables speakers to offer extra resources to their audience through a unique URL dedicated to their presentation, while the app simultaneously gathers data and information from those in attendance. Speakers using Slides and Polls are able to upload their slides, images, videos, and documents to the URL which is given out to the audience at the start of the talk. Attendees can then access all of the information being discussed in the presentation on their smartphone, tablet, or laptop, enabling them to explore the content as the presentation goes on. Requirements: You need a Mac laptop with OS X 10.6.8 or higher, and a Web connection. Get the Slides & Polls app from the Mac App Store.Marriott Hotel category changes — Sharon Adcock Effective Thurs., March 15, 2012, Marriott's hotel category awards are changing, impacting those booking awards stays, as more (or sometimes fewer) points will be required. Here's a list of hotels changing categories (PDF). If you're considering booking an award stay at a property that is going up a category, book it by March 15th. If you're considering booking that's going down in category, wait until after the 15th or, if you've already booked it, call Marriott after the 15th to get the fewer points deducted or difference in points put back into your account. Something that's unique to Marriott and is a real benefit: If you don't have all the points needed for the award stay you're booking, you can still make the reservation. You just need to have the points by the time you actually stay at the property. So if you think you'll have them in time, whether it be by staying at Marriott properties, using the Marriott Visa, or buying Marriott points, book the reservation before the categories change (if you're looking at a property that's going up).Our new TOTM is from Bob Treadway: How are you planning on transitioning into retirement or, more realistically, semi-retirement? What are the models? Who has done it well? What tells you when it's time to transition? What is the highest and best use of the aging speaker? Please send your brief, pithy responses to editor@SpeakerNetNews.com. Please put "Topic of the Month" or "TOTM" in the subject line.

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— George Morrisey At age 85, I am now in full retirement as a speaker/trainer/ consultant. I moved into "semi-retirement" in my mid-70s when I decided to stop doing whatever active marketing I was doing (which has never been much) and concentrate on my current active client base. This worked reasonably well for the next 5–6 years. I kept sending periodic emails to these "active clients" when I made an interesting discovery. My "active clients"—the individuals I connected with—were also retiring, moving on to other organizations or, in some cases, dying. The number of connections I had were diminishing each year to the point there were only a few remaining. I have not had a paid speaking engagement in more than 5 years (although I have had a couple of pro bonos). I tried to re-position myself, first as a Vistage Chairman and second as a coach. I was rejected at Vistage for lack of sales and marketing skills (which was quite accurate). I was unsuccessful setting myself up as a coach, basically for the same reason. While I think I would have made a superb coach (and was—in a couple of assignments that fell into my lap), I was not willing to develop those skills sufficiently to build a successful coaching business. In particular, I was not interested in developing a position on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or other social networks, even though I was listed on several of them. As the author or co-author of 19 published books, I made several attempts to write new books (some with NSA colleagues) but discovered that I no longer had the "fire in the belly" to be successful at that. What was I to do?! I accepted the reality that, while I would enjoy some additional consulting or coaching assignments, I was not willing to put the time and energy into chasing such business. So, about 3 years ago, I changed my position from semi- to fully retired. My wife, Carol, and I have adjusted our standard of living accordingly. We discovered that we could be quite comfortable with our income from Social Security and a modest personal retirement fund plus an occasional royalty check from some of my books. How do I occupy my time? I have three major areas of interest.

• My church. I sing in the choir and am currently lead singer and coach of a sacred music quartet. I have presented concerts to celebrate my 80th and 85th birthdays which were a lot of fun and raised a few thousand dollars for church-related ventures. I chaired a new building fundraising committee and am the facilitator for a Planned Giving Team.
• Senior Advisor to the NSA Central Florida chapter. In that capacity, I get to pontificate frequently as well as serve as chief encourager for several chapter members. Each year I also get to bestow the George Morrisey Lifetime Achievement Award to a deserving chapter member.
• Veteran Speakers Retreat. It meets annually with long-time professional speakers and, frequently, their spouses, for a wonderful time of reminiscing and learning new things that are more related to creating a meaningful life than to building a speaking business. I am coordinator of the Legends of the Speaking Profession Award program that recognizes several of our senior colleagues for their many contributions to the profession.

Do I miss some of the activity associated with our wonderful profession? You bet! However, I am comfortable with where I am and where I have been. I wish you a continued great life!

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— Mitch Krayton Retirement is a fiction, just as "computers will give a life of leisure" was a fiction in the '50s and '60s. Sounds good, but works out badly in the end. We may change our interests over time, sure. We may change our goals for what we do and desire, but stopping our zest for life is neither useful nor productive. The dream of retirement, that desire to live the life of Riley, never comes. It is a dangled carrot we can never reach. If you have amassed a fortune or large asset pool, your work becomes managing and securing your assets. That is work. If you end a career with a company and pursue other lines of work, that is work. If you wander all over the world taking photos, that is work. If you write a book or teach others, yep, that's work, too. You do what you love and enjoy, but it still requires effort, planning and resources. However, if you lose your lust for life, withdraw from groups, stop learning and stop sharing with others, you are merely signing your death warrant. Watch anyone precious to you care who is close to passing. Their interests fade, their appetite fades, their willingness to be with others fades. They believe they are no longer valued and have nothing left to live for. They give in to their "fate." The downhill slide begins the moment we "retire." Within 3 years, the great majority of "retirees" die for lack of any reason to keep going. How sad is that? Why would you choose it? We may want or be compelled to change our lifestyles or our daily activities, but retirement (withdrawal from life) should not be the goal. Why? What is so glorious about fishing, playing bridge or watching TV all day anyway? And if you want to excel at it, it will take work, no? We should be grateful daily for all we have and grateful for all we know, and seize each day with the wonder of a child. We will live long and prosper. Your time will end soon enough. Carpe diem.

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— Louisa Rogers In 2006, when I was 55, my husband and I bought an old adobe home in Guanajuato, Mexico. We spent three years remodeling it, and now have a sunny, lovely home in a spectacular city where we live part of the year. We also rent an apartment in coastal California. We love the bicultural life, and have no idea where we'll end up. I continue to offer seminars, coaching, and some speaking in California, Mexico and beyond. Last year I taught leadership skills to women farmers in Paraguay, sponsored by a nonprofit. I wasn't paid, but all my expenses were covered. The rhythm of my work life isn't significantly different than it was 20 years ago. Because I'm naturally frugal, I've been able to work part-time much of my life, so I doubt "retirement" is going to feel like an abrupt change. I think the whole concept is going through radical cultural change.

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— Michael Podolinsky I really never want to retire. Some form of "different," "slower," or "all by CHOICE" would be really nice. Here are some current "options" (not plans) we are considering:

• Writing children's books.
• Moving back to the USA and getting a mountain home with acreage and cabins to rent.
• Conducting marriage enrichment workshops for couples with my bride of 12 years. Maybe conducting these on our own property in our own facilities.
• Flying back to Singapore 2 times a year for 2 busy months, making more than enough to pay for the year.
• Traveling a lot to places we want to explore, and doing talks for hospitality, bartering for suites and meals.
• Doing talks for orphanages and government officials in charge of orphanages.
• Studying things I've wanted to learn and just have not been able to devote the time to learn.
• Learning more about scripture and growing in faith.

Maybe ALL or several in some combination. Will see how God calls us.Why bring a laptop for presentations? — Tom Krauska Why would I rather use my laptop when I give my presentation, versus just giving someone a thumb drive and hoping it works on their computer?

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