1 Million Pages

Think of the last really memorable talk or presentation that you attended. Now, was that easy to do, or did you really have to rack your brains to remember one? Sadly, too many presentations are easy to forget. And that’s a big problem because the only reason the presenter gave the talk was to communicate something to you.

However, there are four basic things that you can do to ensure that your verbal messages are understood - and remembered - time and time again.

Although somewhat obvious and deceptively simple, these are:

Understand the purpose of the presentation
Keep the message clear and concise
Be prepared
Be vivid when delivering the message

Understand what you want to achieve:

Before you start working on your talk or presentation, it’s essential that you really understand what you want to say, who you want to tell and why they might want to listen. To do this, ask yourself: Who? What? How? When? Where? Why?

Who are you speaking to? What are their interests, beliefs and values? What do they share in common with others; how are they unique?

What message do you wish to convey? One way of answering this question is to ask yourself about the ‘success criteria’. How do you know if and when you have successfully communicated what you have in mind?

How can you best put across your message? Language is most important here, as are non verbal cues such as body language and expressions. Choose your words and non verbal cues while keeping your audience in mind. Plan a beginning, middle and end. If time and place allow, consider and prepare audio-visual aids.

When? Timing is important here. Develop a sense of timing, so that your contributions are seen and heard as relevant to the issue or matter at hand. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent.

Where? What is the physical context of the communication in mind? You may have time to visit the venue, for example, and rearrange the furniture. Check for availability and visibility if you are using audio or visual aids.

Why? In order to convert hearers into listeners, you need to know why they should listen to you – and tell them if necessary.

The Importance of Simplicity:

When it comes to wording your message, less is more. You’re giving your audience headlines, too much information will overload and bore your listeners.. They are not expecting to become experts on the subject as a result of hearing your presentation, therefore simplicity is best.

If you’re using slides, limit the content of each one to a few bullet points, a single statement or a very simple diagram.

Preparation:

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. In fact, it is the most important factor in determining your communication successes. When possible, set meeting times and speaking and presentation times well in advance, thus allowing yourself the time you need to prepare your communications. Each minute of a presentation deserves thirty minutes preparation.

Of course, not all communications can be scheduled. In this case, preparation may mean having a good, thorough understanding of the office goings-on, enabling you to communicate with the knowledge you need to be effective, both through verbal and written communications

Successful Delivery:

The manner in which you deliver your speech or presentation has a lasting impact on your audience. Again, preparation is paramount here, in order to hold the listeners attention. Some useful tips for keeping your presentation vivid include:

Use examples to bring your points to life
Keep your body language up-beat - don’t stay stuck behind a rostrum
Don’t talk to fast. Less is more here too. Pauses are effective.
Use a variety of tones of voice
Use visual aids.

Presentations and public speaking, although daunting, can be a very enjoyable, rewarding experience, once adequate time is taken to prepare and rehearse them. An enthusiastic speaker who is confident with their material will make a lasting memorable impression on their audience.

There is more to selling in being an affiliate marketer. You have to be cautious about common mistakes you may not be aware of.
Knowing about the program and the product may not be enough to guarantee you good income and sales. There are several affiliate marketers out there who have done everything according to the book but still fail to manage getting adequate response. Perhaps some of the techniques and methods that you have tried and proven may not be working anymore. It is always helpful to understand certain areas of your marketing strategies to avoid the pitfalls. Here are the top five.

1. Selling what you don’t know. It’s not enough that you belong to a program and start selling the product. You have to be fully equipped with advertising principles and strategies. Through the internet, you have to make use of all available and effective resources to get your message through with the hope of making sales. It is important that you watch closely your advertisements and see how the market responds to it. Make the necessary changes and update yourself regularly with the product development and your key selling methods.

2. You’re using the wrong materials. When you’re watching the response of your target market, you will also be able to tell which form of advertising is best for affiliate marketing. Invest in well-made endorsements, banners, emails and links. There are some markets that respond well to any of these. Make sure that you have informative and viable content with each advertisement to ensure your company’s credibility and possibly generating sales repeatedly from satisfied clients.

3. You’re selling to few products. Your target market will be more than pleased and trust you if they see that you’re providing them other alternatives and buying options. Some people do not like the idea of being “driven” towards a single product or service and feel trapped which in turn will only chase them away. Instead, give potential buyers enough space so that they feel that they are in control of their purchase. Further, the greater variety of products you’re selling will also increase the likelihood of increased sales.

4. You’re selling too many products. Consequently, selling too many products will only confuse your potential buyers. The wide array of buying choices might leave them baffled about the particular category you’re trying to sell with the company you belong to. It is recommended that you provide enough products which are well classified and indicate the top selling ones to guide them how to make the right choice.

5. You’re marketing the program, not the product. Perhaps you are so inclined to beat other well-performing affiliates that you have forgotten about the real product you’re selling. You have to stay competitive and be generous enough to share information and make use of helpful resources like links and blogs with other affiliates to generate sales together.

The online market is a very big place for you to dominate alone so with the right strategies and approach, you will never run out of buyers. As an affiliate marketer, it is your responsibility to evaluate your performance through generated sales, customer feedback and other affiliates’ support.

Smile. Look them in the eye. Don’t cross your arms. Don’t get too close. Use their body language. Don’t blink too much.

Everyone has something to say about how you present yourself. But sometimes I wonder if we can go to far.

I wonder if they don’t sometimes wonder if the guy looking them directly in the eye the whole time is well a little scary. If the the guy who smiles so much maybe just doesn’t have enough of a clue to know when he shouldn’t smile. If that guy who never blinks might be a robot.

I have known about all these little body language things for many years. I think we have all heard about them at some point or another. Hey, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to tell me that when you smile, it relaxes people. But we don’t always do it. Sometimes we have to think about it. I wonder if that’s not just the worst thing in the world.

I mean, I know I shouldn’t cross my arms all the time. It seems like I’m mad or maybe in a power stance. And putting your hands on your hips is the same. But many is the time I have stood there with my arms dangling to my sides going, “I want to do something with my arms! I can’t just let them swing there! It feels too weird! I mean, they’re SWINGING, for God’s sake!”

And I KNOW that people hate it (OK, well, I know that I hate it) when people answer the phone by saying what a great day it is before even saying hello. No one wants to hear someone THAT irrationally cheerful.

At the same time, I know that people do notice things like that—maybe just subconsciously, but they do. And I know I would rather work with someone who is pleasant to be around, and who makes me feel at east. That’s why I work for myself, after all.

I just want to find that fine line between cheerful competence, and insane psychopath.

The Association of Speakers Clubs is committed to teaching the art of effective speaking through practice and evaluation.

It does not employ professional lecturers or speakers but draws upon the experience of its membership (who have all suffered the fears and lack of confidence themselves) to help evaluate and encourage newer members.

Within the atmosphere of friendly club gatherings the ASC offers a well proven approach to learning and improving effective speaking - both prepared and impromptu.

We rely on our tried and trusted Speakers’ Guide which is available to all ASC members.

We develop our members into better speakers, not just for formal events like dinners, but for any occasion where someone is called upon to say a few words.

Club meetings are organised to guide the speaker through a series of logical set assignments.

The Association of Speakers Club’s manual provides guidance on each of ten basic assignments, as well as an advanced section, with helpful advice on chairmanship, impromptu speaking and evaluation.

The first assignment from the ASC guide is ‘The Icebreaker’. This is the point at which the novice speaker begins to Achieve Speaking Confidence. The speaker is invited to make a short speech, about themselves, their hobbies or interests.

The next assignment’s title is the watchword for everyone who gives a speech: ‘Mean What You Say’. Here the speaker is asked to speak with feeling and passion about a subject close to their hearts.

Each speech is evaluated by a more experienced member who gives views on the performance and advice for improvement. This is the keystone to success. Because there are no hidden agendas, positive peer feedback gives the developing speaker the confidence to improve.

The advice is invaluable. It covers how to use body language in a positive manner, how to prepare notes, how to modulate the voice and how to hold an audience by good eye contact.

The Association of Speakers Clubs also organises competitions at Club, Area and District levels, culminating in the National Contests which occur at the end of April each year.

There are eight distinct Districts in the organisation which spans England, Scotland and Wales. Each year the National Conference is hosted by a different District. Not only is the regular conference business of the ASC carried out alongside the prestigious competitions, but it is also a marvelous social occasion where new friends and old mingle to share the enjoyment of first class communication.

You probably know what an “elevator pitch” does, but do you own one that describes your business, yet? If not, let’s create one, right now. It’s easy if you know how.

Crafting an elevator pitch requires planning. Not only do you need to know your business, but also more importantly, you need to know your target market.

Who Is Your Target Market and What Should You Say to Them?

Identifying Your Niche – First you need to identify your target market. Who are they and where do they exist? The clearer you can identify, the more effective your service or product can serve that population.

Be as specific as possible and find a niche that you can dominate. If you are a doctor, you will most definitely make more money being a heart surgeon than a family practitioner.

Although you can serve larger audience by being a family practitioner in your city, if you happen to be the only doctor who can handle heart surgery, you can collect premium fee for your service.

It’s better to be “number one” in a small niche than “number five” in a saturated market. Think about Xerox; they dominate the copy machine niche but not so in the printer niche.

When crafting an effective elevator pitch, think big but serve small. Don’t try to sell your product or service to everyone because you only then become a generalist and not specialist.

Crafting Your Message — This part explains why people should hire you. Focus your message on your customers instead of yourself.

How do you do this? You do this by identifying what problem your products and services can solve.

For example, if you sell cars, don’t advertise that you are the “the leader and number one dealership in … “.

This means nothing to your customers because your message focuses on yourself instead of their needs.

Instead, you can say that your dealership “helps people with credit challenge qualify for cars.”

You see the difference? Focus on your customers’ needs instead of your self-serving interest.

If someone wants to know what my business does, I tell the person “my consulting provides small business owners ideas to advertise, market and create identity.”

Typically, this elevator pitch gives my potential customer the opportunity to further investigate my credibility by asking me to demonstrate specific examples.

The more specific I can articulate, demonstrate, explain, compare, persuade why I should do what I do, the greater that my message educates my customers about the advantage I bring.

An elevator pitch … is really your unique selling proposition. A 30 second message that focuses on the needs of your niche that will not only identify your business and but also recognize your expertise.

Spend time crafting an effective elevator pitch and outdo your competition.