Public Speaking Tips - by Lenny Laskowski

Speaking From FREE to FEE

2012-01-05T00:14:00.000-08:00

by

Lenny Laskowski

© LJL Seminars

http://www.ljlseminars.com

Many people often ask me what it takes to get people to "pay" you to speak. Before an organization is willing to pay a speaker they need to feel there is value in what the speaker has to say. Keep in mind speaking for free does NOT mean that you do not offer something of value.

The goal of speaking before a group should not always be motivated by money. I can remember situations during my career where I would have been willing to pay for the opportunity to speak to a group. One thing that always occurs when you are speaking before a group, whether being paid or not, is that you are making impressions to everyone in that group. The more people that hear you speak, the more people there are who can refer you to others who CAN pay you.

Organizations such as Rotary, Elks, Lions, Moose, Chamber Of Commerce need speakers all the time. Several non profit organizations and associations have meetings every month and often have trouble looking for speakers. Contact all your local associations and introduce yourself. Many of the members of these associations have businesses of their own and often have the ability and authority to "hire" speakers to speak within their own organizations.

To continue reading click here.

Setting Your Personal Speaking Goals

2011-12-31T02:24:00.000-08:00

Setting Your Personal Speaking Goals

by

Lenny Laskowski

© LJL Seminars

http://www.ljlseminars.com

At the end of each year I try to sit down and establish some new goals for the upcoming year. Before I do this I take some time to reflect on the previous year as what I accomplished. I try to look at what went well this year as well as what did not work so well.
It is only after this process can I decide what makes sense to eliminate and what makes sense to keep doing.
Do you set goals? Do you have some established end-of-year routine that you do to determine what needs to change? If you don't already, this is the year to start the process of reflecting on your accomplishments for the previous year and establishing new goals for the current year.

To continue reading click here http://www.ljlseminars.com/goals.htm

How to Deal With a Hostile Audience

2011-12-11T02:45:00.000-08:00

How to Deal With a Hostile Audience

by

Lenny Laskowski

© LJL Seminars

http://www.ljlseminars.com

1. Listen carefully to the question & repeat it aloud - Make sure you understood the question correctly & that your audience knows the question to which you are responding.

2. Answer directly. Look directly at the person asking the question - Give simple answers to simple questions. If the question demands a lengthy reply, agree to discuss it later with anyone interested.

3. Refer to your Speech - Whenever possible, tie your answer to a point in your speech. Look upon these questions as a way to reinforce & clarify your presentation.

4. Anticipate areas of questioning - Prepare factual support material in three or four areas in which you anticipate questions.

5. Be friendly, always keep your temper - A cool presentation creates an aura of confidence. When the questioner is hostile respond as if he or she were a friend. Any attempt to "put down" your questioner with sarcasm will immediately draw the audience's sympathy to the questioner.

6. Always tell the truth - If you try to bend the truth, you almost always will be caught. Play it straight, even if your position is momentarily weakened.

7. Treat two questions from the same person as two separate questions

8. Don't place your hands on your hips or point at the audience - These are scolding poses and give you the appearance of preaching.

9. Keep things moving - There is a rhythm to a good question-and-answer exchange. They volley back & forth in a brisk manner. Keep your answers brief and to the point with many members of the audience participating.

10. Conclude smartly - Be prepared with some appropriate closing remarks. End with a summary statement that wraps up the essential message you want them to remember.

Overcoming Speaking Anxiety in Meetings & Presentations

2011-11-19T02:00:00.000-08:00

by

Lenny Laskowski

© 1996 LJL Seminars

Do your knees feel like Gumby's when you have to get up and speak in front of a group?
Do you feel like the next words out of your mouth are going to be the dumbest words ever uttered by a human?
If you said yes to either of the questions above, be advised, you have a full-blown case of stage fright, says Lenny Laskowski, a professional speaker and President of LJL Seminars.
According to the book of lists, the fear of speaking in public is the #1 fear of all fears. The fear of dying is #7! Over 41% of people have some fear or anxiety dealing with speaking in front of groups. People who have this fear can experience all kinds of symptoms: Sweaty palms, accelerated heart rate, memory loss and even difficulty in breathing.
Some of the world's most famous presenters have freely admitted to nervousness and stage fright. Mark Twain said it best, "There are two types of speakers: those that are nervous and those that are liars".
Everyone, even experienced speakers, has some anxiety when speaking in front of a group of people. This is perfectly normal. The best way to deal with this anxiety is to first acknowledge that this fear is perfectly normal and you are not alone. To reduce your fear, you need to make sure you properly and thoroughly prepare yourself before you speak. Proper preparation and rehearsal can help to reduce this fear by about 75%. Proper breathing techniques can further reduce this fear by another 15%. Your mental state accounts for the remaining 10%.

To read the rest of the articlehttp://www.ljlseminars.com/anxiety.htm

2011-11-07T16:57:00.000-08:00

Join me for my interview this Wednesday on BlogTalkRadio.

Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Time: 12:30 pm EST

Call in number: 1-818-431-8506

Topic: No Sweat Public Speaking

For more information, click on the link below for more information:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/januaryjones/2011/11/09/january-jones--dr-marilyn-joyce--lenny-laskowski

I hope you can make it!

Lenny Laskowski

2011-11-02T23:33:00.000-07:00

The Importance of Checklists

Lenny Laskowski

"10 Days to More Confident Public Speaking"

(Chapter 8 - page 170)

http://www.ljlseminars.com

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The Importance of Checklists - Part I

Go the extra mile to make sure your speech or presentation is a grand slam. I make checklists for every presentation, seminar, or workshop I give. Since any one of a host of problems can sabotage your presentation, it is important that you do not let the little things fall by the wayside. In my career as a public speaker, I have spoken at many conventions and conferences and witnessed presenters panic because they forgot their visual aids, can't find their handouts, or didn't get the name of the individual coordinating the meeting or the new location of the hotel or meeting center when it was changed at the last minute.

These are mistakes that can frazzle your nerves. To prevent this from happening to you, I will be providing some checklist examples you can use so this does not happen to you.

PRESPEECH CHECKLIST

Use this checklist when you are planning to give a speech to an association or organization. "The sooner the better" is the motto you should follow when you are putting together your prespeech checklist. As the date of your presentation draws closer, make sure to confirm the following points.

- Actual date and time of your speech

Make sure the date and time of your speech is the same as when you sent the information to the meeting planner along with your precustom survey. Over the years I have experienced several occasions when the date and time have changed, especially when I wasn't the only speaker on the program. However, even if you are the only speaker on the program, contact your meeting planner to make sure the date and time are accurate.

SHORT STORY (REAL STORY)

Let me share a story of when a presenter didn't confirm the date and time. My colleague was scheduled to speak to a large group at an association meeting in June. He did not call or contact the organizer after the date was scheduled. The day before the scheduled presentation, he flew to the city where he was speaking. When he arrived at the hotel he asked if anyone else from the association had registered yet. When the hotel checked the reservation list, they told him they had no record of that association being scheduled to be at that hotel. Naturally he was confused, and after several phone calls to members of the association he quickly learned that he had made a huge mistake. Yes, he was at the correct hotel on the correct date, but he had arrived a year early!

Keep in mind, many associations schedule their meetings two or three years in advance, and it is not unusual for them to book speakers for the events at the same time. When he was contracted in March, my colleague had written down the date of the speech for the upcoming June. Since he thought the presentation was only a few months away and he was never contacted again by the association, he assumed that everything was all set. Boy, did he get a very expensive surprise!

This story illustrates the necessity of confirming all dates, times, and locations. Once again, never assume anything when you are planning a speech or presentation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

To read the rest of this article click here:

http://www.ljlseminars.com/checklists.htm

Public Speaking Skills Collection

2011-10-31T16:14:00.000-07:00

*** Public Speaking Skills Collection Special ****

FINAL Announcement at this price

Many of you have requested that I make available my best public speaking tips into a single booklet. Well I have done just that.

I am offering my complete Public Speaking Skills Collection, over 90 pages for ONLY $ 10.00 for a limited time.

This is the last week to take advantage of this special.

After this week the price will increase to $ 15.00.

This collection is not even offered on my website and is only available to my Simply Speaking E-Zine subscribers.

Use the secure link provide below and order your collection today.

As I said above, this is only being offered for a limited time at this special price.

Just complete the order form below.

https://www.ljlseminars.com/pssc_order.html

A link to download your e-book will be emailed to you once we process your order

Welcome to my new blog

2011-09-21T16:26:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my new Blog!