Write a Book, Run a Business & Have a Life - NSA-CT 3/26 Meeting

Suzanne Bates, CSP: Write a Book, Run a Business & Have a Life!National Speakers Association - CT Chapter (NSA-CT) Meeting
Monday, March 26, 2012, 6-9 pm

A Workshop for Professional (and Aspiring) Speakers on Finding the Time, Energy and Resources to Write and Publicize a Best-Selling Book
As every professional speaker is aware, a book is the fastest, most potent way to establish your unique professional expertise, create a brand name for yourself, and drive more business to your door. Perhaps you've never written a book and would like to get published; or, you've written a book but haven't found the time and energy to publicize it enough, or heaven-forbid, write another one. One thing is certain; your book isn't going to write itself, and your business won't run itself while you write. What to do?

 
Come to this meeting and learn how to finally get your rear end in the seat and get that book done. Suzanne Bates, CSP, best-selling business author, speaker, and CEO of Bates Communications, will share the proven strategies that helped her publish her third book, Discover Your CEO Brand (McGraw Hill 2011). Suzanne says "If you're a speaker, you're already a writer!" and she will help you finally translate all your expertise, and desire into a book you are proud of - one that differentiates you as a speaker and expert, and creating tremendous marketing gravity.

Among the strategies Suzanne has used, that she will share, are:1. The power of "knowing why"
2. Find your "third" place
3. Early morning inspirations
4. Chapter bucket strategy
5. The big "O"
6. Color coded writing time
7. The art of saying "NO"

Among the discussions we'll have will be how to look at your real motives for writing, make time for the "right stuff," and get your end game clearly in mind. Suzanne's first book, Speak Like a CEO, is in its 11th printing and is published in five languages. She credits this book for transforming her business, helping her attract dozens of Fortune 500 clients and build her company into a multi-million dollar consulting/coaching/training practice inspite of the fact that Suzanne has a family, and a business with 11 employees, she was able to get her CSP, be president of NSA New England, and raise a now-college age daughter while writing these three books. She shares this not because she's superhuman at all, in fact, quite the contrary; she believes every speaker can achieve whatever they want to achieve. She will inspire you to have a better conversation with yourself about how to get it done.  

Monday, March 26, 2012
6-9 PM
Hilton Garden Inn
25 Old Stratford Road
Shelton, CT 06484

Free to Members/Associates

$30.00 for Guests

For more details or to register, please visit http://nsact.org/meetinginfo.php?id=24&ts=1328029343

9 Essential Skills Kids Should Learn - Zen Habits Blog

Author and Zen Habits Blog founder Leo Babauta has written an interesting post about the essential skills that children need to be happy and successful in a rapidly changing and unpredictable world - for example, asking questions and learning to be happy on their own:

1. Asking questions. What we want most for our kids, as learners, is to be able to learn on their own. To teach themselves anything. Because if they can, then we don’t need to teach them everything — whatever they need to learn in the future, they can do on their own. The first step in learning to teach yourself anything is learning to ask questions. Luckily, kids do this naturally — our hope is to simply encourage it. A great way to do this is by modeling it. When you and your child encounter something new, ask questions, and explore the possible answers with your child. When he does ask questions, reward the child instead of punishing him (you might be surprised how many adults discourage questioning).

6. Being happy on their own. Too many of us parents coddle our kids, keeping them on a leash, making them rely on our presence for happiness. When the kid grows up, he doesn’t know how to be happy. He must immediately attach to a girlfriend or friends. Failing that, they find happiness in other external things — shopping, food, video games, the Internet. But if a child learns from an early age that he can be happy by himself, playing and reading and imagining, he has one of the most valuable skills there is. Allow your kids to be alone from an early age. Give them privacy, have times (such as the evening) when parents and kids have alone time.

(Zen Habits blog is one of the Top 25 blogs and Top 50 websites in the world.)

Read the rest of the post here: http://zenhabits.net/kid-skills/

And one skill that I would add to his list is the ability to communicate, both one-on-one and to groups.

Gilda Bonanno's blog www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com

Leadership Development With Impact! ASTD-SCC March 19 Meeting

Leadership Development With Impact! Leverage the Investment to Drive Results

American Society for Training & Development - Southern CT chapter meeting (ASTD-SCC)

Monday, March 19, 2012, 5:45 - 8 PM

Speaker: Sissy McKee, Associate Director Learning & Development - Boehringer Ingelheim

When launching a new leadership development program, providing a meaningful experience for the participants is only the beginning. Executives need to be invested as on-going sponsors, stakeholders need to buy in and accountabilities need to be defined. Join Sissy McKee of Boehringer Ingelheim as she shares lessons learned in leveraging the investment in leadership development.

Sissy will cover:

• Identifying key success factors and gaining buy-in
• Setting executive expectations and accountabilities
• Enlisting the participants’ managers in reinforcing learning
• Optimizing impact and measuring success through metrics.

Sissy McKee, Associate Director of Learning and Development with Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) USA, oversees learning and leadership development for the Americas Region, including U.S., Canada, Latin America and Mexico.

Sissy has been instrumental in articulating the company’s first Learning and Leadership Development strategies, and brought her vision for BI’s development programs to fruition in 2008. Now in their fourth year, those programs continue to drive BI’s success. Sissy earned the prestigious ASTD Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) distinction in 2007.

March 19, 2012

5:45 PM - 8:00 PM 

The Norwalk Inn

Norwalk, CT

 

$35 Guest

$50 Member

$20 Student 

To register, visit http://www.astdscc.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1078833&eventId=358859&EventViewMode=EventDetails

 

 

Gilda Bonanno's blog www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com

 

5 Quick Tips to Avoid Rambling When Presenting

by Gilda Bonanno LLC http://www.gildabonanno.com/

When you are presenting, it is important to speak clearly, confidently and succinctly. Here are 5 quick tips to keep you from rambling on and on… and confusing your audience…

1. Have a clear outline. Write it out in words or draw it out visually – and only include information related to your message.

2. Speak in shorter sentences so there is less opportunity for you to get stuck saying "…and…um..."

3. Be fully present to your audience – stay in the moment (rather than getting lost in your head) so you can hear what you are actually saying.

4. Your default syntax should be: Complete thought. Period. Pause (breathe). Next sentence.

5. Practice the transition to the next slide or section so you don't lose your place and start rambling.

Gilda Bonanno's blog www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com

Gilda's Photos from Austin, Texas

by Gilda Bonanno LLC http://www.gildabonanno.com/

Last week, I was in Austin, Texas to conduct a supervisory training program for a global Fortune 300 industrial gas company.  The program was held outside of the city, in Lake Travis. Here are a few photos:

Sunset over Lake Travis, Austin, TX

Sunset over Lake Travis, Austin, TX
(the water level is low in the lake due to the drought)

Looking down from my balcony onto a family of deer

The view from the training room -
no, I didn't get a chance to go in the water!

Gilda Bonanno's blog www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com

Signs of Confusion

This sign was posted in the hotel where I conducted training recently in southern California.

The sign is confusing and fails to communicate its message strongly. 

I assume that whoever created the sign wanted people to know that because events such as meetings and parties are held in this section of the hotel, there is the likelihood of loud music, which could cause hearing impairment.

However, the wording is confusing - I had to read it a few times before I got the message.

There are several grammatical errors - "increase" should be "increased," for example.  And the order of the clauses is confusing.

How did this confusing message end up on the final sign? Either the person creating the sign thought the message was clear, or he or she didn't bother to proofread it.

The next time you have to write an email or stand up in front of a group and present, remember that you are creating a message - and that message should be clear and strong rather than garbled and confusing.


And for help avoiding grammatical errors, check out Lynn Gaertner-Johnston's blog http://www.businesswritingblog.com/


Gilda Bonanno's blog www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com

5 Tips for Creating a Crisp and Memorable Introduction

If you are the speaker at a meeting, conference or event, it's one of your responsibilities to provide a written introduction to the meeting organizer.

Here are 5 tips for creating a crisp and memorable introduction:

1. Make it short.
An introduction is not the same as your full biography or a list of everything you've ever accomplished. It will always take longer to read out loud than when you read through it in your head after you write it... so make it shorter than you think it should be. You can include a longer biography in the meeting invitation that is sent ahead of time, or in the handouts at the meeting itself.

2.  Include only relevant details.
It should only include highlights of your experience that are relevant to this particular audience. For example, when I speak to project managers, my introduction includes the fact that I have the PMP (Project Management Practitioner) credential since it is relevant to that audience. However, when I speak to entrepreneurs, I omit the PMP from my introduction and replace it with the fact that I run my own business.

3.  Send it ahead of time.
Send your introduction to the meeting organizer ahead of time. Sometimes the meeting organizer doesn't bring a copy for the person who is going to introduce you, so also bring a copy printed in large font on colored, hard-stock paper, just in case it's needed.

4.  Include phonetic pronunciations of any unusual words.
For example, my introduction includes a phonetic pronunciation of my first name: Gilda is pronounced "Jilda."

5.  Review it with your introducer.
Take a few minutes before the meeting and go over the introduction with the person who will introduce you. Ask them to read it word for word to the audience rather than trying to memorize it or ad lib. If there are special logistics, such as having to read the introduction in snyc with slides, explain it to him or her before the event.

For tips on how to actually do the introduction, see my blog post - "Please DO Read the Speaker's Introduction Word for Word" http://www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com/2012/02/please-do-read-speakers-introduction.html

Having a crisp and memorable introduction will help get your presentation started on a solid footing.


Gilda Bonanno's blog http://www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com/