Happy New Year!

I hope 2007 is your most fabulous year ever!

2006 was an amazing kickoff to my coaching biz, and I am so grateful to my family and friends, clients, Switchboards pals, blogging buddies, and Ryze friends for all your support and encouragement this year. I'm anticipating a spectacular 2007 - for myself and for all of you!


Ringing in the new year!

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

Is a speech impediment an impediment?

So, I have a lisp. I've had it ever since I could talk. I was stuck in speech therapy for a couple of years until I realized I could just fake out the therapist, and *poof* no more speech therapy.

I don't know what my particular lisp is called, but visually, it's a cross between Ione Skye's (remember her from "Say Anything"?) and Adam Arkin's.

Some kids made fun of me when I was in school, but I never cared enough to want to change it. I was a theater major in college, and I actually had a professor tell me that I wouldn't make it as an actor with my lisp. I guess he wasn't much of a tv- or movie-watcher, because here is a pretty impressive list of famous people with speech impediments, including many well-known actors. And here's a list of notable people with lisps. When I see an actor with a lisp, I do a secret happy dance, because - clearly - there's one more performer whose speech impediment has not been an impediment.

When it's really cold out, or I've had too much to drink, the lisp really jumps out there. Some words are harder than others to say (ooooh, don't make me say "Chichester"). Otherwise, it's not even that noticeable.

The reason I'm bringing this up is that we all have insecurities. As speakers or performers, we're all concerned with our image, to some degree. Some don't like how their voices sound. Some wish they were taller, or shorter, or thinner. Some of us have speech impediments.

But my "impediment" has never impeded my progress as a speaker. If anything, it's a unique quirk that makes me stand out. It makes me memorable. It doesn't get in the way of my message or my meaning, but it's a part of me that is different from other people. I don't feel a need to change it, squash it or hide it.

I've talked a lot lately about uniqueness, and what makes each of us stand out. The things that you consider "flaws" may not be noticeable to most people. And even if they are noticeable, they are most likely only considered flaws by YOU.

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

SpeakerNet News

I want to let you all know about one of my favorite newsletters regarding public speaking. First of all, I subscribe to 20+ newsletters and 80 blog feeds. Some are helpful some of the time; some seem to get published on a whim, and I'm lucky to read them every couple of months. Some, well, I'm still wondering when I'm going to get any benefits out of subscribing.

SpeakerNet News, however, is packed full of useful information for speakers. It's organized in tip "categories," such as technology or travel. The tips are submitted by the readers themselves, so I know I'm getting information straight from the people who've been there and had the actual experience.

Also, you can submit requests for information. Readers will respond with suggestions or advice, and when a significant number of responses has been recorded, SpeakerNet News will publish a compilation to their site, so you can always go there and search. I submitted a request for information on remote presentation devices, and now there's a compilation on the site actually updated from a previous request.

There are sections on sales and marketing; giving better presentations; running your business; creating books and products; technology; media; and travel.

This is one of the most practical resources I've found to help me build my business and skills as a speaker and I highly recommend the site and the newsletter. It's also free - the editors only request that readers submit two tips per quarter. So what are you waiting for? Check it out now!

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

I'm in Men's Health magazine!

If you're a Men's Health reader (heck, even if you're not), check out page 148 of the Jan/Feb 2007 issue (it actually says "February 2007" on the cover). My quote is under "Talk in front of a group without freaking out." Of course. :-)

I'm happy to say that the quote they chose from me underscores one of my key beliefs as a coach and a speaker: to engage your audience and make a connection with them, you must have a conversation with them. And I firmly believe that "um" and "uh" are a natural part of conversation and do not detract from a presentation, if not overused (as I mentioned in a previous post about Barack Obama).

So, big thanks to Men's Health for picking the quote that is perfectly aligned with my philosophy!

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

Having confidence in your message

"I stopped worrying about what people would think about me, when I realized how seldom people think about anyone but themselves."

This is a profound quote by Steve Eggleston. What if every public speaker could start from this philosophy?

"If you can not begin by having confidence in yourself, you must begin by having confidence in your message."

Also Steve Eggleston. Such a simple way to express the baby steps people can take when they fear public speaking.

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

The Book of Lists

As you know, I'm a word nerd. I'm also a statistics freak; that is, I only use statistics when I can prove that a citation exists by seeing it with my own eyes. I've heard way too many stats repeated that are just plain untrue, and in my many years of public speaking, the last thing I've ever wanted to do is give my audience a good reason to doubt my credibility.

So there's this "Book of Lists" which, at one time or another, listed the fear of public speaking as the number one fear of Americans, beating out death, heights, spiders and all other yucky things.

I have yet to find a copy of the book that actually cites this statistic. There are several editions of The Book of Lists, so it's possible that this statistic was mentioned in one edition, 30 years ago, and never again.

Does anyone out there have a copy of the edition with the public speaking stat? I think I might try to contact the publisher and see if they can tell me anything.

Really, this is driving me nuts.

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

Playing it safe. . . or being who you are?

In this week's issue of Newsweek, there's an article about John Edwards, former senator and vice presidential candidate, and the short documentaries he's launching on his Web site. Here's a quote from one of the "Webisodes,":

"I'd rather be successful or unsuccessful based on who I really am, not based on some plastic Ken doll. But . . . we're so conditioned to say what's safe. . . and it's hard to shed all that."

I posted about this last week, and Scott Ginsberg posted about it on Tuesday. It's that same fear expressed by so many of us, that the real "us" is just not good enough, or that we have to fit into some mold to be accepted.

What would happen if you just decided to be "you?" Would some people not like you? Maybe. Would you miss out on an occasional speaking opportunity (as it appears Scott Ginsberg did)? Maybe. Would the world come to an end? Probably not.

The reality is that being "you" is the best thing you can do for yourself and for your audience. And if some people don't love you for it, well, so what? It's really not possible to be loved by everyone. And the goal of a speaker isn't to be loved anyway.

As Lee Glickstein said in his teleclass yesterday on becoming a "masterful speaker," you're there for the audience. They're not there for you. You listen to THEM. You love THEM. You respect THEM. You appreciate THEM. That's how you build a relationship with each and every person in the room.

They're never going to respond to and resonate with a Ken doll.

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

Having trouble leaving a comment?

I've noticed that when I try to leave comments on some of the new beta blogs, the visual verification symbols don't show up, and the audio verification doesn't work either. I leave in frustration, helpless to fix the problem.

Now that I've switched to beta, I realize that this might be happening for some of you, and I apologize if that's the case. I don't know how to fix it, but someone posted this on the Blogger help group "Something is Broken":

Write your comment anyway.

Press to post, even if there are no visual verification letters. Keep
doing it until they show up. Eventually, oh from two to a dozen
attempts, they will eventually appear and then your post will appear.

I haven't tried it yet myself, but I will as soon as I have a chance.

If you're wanting to leave a comment and you can't get through, please feel free to e-mail me at lisa AT coachlisab DOT com. And you can always Meebo me! See that cute little window to the right? You can type a message for me there, and hopefully I'll see it (still waiting for them to come up with a flashing toolbar).

Okay, back to work!

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

Sick.

Not the good kind. Hubby and I were both floored, within about three hours of each other, Thursday night. It's been ugly, but we're coming back to life now. Hope to have a new post up by Tuesday.

Hope you're all doing well and avoiding the sickies!

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

Quaking in Your Slingbacks. . .

Well, I said I would post a link to this article when it came out, and it has, so I am.

I hesitated to post this because I'm a little disappointed in the fact that the editing of the article actually added mistakes. So when you see those little typos and errors, please try not to let them bother you. They're bothering me enough for all of you. Believe me.

Besides that, I hope you find my suggestions helpful, and that you'll go face the holiday parties head-on!

Quaking in Your Slingbacks: How to Mix and Mingle Your Way Through the Dreaded Holiday Party

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

What makes you unique?

Each of us has qualities that make us unique. Each of us is unlike anyone else on the planet.

So why, as a speaker, would you want to model yourself after someone else?

I enjoy watching speakers who are engaging, entertaining, moving, intense, funny, bold, serene, and/or just plain brilliant. Do I learn from them? Of course!

But do I try to be like them on stage? No way! We all have lots of room for improvement, even the pros. I'm always learning new ways of engaging an audience, keeping their attention, and leaving them with a strong message when I'm done.

But one thing you won't see me doing is mimicking other speakers' personalities, mannerisms, vocal traits or physical movement - or following public speaking "rules" that don't work for me. I have my own ways of doing things. In fact, I don't like to watch too many speakers - I don't want to "study" them - because I don't want to start comparing myself to them.

It's the same way with my jewelry, and I've heard the same thing from many artists. If you spend too much time looking at other peoples' art, you might find yourself comparing, and sometimes judging yourself too harshly or feeling you're not good enough. Inspiration is a good thing, but in the long run, you have to be inspired by yourself.

There's a great post on being yourself at Nancy Tierney's blog. Thank you to Ross at Public Speaking Sucker for posting it first!

Nancy's basic point is that who you are is enough. You ARE good enough! It's pretty profound, but in a world where there's a new self-help book published every day, many of us spend way too much time trying to "fix" ourselves or find out what's "wrong" with us.

Who I am is my strength as a speaker. I'm lucky to have known this for a long time, and to have gotten very comfortable with who I am. My personality is my signature, or my "brand", if you will. If I tried to be like someone else, it just wouldn't work.

Read Nancy's post, and start thinking about what makes you unique. Cherish your uniqueness and, as Nancy says, "Make the choice to give this to yourself right now. Then, you can have a blast speaking or performing or dancing on your head in public, now and tomorrow and forever."

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

Word etymology

Yep, another one for the word nerds. I just DIG this site, the Online Etymology Dictionary. "Etymologies are not definitions; they're explanations of what our words meant and how they sounded 600 or 2,000 years ago."

When you're just dying to know where the word "moot" comes from (and no, it's not a mispronunciation of "mute"), go to this site. Do you wonder where the word "tattoo" originated? Check out this site. Did you ever wonder what it means to take a "potshot"? Here you go:

potshot
1858, "shot taken at animal simply to kill for food," in other words, to get it in the pot, not for sporting or marksmanship. Extended sense of "opportunistic criticism" first recorded 1926.

Cool, huh? And you can sponsor a word as well. Check out the list of sponsored words here. Perhaps I should sponsor "pontificate". . .

You'll never have to wonder again why "scarf" is something you wear around your neck, and also something you do to your movie popcorn. Enjoy!

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

New Year's Resolutions

Did you know that 40 to 45% of American adults make one or more resolutions each year? Most New Year's resolutions are about weight loss, exercise, and stopping smoking. And more than half of people who make resolutions have given up by summer.

However, "people who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don't explicitly make resolutions." (Auld Lang Syne: Success predictors, change processes, and self-reported outcomes of New Year's resolvers and nonresolvers, by John C. Norcross, Marci S. Mrykalo, Matthew D. Blagys , University of Scranton. Journal of Clinical Psychology, Volume 58, Issue 4 (2002).)

I don't know how many people make resolutions about public speaking, but here's how public speaking might tie in with your resolutions next year, and why coaching might be the perfect solution!

1. Resolution: Advance your career.

Building public speaking skills can help build your career: you might wish to speak up more at work, develop leadership and communication skills, or feel more confident when networking, running staff meetings, giving reports, and training new employees.

Building public speaking skills and gaining confidence in your abilities can help in all these areas and more!

2. Resolution: Volunteer more.

Nonprofit organizations are always on the lookout for volunteers who make good advocates and can speak clearly and concisely about the organization's mission, goals, and programs. Outreach is a critical part of nonprofits' work, and the more volunteers who can provide outreach, the better! Public speaking skills can add to your work as a volunteer, and make you a more valuable asset for just about any organization.

3. Resolution: Take more risks and try new things.

What better time to take on your fear of public speaking than now? Some people want to jump out of an airplane, but strong public speaking skills are infinitely more practical and applicable to our lives - for most of us!

4. Resolution: Start your own business or grow the one you've started.

Entrepreneurs, you can build your business by including public speaking as one of your marketing efforts.

In addition, improving your skills will help you feel more confident when approaching buyers, negotiating with vendors, speaking to the media, dealing with your customers, and promoting your business in just about any setting.

Still wondering why you should consider public speaking coaching? Visit my coaching page to learn more.

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

Latest jargon I hate. . .

"Monetize."

I can't turn a page, listen to a teleclass or click a web link without coming across this word.

Here is the definition:

1. to legalize as money.
2. to coin into money: to monetize gold.
3. to give the character of money to.
4. Economics. to convert (a debt, esp. the national debt) into currency, esp. by issuing government securities or notes.

Here is how it's being used: "to make money." As in, "monetize your blog!" (make money from your blog). Or "monetize your business!" - wait, isn't that the point of business? Do I really need to be told that I should monetize my business?

Is this word a necessary addition to the English language? Is it a word that adds value (arggh, more jargon I hate) to your message?

To me, it's like saying "utilize" when you can just say "use."

And as a public speaker you absolutely need to talk to your audience in clear, concise, plain language). You don't know if they've heard the word "monetize," but you can be pretty sure that they know what it means to "make money."

Like mom always said, "Think before you speak" (not that I listened). I'm going to keep harping on jargon (and its antithesis - oops, I mean its "opposite" - plain language) until I get my message across.

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

Switched to Blogger Beta!

I was so scared to do this - I was afraid I would lose everything! Still haven't switched my jewelry blog over - that one's been going for a year and a half and has LOTS of content. I'll save that for later.

Eeenyway, you can see that there are now categories, or "labels", as Blogger calls them. So if you want to dig up posts just on public speaking strategies, you can. Or posts on the business of speaking. Or maybe you want to read all "about me" posts! This is going to help me stay organized, and I hope it helps you find what you're looking for on Speak Schmeak!

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

Networking follow-up

I got a phone call the other day. Let's say the woman's name was "Susan". I answered the phone and she said, "Hi, this is Susan."

I said, "Susan. . ."

She proceeded to describe her appearance to me.

I said, "Where do I know you from?"

She said, "Toastmasters?" With a question in her voice.

I said "I'm not a part of Toastmasters."

We went back and forth for a few moments. Finally we decided it must have been at a particular networking event.

After all of that, it turned out she was calling to sell me something. I wasn't interested, but I took her number just in case.

First of all, when you're calling someone who is barely an acquaintance, it's a good idea to use your last name. I only give my first name when I'm calling a good friend who will recognize my voice anyway. How many Lisas are there out there? It would be pretty unprofessional of me to expect everyone to recognize me by my first name. Unless my name was Sting.

When you meet someone at an event and take their card, how do you ensure that you will remember where you met them, or what you have in common? Write it down on the back of the card. That way, you'll never have to fumble through a call like this one!

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

Felt Club Craft Fair in L.A. This Saturday

Allow me to plug my jewelry business, Elle B., for a moment.

I'll be participating in Felt Club XL Holiday Edition this Saturday.



Where:
Ukrainian Cultural Center
4315 Melrose Ave. (@ Heliotrope)

When:
Saturday, 12/9, 12-7 p.m.

Over 70 vendors from So Cal will be showcasing their handmade wares at this show - just in time for holiday shopping!

Say you saw it on my blog, and I'll throw in an extra goodie with purchase!

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!

Public speaking: Distractions

We're often not aware of the little movements and twitches that are distracting our audience.

Sometimes, the movement is something that can't be helped. For example, last night I was watching Wanda Sykes performing standup. She had a microphone with a long cord. Occasionally, the cord would get in front of her and she would have to fling it out of the way. This was distracting to me (and I can only imagine how distracting it was to her).

Sometimes, the movement is unconscious and something we do all the time. Some people adjust their glasses, or push their hair behind one ear. Some people scratch their nose or tug on their jewelry.

I was giving a presentation last year and suddenly noticed how much my bracelet was a distraction. Every time I lifted my arm, the bracelet would slide up my arm and become lodged in place. Every time I lowered my arm, I would shake my arm so the bracelet would loosen and fall back to my wrist.

I literally discovered this as I was speaking, so I used it as an example of what NOT to do. I decided that I would not wear bracelets when giving presentations, because they are distracting to me, and therefore distracting to the audience.

What's distracting your audience?

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On The Everything Page you'll find everything you need to build visibility, credibility and influence through engaging presentations that move your participants into action: freebies, low-cost products and courses, and 1:1 coaching!