Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Replies:
Posted By: cishawsharma
I dont think that multinational companies are devils in disguise.
But there might be lot of pressure to complete a project.
Sometimes we have to work day and night to complete it forgetting our family life. And there will b a huge
competition at work.
If we consider these reasons very tough then yes its devil in disguise.
Comments
Comment #1 (Posted by sudhir kumar) Rating:
In my opinion, all multinational companies are not devils in disguise except few like coke, pepsi, and
dow chemicals. If we look at our unemployment rate in India a few years back it was inexorable.
But due to arrival of foreign companies in India unemployment rate has gone down drastically. I
think in today's scenario we usually talk about [a few of them are esoteric and technical jargons]
share market, FDI, FII, economic indicators like GDP, Export-Import, and so on. But all these are
very important for india's growth. One should not forget that we need huge foreign funds for our
physical infrastruture like roads, ports, and telecommunication. Only these companies can slosh
such amount by opening manufacturing facilities, R&D centres, call centres, and BPO offices in
India. Because, i think by getting a job in these companies a person will earn more and when he will
earn more then he will spend more. As we know that earnings and spendings are directly related to
the government's earning as well as it will help in to enhance one's social and financial stature. In
conclusion, i would say these companies are devils but well-wishers.
Comment #2 (Posted by Hari kumar) Rating:
No they are not devils in disguise.because of them indian government get lot of money and the
popularity all over the world.they bring as to the front of the other nations.basically india have a
huge man powers,but india is not have afford to give jobs to all.the mnc companies are mostly
approaching india coz indians ve the masterminds,sincereity and also the physical powers.in behind
of that the main reason is indians accepting their low salaries than what they give to the foreingers
and we r all the hard workers.In their business mind and the competition with the other companies
they do some pressures on the workers.when compared to our nation companies the mnc gives
more salaries.but they should treat as like other nation on the salaries.
1.There should be only one political party. Bcoz if there r more than 1 political parties, policians spend
their most time in finding fault with ruling party and vice versa. Both the parties r not concentrating in the
development of the nation. Both parties r aiming at telling against each others. People r not benefited
anything. If the people come to know that the ruling party is doing something wrong, immediately they
should be given rights to take that ruling party from the power. India can be developed only if the politicians
think that it is their nation.
2. There should be some recognition for the talented people and the salary must be given according to
their work. Less salary only leads to migration. If we have talented people, then only we can implement new
ideas. But other nations r implementing the ideas of Indian in their countries and all r going to foreign
countries due to salary.
3.Education system must be changed. This is not the right system followed here. Practical
implementation will leads to good knowledge. We r concentrating only in theory and not in practical. There
should be some correlation between the studies and the work. But now days, there is no relation between
studies and job. Education should help us to improve much. But today's education is a burden for many
people.
Posted By: keerthi
I agree with Rena regarding the point that we need only a single party.
1. Lets not think about parties for a while. These parties are formed because different people have different
opinions. As rena said all the disputes arise between the parties, as each of them want to be superior over the
other. Instead of concentrating on the actual problems of the nation they try to find fault with each other
over trivial issues.
2. We need to improve our education system from the ground levels. Like teaching, discipline now a days
we can hardly find the children who give merge respect to their teachers. They dont care the teachers and
comment in front of them. Our education system must be activity based as well as value based to make the
children perfect in all respects like studies as well as communication skills, leader ship qualities and many
more.
3. Most important point is Create a corruption free nation. Infact this is the root cause of all disasters.
Carelessness, and absence of locality towards nation are the reasons. This change cant be bought about by
any group or any institute. Creation of corruption free nation depends on todays youth. Dont accepts or
takes or encourages bribes that are the better solution for this problem.
I would start today's talk with an example. When we are promoted to a new class,
for good books and by good authors, whom do we ask for? A teacher or a bank
manager? Looks very awkward, yes it is! Why do we need to have a tennis star or
a cricketer tell us to eat particular biscuits? What has our sensational star Dhoni
to do with Exude battery? (Sorry to use an example) What does Ifran or John
know about the brand new Mobiles? Does Viswanathan Anand get the knowledge
of chess by eating Parle-G? Does Amitabh Bachan eat chocolates?
I want to make it clear at the outset that they don't have anything to do with the
product they advertise. They do promote the product with the publicity they have.
For example, Munaf Patel not known to these industries are running to sign him.
Was he using their products, a little thought would give the answer as NO.
The basic challenge before any sportsperson is to master the game and be the
best in his/her discipline. He needs to win and prove the talent to others by
giving out his best efforts. There are more successful sports people than the
cricketers we see.
We can get the fact that our Indians are getting gold medals in the ongoing
common wealth games. Why are they not being targeted? The reason is we pay
less attention to these games. Cricket or Tennis or F1 have become a great choice
of viewers. They are getting lot of money for advertisements, the players also
having their chunk.
If the sports personalities have influence they can come up with great messages
for our Indian youth and others. I like some of them taking a large step in this
direction. I dont have any problem with them gaining huge amounts; they can
spend a part of it to the society for its well-being. Indeed many do them and have
set an example for all of us.
I would like them to advice them that instead of advertising for some unwanted
and irrelevant ads, they can start some programs/camps to entertain local talent
whenever they find some time and with the help of government we can develop
the game and just bring the best of country in to the limelight.
I think endorsing a product, which is Good to people, is a good thing and the
sports person should go for it. We have seen many actors/sports person
advertising Pan Masala/Gutkhas/Bevarages/ and other bad things, which do not
do well to people. These things should be avoided or people who endorse such
products should be banned from sports.
Coming to excessive endorsements and shoots, these sports man's loose their
focus on the Game. Govt should put up stay on giving dates for ads during a
series/championship are going on.
Well yes to some extent I believe the Indian team is good enough to face any sort
of opposition, but the young bowlers are very much inexperienced and need to be
groomed and picked accordingly. Another area of concern is the fielding of most
players! The players need to be very fast and fit, and I think in present cricket
scenario fielding is playing a major role in deciding the winner!!
Comments
Comment #1 (Posted by RAKESH CHOUDHARY) Rating:
i am agree with binny point and morever i want to say that we have a capibility to win world-cup.
but we are not using our potential in right direction.our player's are more busy to do advertagement
and other things raher then giving time for own practice.we have master player like
sachin,dravid,ganguly,yuvraj,dhony etc.recently we are in good form. we r wining two siries
continiously in india against westendies and srilanka.so i think we r in good position.
Replies:
Posted By: aayushkaistha
No, I dont think china is a threat to Indian industry. This is because, it is now a
well-known fact that the products and services provided by china are much
cheaper than any other country but at the same time they are much inferior to
quality as compared to countries like India.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->
Also, statistics confirm that India is the fastest growing industry and will definitely overtake china
by 2010.Therefore, the fact remains that it is rather India
<!--[endif]--> that poses a threat to the china's industry rather than the reverse.
Posted By: meera
Yes I believe that we have to compete a lot to overcome the threat of china to
Indian industry. Their hardware, software & telecom were much bigger than
Indias. They have huge captive in this domestic market as compared to India. It
is estimated that Chinese domestic market is four times that of India.
But these Chinese markets were currently dominated by MNC's. This provides an
excellent opportunity for Indian firm to overcome the threat imposed by china.
Posted By: ssrkraju
Before I start off, I would like to clear a point made by Aayushkaistha above,
China's economy is increasing by leaps and bounds. Even by 2050, China is going
to lead India and is going to become a Global leader whereas India will be trailing
alongside America. China is definitely a threat to India.
I would like to illustrate with a small example, China plans for Olympics, which is
about to begin 8 years from now. It nourishes talent in a long run and the tally in
any international arena would prove it. Coming to India, the recently concluded
Common Wealth Games, out of 22 Gold medals, 16 were won in a single event
shooting, among it 5 were picked by an individual. Rathore's silver medal,
Karanam bronze medal in Olympics in the past two Olympics do say a lot about
our planning.
Yes! I do agree Chinese goods are cheaper, they may lack in quality, but they do
have a market here. They are lot of middle class and lower-middle class people
who cant afford to quality goods and do satisfy themselves with these goods and
are happy about it. They dont need ISO certifications for their children's toys and
petty things like that.
They have taken Indian market by waves. Its a fact that India is a leading
country in manufacturing hardware and providing software solutions. But China
is not far behind; they are also going for English as mandatory subject so they
would overtake us in no more than 10 years from now. The rising salaries and
costs are making the Giants to think of new places to save cost. It is not far away a
day where China would be having a bigger piece of cake.
What shall we do about our ever-increasing Population?
Replies:
Posted By: faraz
Well India with a ever-increasing population is a cause of concern right from its
existence! But, with more self-help groups and better living conditions and
increasing importance to girl child this is turning into an asset for India.
HUMAN CAPITAL as it is called is growing into a very useful tool for India, right
from cheap manpower to neutral accent for BPOs, indians ever-increasing
population may soon be turned down as not such a serious problem as it used to
be with the GROWING education concern all over the country!
I believe at this time we should concentrate on more of educational institutions
and better awareness in health and mailto:hygiene! @! And - hygiene! @! And
spend more on it on par with defense and army!!!!
Russia's offer to India in nuclear deal - How is it going to affect South Asia's stability?
Replies:
Posted By: ssrkraju
All has known indo-US nuclear deal. Now, India is not a NPT country but is a
special consideration in the eyes of the world. Given its history, its an exception.
Russia's offer to India to supply nuclear fuel is a great achievement, the offer is
for those 12 nuclear stations which would be under world preview once the deal
gets materialized and everything gets streamlined.
If we once consider Russian foreign policy, it supplies fuel for NPT countries to
which India is an exception. This shows the special place India has attained in the
recent past. Now, they are coming to terms with India, now India is powerful,
strong and an independent nation in terms of its foreign policy.
Given Russia's friendship with India and growing Indian status, the South Asia's
stability is under question. Pakistan, which tested its nuclear capability within
weeks along side India, is a clear indication that it is not far behind. It being a
close ally to US in anti-terrorism could have a strong ground in international
arena. It couldnt get any deal from its Uncle Sam it now looks at China for help.
It looks as if the arms race is still going to continue just to match each other as
hackers do have a fight with developers. The deal which India is about to clinch
allows it to have fuel for its reactors from International market can go a long way
in developing India with a minimum usage of fossil fuels like oil and gas for
generating power.
India is not a threat - its a universal fact but need to be ready to face any attack
from any country around it. That's the only reason why our nuclear weapons are
always on alert state. Mutual faith is the only answer to the prevailing situation.
IWF being banned from commonwealth games - shame on India - what can be done?
Replies:
Posted By: Rena
<!--[if !supportLists]--> <!--[endif]-->The Commonwealth is a unique family of
developed and developing nations, a voluntary association of independent
sovereign states spread over every continent and ocean. From Africa to Asia,
from Pacific shores to the Caribbean, the Commonwealth's 1.7 billion people
make up 30% of the world's population and are of many faiths, races, languages
and cultures.
<!--[if !supportLists]--> <!--[endif]-->CGF vision is to promote friendly, world-class
games and to develop the sport and strengthen the commonwealth. Africa,
America, Asia, Caribbean, Europe and Oceania are all participating in the
commonwealth.
<!--[if !supportLists]--> <!--[endif]--> In this great game, which is considered to be
next to the Olympics, India faced a ban up to four years in weightlifting
competitions, after it was confirmed that both the "A" and "B" samples of two
lifters returned positive in the 18th Commonwealth Games.
<!--[if !supportLists]--> <!--[endif]--> Indian Weightlifting Federation has been banned
for the second time within seven months of a one-year suspension period and its
disappointed officials are not able to explain the utter humiliation. This is a great
shame for INDIA. Whole world will not talk about our third position in the final
list.
<!--[if !supportLists]--> <!--[endif]--> All will speak about the second time ban. Games
are conducted to develop the spirit and relation between the countries. It is not
for getting the prizes. Participation plays a major role. All should not aim at only
prizes and all should not aim for the honour. Since all aim only at those things,
the result is negative. All the players should set an example for others. They
should not be a hot topic to be discussed happily by all. They should not give a
place for other countries to gossip in this matter.
<!--[if !supportLists]--> <!--[endif]-->ALL THE PLAYERS SHOULD HAVE SELF-
CONTROL.THEY SHOULD ONLY THINK ABOUT PARTICIPATING AND
THEY HSOULD NOT THINK ABOUT THESE DRUGS AND ALL.EVEN AFTER
THEY KNOW THAT THEY WILL BE CAUGHT AS A RESULT OF THE TEST, I
DONOT KNOW WHY THEY ARE ATTEMPTING THIS.SOWE CANNOT TAKE
ANY MEASURES TO STOP THEM.EACH INDIVIDUAL SHOULD THINK
ABOUT THEIR COUNTRY'S PRESTIGE AND SHOULD ACT ACCORDING TO
THAT.THIS IS NOT ONLY A SHAME FOR THEM.IT IS A SHAME FOR
WHOLE INDIA.
Posted By: rameshkrr
Hai rena,
<!--[if !supportLists]-->
<!--[endif]-->You are right. But there may be some reasons for those types of
things, which happened in IWF. We cannot blame the person who participated in
that.
<!--[if !supportLists]--> <!--[endif]-->Can any body that know about the fire will keep
his hand in it. Even though some will come and join in hospital saying they had
undergone burns. Hope you got my opinion.
Posted By: ssrkraju
Indian Weight-lifting Federation being banned within seven months of its
existence for a span of one year do have a lot to speak about our sports in
Common Wealth games. Let me make few points clear at the outset. Every player
representing a country should be tested before entering the games, which is
mandatory. Now, depending on suspicion or a random pick, testing is done on
the players for which the authority is authorized to.
Given the fact that sports do challenge physical limits of the sportsperson. The
performance-enhancing drugs do help the players to get an extra-benefit among
others. The players do know the medicines/food items to be avoided in the form
of booklets provided to them. Then why do such events take place?
The reason could be, one, government spends lot of money in training the players
and coaches have tough time to retain their jobs. They do encourage players to
have the drugs for better performance and their testing is not a guaranteed factor,
which is a risk factor. They do take risk putting the country as well as the event in
bad light.
Two, the players themselves for want of recognition, fame, and other benefits or
just for another opportunity to go further in life. This situation occurs when they
dont have enough confidence in them to face the reality and do give up.
Three, the rare case of consuming this unknowingly. I call this as a rare case as
they do know their diet and someone cannot forcibly make them take this without
their consent.
To save from any future mishappenings, we should take all precautionary
measures. They could include, a written statement from the player that he would
not resort to any such mis-deeds and would report to concerned authority if
forced by coaches. The players should be encouraged to be sportive (they should
be). Medals should be given utmost importance, performance should be, let the
results follow. Even for a one-day cricket match, players do have a net practice for
hours, even having years of experience. Results do come when we give our best.
Posted By: Tan
Thats really sad part in our great success in common wealth games. We have to
be more careful and try to be more honest rather than cheating by taking
steroids.
We have to take precautions. And they have to keep in mind that they are
representing their country. If there is any loss its not a personal loss but a loss to
the whole nation. We have to bend our heads in shame.
No individual will take steroids or whatever which enhance his/her physical
strenght.but there might be some pressure from coach, or personal issues or may
be the govt. These all lead to taking drugs/steroids.
Marriage is a social trap
Replies:
Posted By: Jyoti Bhatnagar
I would not agree to call Marriage as a trap. Yes it is a social bond. A bond that
brings many families close to each other. A bond that passes our culture from one
generation to others. A bond that increases our strength of passion, devotion and
tolerance. If everyone starts thinking that its a trap then our culture will be lost
one day and we will start believing in live-in relationships, which i my not good
for the society.
A Short Guide to Effective Public Speaking
A Short Guide to Effective Public Speaking
If you would rather spend your time preparing your content than reading a book on
public speaking, this is an article especially for you! From my experiences in delivering
over l500 speeches during the past 20 years, here is a quick guide to giving an effective
and interesting presentation your very first time.
Begin with something to get the attention of the audience. This might be a startling
statement, statistic, or your own story. Listeners pay close attention when a person
begins with, Two weeks ago as I was driving to work a car pulled out in front of me.
You could begin with a current event: You might have read in the paper this morning
about the flood that. A question is another way to make people listen. How many of
you feel our society spends too much on medical care? might be a way to begin a
presentation about curbing costs. Whatever technique you use, when you grab the
attention of the audience you are on your way to a successful speech.
Second, be energetic in delivery. Speak with variety in your voice. Slow down for a
dramatic point and speed up to show excitement. Pause occasionally for effect. Dont just
stand behind the lectern, but move a step away to make a point. When you are
encouraging your audience, take a step toward them. Gesture to show how big or wide or
tall or small an object is that you are describing. Demonstrate how something works or
looks or moves as you tell about it. Show facial expression as you speak. Smile when
talking about something pleasant and let your face show other emotions as you tell about
an event or activity. Whatever your movements, they should have purpose.
Structure your speech. Dont have more than two or three main points, and preview in
the beginning what those points will be. With each point, have two or three pieces of
support, such as examples, definitions, testimony, or statistics. Visual aids are important
when you want your audience to understand a process or concept or understand a
financial goal. Line graphs are best for trends. Bar graphs are best for comparisons and
pie graphs are best for showing distribution of percentages.
Tie your points together with transitions. These could be signposts such as First,
Second, or "Finally." Use an internal summary by simply including the point you just
made and telling what you plan to talk about next. Now that we have talked about
structure, lets move on to the use of stories, would be an example. When you have an
introduction, two or three main points with support for each, appropriate transitions,
and a conclusion, you will have your speech organized in a way that the audience can
follow you easily.
To add interest and understanding to your speech, include a visual aid. A visual aid could
be an object, a flip chart, a PowerPoint presentation, overhead projector slides, or a dry
erase board. Whatever visual you are using, make sure everyone can see it. The best way
to insure this is to put the visual where you will be speaking, and then find the seat
farthest from it and determine if you can read the visual from that seat. Introduce the
visual properly rather than simply throwing it at your audience; explain what the visual
will do before you unveil it. Dont allow the visual to become a silent demonstration.
Keep talking as you show the visual. You are still the main event and your visual is an
aid. Look at your audience, not your visual. When the visual is not in use, hide it from the
audience. Humans are a curious lot, tending to keep looking at the object and losing
track of the speakeryou!
If you are delivering a persuasive speech, in addition to your own stories include
testimony of experts whom the audience respects and whose views reinforce your points.
Add a key statistic when possible to show the seriousness of what you are discussing. For
example, if I were discussing the need for improved listening to better serve your
customers, I might add that although we spend half of our communication time in
listening, our listening efficiency is only about 25%. By using stories, testimony, and
statistics in your persuasive talk, you add depth to your evidence.
Look at the audience as you speak. If it is a small audience, you can look at each person
in a short period of time. If it is a large audience, look at the audience in small clumps
and move from one clump to another. One way to insure good eye contact is to look at
your audience before you start to speak. Go to the lectern and pause, smile, look at the
audience, and then speak. This will help you maintain good eye contact throughout your
presentation as well as commanding immediate attention.
One of the ways to have consistently good eye contact is not to read your speech. Use
note cards that have key words on them. The word or phrase should trigger the thought
in your mind and then you can speak it. If you are including a quotation or complex
statistics, reading from your note card actually lends credibility. If you write out your
speech you will tend to read it and lose eye contact with the audience, as well as not
being as enthusiastic in delivery as when you speak from note cards.
Include a wow factor in your speech. Something in your speech should make your
audience think, Wow! It could be a story, a dramatic point, an unusual statistic, or an
effective visual that helps the audience understand immediately. With a wow factor,
you then have something to look forward to in the speech that you know will have an
impact on your audience. Youll become a more enthusiastic speaker because the wow
factor will get you as well as your audience pumped for the speech.
Consider using a touch of humor in your speech. Dont panic at this suggestion; you are
not becoming a comedian but rather lightening up a serious speech so that people will be
more accepting and interested in your ideas. Humor will help you to be perceived as an
amiable person, and it is hard for people to disagree or be bored if they are smiling at
you. Until you have lots of experience, keep your humor short. Perhaps inject a one-liner
or a quotation. Yogi Berra said a lot of funny things. You can observe a lot just by
watching for example. Tell a short embarrassing moment in your life that you might
have thought not funny at the time. Now that you can laugh at the experience, you
understand the old adage, Humor is simply tragedy separated by time and space. Dont
poke fun at your audience; you should be the object of any shortcoming, showing that
you can laugh at yourself. Avoid long stories or jokes. Even seasoned speakers know that
funny stories soon become unfunny if they go on too long. Probably the least risky use of
humor is a cartoon. The cartoon is separate from you and if people dont laugh, you dont
feel responsible. (Be sure to secure permission to use it.)
Finally, leave the audience with something to think about. People remember best what
you say last. You might summarize your main points, or you might complete the
statement, What I want you to do as a result of this presentation is.... But beyond that,
make your last words a thought to ponder. For example, I might end a speech on
becoming a better speaker with As Cicero said centuries ago, 'The skill to do comes with
the doing.'
A more modern guide to effective public speaking was penned by some unknown sage:
"Know your stuff. Know whom you are stuffing. Know when they are stuffed."
One never becomes a perfect speaker; developing public speaking skills is a life-long
experience. But the points discussed here will get you started in becoming the speaker
you want to be and the speaker your audience wants to hear.
3. put points firmly and always try to get others support too.
4. if you find that the discussion os going off-track then never loose
an opportunity to bring it back to stream this is the best point to
score max.
7. most important don't wait for your turn to speak when discussion is
on. interrupt politely if you want to put forward your points.
8. last but not the least keep a tab on the time given for discussion.
score points by wrapping up the discussion if you feel that the discussion is heating but the
time is going to be over.
9. during conclusion, do end with the conclusion note. that shows your
leadership quality.
1. initiation of discussion,
3. conclusion on time
4. your capability to keep your cool and listen as well as putting your points.
5: be a leader.
Communication Skills
Having good communication skills in the workplace is important. This article will provide tips to
take into account a rapidly changing workplace.
It is important that you first check the authencity of the message before you start to
communicate with your office colleagues. Has the message been transmitted from a reliable
source or was it something that you just read in the newspapers? Good communication skills
will enable you to be more credible and reliable - but it is as good as the contents of your
message.
Some people are fond of providing their personal input about a message. Problems will arise if
the receiver unknowingly accepts the message with the input as the "total package". This may
cause confusion and misunderstanding in the workplace.
Information or Feedback?:
As many workplaces are fast-paced and activity driven, it is important that you communicate
with the receiver if you are sending information or getting feedback. This may not be very
apparent if your message is phrased in an open-ended way. An example of this problem is
when you say " There will be a meeting on Saturday." Is it compulsory for the receiver to
attend?
If you have an important message for the receiver who happens to be making a speech in
front of VIPs, how will you communicate? Will you interrupt him in mid-speech by shouting the
message across the conference room? This method is definitely not recommended. Instead,
you should write out the message and hand it to him without distracting the audience. Most
poor communicators are not sensitive to the working environment and place high importance
in transmitting the message.
We all have our "off days". Thus it is important to be sensitive to the message receiver,
especially if he is your immediate superior and the message is negative. Use your own
intuition to time the message so that he will be in a better frame of mind to evaluate the
problem. However, this takes a lot of practice and patience. But your superior will be
appreciative of your efforts.
It is good practice to send an email if you are unable to contact the receiver. The advantages
are obvious; you are able to send an email attachment with your message and there is proof
that you have done your part (unless his email account is over-quota!). You can also broadcast
the message to a few people so that his colleagues are able to handle the problem is he is
away.
As most people have mobile phones, you should consider using SMS to help in your
communication. A suggestion is to send an SMS to inform him that you have just sent an
email that requires attention. However, please note that SMS communication may have a time
lag, so use it with caution.
Ethics in Speaking: A Practical Point of View
Ethics in Speaking: A Practical Point of View
Often managers have to deliver presentations with unpleasant content. The vice
president has to announce that there is a hiring freeze or a downsizing. The human
resource director speaks to the employees about a benefits package with fewer benefits.
Because executives are often speaking in difficult situations, the more credibility they can
develop, the more the content will be considered and accepted. Speakers will have little
or no impact on audiences if audience members dont respect them and what they have
to say.
What makes us trust a speaker or believe that he or she is a reliable source? Whom can
we trust to have our best interests at heart? Lets look at some practical ways a speaker
can maintain and enhance credibility.
Act in ways consistent with the message of the presentation. This can be as simple as
showing concern in tone of voice and facial expression when talking about an issue that
is facing the company. Acting disinterested or unconcerned when presenting bad news
can offend your listeners. Showing enthusiasm in delivery by quicker movements, more
variety, and a faster rate of speech when reading an exciting climax of a positive
presentation can produce the same enthusiasm in your audience.
A student began a persuasive speech by spreading garbage out on a table. She said,
"What do all of these pieces of trash have in common? They can all be recycled." She gave
a good speech on the need for recycling and how to set up community recycling
programs. She finished to a nice round of applause; then she gathered up all of the
recyclables from the table--and threw them away in the wastebasket in the corner. She
obviously didn't understand the need for speakers to act in ways consistent with their
messages in order to maintain credibility.
Good preparation is an ethical requirement as well as a practical one. Your audience has
given you time and an opportunity, and audience members deserve to hear your best
effort. That only comes through careful preparation. If the audience can tell you didn't
prepare for them specifically, they will feel betrayed and won't respond positively to your
message. Thus the executive should start preparing several days or weeks before an
important presentation is delivered. It is hard to cram for a speech, and the audience can
tell when preparation has not been adequate.
Show respect for your audience. Don't insult your audience in any way. Racial slurs and
profanity are obviously unethical, but in addition, don't show disrespect for people's
gender, backgrounds, positions, appearances, or nationalities. Don't put people down
because of their lack of knowledge of a topic; sometimes their lack of information is the
very reason you have been asked to speak. Don't embarrass any member of your
audience. Don't play a joke on anyone without seeking permission first. Even if you do
receive permission, playing a joke on an audience member can backfire because the rest
of your group might become fearful they will bear the brunt of your next joke, causing
them to lose trust in you. Poke fun at yourself instead.
Base your conclusions in your presentation on clear evidence. Support your assertions
with relevant facts, statistics, and testimony. Keep track of your sources and be ready to
produce them if an audience member has a question. Don't make assertions you can't
support or justify. Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca write in their book, The New
Rhetoric: A Treatise on Argumentation, that whatever support you use should be able to
satisfy the "universal audience"--that group of all reasonable, rational people. In your
outline each major point should show a variety of evidence. If that is not the case, then
eliminate the point or, if it fits, place the evidence with another point you are making.
Choose topics that are consistent with your personal beliefs. Pick topics important to you
that you live out on a daily basis. You might be able to craft effective speeches advocating
views you do not agree with, but you will be much more effective and ethical if you
advocate opinions you actually hold. If you advocate a position which is not something
you feel completely comfortable with, this will be communicated to your audience by
your delivery style. In choosing material for your presentation, one major criterion is
how strongly you feel about the point or support. This is an excellent way to cut out
materials when you have more content than time allotted.
Respect the time of your audience. Know what time you are expected to finish--and
finish at that time. It is an insult to your audience members and an abuse of your
opportunity to speak to keep them ten, fifteen, or thirty minutes more than what is
expected of you.
All of these ethical principles can be condensed to one, a "golden rule" of speaking ethics:
Treat each audience member as you would like to be treated if you were in your
audience.
You know the feeling. Looking out at a sea of faces, you notice a few scowls, frowns, even
droopy eyelids on some of your audience members. What are they thinking? Do they
disagree with your points? Are they in a bad mood? Do they just not like YOU? You bend
over backwards to win them over. You smile, establish eye contact. But the longer you
speak the more hopeless you feel as you see your desperate attempts to please fall flat. At
the end, feeling discouraged and anxious, you limp away.
It doesn't have to be that way. By using a simple image--the porch light--you can give the
same talk with such enthusiasm that scowls won't bother you. In fact, you may even be
able to turn those frowns upside down!
Remember going trick-or-treating as a child? You would carefully examine all the houses
to determine which ones would yield the good "loot." Most likely, the brightly lit porches
with elaborate Halloween decorations would have friendly, generous, confection-laden
people behind the door. Also, you most likely skipped the houses with dark, unswept
porches for their lack of promise.
Imagine the faces of your audience members as porch lights. Some will be brightly "lit"
with smiles and encouraging looks; others may appear uninviting. The trick is to speak
into the spirit of the bright porch lights. Let in support from those who are encouraging
you. Speak into the generosity of those porches that are lit, rather than into the perceived
criticism of the uninviting ones.
Does that mean you ignore the unlit porches? No. Instead of speaking from a panicky
need to win them over, addresss the frowning faces with the same energy that you
project toward the friendly faces. Easier said than done? Perhaps, but you can make it
easier if you remember the following:
1. Negative expressions probably have nothing to do with you. People frown when they
have a stomachache; they scowl when they're reliving a fight with their spouses; they
drop off when they spent the night rocking a sick baby. Nine times out of ten, they had
turned off their porch lights long before you walked in the room.
2. Usually far more porch lights are ON than off. Most people in your audience want you
to succeed. But you can get so focused on forcing the negative ones to like you that you
don't let in the support of those who already do! It's a shame when warm, supportive
energy goes unused. Besides, if you speak appreciatively into the positive energy of the
"on" porch lights, the "off" porch lights see the magic that's happening between you and
your supporters. That's often all it takes to turn on lights all over the room.
3. Just because a person's porch light is off, it doesn't mean nobody's home. The person
might just be concerned, anxious, or distracted. With a little more information or
reassurance, that listener's porch light might come on more brightly than all the others.
The next time you speak, remember the wisdom of your trick-or-treating days: Don't
spend a lot of time on dark, uninviting porches. Instead, enjoy the warm light of the
inviting ones. That's where you'll find the best treats. And, who knows? The grumpy
neighbors peeking out from their dark windows may see your joy and decide to turn on
their porch lights after all.
king of Success
king of Success
In the quest to attract customers and make more sales, the temptation is to focus on the
Internet. It's easy to forget there are other tools that are less tedious, easier to use, and
even more effective.
For example, simply telling people what we do and how it benefits them is the most
profound marketing "secret" ever invented. And, the opportunities to talk to people are
unlimited!
Consider that every service organization (Rotary, Kiwanis, etc.) needs a speaker every
week! This creates thousands of opportunities to do someone a favor and tell your story!
The potential is huge!
Now, the fear of public speaking is wide-spread, but at the same time, the opportunities
are so compelling that no business person can afford to ignore them.
Here are just some of the keys to successfully marketing yourself in front of an audience:
1. It clarifies your marketing message. Speaking to a live audience forces you to be very
precise about what you do and why people should buy from you. This sharpens all of
your other advertising and marketing efforts as well.
2. It gives access to your most targeted audience. You get to choose business leaders,
personal development audiences, or church groups. You decide who your best audience
is, then volunteer to talk to them. It's a gold mine!
3. The potential for "viral marketing" is unlimited. It's not unusual for me to speak to 50
people at lunch, and get a 100 new subscribers within hours. Each person goes away with
an idea, they get curious to learn more, they visit my website, and bingo! I get a new
subscriber and endless opportunities for opt-in marketing.
4. It's creative! My audiences become my "R&D Team", and many of my best ideas for
new products and services come from the comments of people in the audience. Let them
teach you how to build your business and achieve your dreams!
5. It can make you money. Many organizations will pay for a great speaker. Imagine
getting paid to advertise! You show up, talk about the benefits of your services, and they
pay you for it! This is a good thing!
How do you get started? Here are some concrete steps that have produced great results
for me.
First, volunteer where you already are. Do you belong to a group or organization? Tell
them you are willing to share your success and your wisdom. Volunteer and you'll be
amazed at how grateful most groups are.
Second, think about your most desired audience. Workshops at the local community
college are always in demand, as are personal development, sales or leadership
development topics.
Third, just get out and do it! You won't be an expert at first, but you'll be "good enough"
and you will improve with practice. You will start enjoying it, and the opportunities and
profits will multiply. Go for it!
Need more encouragement? Here are two books to help you get started:
"Marketing with Speeches and Seminars", by Miriam Ott, is a wonderful little book, full
of practical wisdom, short-cuts, tips and tricks for success with your very first
presentation. Easy to read, and easy to use. Here's the link to get it at Amazon.com: <a
href=" http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0966313100/philiphumbert
">Click</a>
"Speak and Grow Rich", by Dottie Walters, is another gem. Solid advice and tons of help
to get you started. This stuff works! Here's the link: <a href="
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0134904001/philiphumbert ">Click</a>
Whether your goal is to build a network marketing organization, increase your Real
Estate exposure, sell your book, or market widgets, telling people your story always
helps. It's fun, they always thank you, and they always remember and appreciate you. Get
in front of folks! Tell your story! As Dottie says, "Speak and grow rich!"
Trust me, the opportunities are endless and the potential is unlimited. Just do it.
How attractive are you as a speaker? No, your looks, but your consistent ability to provide a quality
presentation, attract clients, and be irresistibly attractive to meeting planners and speaker bureaus? Below
are some useful tips that I learned while owning a national, professional speakers bureau for 13 years.
1. Presentation do you have something interesting, inspiring, and useful to share with audiences? Be
mindful of your voice (keep it deep and low pitched), your personality and attitude (positive), your tone (soft,
loud. Encouraging as needed), your style, your vocabulary.
2. Connection how quickly do you get to the core of your audiences problems and challenges? Skip what is
between their ears and go straight to their hearts.
3. Passion do you love what you do? Develop a niche or specialty that you truly enjoy and are good at.
4. Network enhance your speaking career by networking with 50 or more other speakers. They become
your referral sources. Join the National Speakers Association a 4,000 member organization that holds
conferences and has local chapters to help you with your marketing skills and networking. Call 480-968-
2552 (Arizona)
5. Products write a book, booklet(s), create audio tapes, video tapes, CD/ROM. Having products will
catapult your speaking career and make you more valuable to your clients. This passive income is like
having frosting on the cake.
6. Value added become known as a value added speaker. Provide handouts, attend the cocktail reception
before your program, stay after your speech, offer follow-up teleclasses, offer your consulting services, be a
facilitator.
7. Hire a Coach The Olympic Games remind us that a world-class athlete is surrounded by a number of
people whose function is to keep him/her on track. No serious athlete or professional speaker would expect
to progress very far without a COACH.
Whether you want to be a part time, full time or BIG time speaker you must speak, speak, speak. At first,
deliver 25-30 minute free talks to service clubs and community organizations. Consider it to be your off-
Broadway tryout. A great opportunity to fine-tune your programand maybe get some future paid business!
1. Your speech needs a beginning, middle, and end. You must grab your audiences attention in the first
minuteso begin with a starting comment, question, story, or humor. End your speech on a strong note by
asking a question, providing a quote, tell a story or leave them laughing.
2. Every 5-7 minutes, back up your facts with signature (about you or others) stories. Stories are out there
everywhere. Find them in the stores, at restaurants, on the airplane, at home. People retain information
better when hearing a story.
3. Practice your speech out load. Record it on to a tape recorder and/or video camera. Also do this when
giving a program to a live audience. Do it every time!
4. Practice pausing before and after important points. Dont be afraid to leave open space. The use of silence
is a key requirement to becoming an effective speaker.
5. Use direct eye contact. You can focus on one person when making a pointand everyone else in the
audience will think you are speaking to them also.
6. Dont just stand behind the lectern: move around, gesture. Be animated. (Fifty-five percent of how people
perceive you is by body language; 38 percent by your voice; 7 percent by your words)
7. Smile a lot. Be enthusiastic about what you are saying. And have fun.
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to sandra@schrift.com. Thank you.
When Robert Middleton moved his marketing consulting practice, Action Plan
Marketing, to Palo Alto, California several years ago, he started his business from
scratch. He had left his well-established client base several miles away and now had to
find strategies to generate new clients.
Because Middleton had always spoken to promote his business, he turned to public
speaking with a vengeance. He researched local organizations whose members
comprised professional business owners, his target clientele. He called chambers of
commerce, business groups and others likely to be interested in his three-hour
marketing workshop.
Within a few months, Middleton had spoken at over a dozen organizations, establishing
his reputation as a marketing expert for professional service firms. He quickly became a
known entity, having personally introduced his business and credentials to hundreds of
prospects.
Better yet, Middleton's speaking strategy helped him land all the business he could
handle in a relatively short time period.
Over the course of sixteen talks, he averaged one new client each time. Today, the
seminars he conducts at business groups and, increasingly, teleconferences promoted
through his web site generate more than 50 percent of his business.
Speaking Is Selling
Many business people never consider standing in the front of their buying public to share
professional wisdom. If you're one of them, you're missing the boat.
Speaking is effective because it showcases your knowledge before groups of people who
eagerly show up to hear it. Your prospects may tune out advertising, but they'll pay
attention to your talk because it presents your knowledge in polished form to people who
think it will help them.
Speaking gives you tremendous visibility and credibility that increases over time.
Whenever you are in the front of a room, you get noticed. People will remember who you
are and what your business does. The more people see you speak and see your business
name, the more successful people think you are.
"If you can get up there and do a decent job you will immediately position yourself as an
expert in the minds of an audience," says business coach, author and professional
speaker Caterina Rando. "You only have to be 'decent' to make an impact. Even though
speaking can be scary at first, anybody can find groups to speak to and master the basics
of giving a good speech."
Before you contact an organization about speaking, create sample talk descriptions with
catchy titles. For example, a financial planner could avoid generic descriptions like
"Planning Your Retirement," and use a more snappy title like "Enjoying Your Gold Years
On A Champagne Budget".
Once you are clear about your topic and its benefit to the audience, make some calls and
offer yourself as a speaker. Here are ideas of where to look for a free podium. Many of
these groups need speakers all the time.
Chambers of Commerce
Service Clubs
Industry Specific Associations
University Extensions
Professional Associations
The promotional value of your talks goes beyond your time on the podium. Often, when
you speak to a group, the group publicizes the event. Many people who do not attend the
event will still read the information, or will hear about you from other attendees, and
may give you a call.
Consistency is the big thing. Getting out there and speaking on a regular basis keeps your
pipeline full of prospects. When you're done, put a follow up mechanism in place, even if
it's a simple mailing or newsletter. If you keep in contact with people who've heard you
speak, you get more long-term leverage from your efforts.
Knocking knees, butterflies (who came up with that word?) in your stomach, sweaty
palms, quavering voice. Weve all been there some of us more than others. Im going to
share with you some of the tricks of the trade to help manage and reduce your anxiety
before and during your presentation. These methods are tried and true and have helped
many presenters.
The first time is always the worst and it gets better from there.
In 1991, I gave my first presentation to a large audience. My audience was 150 fifth and
six grade students in an outside courtyard of an elementary school. I was scheduled to
give a 35-minute student assembly that explained a collection of international artifacts
(masks, musical instruments, hats, and other interesting items). It was a program
designed to increase multicultural understanding. I was so fired up about the topic, and
thought that it was such an important subject that I thought I could deliver the program.
Well, of course everything went wrong! The wind picked up and knocked some of the
items off the display table (the kids thought this was funny, I didnt). The microphone
had that horrible screeching feedback. My knees shook the whole time, my voice
quavered, my heart pounded and I felt like it was going on forever. I got through my
content somehow and looked at my watch. I gave a 35-minute presentation in 15-
minutes! I think that I probably forgot to breathe.
After packing up my items and loading them in my car, I collapsed in the drivers seat.
When my heart starting beating normally, I had a realization. My realization was that I
did deliver the program, yesterribly, but I did finish it and it would probably never
again be that bad. From that point on, I learned something from every program I gave;
how to keep the audience engaged, how to test AV equipment BEFORE I started, how to
breathe normally and speak at the same time. The list goes on and on. In three years, I
delivered this program to more than 100,000 students and teachers.
Today, I help adults develop the skills of public speaking. It seems that everyone has
some degree of nervousness or anxiety. What I know is that you can live through those
feelings and that over time they get easier and easier to deal with. Give these strategies a
try and see if they will help you too.
Use your mental energy to think of your next presentation as a conversation. You have
conversations all day, every day! Do you get nervous before a conversation? Most
conversations are non-threatening experiences, just a way for two or more people to
communicate something. How is a presentation different than that? Try to think of your
presentation as a conversation, just with a few more people. See if that eases your mind
and nerves.
Most people are nervous in front of an audience of strangers. What would happen if you
had a friend in the audience, or a group of friends? Would you feel more comfortable?
Next time you have to give a presentation to a group you dont know do something
revolutionary! Introduce yourself, shake hands, and greet as many of the audience as
possible before your talk begins. That way, when youre standing in the front of the room
looking out, it is no longer a sea of strangers, but a friendly group, because you met some
of the people first. Youll want to find them in the audience and make eye contact, and it
wont be too hard, because theyll probably be smiling at you.
Put yourself in your audiences shoes for a moment. Imagine that you are attending a
special seminar at work. How would you feel if before the seminar, the speaker took a
moment to introduce herself to you? Would you be a more receptive listener to what she
had to say? I bet your answer is yes!
Smiling has a physiological affect on us it helps to calm our nerves and make us feel
better. It also has the added bonus of making us appear more pleasant, comfortable and
happy definite positive characteristics of a presenter. Often times, the audience will
mirror the expression of the presenter. So guess what happens when you smile? You got
it; your audience will be more likely to smile back at you.
Lets review.
Youve just learned some simple, yet effective, techniques to help reduce and manage
nervousness while giving a presentation. I challenge you to try them out and see if they
work for you.
Remember to:
3. SMILE! It just might prove infectious and make you feel a whole lot more at ease!
4. Learn from every presentation you give and youll see that it does get easier and easier.
I love the Disney movie The Kid with Bruce Willis. In it he plays a stressed-out, high-
power image consultant. He wears expensive suits, lives in a chic, elegantly furnished
home and has all the money he can spend. His biggest challenge comes when a young
boy-his younger self-comes to stay with him. He doesnt recognize himself at first,
but then comes to see that he can heal himself by comforting the boy he was and
accepting the man he is. (Dont worry, theres still a lot of other fun, surprising stuff that
happens so I havent TOTALLY given the plot away.)
Often when I work with people who are anxious or uncomfortable with public speaking,
they recount past experiences of perceived failure. They tell me their stories of screw-
ups, stumbles and faults, all with a tone of humiliation and self-flagellation. They use
critical, blaming language to describe themselves such as I was so stupid, I was
pathetic, Ive never forgiven myself for that. Its bad enough to have had the bad
experience in the first place, but we just make it worse when we spread the pain out over
a lifetime by reliving the experience-and punishing ourselves for it-over and over and
over again.
Exercise
(WARNING: The following exercise may seem corny, but try it anyway. Seriously.) Close
your eyes (after reading this article, that is) and see yourself as you are today. Dont
analyze or judge who you are today, just see yourself. Relax. Try to let go of any thoughts
or distractions. Now imagine a younger version of yourself approaching--the you who
screwed up that presentation all those years ago. Perhaps its the you who messed up
your 5th grade book report, or the you who sneezed all over your slides at your first sales
meeting, perhaps the you who completely forgot to include those important statistics
when making the big proposal to the Board of Directors. That younger self looks at you
timidly, filled with embarrassment and shame for the poor performance. After years of
being angry at and embarrassed by this younger self, you feel compassion. Looking at
this poor suffering soul, you realize its time to let him/her off the hook. This younger self
has suffered enough. As you let go of your judgment, you realize that that younger self
did the very best job possible, given the where he/she was at the time. (Your corny meter
may be going off but stay with me here!) Now, reach out, embrace and forgive that
younger self. Give that younger self some comforting words of encouragement and
soothe the pain theyve been carrying around all these years. Take the burden off his/her
shoulders as you both let it go. Imagine a conversation between your present and former
selves. What went wrong that day? What was learned? How can the present you and the
former you work together to speak up with more confidence in the future?
You may have several past selves to forgive. Picture each past self who disappointed
you and go through the same process. You might be surprised at how this can lighten
your load and ease your discomfort.