Articles

By Cyndi Maxey, CSP and Kevin E. O’Connor, CSP

While distance learning grows daily, it’s still a fact that at least 65% of all seminars and meetings are delivered in rooms with a live person in the front of the room. Those rooms may range from hospital basements to four star hotel ballrooms, but no matter the venue, both room and audio-visual management are extremely important for setting the tone of the event and for encouraging effective learning. People are brought together to learn and to share ideas, and you as the presenter are doing them a disservice if you’re not aware of (1) how to set up the best environment for this to happen and (2) what to do when things go wrong.

And things will go wrong. Most experienced presenters will tell you that the biggest challenges of an event, meeting, or exchange will often center on something surrounding the set-up of the day. If you’re tired of being surprised by all the nuances of your room environment, borrow some tips and techniques from the media pro, the actor, the professional speaker, and the audio-visual technician to set yourself up for success. Learn to love all the tools available to you to enhance your presentation in the room you’re in. The next time you find yourself greeted with the unexpected, you’ll be ready. Continue Reading →

An e-booklet by Cyndi Maxey, CSP

Introduction

• This book is for lovers of life and lovers of summer.
• This book is for people who want to take charge of their own happiness.
• This book is for people who believe in a balance of the heart, the mind, and the soul.

Why this booklet?
Summer has a relaxed feel, no matter the climate. Summer in the Midwest and Eastern United States is a special limited time of hot lazy days and outside activities and gifts. In the South and the West, even though marked by hotter days, it’s still a special, relaxed time of year when school is out and workers vacation. It’s in that spirit … a little more relaxed, a little less focused on the routine of life and work … that the reader can enjoy this booklet.

How to read this booklet:
Pour your favorite beverage and find a spot where you feel very alone, even if people surround you. A place outside is best, but a nice compromising locale could be in front of a fire, an open window, or the gentle air of a heating duct or fan. Do your best to re-create your favorite summer spot—whether that’s a beach chair, a back porch, a patio, or a forest glade. Tell yourself, “This is just for me.” Continue Reading →

Dynamic Discussion and Dialogue Starters presents 21 ways to get people talking. Use them:

• To get a meeting going
• To energize a team.
• To brighten a relationship
• To stimulate your own creative thinking
• To lessen stress at work
• To get unstuck during a long project
• To promote experience sharing and commonalities
• To look at things in a new way
• To take a break
• To reward a hard-working group
• To  think creatively about work and life

But wait! There’s more! Continue Reading →

The very best teachers are often in your own neighborhood. Leader-panelists at the two recent Chicago area regional connects certainly fit that description; having had the opportunity to attend both was especially insightful. From my perspective as a communication coach, it was great to see both classic and cutting edge communication concepts come to life via the executive mindset of food service industry leaders. Here are some of the lessons they shared that I learned and re-learned. Continue Reading →

There’s a great saying that most of you in sales and marketing probably already know and use: “Successful people do what unsuccessful people don’t want to do. And that really holds for getting started getting published. The good news is that today’s technology (e-mail, Internet, etc) make writing and research easier than ever. The bad news is that the best-selling books every year are still on topics of sex, money, or dieting.

So how does a sales and marketing professional get started in the publishing game? You may be surprised by what I suggest as the first step. Continue Reading →

Those of you who give after-dinner presentations frequently will not need to read this article.  Those of you who want to extend your speaking horizons–read on!  First, let me position myself as an NSA member who is primarily a seminar leader.  When I am booked for a keynote or short program,  I typically speak at breakfasts, luncheons, and concurrent sessions.

Recently, however,  I had an opportunity to present my first after-dinner speech.  It was during this experience that my respect and admiration for the after-dinner speaker skyrocketed.  Here are some of my “AHA’s,” anchored with the wise comments of experienced NSA after-dinner speakers.

Get specific information about previous programs.

I arrived very early to set up and had some time to help the program committee place give-away’s at attendees’ seats.  I struck up a conversation with one of the committee members about the event.  She recalled that last year’s speaker was a Chicago Bear “who didn’t talk about service at all” but who was “really cute” and that the program the year before was “a Jeopardy game thing that everyone loved!”  Mental red flags began to wave; I knew I had made a deadly mistake by not asking more about previous programs. Continue Reading →

I’ve been a seminar leader and presenter for over 20 years and I’ve seen a noticeable change in my learners and audiences in the last five years, especially with young professionals.

We’ve always known that adults learn by doing and applying concepts back on the job. But it’s never been as important as it is now. With Gen X and Y, we are leading learning for extreme computer literates who are very analytical and used to trying different angles to reach an answer. On the computer, there are always options, alternatives, and tools to reach conclusions. Our computer generations expect that learning will be like that. And our Baby Boomer learners are joining in. Continue Reading →

If you’ve ever performed in a play, you’ve probably been asked the question, “How’d you ever learn all those lines?” In fact, that is exactly what my parents asked after what I thought was a stunning portrayal of Anna in “The King and I” at E.N. Woodruff High many years ago. While the theatre-goer’s fascination with “learning all those lines,” may seem mundane to the artist, knowing your script essentially forms the base of an underappreciated performance art—the art of practice!

As a professional speaker, I have had ample opportunity to use the discipline that my drama background instilled on how to study and memorize scripted language. During the opening of a presentation, especially, the ability to memorize can help a speaker appear both approachable and credible. Throughout the program, memorized stories and examples often can help speakers energize and connect with participants. At the close, a key quotation or story can create an important impact. The effective use of scripted material is an important preparation and delivery skill. Continue Reading →

The wonder of volunteerism
The movie, ”My Big Fat Greek Wedding” was a Chicago woman’s first screenplay and a runaway comedy hit. In a television interview promoting the movie, the actor who played the groom was asked how he landed such a great role. He explained how he volunteered to help some friends who were auditioning for another movie at an L.A. hotel. Over dinner at the hotel’s restaurant at the end of the day, he loudly said to them, “I just got a script I LOVE. I would KILL to be in this movie.” Little did he know that he was seated next to the writer for that script, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” who just happened to be auditioning for the movie at that same hotel. He got the part.

What does this have to do with recruiting volunteers? The actor’s story could be their story. He was visible, altruistic, and using his specific talents and skills. His story illustrates “the wonder of volunteerism”—its potential to put someone in exactly the right spot at exactly the right time to meet a goal he or she has at exactly that moment. Managing volunteers is also wonderful because it can put YOU in the right spot at exactly the right time to meet a goal YOU have at exactly that moment.
Continue Reading →