The Power is in the Follow Up

One of the most overlooked practices in business presentations is follow up.
Speakers spend so much time preparing (pre-work) and delivering the message, yet they forget to complete the process.
You can wow them from the platform but as soon as they lexit, your message may be left at the door. To reinforce the message, follow up with an email or phone call. Leave them a card with a few of your tips.

If you speak to market yourself, the power is in the follow up. Most people will not call you. It may take several contacts before anything happens. I spoke in 2003 at a networking breakfast. In 2004, someone from the audience called me to do business. Why not in 2003? They didn't have a need.

In April of this year, I sat next to someone who had been at the same 2003 event and remembered me. She asked if I did presentation training. I stayed in touch through emails, phone calls and lunch. In August we are going to run some seminars for the company.

Follow up is relationship building. This is especially true in networking. How often do people take a card and do nothing? Some networkers meet once and if nothing happens they move on. Success is not transactional. Success is about relationships.
Building the know-like-trust factor takes time. It's not about you-it's about them.
Focus on what you can do for others and follow up.

To create a followup system try this amazing tool http://www.creativefollowup.com

Business Presentations: What I Learned At The Paul McCartney Concert

On Saturday night I went to the Paul McCartney concert at Citifield, the new Shea Stadium. The doors opened at 5:30. The time on the ticket was 6:30. The warm up act didn't play until 7:30. Warm up act? Hardly. There was a 45 minute intermission before Paul came on stage. Even thought the group from Dublin was good,the energy fizzled and was sublimated into fries, hotdogs and beer. The lesson? There was no flow to this event. The reason was obvious. All that down time is planned so that people will buy food.
And yes, Paul was amazing and the crowd rocked. But overall, I wasn't impressed by the event planning at Citifield. There was no build up. The energy waxed and waned. I was bored waiting for the main event.

Presenters need to understand the importance of staging. A presentation,like a concert is a performance. Just like a rock concert is not a ballgame, not all presentations should be staged in the same way. Speakers need to think strategically about their purpose, the outcome, the mood, the tempo, and the energy of the event. The person who introduces the speaker is a type of warm up act. Do they create excitement and anticipation or do they speak dispassionately?

If there's too much time between networking and the main event, the audience gets restless. If you're Paul McCartney you can transcend poor staging. But for most of us, when it comes to presentation performance, it's all about energy and flow.

Business Presentations: Your Voice is Your Brand

This morning I called Sue Levine of CTS Travel 800-726-2757 x 113 to book my business trip. When I spoke to her on the phone she greeted me excitedly like an old friend. She said, "Hi Diane! Your voice mail says exactly what you do. Your tone is so upbeat and outgoing. I thought Wow! She doesn't have to use any promotional material because she spoke her message." Sue continued, "If I were looking for your service and heard your voice mail you'd be my number one choice. I could imagine you as a speaker. People must sit there listening to every word you say. In 35 years in the travel business, I can fathom from the voice and words what people and saying and not saying. And most voice mail is voice jail."

This was the first time I ever spoke to Sue. Talk about impact!

She got me thinking about a speech I gave last week on Presenting Your Brand. Even though the voice is 38% of the message in face-to-face communication,on the telephone your words and voice are 100% of the message. Yet, how often do we hear inappropriate personal voice messages, dispassionate tone, or garbled, rushed speech? What's the impact? A negative impression. We spend so much money on promotional materials and resumes to create a positive visual brand only to lose business because of an ineffective voice message. Your VOICE is your brand.

To hear my voice mail message call 212 481-8484 x312.

Speaking Skills for Women

In May we offered a public seminar for women to empower them in the way they present themselves. Today we successfully brought the program in-house to a new corporate client. Why a program for women? Generally speaking, women tend to take fewer risks, are perfectionists compared to men, speak more tentatively, and exhibit some unique behaviors that can undermine their credibility.

Speaking Skills for Women addresses fear and blasting through false beliefs, understanding the look, sound, and language of confidence and how to project authority and confidence. As a guest speaker, I've spoken about Creating Confidence: Ten Ways Women Sabotage Their Communication in the Workplace. Audience members told me that they learned practical tips that they could use immediately.

Speaking is a critical success skill and I believe everybody can be successful once they have self awareness and start to wear the uniform of confidence.

What Sarah Palin Can Teach Politicians

Sarah Palin shocked her constituents today as she gave an unexpected resignation speech. She didn't read a teleprompter. She didn't have a script. What she did do was speak from her heart. Whether you love her or hate her, the woman knows how to connect with an audience. She began by talking about her love for the people and state of Alaska. Her passion was genuine. She sustained eye contact as she spoke of both her accomplishments and challenges. Her language was straightforward and her message was clear as she shared her proud moments and her pain. There was no hesitation-just conviction. While some believe her premature resignation is career suicide, few doubt her ability to draw future crowds with her speaking ability. People find her candor and direct, folksy style a refreshing contrast to overly packaged politicians. The pen may be mightier than the sword but authenticity is the new competitive weapon.