Dynamic Workshops - Success Rules to Practice
Proper Preparation and Practice Prevent Poor Performance.
Even though the structure of a workshop may appear to be looser and more flexible than other presentations, it is imperative to be properly prepared - even more prepared than for other venues. In the type of workshop I prefer and give the most often, I gear it toward those who are in attendance. This means that I have to be prepared for a variety of situations, because everyone is different. Their feedback, questions, comments and needs are all different. If I am giving a two-hour workshop, I have enough material and activities planned for at least four hours, so that if one of my plans doesn’t work for this particular group, I have another direction I can switch to with ease.
Plan transitions with care.
Smooth transitions are important during any kind of presentation. If we jump from one topic to another too quickly and without any warning, or what I call “bridging,” we can leave our audience behind, so that they miss some of the new material and/or topic area. Just a short introductory sentence or description of where and why we are going in a certain direction should suffice. You can tell a brief story, sum up what you have been saying, ask a question or introduce the next topic with some sort of attention getting device.
Don’t hesitate to give assignments and/or homework.
Preferring workshops that continue at least into a second week, I always give the participants assignments to work on (with the statement that “there will be no punishment for not doing the homework”). A good number do work on the assignments and are delighted and proud to share their results. The more we expect from our students, the more they will expect from themselves and make the effort to please themselves and us.
Remember that Murphy’s Law is usually working.
So what can go wrong, will. Patricia Fripp, a well known speaker once said “Never assume, always confirm.” To the point of almost seeming obsessive, I feel that getting in touch with the meeting planner to confirm time, date, and location, along with what is expected of me and what I expect in the way of equipment and setup is imperative.
Otherwise, we may find that somewhere along the line, there has been some miscommunication which can prove to be disastrous. Also, think of all of the things that might go wrong - your handouts didn’t arrive, the bulb on the projector blows the minute you turn it on, the directions of how to get there are incorrect, and on and on. Just leave earlier than you need to, so that you will have lots of extra time to take care of any unforeseen problems and details that might occur.
Finally, make sure that you are having FUN!
By approaching every workshop with the attitude that it’s going to be a blast, you will guarantee that the participants will have fun too. In addition, realize that people learn in the proportion to the amount of fun they are having!
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Chris King is a professional speaker, storyteller, writer, website creator / designer, free agent, and fitness instructor. Sign up for her eclectic E-newsletter, Portfolio Potpourri, at http://www.PowerfulPresentations.net You will find her information-packed E-book How to Leave Your Audiences Begging for MORE! at http://www.OutrageouslyPowerfulPresenter.com and her business website at http://www.CreativeKeys.biz |
Idea Mining for Writers 101
Want to write an article or book, but are stuck for ideas? Here are a few practical ways to awaken that muse.
- Keep a writer’s journal. A hardcover notebook will do nicely for keeping entries on a variety of topics including, but are not limited to: problems, daydreams, quotes, bits of conversations from “real life” or your characters, character sketches, anecdotes about you, your family and friends, jokes and quotes that caught your attention, names of books that you plan to read and have read, the newest craze, letters that you wish you wrote to the editor but didn’t, reasons why something did or didn’t work out, musings about trends, the good old days, cute quotes from the kids, frustrations, interesting stuff that you heard on the radio or TV. For example, I heard about a guy who was shaving his head while driving at 80 mph on the highway and another who was changing his wardrobe while driving at about the same speed on a radio talk show. These tidbits might be great triggers for a short story or novel, especially if you can create answers explaining why and/or how these guys could do that.
- Visit the bookstore. But carry a little notebook and a pen. Then browse, taking note of books whose titles grabbed your attention. What else would these books’ audiences appreciate knowing? What bestsellers attracted your attention? What are the names of the newest magazines? What aisles haven’t you explored yet? What kinds of books do people seem to pick up and read? What book might you have been looking for, but couldn’t find? Did you ask the bookstore’s customer service about ordering it? And while you were at it, did you remember to ask the sales associate if books like that are popular?
- Take inventory of your life and experiences. Where did you go to school? What were your best and worst subjects? What kinds of jobs have you held? What subject did you major in and what degrees did you earn? What do you love to do and would do it for free? What are your hobbies? What sports do you enjoy? What do you do especially well? What kind of work experience do you have? What were your favorite jobs? What were your least favorite jobs and why? What problems did you and your colleagues solve? Were you ever fired? Are you working now? Are you an entrepreneur? What clubs and associations have you joined? Are you married or single? How many children do you have? Have you ever traveled, and if so, where?
As you take inventory and gather information, think about who else would be interested and why. While you are at it, make a list of possible audiences, such as bosses, colleagues, friends, lawyers, teachers, and so on. Give yourself time to think about what you have and how you can capitalize on it. Create a few titles just for fun, then choose one that excites you the most and start freewriting. Who knows? You may be creating that next article or book!
Dorothy Zjawin has capitalized on her teaching experience and has had 30 articles published by Instructor and a book, Teaching Ideas for the Come-Alive Classroom published by Parker Pub. Co./Prentice-Hall. Her website, http://www.profitable-pen.com, has other ideas and a free forum. Have a question about writing? Feel free to contact Dorothy!
Article Writing & Marketing: Reaching Critical Mass
Here’s something I hear each week from novice article marketers:
“I’ve posted some articles to the directories and I’m still not getting any traffic. What am I doing wrong?”
Well, the first thing we have to do is define what “some” means. In my experience some usually means less than ten. And ten is just not enough.
I hear this so often. People think just few articles will do the trick, and it just won’t.
Hitting “critical mass”
Here’s what I mean by hitting critical mass. There comes a point where you have enough articles on the web that the traffic begins to flow.
For me I hit critical mass at 25 articles on EzineArticles.com. At that point the traffic changed from a trickle to a stream flowing into my websites and newsletters.
I don’t know what your critical mass will be. Here is what I do know: you need to keep posting until you hit your own critical mass, whatever number that may be.
And, once you hit critical mass, you can stop writing.
NOT!
I hope you did not fall for that last line for even a second!
Once you hit critical mass, keep on writing. I hit critical mass at 25 articles, and if this article is accepted, I’ll be at 432, and my goal is 1,000 by the end of the year.
So my big tip for you is to write away, right away!
Visit The Article Guy for more leading edge tips and tools for writing articles that bring you prospects, publicity and profits. You can also subscirbe to our monthly Article Empire Tips Newsletter. You are also invited to visit my Express-Start Article Writing Program for more information on the next article writing tele-seminar.
Secrets Of Successful Authors
When the writing bug hits you, get out your pencil, typewriter,a word processor or tape recorder and go to work.
Personal wants and desires, such as “How to Make Money” can put you on the road to success in the writing field. there are five main emotional appeals for selling this kind of publication: Money, Self Preservation, Family, Romance, Recognition. These appeals can all be built into your writings.
It pays to make up a good advertising schedule several months in advance and when you do hit the pages with your ads, be sure they “Drip” with enthusiasm!
The title is of the greatest importance. It alone can determine the sales volume to a large degree. Price your report so that you can come out with a good profit. You will want to make tests to see if your publication will bring in the required price before going into full scale advertising.
Most people are dreamers not “do’ers”. It is only a short step to be a do’er… Just do it!
Sometimes it is better to write a strong ad before you write the report, then make the report live up to your ad. Make your ads friendly.
Write about a special subject in a unique way: Strive to write in such a way that you will get repeat orders or will receive orders from the same customers for your other books and products. Have a follow-up program ready to go.
Ship your orders without delay. Don’t hold them up for checks to clear. It will do you much more damage than getting a few bad checks. Offer a free bonus for “buying today”.
Get quality printing for use with all your paper needs (letterheads, envelopes, circulars, sales letters, return envelopes, order forms, etc.)
You can set up a distributor program, sell your publications direct to the consumer, or use both methods.
It’s a good idea to give your other publications a boost within the pages of your other reports and books, but don’t brag about your accomplishments or try to sell all your own products in the body of your publication.
HOW TO PRICE YOUR BOOK!
Whatever amount you come up with for the price of your book, remember that advertising expense will usually take 50% to 60% of your selling price if you are to promote your book properly and get into the mass market. This only leaves 40% to 50% of the sales proceeds for all your other expenses and a reasonable profit for your efforts. And don’t forget “all other expenses” include not only the cost of typesetting, printing, mailing and other direct expenses, but also includes numerous variable and indirect expenses; such as auto, depreciation, insurance, and all the other “general overhead”, even if you only work part-time from your home. Then you must have enough left over to “pay yourself” a reasonable draw for your time, effort and risk!
Failure to understand the “Mathematics of Mail Order” is the basic reason most people do not succeed when trying to sell books by mail.
One of the most important points to learn about mailorder mathematics is just exactly where your break-even point is. This varies drastically depending on the total units produced and sold. The more units sold the less the cost per unit. In other words, the more you sell the more flexible you can be in pricing your product.
Never price a publication at less than total cost, just to increase sales, unless you have computed correctly that the increased sales will reduce you unit cost sufficiently to overcome any potential loss.
On the other side of the “coin”, if the price of your publications is too high, you could be in a worse position than if selling for only half the price. Maybe a price reduction of 50% will get you 500% more sales thus lowering your variable costs per unit sufficiently. The loser is immediately turned into a blockbuster! Only tests will tell!
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