Writing Inrochester

The Hero’s Journey (Monomyth) is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the hundreds of Hollywood movies we have deconstructed (see URL below) are based on this 188 stage template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters. This is the template you must master if you are to succeed in the craft.

[The terminology is most often metaphoric and applies to all successful stories and screenplays, from The Godfather (1972) to Brokeback Mountain (2006) to Annie Hall (1977) to Lord of the Rings (2003) to Drugstore Cowboy (1989) to Thelma and Louise (1991) to Apocaplyse Now (1979)].

THERE IS ONLY ONE STORY

THE HERO’S JOURNEY:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Gives you a tangible process for building and releasing dissonance (establishing and achieving catharses, of which there are usually four).

and more…

*****Supernatural Aid’s character*****

Before entry into the New World (wherein lies the Elixir), the Supernatural Aid’s character will be developed. He (or she) will have some deviant personality attribute that differentiates him from the antihero. Often this will be some vice that especially attracts the supernatural aid to the treasure (that the antihero will later retrieve), the point being that this is what will cause an alienation between the characters at a later stage of the story. In Scarface (1983), Manny likes girls and will later like Gina.

Learn more…

WRITE THAT SCREENPLAY!

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at clickok.co.uk/ clickok.co.uk/

The Managing Creativity and Innovation MBA dissertation, DIY creativity Audit, Powerpoint presentation and Good Idea generator software can be found at managing-creativity.com/ managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

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You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author’s name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

Thousands of people want to be authors. They want to have written a book but don’t really want to put the work into it. Many times the mantra is that they would love to write a book but don’t have the time too. In fact, they don’t have the time to read much either, and as is often the case, writing instructors and authors themselves will tell an individual that you don’t have any business writing a book if you don’t have the time to even read.

That may be true of writing a book in the traditional sense, but not with writing ebooks. Writing an ebook can be a great way to break into the book writing business. There are differences between writing a novel for print and an ebook which will be explained shortly. Just know that if you are thinking about writing a book and want to make money from it fast, you should consider writing an ebook.

The differences between print books and ebooks are bountiful and minimal at the same time, which means that it’s more of what you want to do that dictates the final product than what any set guidelines may be.

With an ebook you don’t have to have a certain amount of pages. Quite often, in a non-fiction sense, many ebooks can be about twenty pages long and sell for twenty five to fifty dollars. The key here is that when you write a non-fiction ebook it is all about the information. If the information is in great demand you can charge more for it. No one is going to dictate to you how much you should charge for your ebook either, except for the market itself.

Next, with an ebook, all you need is a small website for people to purchase and then download your book and the transaction is over. There is no need to trudge through years of finding an agent and then a publisher, who may want you to rewrite whole slews of your work, and then have the book go to the bookstores and wait for someone to buy it. People can go directly to you for the book. It’s fast, inexpensive, and can bring in thousands of dollars with just one book. For some this is a full time job!

If you are interested in writing and selling ebooks to make a living, which is quite possible if you have the drive, you will want to learn more about how to market and how to set up a website in order to drive those sales.

Click here to learn more about how to write an ebook in seven days and then learn how and where to sell it. Go to ultimatereviewsite.wordpress.com/” target=”_blank www.ultimatereviewsite.wordpress.com

Matt Ide lives and writes in northern Michigan. If you have always wanted to learn how to write and sell your own books, you need to go to ultimatereviewsite.wordpress.com ultimatereviewsite.wordpress.com and learn how easy it can be to make that dream come true.

Not having the large book marketing budgets like publishing companies, new authors must find cost efficient ways to promote their new books through media outlets. Print and electronic media (radio and television) are very expensive, both nationally and locally. But the exposure for new books through this type of advertising is hard to beat. New books of high profile authors get expensive print and electronic media advertising campaigns developed by publishers. These advertising campaigns use the author’s name to get media exposure for the new books.

As a new, unknown author, you are not going to be given this type of media advertising for your new book. Can you do it yourself? No! Media advertising is expensive! The cost of these campaigns is more than new authors can afford. However, there are still inexpensive ways you can get the media exposure you need for your book.

1) Articles
Submit articles to magazines and newspapers specific to your book’s target audience. The articles should be about a topic related to your book. They must be written in a way to catch they eye of the editor. If published, these articles will increase the visibility of you and your book. Another idea is to submit a proposal for a column that will appear periodically in newspapers and/or magazines. The proposal would have to be strong enough to sell the editor on replacing a currently published column with yours. Your proposal could also be submitted for national syndication to increase the number of publications it appears and give your book even greater exposure.

2) Radio/TV Media
Send a press kit to media outlets that appeal to your book’s target audience. The kit should include a cover letter proposing you for an interview. The topic you’d be willing to discuss should be related to your book’s central theme or message. Also, provide a list of suggested questions that could be posed during the interview. Sell the producer on the idea that your topic has the potential for an interesting show. The result will be more media visibility for you and your new book.

3) Advertising
Print and broadcast advertising have unsold spaces or times that can be purchased at the last minute for relatively low prices. Call media outlets and ask about remnants that are available.

A small book-marketing budget should not prevent new authors from getting exposure for their books through media outlets. There are still inexpensive, effective ways it can be done.

Kevin L. Mitchell is the co-owner of MKM Book Services, a book consulting firm. For information about The New Author’s Book Marketing eCourse visit mkmbookservices.com/” target=”_blank mkmbookservices.com/ or send an email to: mailto:Kevin@mkmbookservices.com Kevin@mkmbookservices.com

Article writing is one of the best ways to increase your traffic and get more sales. Article writing is now a major weapon in search engine optimization and getting a good page rank with Google, you’ll also gain a name for yourself.

Article writing is easy once you know how. Online article writing is very different to magazine article writing. Article writing is something that gets tedious to the publisher who sends out an ezine every week, but it doesn’t have to be like that.

Article Writing is the one significant forms of marketing and promotion that guarantees your credibility. Article writing is one of the best marketing strategies to obtain free, natural search listings within Google, Yahoo and other search engines.

Another goal of article writing is to make your article search engine friendly. One of the main purposes of article writing is to obtain a one way link and generate traffic to your site. This is achieved by the Bio Box at the end of your article, with your link in it.

Because of this, the value of article writing is immeasurable. Article writing is the life line of creating credibility and generating free traffic. Imagine having thousands of back links from people who have your article on their site.

What sets people apart from others when it comes to article writing is when they are prepared and they have a set procedure in writing them. Article writing is the absolute best and the cheapest way to generate that traffic, which converts to making money.

Article writing is like building a website, you have to start at the Headline, then the opening and then put all the parts together. Perhaps the most important thing about article writing is what you do with your articles once you′ve completed them. That’s why you should submit them to credible article sites, like Ezine Articles to get them displayed for the world to look at.

How does writing articles or publishing to an ezine boost your business? It does it by hopefully people picking up your article and using it on their site, because they think your article is worthwhile and has substance for their topic.

No matter how many times a person has done it, writing articles has proven to be a task many have continuously avoided, because it can be hard to find your content. Then trying to get it all together.

Writing Articles for your business can pay off considerably, you just submit them to article sites for them to be accepted. Remember, they must be informative and be targeted to the subject your writing about.

While it is true that writing articles is a well known link baiting technique most website owners don’t do article writing for that. Because I have a proven formula for writing ‘killer′ articles that will get you listed in the major search engines rapidly.

If you don′t have the time to write articles yourself, you can outsource the job of article writing; this will cost you quite a bit. You could be up for anywhere “between $4 - $15 “per article.

Article writing is also used to create content by webmasters to create value for visitors. Well, the good news for article writers is that the measure of your success is not weighed by one article or even by article writing itself, it will be by providing informative, content-rich and valuable thoughts, research, expert advice and other proven tips and info that people want.

Article writing is one of the best ways to get consistent traffic to a website — free. Article writing is one of the best marketing strategies to obtain free, natural search listings within Google, Yahoo and other search engines. Another goal of article writing is to make your article search engine friendly.

Why use Article Writing Software?

If you don’t have the time to write articles yourself, you can outsource the job of article writing if you want to pay big $$$. Or you could automate the whole process for yourself, saving hours and hours of researching, compiling, and then getting it altogether.

No matter how many times a person has done it, writing articles has proven to be a task many have continuously avoided. How does writing articles or publishing to an ezine boost your business?

But sometimes writers wonder why their articles do not generate the traffic they need or do not work at its best. How do I write articles that increase my publicity and sales? Do you have a well thought out reason for writing articles?

Are Articles the Secret to Niche Marketing? It’s not that hard to get your articles being published online instantly. There are many benefits to writing articles and submitting them to other ezines. Articles have more benefits than you can imagine.

People search for articles, read them, and try what they say. The resource box is the medium through which you generate traffic from you articles. You Need the Amazing Power of Articles to Become Successful Online - Jim Green. Are you a beginner to writing articles, and would like to know more about SEO article writing.

It’s what good article writing is really all about, providing excellent information to people who will hopefully use it for themselves on their site.

Article writing is one of the best ways to increase your traffic and get more sales. Article writing is now a major weapon in search engine optimization. Well, SEO article writing is very much like that. Article writing is easy once you know how.

Have you ever considered that most all online article writing is opinion?.

Article Writing is the one significant form of marketing and promotion that guarantees your credibility. The first step to article writing is identifying what question you wish to answer, or which problem you wish to solve.

So how can you automate this task of writing articles?

We know that, the value of article writing is immeasurable. Article writing is one of the best ways to get traffic to your site. But it can get tiresome and tedious.

We know that Article writing is one of the best ways to get consistent traffic to a website — free. Article writing is a sure shot way of web promotion.

Article writing is the life line of creating credibility and generating free traffic. Article writing is the absolute best and the cheapest way to generate that traffic, which converts to making money.

Article writing is the Internet advertising solutions that can get you search engine rankings. So you have to know a bit about writing them. There is lots of info out there to get you started.

Article writing is for you if you want great benefits that don’t cost anything.

Article writing is important in a business because creating a decent article is perhaps the greatest way to create interest in your product.

Did you know that you can write your Article in about 15 minutes, remarkable new software has just been release by on of the webs most talented programmers?

Jonathan Leger has created software that does all your research on a given topic, and then lists all your sentences for you to choose. If you’re serious about making article writing a part of your business, then read on…

Len Cecchetto has been writing articles for approx
12 months now. He is always on the lookout for methods
To help him reduce his workload when writing articles.
You can find out more about writing an article in 15 minutes
at: ozmarketing.info/IAW/ ozmarketing.info/IAW/

Early in the process of writing, every writer will need to make a decision — what person to write in?

Traditionally, English grammar has divided references to people into three categories, to refer to I, you, and he or she. The first person is I, me, my, we, our, and so on. The second person is you and your. The third person is he, she, they, their, his, hers, him, her, and so on.

However, most writing tasks are written in either first or third person. Instructional and how-to type writing can be written in second person and some fiction — although rarely.

How does a writer decide which person is right for their writing task?

For many writers, the first and only criteria used is comfort and experience. As most of our oral communication takes place in the first person and much informal written communication is in first person, many people are just more comfortable writing in first person.

However that doesn’t mean that first person is the ideal choice for that particular writing task.

First person is a great choice when you intend to write informally or casually. Even if the task itself is actually for a formal or professional purpose, you may deliberately choose a casual tone. Then first person is the right choice.

First person is also a wonderful choice when writing about personal experience. If you are sharing a story about your life or an event that you witnessed then many times it is more powerful written in first person. The writer is a part of the story and it is important for the reader to know that so first person is the right choice here as well.

There are many times, though, when third person really is the better choice. In fact, many academic and professional situations require it as first person is more casual and informal.

The biggest reason to move from first to third person is simply that third person takes the writer (the “I”) out of the writing which places the emphasis on what is being said rather than who is saying it.

It creates a sense of more objectivity and distance—the writer’s feelings and personality are peripheral to an argument’s validity—the facts are allowed to speak for themselves.

Writing in third person is also stronger and more forceful therefore is often more convincing. Often the “I” statement weakens an argument or statement.

Often first person is unnecessary ie. I think [most students do not need algebra]. Many of the first-person elements (I think, I believe,I know, etc.) often simply weaken or bog down the writing for no purpose. Taking those out to make the switch to third person can make the writing stronger and more powerful.

If you want to learn and grow as a writer then you must experiment and gain experience using both first and third person. That way you will make the choice based on the purpose of your writing not simply your comfort level.

Deanna Mascle is the publisher of wordcraftonline.com Word Craft Online. You can read more word-craft.info writing advice in her writing blog.

Every writer has heard horror stories about evil editors who relish tormenting hard working writers. While there are some editors who are like this, the majority are hard working people who just want to find the best works to put in their publications.

The way you treat an editor will dictate your working relationship. If you treat your editor lousy, missing deadlines, and being rude all the time will only make your relationship end very quickly. Likewise, treating your editor with respect and professionalism will earn you a trusted position in his list of authors to call when he needs an assignment completed.

Treating people with respect might seem like common sense. But many writers feel their editor is nothing more than a servant; someone who should be at their beckon call 24/7. If you treat an editor like that you will not be working with them for very long. What are some of the things you should keep in mind while dealing with your editor?

1. Always treat your editor with respect. Be professional at all times, even when you are having a disagreement with him.

2. Keep your promises to your editor, and do not agree to take on an assignment with a deadline you know you cannot keep. Your editor will respect you more for saying you cannot handle it than if you take the job and fail to deliver.

3. Do not make the editor guess at what you want. Ask for the terms you want and stand up for the things you think you should have. But remember to do so in a respectful way.

4. Editors are people just like everyone else. They have problems and schedule issues and even have bad days. Be flexible when you can and cut them a bit of slack when they are having troubles. But if you are feeling you are not being treated fairly, then speak up.

5. When an editor sends you a galley or proof, read it immediately and make any corrections you find. Return it to the editor promptly, so he is not waiting on you when the deadline arrives.

6. Work with your editor, not against him, when it comes to any edits and rewrites. Listen to his suggestions with an open mind, and consider each one carefully before rejecting the changes. Editors make suggestions based on readership expectations and their own experience. Tap into that experience.

7. Do everything you can to meet or beat your deadlines. If a problem arises that might make you miss your deadline, be sure to tell your editor immediately. Do not wait until it your deadline to let them know you will not be done.

8. Show your appreciation to your editor for the extras he does to help you. He is a partner in your writing career; thank him for going that extra mile when he does. And return the favor by being sure to send him your best work.

Working with an editor should be a professional relationship filled with trust and respect. To reach that level you will need to give your editor what you expect to receive from him, now and in the future. Do this and your relationship will be a match made in writing heaven.

Dawn Arkin is an author on Writing.Com/ Writing.Com/
which is a site for Writing.Com/ Poetry Contests. Her portfolio can be found at Writing.Com/authors/darkin Writing.Com/authors/darkin so stop by and read for a while.

Web site content writing is the art of delicate balancing of targeted web content that helps in overall enhancement of web business. After you’ve started web site, it’s time for developing it. Proper content development aims to establish firm relation between targeted web content and commensurate increase in web business.

In immediate context, web site content writing has direct relevance with the central theme of web site. It defines the space between the extremities of a loosely-focused content and one that is too tightly focused. Since the ultimate test of viability of web business rests on 2 main pillars, namely attracting traffic and conversion to sale, it is therefore essential that proper content writing adequately addresses at least one of the two, but preferably both depending on type of web business.

To better understand the concept of relevance in content writing, let us take the example of 3 travel-related sites. Say one web site is that of a travel agency whose business is to sell tour packages to interested travelers. The travel agency’s web site will pictorially describe all places where it arranges tour packages. It will also narrate the important landmarks to visit in each destination, dealing briefly on historical events associated with each. While at it, the travel agency’s web site will have to focus on facilities and attractiveness of its tour packages, stressing on benefits in terms of cost and service vis-à-vis other agencies. The main goal of the web site will be to convert its online viewers to willing customers, because that is how the travel agency will earn money to run its web business. In this case, content writing is more tilted toward conversion to sale while attempting to attract traffic.

In the second instance, suppose a web site is operated by a travel infopreneur. He deals on same geographical area as that of travel agency’s. But while travel agency sells tour packages, the infopreneur simply provides lot of information about the place. What will be content writing tactics for him? The infopreneur’s web site will need to have plenty of relevant content which will mostly be pure information to help viewers gain first-hand knowledge about the place. His web site will therefore not only mention all information about tourist destinations, but will also include such details like the people who inhabit the place, their culture, the local art and crafts and so on. The infopreneur earns money from targeted ads (like Googgle AdSense) which he has placed in his web site. He also earns commission by referring his visitors to the travel agency above and other concerned entities. While the infopreneur will surely nudge viewers to buy tour packages from the travel agency, there will be marked absence of emphasis on conversion to sale as is the case with travel agency above.

Evidently, content writing differs according to central theme of web site as well as nature of web business. In addition to above 2 scenarios, a third possibility could be one where local crafts are being sold on web site. It is a merchant website, and so after the web site has concisely described the place, the people who live and their lives, it will need to branch out to showcase the crafts on sale which is its main activity. The craft web site will have to maintain focus on converting visits to sales, because that is how it will run its web business. As can be seen, in each of these three cases, the central theme changes though the broad subject remains almost same. Needless to say, content writing for each web site will alter in keeping with central theme of each.

Relevant Content Writing Is More Of Content Management

Let us examine the point. As we know, traffic generates from targeted contents which depend on chosen set of relevant keyword phrases. What happens is that based on keyword phrases, you write web contents that directly relate to the central theme of your web site. This is easier to say than follow in actual practice. Often web site content writing becomes either too narrow or too broad in relation to central theme.

This is where content writing takes the hue of managing content. This means that every content to be added needs careful analysis as to whether it will seamlessly mix with other contents that are already in place, whether or not the fresh content is a replication, whether it translates to affirmative action favoring web business and how it relates to the central theme of the web site. More often than not, content writing is a balancing act between narrow and broad foci and therefore needs elemental judgment. To err in judging is common and expected. In that case, it will be necessary to unearth the mismatch and remove it/them at the earliest.

Convergence Of Ideas

Before taking up content writing, it is essential to decide on the main direction the web site is to take. Since content development is an ever-growing necessity, it helps over the long term if sufficient attention is given in the beginning itself. A well-structured web site will have clear hierarchy which will define as to how the contents will grow in future. I have come across instances where web site owners ask a couple of hundred contents to be written in 3 months or so. According to me, this amounts to committing yourself too much in advance.

Maintaining targeted content is an art and follows the logic of convergence of ideas. Even a small mismatch in ideas may translate into either overlapping of contents or wide divergence in them. In large organizations, where content writing is divided among clusters of writers, there is real chance of content management going haywire. To prevent such events from taking place, there must be frequent and close coordination among cluster heads and among cluster members. In small organizations on the other hand, rare are instances where content writing falters. Even if that happens, remedial measures are taken fast, and so downtime is minimum. On the flip side, small organizations cannot cater to heavy work-load which only big organizations can.

Summing Up

Since any successful web business is content-dependent, there has to be consensual approach and long-term planning in content management which will be in tune with the central theme of its website. A loss of focus may create havoc in the long term, if not detected and corrected early. There ought to be ‘good content, relevant content and more of good relevant content′. Finally the watchword: slow and steady wins the race.

Partha Bhattacharya is an experienced

Many people have problems writing articles because they have trouble getting their thoughts organized. Ultimately, they end up going from one random idea to another with no real direction, thus resulting in the article coming off as a jumble of ideas and not at all coherent. In this article, we′re going to discuss the easiest way to get through the writing of an article on any topic; the use of bullet points. We′ll explain what a bullet point is, how to use it and finish with examples. Hopefully, after reading this article, you’ll know how to use bullet points to effectively write all of your articles.

A bullet point is a specific idea to be discussed. For example, in writing an article about identifying home business scams, the bullet points may be as follows:

1. What a scam is.
2. How to identify a scam.
3. What to do if you suspect you’ve been scammed.

These are three bullet points that you could use to write your article on identifying home business scams. Each bullet point would be a specific paragraph or section of your article. A well written article only needs to have about three or four paragraphs in addition to your introduction. So three or four bullet points should be more than sufficient to get your point across.

So, how do you go about using bullet points? Well, bullet points should be used in your introduction, just as I did in this article. If you go back to my introductory paragraph, you should be able to easily spot the bullet points. If not, here they are below.

1. What a bullet point is.
2. How to use it.
3. Finish with examples.

By doing this,. I have a clear path for my article to follow so that it flows smoothly.

Finally, we reach the third bullet point in this article, the examples. Okay, here is an example of an introductory paragraph on buying designer shoes. Mind you, I really don’t know anything about designer shoes. I′m using this point to illustrate that even for a topic you know nothing about, you can still organize your thoughts in a way that makes researching the topic very easy.

Here is our paragraph.

Many people are into designer shoes because they want to have the latest in fashion. However, for those of you who aren’t quite sure how to go about getting designer shoes, this article should give you a head start. We’ll discuss what designer shoes are, where to find them, how to know if you’re paying too much and finally what some of the top designer shoes are.

Okay, what are our bullet points?

1. What designer shoes are.
2. Where to find them.
3. How to know if you’re paying too much.
4. What the top designer shoes are.

There you have it. Those are enough bullet points to fill up four paragraphs of an article.

By using bullet points in your articles, it makes the art of article writing a whole lot easier.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to write killer articles? Want your bios to sizzle? Want to get people flocking to your site like bees to honey? Check out a book that I personally wrote called “The Complete Article Writing And Marketing Guide” which you can find at honestincomeprogram.com/tcawamg.html honestincomeprogram.com/tcawamg.html along with a boat load of testimonials.

Whenever you sit down to plot a story (or even to think about a story) one of the first things you have to ask yourself is this: “Whose story IS it?”

It seems like a simple question - but your story can succeed or fail depending on how you handle this. Told from the wrong point of view, a story can founder before the first chapter has come to an end.

SOME COMMON PROBLEMS

1. IN CHILDREN’S STORIES: The author can’t help but identify with the adult point of view. The story is told from a fond or patronising standpoint - all too obviously that of a mother or teacher. The young reader picks this up instantly. Why? Because we all ‘become’ the viewpoint character in a story. Children don’t feel comfortable looking out through adult eyes - especially if there’s a too-obvious moral ‘message’ being delivered!

2. A SECONDARY CHARACTER TAKES OVER: if your main character seems dull and lifeless, perhaps you are telling the story from the wrong person’s viewpoint. Do you find yourself eagerly sitting down to write scenes shown through the eyes of a vibrant or cheeky ’supporting cast’ member, but rushing through the scenes that star the lead character? Uh oh. Dangerous… it’s time for a rethink. Quite often this is a good sign that it is really someone else’s story.

3. THE STORY PLODS ALONG: All your writing seems like hard work. The plot seems fine - when you analyse it, it follows the ‘recipe’ that should work: the main character has a problem or goal that is important to him; he faces a series of obstacles while trying to reach his goal he experiences a time when all seems lost - then he triumphs and/or realises that something else is more important to him, and all is resolved. So what’s wrong?

“What’s wrong” is usually that although the main character has a goal that’s important to him, it hasn′t convinced you, the author! YOU don′t care. Therefore it’s going to be hard to persuade your readers to care.

Look at the other people in the story. What goals/problems do they have? What is important to them? Could you get a lot more involved if you were telling someone else’s story?

SOME FINAL TIPS:

Decide whose story it is. If it isn′t working from one character’s viewpoint, write the same scene of action from several viewpoints. Do this several times until you find the one that feels right.

If you have more than one viewpoint in the story, make sure that we know at the beginning of each scene whose eyes we are looking through. Make sure you don′t run off at a tangent, getting too involved in a secondary character’s story. All scenes and all subplots should be interwoven with the MAIN character’s story, and move it forward.

In each scene, the viewpoint character should be the one with the most at stake for that scene. The main viewpoint character for the story should be the one with the most at stake for the story.

Every viewpoint character must be actively involved in the plot all the way through. Don’t waste a scene by allowing someone who appears only once or twice to be the viewpoint character.

The right viewpoint for your story is essential to first grab your reader, then to carry her along. Take the time to get it right.

Marg McAlister has published magazine articles, short stories, books for children, ezines, promotional material, sales letters and web content. She has written 5 distance education courses on writing, and her online help for writers is popular all over the world. Sign up for her regular writers’ tipsheet at writing4success.com writing4success.com/

Avoid the pain

Which would you prefer - root canal dental surgery without
an anaesthetic or a bit of public speaking? According to the
people who research these things, most of us would prefer
the former.

Public speaking is still one of our greatest fears and it
turns grown men and women into nervous wrecks. The mere
thought of it turns our tongue to cotton wool, causes our
internal plumbing to act up and our kneecaps to start
knocking lumps out of each other.

The problem is that Public Speaking catches up with many of
us at some time both in our business and personal life.
You′re asked to do a short talk at Fred’s “leaving do”. The
organisers of your business club want fifteen minutes on why
you make “kafuffle” valves. A potential client wants a
presentation on why they should give you the contract.
Of course there’s always the confident people who think “I′m
real good at this, lead me to the podium.” The only thing
is
that some of these people could bore your socks off and do
more for insomniacs than the strongest sleeping pills.
Maybe you′ll be lucky enough to be sent on a Public Speaking
course by your enlightened employer. But more likely, when
asked to make a presentation you′ll get hold of a book on
speaking, start writing the speech and lose sleep until the
event.

Well, there’s no need for all of this because help is at
hand. All you need to remember are your P’s and Q’s. Let’s
start with the P’s

Preparation -

When you sit down to write what you’re going to say, bear in
mind who you’ll be speaking to. Will they understand what
you’re talking about; will they understand the technical
stuff and the jargon? If in doubt remember the old saying
“Keep It Simple Stupid″. To quote Aristotle - “Think as the
wise men do, but speak as the common man″.

Make sure that what you say has a beginning, a middle and an
end. Think of some anecdotes that help reinforce your
story.

People think visually so paint verbal pictures for your
audience. And always remember, people want to know what’s in
it for them - so make sure you tell them!

Place -

Have a look at the venue before the event if you can. It’s
not always possible, however, even if you get there half an
hour before, you can check out where you’ll be speaking.
Stand at the point where you will deliver from, imagine
where the audience will be and check that they can see and
hear you. You may even wish to place a glass of water where
you’ll be able to find it.

Personal Preparation -

Before any speaking event, think about what you are going to
wear; when in doubt dress up rather than down. You can
always take things off for a more casual look. Men could
remove their jacket and their tie. Women could remove items
of jewellery.

Part of your personal preparation should include some mouth
and breathing exercises. Practise saying some tongue
twisters to give your speaking muscles a good work out. Take
a deep breath and expand your diaphragm. Then breathe out,
counting at the same time, try and get up to fifty and not
pass out.

As part of your personal preparation, write your own
introduction. Write out exactly what you want someone to say
about you, large font, double-spaced and ask the person
introducing you to read it. Believe me they won’t object and
will probably be pleased and impressed.

Poise and Posture -

Whenever you’re called to speak, stand up or walk to the
front quickly and purposefully. Pull yourself up to your
full height, stand tall and look like you own the place.
Before you start to speak, pause, look round your audience
and smile. You may even have to wait until the applause dies
down. Remember, you want the audience to like you, so look
likeable. Practise this in front of a mirror or your family
I’ve heard that children make pretty good critics.

Pretend -

I’m suggesting you pretend you′re not nervous because no
doubt you will be. Nervousness is vital for speaking in
public, it boosts your adrenaline, which makes your mind
sharper and gives you energy. It also has the slight side
effect of making you lighter through loss of body waste
materials. The trick is to keep your nerves to yourself. On
no account tell your audience your nervous, you′ll only
scare the living daylights out of them if they think you′re
going to faint. Some of the tricks for dealing with nerves
are:

Get lots of oxygen into your system, run on the spot and
wave your arms about like a lunatic. It burns off the stress
chemicals. Speak to members of your audience as they come
in
or at some time before you stand up. That tricks your brain
into thinking you’re talking to some friends. Have a glass
of water handy for that dry mouth. Stick cotton wool on your
kneecaps so people won’t hear them knocking.
One word of warning - do not drink alcohol. It might give
you Dutch courage but your audience will end up thinking
you’re speaking Dutch.

The Presentation -

This is it, the big moment when you tell your audience what
a clever person you are and have them leap to their feet in
thunderous applause. Okay, let’s step back a bit - if you
want their applause then you’re going to have to work for
it. Right from the start your delivery needs to grab their
attention.

Don’t start by saying - “Good morning, my name is Fred
Bloggs and I’m from Bloggs and Company.” Even if your name
is Bloggs, it’s a dead boring way to start a presentation.
Far better to start with some interesting facts or an
anecdote that is relevant to your presentation.
Look at the audience as individuals; I appreciate that this
can be difficult when some of them are downright ugly.
However it grabs their attention if they think you′re
talking to them individually.

Talk louder than you would normally do, it keeps the people
in the front row awake and makes sure those at the back get
the message. Funnily enough, it’s also good for your
nerves.

PowerPoint -

And for those of you who haven’t heard of it, it’s a
software programme that’s used to design stunning graphics
and text for projection onto a screen. As a professional
speaker, I’m not that struck on PowerPoint. I feel that too
many speakers rely on it and it takes over the presentation.
After all, you’re the important factor here. If an audience
is going to accept what you say then they need to see the
whites of your eyes. There needs to be a big focus on you,
not on the technology.

Use PowerPoint if you want but keep it to a minimum and make
sure you’re not just the person pushing the buttons.
Why not get a bit clever at using the faithful old Flip
Chart, lots of professionals do.

Passion -

This is what stops the audience in their tracks. This is
what makes them want to employ you; to accept what you’re
proposing and make them want you to marry their son or
daughter. Couple this with some energy, enthusiasm and
emotion and you have the makings of a great public speaker.
Just think of our old friend Adolph Hitler, boy could he
move an audience to action. It’s just too bad he was selling
something that wasn’t to everyone’s liking.
Give your presentation a bit of oomph and don’t start
telling me - “I’m not that kind of person.”
There’s no need to go over the top but you’re doing a
presentation to move people to action, not having a cosy
little chat in your front room.

That’s the P’s finished with so let’s look at the Q’s.

Questions -

Decide when you’re going to take them and tell people at the
start. In a short speech it’s best to take questions at the
end. If you take them as you go then you may get waylaid
and
your timing will get knocked out.

Never - never - never finish with questions; far better to
ask for questions five or ten minutes before the end. Deal
with the questions and then summarise for a strong finish.
Too many presentations finish on questions and the whole
thing goes a bit flat.

When you’re asked a question, repeat it to the whole
audience and thank the questioner. It keeps everyone
involved, it gives you time to think and it makes you look
so clever and in control.

Quit -

Quit when you’re ahead. Stick to the agreed time if you’re
asked to speak for twenty minutes, speak for nineteen and
the audience will love you for it. Remember, quality is not
quantity.

One of the most famous speeches ever - “The Gettysburg
Address”, by President Lincoln, was just over two minutes
long.

Right, that’s my cue to quit when I’m ahead. Public Speaking
will never be easy for most of us but we can all do it a
whole lot better.

Alan Fairweather is the author of four ebooks in the “How
to get More Sales” series. Lots of practical actions you
can take to build your business and motivate your team.-
howtogetmoresales.com howtogetmoresales.com