5 great ways to end a speech. The moment of truth has arrived. You had them at the open. The audience was clearly focused, nodding as you delivered your message. Eyes locked as you wove through a carefully crafted medley of stories, anecdotes and analogies, all supporting your message. The majority of your audience agrees with what your remarks. The time has come to conclude, at which point you exclaim: “In conclusion, I appreciate your time. Thank you!” And then nothing happens.
Everyone quietly claps, or just nods, and leaves the auditorium or conference room. What can you do to prevent such a muted response? 1. ”In order to guarantee that we save ______ tomorrow, we need to _____ today. 2. “So, coach entered the locker room after a pretty tough game in which a number of us had standout performances, and the result was … a big loss. 3. “What choice will you make when you leave here today?
4. “We can have____, or we can have ______. 5. Matt Eventoff of Princeton Public Speaking tweets at @Matt_Eventoff. 50 Ways to Show Gratitude for the People in Your Life. “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” –William Arthur Ward The holiday season generally brings us closer to people. Sometimes that closeness reminds us how much we love each other. Sometimes it reminds us that we drive each other crazy, as family often does. At the heart of it, Thanksgiving in particular calls us to see people with the deepest appreciation for the gifts they’ve given us. Others push us, stretch us, test us, and make us wonder if there’s anything to be grateful for at all.
There’s no denying certain relationships are more challenging than others, but through each we have an opportunity to grow and help others do the same. From the people who love you, to the people who challenge you, to the people who support you at work, here’s how to show your gratitude: Show Gratitude to People Who Love You 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Show Gratitude to People Who Challenge You 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. How I Went From Writing 2,000 Words a Day to 10,000 Words a Day. When I started writing The Spirit War (Eli novel #4), I had a bit of a problem. I had a brand new baby and my life (like every new mother's life) was constantly on the verge of shambles. I paid for a sitter four times a week so I could get some writing time, and I guarded these hours like a mama bear guards her cubs - with ferocity and hiker-mauling violence.
To keep my schedule and make my deadlines, I needed to write 4000 words during each of these carefully arranged sessions. I thought this would be simple. But (of course), things didn't work out like that. Needless to say, I felt like a failure. When I told people at ConCarolinas that I'd gone from writing 2k to 10k per day, I got a huge response. So, once and for all, here's the story of how I went from writing 500 words an hour to over 1500, and (hopefully) how you can too: A quick note: There are many fine, successful writers out there who equate writing quickly with being a hack. Update! As soon as I realized this, I stopped. 10 Things That Good Bosses Do.
7 Ways To Craft Your Facebook Posts For Maximum Shares. Facebook recently changed the way users interact with content on fan pages: any user, including non-fans, can now post on fan page walls and like/comment/share fan page content. In other words, a Facebook user does not have to first like your fan page before they can interact with your content. This is a good thing! Since this change, the emphasis has shifted slightly from gaining more likes (fans) to increasing the number of shares on each piece of content. When you craft your fan page updates in a manner that naturally inspires fans and their friends and visitors to your page to share with their networks, you set in motion ripples of viral visibility.
Over the past several weeks, I’ve been observing which posts from fan pages and from personal profiles (with Subscribe enabled) garner the largest amount of shares. 1. Your photo should make people laugh, cry, or go “awww!” Example Facebook post with over 14,000 shares Other photo examples with large numbers of shares include: 2. 3. 4. 5. How to Think Creatively - Tony Schwartz. By Tony Schwartz | 8:00 AM November 14, 2011 I grew up hungry to do something creative, to set myself apart. I also believed creativity was magical and genetically encoded. As early as the age of 8, I began sampling the arts, one after another, to see if I’d inherited some gift. Eventually, I became a journalist. For many years, I told other people’s stories. I was successful, but I rarely felt truly creative. The first hint I might have sold myself short came in the mid-1990s.
When Edwards peered down at the self-portrait I had drawn on the first day, she smiled. From an early age, we’re taught in school to develop the logical, language-based, rational capacities of the left hemisphere of our brain, which is goal-oriented and impatient to reach conclusions. The left hemisphere gives names to objects in order to reduce and simplify them. The right hemisphere, by contrast, is visual rather than verbal. But what did that have to do with creativity? 1. 2. 3. 4. 10 Tips for Better Startup Marketing. Scott Gerber is a serial entrepreneur, internationally syndicated columnist and TV host, and the founder of the Young Entrepreneur Council. He is also an active angel investor and author of the book Never Get a "Real" Job.
Many aspiring entrepreneurs foolishly believe that all they need to do is sign up for a Twitter account, blog about special offers, and hand out a flashy looking brochure, whereupon leads will come pouring in. This couldn’t be further from the truth. These are unfortunate social media fantasies and free marketing delusions. The mere existence of a market for your product or service does not guarantee anyone will listen to or care about your brand. People are bombarded with thousands of messages every day, which makes it difficult for business owners to garner attention and convert that attention into income.
I asked a panel of successful young entrepreneurs about the types of promotions they have used to build their companies' buzz and sales. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. How to self publish to the Amazon Kindle Store using only free software. 5 More Handy Web Apps to Save You Time at Work. This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. Web apps are a friend to all who mash the keyboard from nine to five. They live in the cloud, are accessible from any Internet connection and are great for chopping those mundane work tasks off at the knees. We've previously highlighted a batch of web apps that reduce the headaches and keystrokes associated with common tech chores, and after receiving some great feedback from readers, we thought it only right to hunt down a few more worthy bookmarkables.
See below for five more picks, and remember to leave your own time-saving web ditties in the comments. If you aren't fist pumping at your desk right now over these life-changing websites, there's probably little hope for you. Did we miss one that you can't get through the day without? Share and share alike in the comments below. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, kemie. The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Marketing. The Innovation Secret: How to Repeatedly Innovate. 6 Excellent Small Business Websites To Learn From. This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. Small businesses are putting an increased focus on improving their websites this year, according to a recent report. With the slew of web design mistakes that small businesses are notorious for making, there is vast room for improvement. For small businesses looking to clean up their websites, here are six quick tips for improvement: Provide a succinct product description and purchasing instructions.Choose a web design that enhances content, rather than distracts from it.If you're asking users to interact with content, opt for a simple call-to-action prompt.Make sure the site is easy to navigate.Drive conversation by choosing engaging topics and asking interesting questions via a corporate blog.Put your service at the forefront.
Don't make users dig for it. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, kemalbas. 12 things every business blogger should know how to do. Trying to navigate the blogosphere and find your own voice? It’s easy to have an identity crisis as you work to create the persona of your dreams. I find that blogging isn’t that difficult until educated, professional, bright grownups begin to overanalyze things. Most know the basics; hell, we got through high school, college, and years of work. Suddenly we can’t put together some rudimentary thoughts on a topic we (probably) have been involved with for years. Be brave. Consider these 12 things—and related links—that every blogger should know how to do: 1.
. • 6 reasons to “Go Your Own Way” • The No. 1 reason to break the rules of blogging 2. . • How to create your own super niche • 5 ways to find your blogging niche • What is your blog niche? 3. . • 8 things you must know about your audience • Social media worksheet to target your audience • How to find your target market 4. . • How to easily write brilliant blog posts • How to write a good business blog 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. The First Two Steps Toward Breaking Down Silos in Your Organization - Vijay Govindarajan. By Vijay Govindarajan | 11:35 AM August 9, 2011 Editor’s Note: This post was written with Mark Sebell and Jay Terwilliger, managing partners of Boston-based Creative Realities, Inc.
When we ask executives, What is the number one innovation killer at your company? , one of the first words we always hear, always, is “silos!” Recently, one executive even muttered, “fortresses.” Business silos, just like agricultural silos hold something important and make it hard to get at. That’s good when you’re protecting wheat and corn from rain & snow. Innovation is the Trojan Horse that can be sent in to break down silos. Remember this! But it doesn’t work unless leadership leads, and helps everyone understand why change and innovation must happen and why they need to work together in new and different ways toward a common goal. Creating a Compelling Case for Innovation Creating a Fully Aligned Strategic Innovation Agenda Let’s start with creating the compelling case for innovation. How Brands Should Think About Facebook: a Loyalty Program | Digital.
What To Look For In A Company Board. At any company level, the board of directors has a direct impact on the organization’s product strategy, hiring, fundraising and much more. And startups have to be very selective in choosing board members who will advise the company in the right direction. In the big company realm, both the media and the company’s shareholders have questioned Yahoo’s board, which continues to employ a floundering Carol Bartz as CEO and supports a bizarre product and business strategy. Then you look at Facebook, where founder Mark Zuckerberg has strategically assembled an all-star board to help the company grow as a public company and expand into new directions. Most recently, Facebook added Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings to its board, joining Marc Andreessen, Jim Breyer, Donald E.
Graham, Peter Thiel and Zuck himself. Hastings not only will add his experience in taking a web company public, but he will also help Facebook navigate potential movie and TV show streaming opportunities. For Social Media. PLEASE READ ALL THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY. BY CLICKING "Start Now", AND/OR BY USING THIS TOOL, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THEM. IT IS IMPORTANT TO READ THIS ENTIRE AGREEMENT. IN PARTICULAR, IT CONTAINS PROVISIONS THAT MAY LIMIT YOUR RIGHTS, SUCH AS SECTIONS 5, 6, 7 AND 8. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. rTraction disclaims all warranties or conditions, express or implied, in respect of the use of this service, including any implied warranties or conditions of fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability and noninfringement. 9. 10. 11. rTraction may be contacted at: