Kristie T’s Home Business Blog Fun, mom-geared work-at-home tips and advice on making money on the net.

Tonight I am teaching a class at my local community college on “Business Blogging 101″. It will cover the basics on what blogging is, how blogging benefits your business, building an effective blog, and best blogging tools.

Here you can take a peak at the College of Lake County fall schedule of small business course offerings. There you will see my Business Blogging 101 course and other entrepreneurial courses. That might give you an idea of how teaching about your topic of expertise might fit into an entrepreneurial line up at your local college.

Teaching at your local community college does several things.

- One, it gives you a way to give back to your local community by sharing your expertise with people who normally wouldn’t have access to that high level information.

- Secondly, it let’s you add to your credentials that you lecture as a college professor and teach about what you do.

- Thirdly, although you cannot market yourself during a college class, you can let your students know that if they have questions after class, they can contact you. That can sometimes turn into business.

- And last but not least, it let’s you put together material that you can use as a product, speaking program, ebook, audio program, or public seminar for fee!

So if you are a guru at what you do, why not contact your local community college small business or entrepreneurial department and see if you can teach a course! Besides, it feels really cool when someone raises their hand with a question and you can help them! I love that feeling - and you will too!

Would you like to teach at your local college?

3

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site

It’s the same story, too many books, too little time to read them. If that’s the case, then you might want to check out Audible - they are a new audio book store. You can pick up some of the top business books and personal development titles there. You can listen to it on your Ipod , MP3 player , Itunes , or your favorite media player .

And if business books aren’t your fancy, they have a lot of other titles too from a wide variety of broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, podcasters, and business information providers.

So you might as well learn something while you are typing on that keyboard.

P.S. Authors : have you thought about turning your paperback book into an audio book? Those people with Ipods are hungry for content. And there’s a whole lot less competition. If you don’t have a great voice, you can get a voice talent to read it for you!

Check out Audible audio bookstore here.

Do you have any audio books?

5

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site

So how do you go from blah to brilliant as a speaker? Here is what advice author Carmine Gallo offers for speakers in his book, “10 Simple Secrets of the World’s Greatest Business Communicators”

Here are some tips on how to be a fabulous presenter when you are speaking to an audience.

• Cut out the Corporate Lingo
• Create an articulate and bold vision
• Seek feedback
• Review and rehearse your presentation
• Be responsive for your audience after the talk
• Tell stories
• Share what you are passionate about
• Break down complex information into easy parts
• Spend 90% of time looking at audience
• Employ powerful and positive words
• Stay fresh, remain current
• Dress for success
• Lavish with praise

(Leave a Comment)

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site

Are you making some of the worst presentation mistakes in speaking? You really don’t want to stink as a speaker. The last thing you want is for people to fall asleep or check their watch every 2 minutes wondering, “When will this end?”

Here’s a synapsis of a great article from From Business Week on the Ten Worst Presentation Habits by By Carmine Gallo.

• Reading from notes
• Avoiding eye contact
• Dressing down
• Fidgeting, jiggling, and swaying
• Failure to rehearse
• Standing at attention - too stiff
• Reciting bullet points word for word
• Speaking too long
• Failing to Excite
• Ending with a fizzle - no big key thought

Have you are committed one of these “carnal sins” of speaking? Or have you ever endured a bad speaker? Share your “worst speaker” stories here.

(Leave a Comment)

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site

Here are some voice saving tips for professional speakers. This was submitted by Mary Sandro.

To prepare for a month of 20 full-day training sessions, I learned as much as I could about vocal health before the month began. I’ve detailed below the practices and resources that got me through in one vocal piece. I even received more compliments on my voice than I usually do on evaluations.

* Vocal warm-ups, cool-downs, and lessons. I never would have believed how valuable vocal warm-ups and cool-downs could be. Absolutely invaluable. I found a school in Boston, MA (http://www.jeanniedeva.com/) and they sell the warm-ups on a CD for $14.95. Very explanatory and helpful. I travel with the CD now.

* Throat Coat Tea. Find this at GNC stores. I drank four cups per day, one during each quarter of training. Absolutely a life saver.

* Slippery Elm Lozenges (http://drymouthprevention.com). I used the basic lozenges, no flavoring. Very soothing. I would have one of these during each break of my program as well as after a program or right before it. Amazing.

* Entertainer’s Secret (http://entertainerssecret.com). This is a spray.
I used this at night before going to sleep and found it to be very helpful. I didn’t find it to be as useful during programs because it is inhaled, which I found a bit awkward and messy. Yet as part of the regimen, it definitely played a part.

* Respiratory, Trigger Point Massage. The voice coach recommended massage. I couldn’t agree more. I spent a lot of time in New York City and found the best massage therapist, Howard Mermelstein (646/285-4952).
He is excellent and very specialized in helping expand breathing capability, etc. If you’re ever in New York, definitely look him up. He is currently relocating his message therapy practice.

* Steam Treatments. The voice coach also recommended steam treatments right before bed. Again, extremely helpful. You can buy a personal steam machine at Sharper Image that travels for about $75.

* Humidifier. The voice coach also recommended a humidifier. Again, Sharper Image has a personal one that I was able to get in my suitcase and travel with. I think every bit helped. About $80

1

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site

If you are a professional speaker, these are powerful questions to help you customize your program for the group you are working with!

Who is responsible for calling this meeting?

What kind of meeting is it? (annual meeting, awards banquet,
etc.?)

What industry jargon should I know?

Who is your typical customer (eg: C.F.O., V.P. of HR,
Purchasing Agent)?

(more…)

(Leave a Comment)

Subscribe to RSS feed
Add to your favorite bookmark site