9/26/2025
Editors: Rebecca Morgan & Ken Braly
See “About SpeakerNet News” at the end for information on how to submit tips and use this newsletter. Remember, your “dues” for this free ezine are submitting two tips a quarter. Send your best tips to editor@SpeakerNetNews.com.
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From the Editors
You’ve been meaning to send in your SNN “dues,” right? You know, 2 tips per quarter. We know you’ve been learning stuff that would make fellow SNN readers’ lives easier and more productive, so please share!
We want this to be easy for you. As you go about your business, notice what good ideas you implement. Share the idea in your own words, and provide a link to more info, if relevant.
- Have you worked with a fabulous resource you’d recommend? Post their name, company name, URL, phone number and/or email. Say why you think they are great.
- Did you visit a very useful website, article or video that would be of interest to other speakers, trainers, authors or consultants? Share why you found it useful, perhaps summarizing a key point or two, and a link.
- What have you tried and it worked? Or maybe it didn’t and you want to warn others not to bother?
- What do you think others might not know or use in the area of travel, technology, marketing, business management, finances, or speech performance? Don’t let "everyone knows this" stop you from submitting the tip — it’s the editors’ job to determine this, and we have readers from all phases of their business.
- We typically look for tips up to 300 words long that don’t promote the tipster. We post your name and email so people can thank you — which some do! (We can’t post your URL or self-promotional tips.)
- Rephrase anything you copy from others, or it’s copyright infringement. Get permission from the originator if you’re going to copy and paste, give them credit and add “with permission” to the quote.
SNN Webcast Info
Thursday, October 23
Your Introduction is Not Your Bio:
How to Connect with Your Audience
Before You Even Take the Stage (webcast)
with Joel Weldon, CSP, CPAE
Have you ever had someone give you a bad introduction? Of course; we all have.
What would a great introduction do? It would grab the audience and build so much anticipation that they can’t wait to hear what you have to say.
Our next program features a speaking legend who will share the techniques he’s developed over his Hall of Fame career to get every presentation off to a powerful start before he’s even said a word.
Read more about this session at the bottom of this newsletter, then register for the live program or pre-order the recording.
Note: Everyone who registers for the live webcast session or orders the recording will get a link to the recorded video of the online webcast, as well as the audio MP3 for convenient re-listening.
Miscellaneous Tips
Warning about receiving one-time-use credit cards as payment — Chuck Reaves
Beware of one-time-use credit cards some companies are using to pay vendors. A billion-dollar client uses them: “Payment in 30 days with a one-time-use credit card or 60 days direct deposit.” If you’re willing to wait an additional 30 days, you’ll receive your full payment. Otherwise, your credit card processor will take a percentage (and possibly pass some of it back to the client).
What #1 New York Times bestseller actually means — Rebecca Morgan
In this video, John XX, author of “Everything is Tuberculosis,” explains how books get on the NYT bestseller list and what it really means.
Technology Tips
AI and professional speakers — Mitch Krayton
With the topic of AI getting all the headlines, what is the role of a professional platform speaker today?
We have overcome many roadblocks. Economic setbacks, pandemics, and political uncertainty. The world needs to hear those of us who have endured, crafter a compelling message and who can inspire us to grow, laugh and lead.
We speakers are people who have something to say (influence, persuade, inform and entertain) to others and they want to pay us for our gifts.
Our stories are personal and affect the heart, mind and soul. Our lessons are crafted from our many mistakes and successes which we gallantly tell so others can avoid our foibles and learn from our successes.
Therefore, let us all remember that while each generation of technology provides us with new tools andresources, no artificial technology can replace our “human intelligence.”
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Want to up-level your virtual interaction skills or your slide design? Want to ensure you’re prepared for tech hiccups? You can register for any one of the Virtual Master Presenter Course sessions that interest you. Led by Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC, CVP, VMP. Next session on dramatically increasing audience engagement: Sept. 29. Details. |
Requests for Info / Advice
I need help converting blog from TypePad — Elayne Savage
Please let me know if you have ideas on any of these questions:
- If you were using TypePad, what are you doing about a blog now? (TypePad sent instructions for for preserving content and by downloading the export file to import it.)
- Do you have recommendations for someone to help me migrate my blog from TypePad to another platform (probably WordPress)?
- I need to find a way to make my almost 20 years of blog archives available and easy to access on a new blog site. I read that any kind of sidebar will not automatically migrate to WordPress.
Topic of the Month (TOTM) — Your Input Wanted
Our TOTM is from Lorri Allen: If you’ve gone through a rebranding, do you have a checklist, timeline, or tips to share? What would you do differently next time? What did you learn?
Send your brief, pithy responses *that are different from those previously mentioned* to editor@SpeakerNetNews.com. Please put “Topic of the Month” or “TOTM” in the subject line.
SpeakerNet News Webcast Info
Thursday, October 23
Your Introduction is Not Your Bio:
How to Connect with Your Audience
Before You Even Take the Stage (webcast)
with Joel Weldon, CSP, CPAE
When you speak, how long do you feel it takes you to have your audience’s full attention and moving mentally with you? What if you had them before you even said your first word? That’s what this discussion is all about.
Most speakers focus on their content, their stage presence, and their closing remarks. But the most powerful part of your talk happens before you even open your mouth — the way you’re introduced. A speaker’s bio is not their introduction, and if you’re still having someone read a long list of accomplishments, you’re missing a golden opportunity to create instant engagement.
In this highly interactive session with Hall of Fame Speaker Joel Weldon, you’ll experience live before and after examples that show how a few simple tweaks can completely transform your introduction.
You will learn:
- How to craft an introduction that primes your audience, builds anticipation, and makes them excited to hear you speak.
- A step-by-step formula to hook your audience before you even take the stage
- How you can avoid bragging about yourself or even talking about yourself because that’s all been done for you.
- How to get your introducer to read the introduction you’ve crafted and set you up perfectly
Note: Everyone who registers for the live webcast session or orders the recording will get a link to the recorded video of the online webcast, as well as the audio MP3 for convenient re-listening.
Date: Thursday, October 23
Time: 7:00 pm Eastern, 6 pm Central, 5 pm Mountain, 4 pm Pacific
(Enter your location here to get your local time)
Length: 60 minutes
Cost: $49 (webcast)
Special Limited-Time Offer:
If you would like more wisdom from top speakers, we’re suggesting the recordings of several earlier programs to complement this program:
- “Stellar Speaking Made Simple” with Joel Weldon, CSP, CPAE
- “Create Clear, Concise and Creative Keynotes: Make Every Word Count” with Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE
With your order of this live or recorded session, at checkout you will be offered these recordings.
About SpeakerNet News and the Editors/Publishers
- Publishers — Rebecca L. Morgan, CSP, CMC, CVP, VMP, and Ken Braly
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