10/10/2025
Editors: Rebecca Morgan & Ken Braly
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From the Editors
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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
Virtual presentation opportunities continue to grow — Steve Markman
The pandemic gave rise to a preponderance of virtual events, from webinars to full-blown conferences. The good news for speakers is that a great number of organizations, including hundreds of associations across the world, have continued to hold their events remotely. This provides speakers with an enormous opportunity that you should take advantage of for several reasons.
- There are now more events being held overall than before the pandemic due to the growing number of remote events. More events translate into needing more speakers over the course of a year.
- Many of these remote events are held by local and regional chapters of national associations, who are open to using speakers from outside their own area. That allows speakers to propose themselves without the need to request travel expense coverage, a win-win for the speaker and the organizer.
- We should recognize the value of eliminating the time and hassle of travelling to another city while still retaining the ability to get our messages out to the right audiences.
So, while there is certainly value in speaking at an in-person event, let’s not underestimate the opportunities and advantages that remote events present to us.
Rule of 3 — Rita Makana Risser Chai
I heard an attorney say whenever he has a complicated issue, he has a Rule of 3: get advice from three people. He uses this for writing, and has adapted it to his use of AI — he asks three different AI platforms for answers to complex questions. This inspired me to send a draft article to one more person, and to use Perplexity for the first time to answer a question ChatGPT wasn’t answering correctly.
Add valuable bonus to your book — David Newman
Here’s a tip for authors working on their next book — or a cool way to breathe life into a recent book they’ve published. Rather than the good old "companion workbook" or related downloads, offer an “AI Prompt Powerpack” to help your readers use ChatGPT to apply the ideas, practices, and principles in your book.
How do you create such an “AI Prompt Powerpack”? Naturally, you use ChatGPT! Add your book as a file, and here’s the prompt you can use as-is (or adapt if you’re a more sophisticated prompt engineer):
Give me a detailed “AI Prompt PowerPack” that will be a companion download for the [TITLE] book.attached. Make these prompts fairly sophisticated and require minimal input from the user. In other words, don’t require the prompts to have too many variables that the user must supply. Make them powerful, revealing, helpful and immediately actionable. Give me at least 10 prompts in the prompt pack."
Voila — your book now has a uniquely helpful bonus download that will get your readers engaged with your IP in a whole new way.
Economist’s advice relevant to our audiences — Rebecca Morgan
In the article, “An Economist Describes the Skills That Can Give You ‘Armor’ Against AI Changing Your Job,” was some advice by economist and futurist Linda Nazareth that all presenters who speak on soft skills should note.
When asked by Canadian news show Global News which abilities might be “AI-proof,” Nazareth said, “Resilience, creativity, empathy, motivation and self-awareness, curiosity, service orientation, and teaching and mentoring.”
Give your audiences skills in these areas so they can have longer-term success. Quote her for more gravitas.
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As Steve Markman said, virtual presentation opportunities are expanding. Do yours stand out from the 99% mediocre ones? Join the 10/13 Virtual Master Presenter Course session to ensure you’re prepared for tech hiccups. Led by Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC, CVP, VMP. Details. |
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 , we’re suggesting the recordings of several earlier programs to complement this program:
- “Stellar Speaking Made Simple” with Joel Weldon, 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
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