2/17/2023
Editors: Rebecca Morgan & Ken Braly
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SNN Webcast Info
Intensive — Fine Tune Your Voice
to Sound Best in Your Presentations
As a presenter, you know your voice is critical to getting your message across. Speakers with weak or inauthentic voices are rarely successful. Audiences want confident presenters who telegraph their assuredness without going over the top.
Knowing something is an important tool is different from mastering its use. Just as with any fine instrument, you have to know how to care for it, use it for the best sound, and take care of it when something is wrong. When was the last time you thought about your voice? When did you last get some tips for making it even more effective?
These three recordings will give you new ideas on how to use and preserve your most important speaking instrument.
- “Raise Your Voice Value for Authenticity, Story, and Connection” (webcast) with Hilary Blair, MFA, CSP
- “Put Your Best Voice Forward: Secrets from a Voice-Over Artist to Up-Level Your Webcasts, Podcasts, Videos and Recorded Books” (webcast) with Grant Holmes
- “Use Professional Techniques to Make Your Audio Product a Sound Succe$$” with Toni Boyle
All SNN single-focused intensive packages are detailed here.
Miscellaneous Tips
Stop calling it a “handout” — Donald Cooper
I stopped calling my support doc a “handout” several years ago and now call it an “Implementation Guide.” I also now have a box up in the top right corner of the cover page for them to write their name. I think it helps them take ownership of the document. It now becomes theirs.
Copyright Fair Use — Rebecca Morgan
The concept of Fair Use is typically used by someone who has been accused of infringing on someone else’s copyrights. While Fair Use can be a great defense, it can also be uncertain. In this article, Bill Honaker, JD, talks about the complexity of Copyright Fair Use and what you need to know to use it.
Sharpen your sales conversation — Vickie Sullivan
If you sell bigger projects to large and medium-sized businesses, your conversations with buyers must be top-notch. Buyers have limited time, so your sales conversations must demonstrate you understand them, their market, and their needs.
The biggest pet peeves buyers have, according to a MarketingProfs article, is sellers’ lack of understanding of their prospects’ business and their inability to demonstrate return on investment (ROI) or value for what they are selling.
You probably think you do a good job with those things and have nothing to worry about, but chances are you don’t. The disconnect between your assumptions and buyers’ expectations show up in two ways:
- Asking questions that don’t need to be asked. Yep, buyers hate it when sellers ask those “what’s your biggest challenge” questions. You think you do research, but what you really need to uncover is insider information, which requires a blend of conversations and deep dives.
- Failing to make our value relevant. Too many times sellers get excited about features and don’t explain the benefits in a way the prospect cares about. You can’t use your standards to determine what’s important. When the buyer starts to think, “I don’t care about this,” you’re done. Sales opportunity over.
The MarketingProfs report explains what we already know: These buyers are sophisticated enough to spot silliness a mile away. You need to bring your A game if you want them to consider you. So, put in the additional work up front and be loaded for bear when sales conversations occur.
Topic of the Month (TOTM) — Your Input Wanted
Our TOTM is: “How are you using AI (artificial intelligence) to further your business goals?”
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.
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