Name: Weedin 360

URL - http://Weedin360.com

Please make the changes in your bookmarks and subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss a post!

Dan

1. You need to be more engaging than the person texting (includes everything I mentioned).  People make priorities all the time, and their listening time is one of them. If you are more dynamic and interesting than what’s on their phone, they will listen to you.
2. No matter HOW good you are, the world of technology has made some people ADD.  No matter how good you are, they will continue to text as if it’s a sickness or addiction (maybe both).  Don’t let it disrupt your presentation. There are plenty in that audience that need what you’ve got, so give it to them.
3. If you’re bold (and why shouldn’t you be), you can use it as a humorous opportunity.  Never embarrass anyone, but come up with a line that you can use that will bring levity. You might be able to make it self-deprecating which will endear you to your audience.

Bottom line - You have to be more entertaining and engaging than the audience members cell phone.  The burden is on you!

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

All you have to do is start your presentation by clicking on the projector.  Hopefully, masks will drop from the ceiling and your audience can be revived!

If you MUST use PowerPoint, then open your presentation without the slides.  Don’t even turn on the projector until after you’ve opened with a story, anecdote, or powerful statement.  You have a much better chance of engaging your audience from the start and giving your presentation a chance for success.

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

One of the big surprises was seeing one of my other mentors, Patricia Fripp, at the event. She and Alan are partners in The Odd Couple ® Marketing & Strategy Seminar.  I also got a chance to re-connect with 2000 World Champion of Public Speaking, Ed Tate. The last time Ed and I were together is back in 2007 when I attended one of his Boot Camps.

The Biggest Mistakes Made with Slides:

• Reading the text to your audience. Don’t insult them; they know how to read.

• Not fully understanding your presentation because you thought you could skate through the slides.

• 
  

  Not checking to see if the equipment works before your presentation.

• 
  

  Not having a back up plan in case it fails.

• 
  

  Too much text, not enough images.

• 
  

  Just plain “too much” on any given slide.

• 
  

  Leaving slides visible during your story.

© 2010 Dan Weedin - All Rights Reserved

What’s your take on this?

Mine is two-fold…

1 - I hope we aren’t seeing the demise of the hard cover book. I’ve seen the Kindle and it’s pretty cool I must admit. However, there is still something special about having a hard cover book in your hands reading. I don’t think that will ever change for me.

2 - I hope this means more people are reading and that young people will keep reading after school. We as a society need to keep reading a variety of subjects in order to maintain and advance our knowledge and being considered “well-rounded.”

I encourage you to read often. My goal is one book a month minimum. Right now, I’m on two books.  One is religious in nature and the other is fiction. I have the next two picked out already - political science and self-development.

What are you reading?

Cheers,

© 2009 Dan Weedin - All Rights Reserved

1. You may have been mentioned in an interview and didn’t know it.
2. Someone may be using your intellectual property - with or without permission!
3. Someone may be saying something good or bad about you.
4. Someone may be giving you attribution.

In addition, if you’ve got a name that might be commonly misspelled, alert yourself to that.  I was given this tip by my web designer, Jenn Putnam. Jenn’s advice paid off last week.  I was interviewed recently by a freelance journalist on renters insurance for business.  I never heard back until I noticed it on Google Alerts.  He had inadvertently misspelled my last name - Weeden.  Because I used “Dan Weeden” as a keyword it picked it up and I learned I was quoted in an article that appeared in the American Express OPEN Forum for Business Owners.  Read the Article Here

Bottom line - make sure you know where you show up on the Internet.

Cheers,

You can also follow me on Twitter - Click here to follow me.

Cheers,

As an avid golfer for the past 31 years, a fan of your game and what you’ve done for the sport, and as a concerned human being, I’m sending you this open letter with unparalleled advice on how to get your “game” back on track. I know you pay the boys from New York big-time dough to help you, but I think they’ve done a crummy job with this recent transgression.  You see, I’m a consultant and I know a thing or two about branding, communications, and life balance.  It seems you like to use the Internet as your mouthpiece, so I figure this is the best way to reach you.  All that being said, let’s get started…

1. Fix your family first.  If you are serious about what your statement said, then I applaud you.  Nothing is more important for you than your wife and children.  Looks like you’ve committed about 11 triple-bogeys in a row on the family game.  You’re going to need a few extra rounds to get back to even par.  This is job #1.
2. Stop hiding behind your web site.  I know you want privacy, but you can’t be the Tiger Woods brand, rake in a billion dollars, and then want to be left alone.  You can’t have it both ways, dude.  Take a cue from A-Rod (I can’t believe I wrote that), Letterman, Clinton, Agassi, et al and get your face (battered as it might be) in front of the world and say the things you’re writing on your web site.  Sorry, it’s the only way.  Right now, it looks and feels like you’re hiding.  Chip out of the tall rough and take your medicine with your public.
3. Get back on Tour soon.  You’re killing the PGA.  Just killing it.  Last year when you were out with injury, the ratings dropped 50%.  50%!  Your buddies on the tour are being forced to respond to questions about you.  Your lack of presence will hurt the league, the players, the purses, and everything else involved with the sport.  I don’t care if you have to hire some big dude to keep you honest off the course.  You owe it to the PGA to get back to doing the thing you do best.
4. Get help.  You’ve had a dozen coaches help you with your game.  Now you need coaches to help you with your marriage, your children, your communications, how you interact with the media, etc.
5. Offer to take a pay cut from your sponsors.  They can’t even run ads with your image now.  Nike, Gatorade, Gillette, Accenture and the rest are in crisis management.  As much as you’ve hurt the PGA, the ripple effect goes to them, too.  I think you’ve got enough to live on for a few years.  Give them a break because you didn’t hold up your end of the bargain.
6. Stop being a victim.  One of your prior statements chastised the media for interrupting your life.  If you’re going to apologize, dump the “I’m sorry, but” language.  Your not the victim, man.  Whoever wrote that for you should be fired.
7. When you do get back on the course, you need to stop swearing, throwing clubs, throwing tantrums, etc. Like it or not, you are a role model for all those kids learning the game and idolizing you.  They will still watch you.  Take an extra heaping of humility and be a good sport.
8. Last one – Get a Life.  In order to be a well-rounded human, you need to be more than a one-trick pony.  You have the opportunity to influence more than anyone else in the sports world today.  Only Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, and Michael Jordan have “owned” the owned the stage as a sports star like you have.

I hope you get started on these right away.  Some may be painful, but the pain doesn’t last forever unless you let it.  My invoice is in the mail.  I took a little off because I love the sport and we need you.  Don’t let everyone down.

Best,

Dan Weedin

© 2009 Dan Weedin – All Rights Reserved

Professional development should never stop.  The second you think you know it all, you begin to decline rapidly.  Real professional development is never cheap.  There is always a significant investment of time and/or money.  If you do it right, the ROI is always worth it.

In 2009, I spent well over $11,000 on workshops, colleges, resources, and travel expenses.  I traveled to Providence, RI, Newport, RI, and Las Vegas twice for professional development opportunities.  I purchased teleconferences, systems, books, and CD’s.  I gained knowledge from experts like Alan Weiss, Patricia Fripp, and Darren LaCroix.  I passed the third leg of a five part program to receive a designation in risk management.  And what was my return on investment?  It was huge from a standpoint of current and future income and growth.  My intellectual capital increased thus making it easier for my community to improve.  It’s a win-win-win!

What about you?  What did you accomplish in this area last year?  Where will you go in 2010?

Next stop for me…San Francisco for Alan Weiss’s Mentor Summit!

Cheers,