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UP-Front
The Official Newsletter of the American Seminar Leaders
Association
Copyright 2004 ASLA All rights reserved
May 1st, 2004
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In this issue
-- Message from the President
-- 1. How to Make It Big in the Seminar Business
-- 2. Seminar Speaking: How to Close a Seminar
-- 3. 11 Seminar Tips For The Body of Your Seminars
-- 4. Articles from our CSLs: "Keep your Balance - Even When Life
Gets Slippery"
-- 5. Grammar and Punctuation Tips for Your Copy
Message from the President
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Welcome to American Seminar Leaders Association, an organization
dedicated to seminar leaders, speakers, trainers and coaches.
Our mission is to train those interested in becoming a seminar
leader or a public speaker and make them some of the most
successful, powerful and inspiring presenters in the world.
Seminarily Yours,
June Davidson
ASLA President
1. How to Make It Big in the Seminar Business
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Do you have a special skill, hobby or area of expertise that could
be useful to others?
Would you be interested in a career that offers that chance to
make big money and earn an important name for yourself?
Learn how to become a powerful presenter by following,
step-by-step, the ASLA system. Everything you'll need to know to
succeed, including:
- the dos and don'ts of picking a money-making topic
- how to get FREE publicity on radio and TV
- how to put a winning seminar together
- how to deliver a dynamic seminar
- how to profit from selling books and tapes at your seminar
- how to market your seminar for under $500 and attract clients.
If so, there's no better entrepreneurial opportunity than the
seminar business - a multi-billion-dollar industry that's
currently bringing huge financial rewards to thousands of
enterprising men and women.
In the April 2004 issue, Reader's Digest published
the results of a recent research on the hottest careers.
"Some of the hot new jobs will be entrepreneurial in nature. One
example: starting your own seminar business or creating
instructional materials for your employer to help colleagues and
new hires.
Have a professional expertise? Create and run a seminar series on
your own.
Average salary:$50,000 or more, says June Davidson of the American
Seminar Leaders Association."
The $50,000 can be earned part time. Many people are earning money
quickly by using our proven methods. The Success is in our System
and you can start immediately with our Home Study Course.
You can try before you buy. All our products are risk free.
Home Study Course
2. Seminar Speaking: How to Close a Seminar
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One of the worst mistakes you can make as a seminar leader is
talking too long. Remember, you are a teacher, not a preacher.
Not only will you send some folks to never, never land, you will
make some of them downright mad.
It doesn't matter if your entire seminar was brilliant and the
attendees came away with information that will change their lives.
If you lecture, they will leave saying, "That seminar leader just
wouldn't quit." Incorporate activities into the seminar so they
can participate.
Don't let this happen to you! Say what you need to say and ask
questions. Before you do, be sure they are well thought out
questions.
The last thing you say may be the most remembered. You must put
as much time into selecting and practicing your closing activity
as you put into any other part of your presentation.
Just like your opening, your closing does not have to be humorous.
It could be motivational, challenging, thoughtful, respectful of
the length of the seminar, or it could restate your point in a
different way. This ending segment will have a strong influence on
what the attendees take home with them when you are done. Please,
all the time during your seminar ask the attendees to participate.
Many a great NO ZZZZZs seminar went no further than the walls of
the meeting room because the attendees weren't moved to action.
If you haven't ask them questions and let them solve problems,
then you can lose the room. If the subject is appropriate, I
happen to be fond of humorous closings for several reasons.
If you leave them laughing and applauding, you will exit, but an
extremely positive impression about you will remain.
Another good reason to leave them laughing is that people learn in
laughter. I do love laughter and feeling good; finishing a seminar
humorously gives me and the attendees an opportunity to feel
great.
Seminars that are for entertainment purposes only should generally
leave the attendees laughing.
Finally, if the subject is not appropriate to end with laughter,
you could end with a touching story or quotation that leaves the
audience thoughtful and quiet.
Even the most serious subjects can benefit from humor, but the
humor should be sprinkled throughout the seminar.
Don't just put humor at the end because closings are powerful and
the attendees will think your overall attitude toward the subject
is flippant.
This same technique can be very effective in ending a mostly
humorous speaking engagement. Have them laughing all along while
you make your points. Then finish seriously. This contrast will
create a great impact. It will convey the fact that you believe in
a lighthearted approach to the subject, but the results are very
serious to you.
Don't be afraid to use humor when you speak in public. Just make
sure you learn to do it right.
3. 11 Seminar Tips For The Body of Your Seminars
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1. Use the modular design approach to give your seminar a logical
sequence.
2. Never say that reminds me of, as it takes away from your
subject.
3. Give lots of knowledge.
4. Have lots of laughs as we learn in laughter.
5. The more you link the more you learn according to Dr. Jeanette
Vos' "The Learning Revolution " book.
6. Use visualizing techniques so they can see the end results.
7. Plot appropriate activities.
8. Stick to your subject.
9. Change attitudes and if necessary start with yours.
10. Teach them new skills so they can use them to solve their
problems and reach a satisfactory conclusion.
11. Entertain as well as instruct.
4. Articles from our CSLs: "Keep your Balance - Even When
Life Gets Slippery"
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By Marlene Coleman, M.D. & Darlene Duncan, Ph.D.
If the anxiety and excitement and pressure of everyday life
makes your head spin or your heart pound, here are a few
common-sense techniques to help you establish and maintain your
mental and emotional equilibrium.
Copying With Change
Increased anxiety is often the result of experiencing change.
Accentuate the positive! An optimistic outlook can help you get
through even the most challenging circumstances. Remind yourself
that things will get better. Think about something or someone that
makes you feel good.
You'll never know if you don't ask! Seek the advice of others who
have had similar experiences. Ask how they coped and turned
difficulties into opportunities for growth.
Take a hike! Or a walk, Better yet, a jog! Keeping physically
active and healthy is crucial to a positive mind set.
Are you a "Drama/Trauma" person? Does being stressed give you an
identity? What would it be like if you stopped struggling and
started enjoying?
"If I were you" Beware of bad advice. The most valuable counsel is
that which helps you discover your own solution to a problem. Make
sure the advice you get doesn't come burdened with judgments,
blaming, and rigid thinking.
Dealing With Stress
Approach stress as an opportunity to become stronger and more
centered.
Make a joyful noise! Every single day, do something that would
bring you joy and lift your spirits. Even little things can make
you feel better.
Spend some time with mother! Nature is everywhere, even in the
heart of the city. Feel the weather. Be aware of the colors,
scents, and textures all around you.
Take a lap! Exercise releases endorphins, the body's natural high,
plus it has some wonderful side-effects: weight loss: sound sleep:
increased energy, and enhanced self-esteem.
First things first! Establish priorities. Involve others in your
"game plan"- let then know your priorities and give then the
opportunity to be supportive.
Take five! Stop and recharge yourself. Take regular breaks from
study or work-the best prevention for burnout.
Say cheese! Research has shown that simply smiling, whether you
feel like it or not, will improve your mood and may encourage
others to communicate with you.
Building Self-Esteem
Enduring trauma, surviving challenging times, or even a simple
change of routine may effect your self-worth or dull your spirit.
Got a light! Enlist the help and support of upbeat friends and
relatives.
Laughter is the best medicine! Really! Plenty of clinical studies
prove it. So write yourself a prescription for a funny movie, some
stand-up comedy, or an exchange of jokes. And remember: successful
people aren't afraid to laugh at themselves.
Get real! Keep your expectations realistic. Instead of trying to
solve one enormous problem, break it down into smaller, more
achievable goals that will insure your success along the way.
Brought to you by. Pat yourself on the back for a job well down.
Give yourself private pep talks and don't hesitate to take credit
when it's due.
It's your thing! Spend as much time as possible on things you
enjoy, discover new pursuits. Take up a hobby. Pleasure is more
important than perfection.
Becoming a people person
Establish, maintaining and nurturing relationships.
Reach out and touch someone! Mobilize your social skills: write
letters, call people, "touch base" again.
Lend a hand! Research shows that people are happier when they
spend some time helping others.
Listen up! If you're busy thinking about what you'll say or do
next, your not listening. Good listeners are always welcome
companions.
Right you are! But not all the time. Nobody is. Demonstrate, don't
pontificate.
Vive la difference! Someone else's unique opinions or style may
give you fresh insight. Try to see the world from their
perspective-it will broaden yours!
Take it easy! Friendships, like fine wine, need time to develop.
Don't oversell yourself.
You've been under siege! If you've experienced trauma, think about
ways you've coped successfully in the past. Ask for support while
your healing. Slow down. Be gentle with yourself.
The last word! You don't always have to get it!
Dr. Marlene Coleman is the author of Safe and Sound, Healthy
Travel with Children and co-author of Working with Your Homeowner
Association, A Guide to Effective Community Living.
She has practiced pediatrics, adolescent medicine and college
health for over 25 years, and is Associate Clinical Professor in
Family Medicine and University of Southern California, School of
Medicine. Additionally, as a Captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve
Medical Corps, she served in Operation Desert Storm.
Dr. Coleman will share with you her perspectives on publishing and
marketing her two books on diverse subjects after nine years of
studying the publishing business.
Dr. Coleman and Dr. Duncan are twins!
5. Grammar and Punctuation Tips for Your Copy
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Since we are now living in the time of e-mail and the more common
use of the written language, it is time for an English lesson.
So, with tongue firmly in cheek, here are some rules to keep in
mind when using the Queen's Engerlish:
1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive
5. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.)
6. Always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually)
unnecessary.
9. Also, too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments. No comma splices, run-ons are bad too,
11. Contractions aren't helpful and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary;
it's highly superfluous.
14. One should never generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as clichés.
16. Don't use no double negations.
"The Gazette", Pasadena Print Stop
