This is not a picture of Tony Robbins. This is a post about how to be a rock star speaker – inspired by Tony Robbins. Disclosure and thanks to Krupp Kommunications for the complimentary event admission to Tony Robbins’ Unleash The Power Within®.

Although I’ve covered many events, this is the first time I’m sharing insights from a world-renowned speaker, author and peak performance strategist that I’ve admired for years. Because of a prescheduled speaking engagement, I missed the Friday afternoon and Saturday sessions. Here are a dozen ways to rock your speech, your audience and your event. What would you add?

12 Ways to Rock Your Speech, Your Audience and Your Event

1. Start out dancing

Before Tony hit the stage we danced for 30 minutes, which is more than I’ve danced since I was at a national conference [I won't say which one] or my ballet lessons.

Two lead dancers led a group of back ups, and everyone in the audience, in warm up dance moves. Do you think we were exhausted or excited? What would happen if you asked your audience to dance?

2. Spotlight the speaker and highlight the stage

Standard event procedure: dim the lights in front where the speaker presents. After all, you have to see the screen, right? When this happens I ask to turn the lights up. People get drowsy in dark rooms. And, we can’t see each other.

With a well-lit stage, everyone could clearly see Tony – whether you were watching on one of the jumbotrons or the IRL stage. How do direct your lighting?

3. Sell seats in sections

A gold wristband admitted me to the VIP section. But when the doors opened, I sat too far back.

Thinking I was in the VIP section, I asked my neighbor why I was the only one with the gold band. When I found out I was in the general admission seats, I wrote “saved” on a piece of notebook paper and set it on my chair, just in case I had to come back, and moved on up.

I sat between two foreigners: a Swede and a Londoner who flew in just for this event.

Even in a small room, giving VIPs preferred seating makes them stand out as the ones who invest more in the experience. Plus, the people might be cooler.

By the way don’t ever say spend, only use the word invest.

4. Have plenty of volunteers who can high five

Being part of a crowd of 4,000 can feel kind of lonely, but not for long.

UPW crew members greeted attendees at every entrance and exit and in the halls with high fives. Some said “You freakin’ rock!” others said “God bless you!”

Sounds kind of corny, but warm and friendly just the same. How could people get people excited about your event?

5. Stand and Shake

A call from the stage to “Stand up!” commanded us to spring out of our seats.

Shake, not hands, your shega [as my Hungarian grandmother used to say and apparently there is no translation for this word]. Every 30 minutes or so we stood up and then  massaged neighbors, danced like monsters, mimicked partner’s moves, celebrated or rebounded. How do you get people off their shegas?

6. Play music, lots of music

Music adds energy. Plus, you can dance. Here’s Tony Robbins play list.

7. Celebrate!

Not just with a weak round of applause.

Get up and yell! about how happy you are, how great life is, how you will change. You get the idea.

Louder! I can’t hear you.

8. Work book

Like everyone else, I got a 180-page spiral bound work book that outlines content with places for fill in the blank answers, resources and a catalog in the back. Although I like having them, I never write in my work books. I always take notes in a note book. What kind of a work book do give your attendees? Do you write in your work books?

9. Make people wait until the doors open

There’s something about hearing a crowd chant “let us in” over and over that makes you anticipate the excitement waiting on the other side of the door. Admitting VIPs and those with higher priced tickets earlier rewards them for the price. When do you let the crowd build up?

10. Ditch the slides, get a flipchart

When he wanted to illustrate a point, Tony used a flipchart and markers.

So what did we see on the big screen? It wasn’t all Tony all the time. Video production engineers changed out images of Tony with audience pans and a few slides sprinkled here and there.

Monitors set into the stage displayed what I guess was a set list. The only screen shot I saw was at the end. It said: Tony Robbins Facebook reminder. How cool to end on a social media note. What do you do to invite your audience to follow you?

11. Don’t Allow Video or Audio Recording or Photos

The reason I have no pictures of this event, except for after the firewalk, is because photos and videos were not allowed. As a speaker it can be distracting to be photographed while you’re presenting. You can offer to have a photo session before or after. And, recordings can be offered as products. Do you agree or disagree?

12. Keep selling the process

At first glance, you might think this is offensive and not recommended.

After all, speakers are not supposed to sell from the stage – right? What if you are offering your audience ways to enrich their life, their business or their relationships? Is that selling?

Speakers do have to have something to offer for two reasons: you can’t possibly cover everything in your presentation and if people like you, they’ll want more. When do you make an offer to continue the experience out of the room?

Here’s a video about the Unleash the Power Within event . The next one is November 3 – 6, 2011 in Los Angeles, CA. Feel free to fill out the contact form or leave a comment if you have questions about my event experience. Yes, I did the firewalk. That’s another story for another post.

Photo credit and thanks to shutterstock for being WiredPRWorks’ stock photo sponsor.

How do you know when you’re a rock star speaker?

Today I’m honored to be presenting a program on best practices in higher education digital communication at the Higher Learning Commissions Academic Quality Improvement Program [AQIP] conference. Here’s the presentation guide that includes an outline of what I’m covering as well as links to resources. Following along or want to contribute? Use the #3Dedu hashtag. What would you add?

My presentation is part of a pre-program described as . . .

To mark the beginning of its second decade, the Academic Quality Improvement Program will offer an improved and enhanced pre-conference workshop at the 2011 HLC Annual Conference. The program will focus on helping institutions innovate and strengthen quality in a challenging environment. Later this fall, the Commission will invite selected AQIP institutions to present for this workshop. The Commission encourages institutions with successful continuous improvement initiatives to share their experiences by proposing Annual Conference general sessions.

AQIP 2011 Presentation Guide by Barbara Rozgonyi ::: http://wiredPRworks.com ::: 630.207.7530
AQIP 2011 Plenary Session ::: April 8, 2011

Branding Your Higher Education Institution for Quality: Best Practices in Digital Communication

Session Description . . .

Explore what it takes to become the higher education destination your stakeholders and community look up to (OR admire? respect? adore? esteem? search for?) in a increasingly competitive and dynamic environment. Learn how to align your commitment to quality and continuous improvement, your leadership, and your branding with a simplified and integrated system using web search, social media, content marketing, and public relations.

WIRED System™ by Barbara Rozgonyi

• Words : Keywords, Content, Community
• Intentions: People, Purpose, Promotions
• Routes: Integrated, Social, Responsibility
• Experiences: Yours, Mine, Ours
• Design: Craft, Nurture, Respond

Essentials: Personality, Community, Value, Search Engine Optimization

Priorities: Privacy, Time Management, Policy, Strategy

Guides: Connect, Engage, Respond, Share

Sites: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, flickr, YouTube, Foursquare

Social Media Marketing Benefits Colleges and Communities By

• Building credibility
• Adding to web presence
• Launching RSS
• Automating updates
• Expanding statusphere mindshare
• Managing customer service interactions
• Reinforcing recruiting
• Enabling community marketing
• Enhancing search engine optimization
• Differentiating by audience
• Positioning as subject matter expert
• Requiring limited or low financial investment
• Opening community communications
• Launching a publishing platform
• Giving media a reference site

Personal Benefits

• Get to know who you are
• Reach out to others
• Expand your circles
• Record your life

Social Media Keynote Speaker and Workshop Slides
http://slideshare.net/wiredprworks

LinkedIn – Company Page, Groups/Alumni, Events

LinkedIn Guide for Non-Profits

LinkedIn Guide for New Users

Mashable’s Guide to LinkedIn Company Profile

LinkedIn Guide to a Company Profile

Facebook – Pages, Groups, Events

Facebook New User Guide

Facebook Pages Guide

Twitter – Lists

Twitter Help Portal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0xbjIE8cPM

Best Practices in Higher Education Simplified Social Media Action Plan

1. Decide to form a social media team led by a community manager
2. Develop a social media policy for the institution and your
associates
3. Research a keyword list
4. Survey your prospective and current students to see what social
networks they use and search for your community’s groups
5. Tune into conversations: who, what, when, where, why, how –
can you help them?
6. Plan communications based on where your people are and what
they’re talking about
7. Learn how to use the platforms and set up outposts to integrate
with existing marketing and conversations
8. Staff, monitor, respond and operate the outposts
9. Evaluate results based on performance benchmarks
10. Connect your institution with other communities

20 Higher Education Promotion Ideas via Social Media Marketing and PR

1. Basic: Description, Keywords, URL, community manager

2. Process: create content, review, edit, post, monitor, reply

3. Twitter: staging and build-up with #hashtags and budurl.com
links

4. Facebook: images in the form of photo albums and updates,
videos

5. LinkedIn: join local groups and start your own

6. Flickr: site and community group setup

7. Foursquare: check-in rewards at events, centers

8. YouTube: post pre-event and post-event videos

9. Ustream: live-stream events or shows on your own channel

10. BlogTalk Radio: start your own radio show

11. Local Papers: Post your stories online for possible print pick-up

12. Quora: Ask and answer questions

13. Vimeo: Video channel

14. Yelp: Local reviews

15. Local Listings: Bing, Google, Yahoo

16. Groups: Check out Yahoo and Google for local groups

17. Bloggers: Connect with the people who cover your community

18. Key Influencers: See who’s who on klout.com

19. Post events on TV and newspaper’s online community calendars

20. Cross-promote and feature other organizations on your social
networks

Wired PR Works PR P-R-I-M-E-R

P=publish
R=report
I=inform
M=mediatize
E=experience
R=repeat
Public Relations Publishing Action Steps

1. Set goals: why are you doing this? Traffic, visibility, credibility
2. Story ideas: who, what, when, where, why
3. Images: pictures, logos, videos
4. Media outlets: where do you want to be?
5. Online distribution: outlets you’ll choose
6. Research keywords:
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
7. See who’s making news for your keywords
8. Write the release or post with a call to action
9. Distribute to diverse networks
10. Track, track, track

Social Media, Content Marketing, Digital PR Articles and Resources

Public Relations Become Your Own Publicist

How a Press Release Can be an All in One Marketing Tool

What is RSS Video

Social Media and Monitoring Toolbox

Track and follow tweets by location http://monitter.com

Form a newsletter with twitter and Facebook. http://paper.li

URL shortener with built-in tracking system http://budurl.com

RSS distribution router with tracking system http://dlvr.it

Post PowerPoint presentations here and add app on LinkedIn
http://slideshare.net

Event Management http://eventbrite.com

Paid PR Distribution http://prweb.com

Free PR Distribution http://prlog.org

Event Posting http://plancast.com

Schedule Facebook, LinkedIn and twitter updates http://hootsuite.com

Free, quick and easy blog http://posterous.com

Book
“Success Secrets of the Social Media Marketing Superstars”

Social Media Marketing and PR Article Archive
http://wiredPRworks.com

Social Media Club Organizations
Social Media Club http://socialmediaclub.org
Social Media Club Chicago http://smcchicago.org

Questions?
Barbara@wiredprworks.com or 630.207.7530

About Your Presenter, Barbara Rozgonyi social media, content marketing and digital PR thought leader

Barbara Rozgonyi directs CoryWest Media, LLC, a 3D marketing firm founded in 1990. CoryWest’s plans grow business, build brands, and connect communities by integrating marketing, sales, socialmedia and public relations. Barbara publishes
http://wiredprworks.com and is a frequent contributor to a variety of online publications. A co-author of “Success Secrets of the Social Media Superstars” [Entrepreneur Press 2010], Barbara contributed the LinkedIn chapter. Founder of Social
Media Club Chicago, Barbara/@wiredprworks was named a top 30 PR expert to follow on twitter by ereleases.com. Barbara speaks and trains at conference, corporate, entrepreneur and personal branding levels. FollowBarbara @wiredprworks on twitter.com or check out what’s new right now with the Wired PR Works iPhone app.

Let’s Connect!
Facebook http://facebook.com/rozgonyi
LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/in/barbararozgonyi
Twitter http://twitter.com/wiredprworks
Flickr http://TheSocialLens.com
Social Media Content Marketing Digital PR Keynote Speaking/Consulting/Training
http://wiredprworks.com/social-media-pr-keynotespeaker/

Image credit: Sorbonne and the Sky by Barbara Rozgonyi from the Paris 2010 Fall collection. Copyright 2010.

For more information on this presentation, contact Barbara directly via voice/text at 630.207.7530, email barbara @corywestmedia.com or on LinkedIn, Facebook or twitter.

How much does it cost to hire a professional speaker to speak at an event? Budgets drive decisions. But before you settle on a specific professional speaker – or number, think about how you want the speaker to engage your audience: as an entertainer, motivator or educator.

Even though professional speakers may cover similar topics, each has a unique delivery style and their experiences define their content. Are you looking for a professional social media marketing and PR speaker?

In the social media space, many speakers who used to speak for free now negotiate fees that reflect their accomplishments. Authors and those with solid and far-reaching platforms command much more than someone just starting out.

Isn’t like that in most businesses?

If your group will be mostly beginners and your budget is minimal,  a beginning speaker with less experience and a lower fee may be a good fit.

Looking for a name to attract a crowd? Then you’ll want to find someone that has a following. Fans come out to see bloggers, authors and celebrities they follow.

While most speakers are willing to negotiate fees, the actual time they invest in developing an outstanding experience for your group is much more than the amount of actual presentation time in front of the room.

Investment levels vary depending on a variety of factors. For example, selecting an existing presentation is much less than commissioning a custom production with a more impressive impact.

For comparison purposes, professional speechwriters may earn around $7500 for a 50-minute speech, or $150 per minute. Published authors and celebrities may command $10,000 and up per appearance.

Look for ways to get added returns on your  investment.

A professional speaker with an influential social network can bring visibility and attention to your group in the way of exposure through social networks, video and digital PR channels.

Think about the value this extra exposure will bring your group. It may be worth investing a little more in exchange for event promotion throughout the professional speaker’s social media networks.

First, choose the professional speaker whose personality, presentations and experience best matches the needs of your group. Then, start negotiating price.

What do think makes a great professional speaker?

Image thanks to Shutterstock.com.

“Twitter has a place in business. Twitter combines two of this year’s hottest Internet marketing trends — real time updates and local search – into one simple, concise update box.” excerpt from “Taking Flight with Twitter” article, viewed – as of today – 2842 times according to The Business Ledger.

Note: This is not a “look how great I am!” post. This IS a thanks to The Business Ledger for the contribution opportunity and a huge shout of appreciation to everyone who read it and passed it on. It’s also a place to begin a dialogue about how twitter works for you and your business. So, please share in the comment box.

Hatching a Twitter for Business Article

After presenting at The Business Ledger’s Newsmaker Forum as social media speaker on the topic of twitter for business, editor Jeremy Stoltz graciously asked me if I would like to contribute an article. Set at 750 words, the article summarizes the background of my talk and sets up an action plan. Here’s a brief clip.

Taking Flight with Twitter by Barbara Rozgonyipublished by The Business Ledger on April 16, 2010
Twitter’s search engine (http://search.Twitter.com) searches updates instantaneously. Test it out the next time you’re watching a game, going to an event or want to follow what other people have to say about you, your business, your industry or the competition. Use Twitter’s advanced search option to fine-tune your search by location or people, (http://search.Twitter.com/advanced).

So what, exactly, is Twitter? Twitter is a social media platform that connects people through messages, known as “tweets,” that measure up to 140 characters long, including the user’s Twitter ID. To give you an idea of the actual length, the previous sentence is 141 characters long, or 140 without the period.

Response to Taking Flight with Twitter Article by Barbara Rozgonyi

Google results for “Taking Flight with Twitter”
Want to see where your post or article lands? Type the title or a content clip into the search box to track it down. Then, contact the publication or blogger to say thanks and find out how to contribute to their site.

117 Comments on Social Networks via Ubervu
Check out Ubervu to track your social mentions.

Search.twitter.com results show who is posting the article. This, to me, is the most interesting measure of distribution. You can find out who subscribes to your feed and then follow them on twitter – and thank them, too.

2842 Reads from The Business Ledger
Taking flight with Twitter
Friday, April 16, 2010 (2842 reads)

To read more about the social media panel for business presentation, check out this Business Ledger article:
Social media is a commerce driven necessity by Sherri Dauskurdas.

“Social media is not about technology and tools, it’s really about people,” said Barbara Rozgonyi, principal at CoryWest Media, LLC. “You can use Twitter to listen, you can search, respond to people for customer service. If people have a problem you can get to it right away. You can ask questions and connect with people, and you can also spy on your competition.”

How many ways do you use twitter in your business?

Image: screenshot with number of reads

If you enjoy speaking, then giving presentations to a targeted audience is a great marketing and branding tool. But, writing a good speech takes time and giving a presentation also takes time. A 30 minute speech can easily turn into four or more hours of communications, planning, travel and follow up. So, when is it worth it to give a free speech?

In 2009, I spoke 29 times to over 1,000 people. Most of the time, those speeches were free. In 2010, I’m expecting to at least double, maybe triple those numbers. To help me gauge whether or not to accept an offer, I came up with 37 ways to measure the value of a free speaking engagement.

What do think? Do you speak for free – when and why?

25 Ways a Free Speech is Worth It
The speaker gets . . .
1. promoted to their target audience
2. compensated for travel and hotel or no overnight stay is required
3. a list of members or attendees
4. free membership
5. ad or exhibit space
6. opportunities to promote or sell in the presentation
7. letters of recommendation from the meeting planner or attendees
8. introductions to other meeting planners
9. assistance with back of room sales of products
10. book orders
11. free admission to the event and meals provided
12. special recognition in press and advertising
13. approval to offer paid consulting or workshops around the engagement
14. free videos, audios or photography
15. links from the event site
16. mentions in social networks
17. complimentary passes
18. thank you note from the organizers
19. compensation from an employer and does not require additional income
20. positioning: the speaker as an expert in a place they want to be
21. a donation for a charity or non-profit
22. paid speaking engagement referrals
23. contacts for their list
24. contracts with new clients
25. non-monetary compensation: fun, new friends, etc.

12 Ways a Free Speech is not worth it
The speaker is asked to . . .
1. continually leverage their personal brand and network to promote the event
2. cover their own travel expenses
3. cut their presentation because time runs short
4. understand how a profit-making event can’t afford to compensate the talent that makes it a profit-making event
5. pay for registration
6. not promote their products or services
7. produce their own handouts
8. not contact attendees after the event
9. create a new program that takes time and creative energy
10. let the event planner record and sell their presentation with no compensation
11. pump up attendance
12. come up with ways to justify, to themselves, why they are giving a free speech

Are there more? Do you have a policy about what you will do for free versus paid speeches? As always, thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.