DAVE CLARKE: A Networking Lesson from the UK General Election Campaign

by Dave Clarke

As I write this we are in the closing stages of the UK General Election Campaign. Until April 15th the public opinion polls were predicting the following share of votes:

Conservative 36%
Labour 31%
Liberal Democrat 20%
Other 13%

The conservatives were in the lead and two thirds of the votes were predicted to be shared between them and Labour. The Liberal Democrats trailed in third with 20%.

Three days later the Liberal Democrat share had increased dramatically and they had moved into second place. Their support remains at this level according to the latest "poll of polls".

Conservative 35%
Liberal Democrat 29%
Labour 28%
Other 8%


So what happened?

On the evening of April 15th we saw the first ever live TV debate between the main party leaders during a general election campaign. The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, was generally acknowledged to have won the debate against his Conservative and Labour rivals, David Cameron and Nick Clegg.

If he had not taken part he would not have won and that is the networking lesson to learn.

Most networking groups give their members the opportunity to share their expertise and raise their profile by speaking at events. I have, however, seen people refuse opportunities to speak because they feel they are not ready, or the circumstances are not quite right.

If you don't feel ready then prepare a few options, and the next time you get the opportunity take the plunge and volunteer to speak. Your audience will be on your side and it's a great way of helping people understand when and how to advocate you!

Until next time...

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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For more information, please visit Dave's TNNW Bio.

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DAVE CLARKE: A Networking Lesson from the UK General Election Campaign

JETNETTING: The First Impression Factor XX: The Power of Pause

JetNetting with Heshie Segal

Life is hectic. It is full. Something is going on, all the time (well, almost all the time). Think about your life. Aren’t there times you just want to scream? “Stop, no more. I’ve had enough!”

• Work. Work. Work. All I do is work. I need a break.


• No more rain. Enough already! Stop! It’s time for a break.


• All you do is chatter. Please take a break and be silent.


• Traffic, cleaning up, filing, shopping, return calls, appointments, dance lessons, lessons of every other sort, etc. etc. etc. They say, “Life’s a b - - ch!”

STOP!! Yes, this “stuff” surrounds us everyday. We are bombarded with never ending activity. And if there is no break, we break... or, become less effective. We need time to reflect, to change the pace, to intervene, to be silent; inside and out, even just for a moment... to become re-invigorated. And so, the lesson extends to each of us, you and me, and all the rest. We must learn to pause, for the sake of all.When dealing with first impressions we have to reflect on the fact, and as if the activity were not enough, we have those verbose speakers who do not know when to stop. We need to let them know about the pause, the silence between the words to reinforce

an early connectedness. They must master the art of silence so they may understand their power, the power in the pause, when used to its best effect.

Strategically planned, it is the appropriate gap before or after an emotion, punctuation, change of subject, emphasis. Its power can be eloquent... and it can be devastatingly awkward if it is not in sync with the intention. Effective use of the pause generally means ‘less is more’, especially when more is too much.

If you are going to use the pause as a powerful strategic element, you will find these 6 tips to be most useful.

1. PAUSE TO BREATHE
Before you even start to speak, pause and take a deep breath. This will give you a lower and calmer voice. If you do not pause (and continue breathing deeply) while you are speaking, air will be blocked from flowing back in and your voice will become thin, high pitched and quite unpleasant. (Test it. Take a deep breath. Speak until you run out of air and force yourself to say a few more words. Do this right now. See how it changes the quality of your voice, not to mention the discomfort it can cause?)

And, if you do not pause to breathe, you will cause your listeners to feel you are rushing to get through, or that your words have no real importance and you have succumbed to chatter.

2. PAUSE FOR EMPHASIS AND/OR ATTENTION.
Use pauses either before or after, or both before and after important words, points, thoughts or concepts. Use an extended pause to emphasize or dramatize your main point or to convey the enormity of a powerful thought or statement. This tells your audience you are going to say something significant and they should listen. By pausing again, after your words, you allow the silence to underline what you have just said.

3. PAUSE FOR THOSE WHO ARE LISTENING.
Listeners need a few moments to absorb and contemplate what is being said. Give them time to catch up. If they become distracted with run on thoughts and sentences, they may tune out and never catch up. They really do need time to think in order to understand what comes next.

4. NON-WORDS AND FILLERS
Non-words (“Uh" and "um" ) and other fillers (“like”, “uh”, “you know”, “um”) dilute your phrases and sentences, weaken your communication and therefore your delivery. They make you appear tentative, insecure, and lacking in authority and confidence. STOP.

Become silent... for silence is your friend. Even the norm for this pause, which may be 2 or 3 seconds, may feel like an eternity... especially when under pressure. It is not too long! Time yourself and you will see. Rather than having people count the “um’s” you utter (admit it, you have done this more than once, right?), pause and think about what you really want to say and then say it with conviction.

5. USE TO ALLOW THE LISTENER ENTRY
When you ramble on and on, you are effectively saying to the listener, “You are unimportant, this conversation is all about me.” Ugh; no way to build a relationship or even to create a good first impression.

6.USE THE PAUSE SPARINGLY
Use the pause for effect, when appropriate and necessary. Don’t overwork it. If you use it and it becomes a pattern, the listener will become bored. The pause is most effective when it is unexpected. Be strategic. Use it for emphasis.

Master the art of silence and you will understand your power . . . and the power in the pause.

For more information, please visit Heshie's TNNW Bio.






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JETNETTING: The First Impression Factor XX: The Power of Pause

Promote Yourself Through Captive Audiences

By Danielle Lum

Hawaii Bureau Chief

The economy is hitting many below the belt. A number of my clients have had to tighten up the bottom line and have asked me to fashion public relations plans out of shoestring and no-string budgets.

My goal for clients is usually the same: increase the public profile of the company or individual. How we go about attaining that is different for each client and depends on a number of factors.

So the present dilemma is this: How to increase public profile without spending a lot of money.

It's not a hard question, actually. The answer is one that effective networkers should also be considering and pursuing.

Speaking engagements.

Speaking engagements are wonderful opportunities:

• You can showcase who you are and what you do. You're in the spotlight the whole time.
• You have more than 60 seconds to explain why you are an expert in your field.
• You have more than 60 seconds (usually between 10 - 20 minutes actually) to create a connection.
• You have a captive audience that is hanging on your every word, waiting for you to share nuggets of wisdom
• It's low cost - maybe even free if the organization you're speaking to picks up the cost of your lunch or conference fee

Go. Do. Don't Come Back Undone

The mere mention of public speaking can make even the most confident person break into a cold sweat. In fact, a great majority list public speaking as their number one fear -- ahead of dying.

Don't let this deter you! The benefits of speaking engagement s are limitless and, well, no one has ever died from speaking in public. None that were recorded anyway.

Booking a speaking engagement is often easier said than done. Most organizations won't schedule a speaker unless s/he has something -- information, wisdom, etc. -- to offer their members. And the bigger groups won't book you without knowing that you will do a good job and not bore their members to tears.

So you need to create a track record. First thing you need to do is to figure out the topics about which you can speak. Make a list. Which of those topics can you expound on for 10 minutes? Which of those topics will be exciting and interesting to others? Put those at the top of the list. Look for different and new angles to topics that others have already covered.

Once you have your topics set, make a list of the organizations in your area. Look for organizations that have interests similar to those about which you can speak. For example if you are a massage therapist with an expertise in ergonomics, consider groups whose members are human resource managers or business owners. These people will want to hear you so they can pass the information to their employees. They might even hire you to talk directly to their employees.

Now you have your topics and your target organizations. Make your calls. Sell yourself. Get booked!

Prepare for negative responses. And definitely keep going because someone will want to hear you or give you a chance. Stay positive!

Along the way, practice, practice, practice.

When you think you know your presentation, practice it again. Practice until you feel comfortable and the presentation is second nature to you. Solicit your friends and family to serve as surrogate audience. Ask for their critiques to help you improve.

When you do get a booking - and you will get a booking - remember that the audience is captive. You want to make a good impression and boring them to tears is not the best way. Instead, wow them with your brilliance, your confidence, and your ability to connect.

One last tip

Be sure to bring business cards and a flyer/brochure about your business. I've attended many luncheons where the speaker doesn't leave way to contact him/her after the day is done. Talk about missed opportunities!

Instead, be sure to bring a "leave behind." Something your audience members can take with them to remind themselves about how much they enjoyed listening to you and how much valuable information they learned. And, most of all, give them a way to contact you to book you for something else, purchase your services or your product, or just create a deeper connection with you.

Happy speaking!

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Promote Yourself Through Captive Audiences