How To Dazzle Your Audience With Tips From Top Restaurants

September 13, 2016 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

While the skill of hospitality is not essential for public speakers and entrepreneurs, those who master basic hospitable characteristics shine above their peers, get referrals, and collect invitations for future gigs.

A few simple details in behavior and presence help them “make it look easy,” as they prepare for a crowd ready to receive their message.

Think of the last time you had a wonderful meal at the home of a friend or a really good restaurant. Ever notice how a gracious host makes you feel welcome, pampered, and special? A meal at the home of a talented host or hostess, or a 5-star restaurateur, is one of the most memorable and pleasant experiences one can enjoy.

Those who do it well make it seem like an innate gift, but in fact hospitality can be learned with practice.

Hospitality sets the table for a great speech.

According to NYC restaurateur and author Danny Meyer, providing and receiving hospitality is one of the most intense human drives. In his wonderful book, Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business, her writes:

Within moments of being born, most babies find themselves receiving the first four gifts of life: eye contact, a smile, a hug, and some food. ~ Danny Meyer

Now if that doesn’t make your heart skip a beat, you’re probably not cut out for the restaurant business. However, if you are an entrepreneur — even if your business isn’t food related — the business angel tapped you on the shoulder for one reason or another, so this sentence should strike a chord with you, too.

Your customers pay your for your services and products. If you’re also a public speaker (and we all are on some level) your audience also appreciates a memorable experience. Their encounter with you is transformed by your hospitality toward them: before the event, while you’re on stage or presenting at a meeting, and after your speech.

Infuse hospitality into your speech and your business. Your audience’s experience will be transformed.

Much of hospitality centers on presentation and service. I’ll bet you can vividly remember a meal that was so unpleasant you couldn’t wait to get out of there. Whether it was at a restaurant, a picnic, or a person’s home, if your experience was inhospitable then you felt like someone was doing something to you instead of doing something for you. The worst!

Your presentation is “felt” in everything you do. In business and on stage, serving clients, customers, vendors, and especially your audience: requires hospitable manners.

That may not mean white glove service (especially in the BBQ business!) but it does have those four elements Meyer mentions:

Eye contact: Your connection depends on it. Have you ever sat in a presentation where the speaker never bothered to make that connection? Even in the smallest room, the eye contact helps the audience follow your message and creates a dynamic and powerful link. The hands may move, the speaker may walk around, but unless she’s making eye contact, the speech falls flat on its face.

A Smile: If you’re nervous or worried, or if you think you’re just a smidgen better or smarter than your audience, it shows. A smile is the great equalizer, the universal sign of goodwill. One of my favorite personalities, author and speaker Guy Kawasaki, in his book Enchantment, says to smile so your crows feet dig in. Smile so your eyes close, smile like you really mean it. A smile works wonders to dazzle your audience before you even get to the actual content!

A Hug: OK, even if you wanted to, and even if it were required; it’s not possible to actually hug everyone. What IS necessary, though, is to embrace people with your message.

Even if they don’t have the slightest interest in what you’re presenting, your audience will be more receptive to your speech if you roll out that personal touch. Good speakers are prepared. They know ten times more than they actually tell. They spare you from boredom by incorporating stories, specific details, and enthusiasm for their subject.

That’s the speaker’s equivalent of a hug. The audience is practically enveloped in the aura of the speaker’s knowledge and passion.

Some Great Food (aka “Content”): The content you deliver will be remembered better if you practice the above three habits. So make it good! This is what people came for, after all. Unless you’re already that famous that people just come to see you, and even if that’s the case, your content should still be original and full of good, entertaining stories and information.

By the way, have you ever noticed how words and speeches are often perceived in distinctly food-related terms?

You want your listeners to digest what you’re saying.
They showed interest by consuming all of your content.
Your delivery was fresh.
He had a crisp tone of voice.
They roasted the guest last week.
Her words were tough to swallow.
Chew on this advice.
Break your speech down down into bite-sized portions.
He poured on the intensity.
She has a spicy style.
His words were raw but effective.

If you spend weeks and months working on your craft, you know that your word choices matter. A hospitable speech is memorable and well prepared, just like the most fabulous dining experience or exquisitely planned event.

Incorporate juicy words and phrases that connect with your audience’s senses. Over time your unique flavor and style will become second nature. (See what I did there?)

Take heart if you are new at this. With every stage appearance, your natural voice emerges, and you will find a cadence and delivery that just feels right.

Every time you speak you get closer to your true element. When you are “on your dime,” (a term used a lot by Speak-to-Sell Mentor Lisa Sasevich) your speech will be fun to give and receive, just like that human desire for hospitality.

Prepare to get out there and wow them!

Your presentation begins long before you step up to the podium. Just like your actual speech, your marketing materials also reflect your style and your professionalism. Copywriting plays a part in your hospitality quotient, too! as Michael (the “Prepaholic) Hyatt cautions, it pays to do this background work. Getting gigs will depend on that same compelling “voice” which will be hinted at in your speech title and speech descriptions.

You’re probably going to deliver these materials long before your speech, by directing the organizer to your online bio page, complete with your background and speech topics. Remember that every web page your publish, every email you write, your hand-written correspondence, your bio/about page, and all your web content is fair game for the planner to make a decision about hiring you.

Your copy reflects the caliber of content you’ll be presenting, and it also shows how prepared you are as a speaker. Get them in ship shape so you’re ready when opportunity strikes.

Follow Through Graciously.

After you speech, your personal, hospitable touch is again necessary. Now the tables are turned. While you owe it to your audience to be hospitable throughout your delivery, now you owe it to your host to thank them and ask for feedback. Top speakers and even 5-star restaurants do this to keep honing their craft and delight future audiences.

Send a thank you note, inquire about how your speech was received, and ask for recommendations about other speaking opportunities.

As you know, it’s a rare speaker who makes his bread and butter through speaking alone. In a lot of cases, the speaking engagement smooths the way for a future sale, if not an actual close at the end of the talk.

Hopefully at some point during your presentation, you’ve given your audience an easy way to get more information or to connect with you in the future. This doesn’t mean just posting your website or email address on your last slide!

Go the extra mile and offer a download of your deck, next steps, or a free ebook, etc. You can even have people text their email addresses or a special code to a designated number so that you can reach out to them again. (This is one time you’ve be glad to see members of your audience playing with their phones!)

Remember that your demeanor and tone, warmth and authority, all set the table for a scrumptious presentation.

Words are the compelling, meaty, content-part in the event organizer’s eyes; but your hospitality skills ensure that your speech makes a favorable, long-lasting impression. Pull out the stops for your next speaking engagement and reap the rewards and appreciation enjoyed by a generous host.

My Team Connects serves small businesses, entrepreneurs, and public speakers with online and direct response copywriting that inspire customers, agents, organizers and audiences. I am delighted to help promote individuals and companies with copywriting as fresh and as passionate as you are!

Strive To Do Less, And Watch Your Productivity Skyrocket

September 6, 2016 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

In a lot of ways, freelancers get more done than the average worker. They choose where to work, when to work, and how, thus maximizing their productivity in ways regular office workers can’t control within the confines of a “normal” job.

But it also seems that freelancers are always trying to do more with what they have. I see many work-from-home freelancers who, besides working with interesting clients and businesses, are blogging, writing a book, posting to social media, networking, and juggling all the other things that real life requires.

So how do you get it all done? What’s the secret to being a highly productive freelancer or solopreneur vs. one who struggles to barely meet deadlines?

The Big Two Productivity Rules

I’ve read a lot of blogs and articles about increasing productivity. Most advice comes down to these two bullets:

Decide what you really want to get done.
Do the difficult and important stuff first…

Then they go on to list all the tools you can use to accomplish it all.

Take Caution!

I distrust time productivity tips that lead me to download more apps. Sometimes my phone is part of the reason my goals get derailed in the first place! Furthermore, those time ~~suckers~~ management tools are not solely on my phone but my desktop, too.

This month, I intended to dedicate my blog’s content to the topics of productivity and time management, but now I’m having second thoughts. Is it really necessary to rehash what so many others have already said on the subject? Do I really want to point you in the direction of more tools and apps and processes you may not need or use? No.

And I don’t think you want that either. What most people really need and want, is some space to breathe and the freedom and time to do what makes you truly happy.

I love freelancing and having a small business I can run from home. This kind of freedom allows me (and if you’re reading this, probably you, too) to create a unique lifestyle. I’m not saying you can slack off and still be successful, but it means you can decide for yourself if you want to create an empire — and that’s certainly within your powers to do so — or have more time to garden, paint, drive your kids to the skate park they love 40 minutes away. Yes, you get to choose; and that is true success!

If you want to make a few thousand more dollars each month, you can do it. If you want to make more, or less, or simply have more flexibility, you can do it.

Say your definition of success is daily workouts, walks, or hikes. Then a freelance job that requires you to be at your desk during your favorite spin class would never work. Maybe you want to be able to attend your child’s swim meets on the weekends. Then you obviously wouldn’t accept a job that asked you to be on call during those hours.

At the same time, you may have a personal dream of public speaking as a sideline, starting a small agency, or adding a service to the ones you already offer. As you work on your client’s projects, you strive to find extra hours in the day to also get your personal projects moving.

Maybe you’re an employee in a company… do you also have a dream of starting something on the side that earns you a few hundred extra dollars each month, or allows you to pursue a hobby as a business? Then I’m talking to you, too!

High Achievers Want More

Time management and productivity are issues for everyone who wants to do more with their life. At the end of the day (and your lifetime) you want to say you accomplished more than just the bare minimum. You are here to do more than just survive.

Regardless of your position, or your role in your company, whether you freelance, or report to a supervisor, etc., doing more and achieving more require you to do things differently. Different from the average way of working. Probably even different from the way you’re working now.

First, always focus on where you want to be and take a few steps every day to get closer to that vision.

Never just settle for your current role, because you can always do better. You know you were born to be great, do something memorable, and create something extraordinary!

To achieve that greatness within you, and to be your most productive, please do what you love and want to do! (That should go without saying.) Do your work with enthusiasm — even the parts you don’t enjoy — and make sure your transitions are quick so you can get onto the next thing. If you dawdle in between tasks, then you’re going to lose a lot of productivity! You won’t believe how much time you’ll waste, if you don’t know your next step.

Be Honest with Yourself About Your Passion and Strengths

But also, be very choosy about what you “want” to do. Avoid claiming too many goals, or else your to-do list become a wish list, not an accurate list of tasks you can plausibly accomplish.

For example, don’t tell yourself that next month you want to add 500 followers to your Facebook page, write an ebook, connect with 20 influencers, hire a new team member, and bill $5000 in client hours. It’s great that you have specific goals, but you may have too many of them going on at once.

I’ve made this mistake so many times, I can’t emphasize enough how a long to-do list can throw off your ability to get the most important things done.

Decide what’s most important — to YOU.

Just because you see someone else in your network or someone you admire online is doing (and apparently succeeding at) a dozen projects simultaneously, beware of this mirage. It’s probably not true. Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s possible or even desirable to do so much at once.

The “Hustle” (à la Gary Vaynerchuck) only works if you have targeted goals.

The main detail I can add to this ongoing productivity conversation about which too much has already been said, is this: Know exactly what you want to get done, but be discriminating about those things, for heaven’s sake!

You weren’t made to do everything, especially when you’re working as a solopreneur and/or just starting out. Your job is to accomplish only a few extraordinarily cool things, that make you happy, and help others at the same time. (Other people have to need your offer and benefit from your efforts, otherwise you probably won’t make any money doing what you do. Hobbies are great, and flexibility is wonderful, but at the end of the day, freelancing means your services earn you an income!)

I like the advice to list the top 3 -5 things you want to get done every day, and then do them. Even if they are the same things every day, do those.

I was chatting with a friend today and she told me that she has free time in the morning, and she knows she needs to get more exercise, but she doesn’t make a point to get to the gym, where she’s a member. My advice was to simply put on the yoga pants immediately after brushing her teeth. Set an alarm for 20 minutes before you need to leave the house or office. Don’t think about it, just go.

Why be so creative with your to do list? Why add a lot of things that don’t make your heart sing?

By the same token, If your goal is to write a book over the next three months, then you’re going to need a table of contents, and plan for writing that content a chapter at a time. It’s not difficult. Start with a short book to see if you actually enjoy and excel at writing, then work your way up from there. If you only ever write one chapter, at least you’ll have that content to add to your accomplishments and publishable files. You can share it in an article on LinkedIn or Medium if nothing else.

Does narrowing your options mean you don’t set new goals? Of course not. You must add new constructive goals (small parts of your goals) to your task list every day. In other words, make goals, but make sure you set goals that can be chunked down and followed, each little step of the way. Make time for those compartmentalized tasks that help you reach your new goals, but don’t add so much to your plate that you choke.

Want to write a book? Plan an event? Make a promo video? Make one long deadline, then reverse engineer smaller deadlines you can meet every day. That’s the way all successful, productive people get things done.

I’m one of those people who want to do everything. I’m always busy doing things I think “should” be done, but it’s easy to get too busy and forget the ultimate big picture. If that one thing isn’t absolutely clear in your mind, you end up busily doing tasks that never get you any closer to your real goals. How sad is that?

Chasing toward things you never set out to do only wastes time and serves no one.

Meanwhile, stick to your routine. It will provide the framework for additional tasks. Just put the non-negotiable tasks on your list first and work everything else around those.

Can you imagine actually getting those few things done? Most people don’t even get a handful of tasks finished to their satisfaction each day.

But you can be the exception.

The problem with productivity is that people think they will get more done if they are more productive. But what about getting less done? Less done, but really DONE. Not half-done, not “wish they were done.”

No, I mean Really. Done.

Choose less.

Choose less and you’ll see… you’ll actually do more. You will find that you have the mind-space and even the time to do stuff you thought would be gravy. You finish a few tasks and feel good about them; then have the energy and desire to go the extra mile on those things you didn’t even think you’d have time for.

Strive to do less. That’s my advice for productivity. Now, I’m not a productivity “expert” and it sounds crazy, I know. But I’ve found that taking my to-do list and cutting it in half, works! I just stuck to a few small but uber-important tasks each day, and I can do more than I imagined when my to-do list was miles long.

To get more done, take something OFF your to-do list! Is this just semantics? A trick of words? Not really. When you start seeing your time as your most valuable resource, and making priorities as to what you choose to do first, second, and third every day, suddenly you get really good at doing only what is really important to you.

Less is more. Good luck! And tell me how it goes.

Get more business building resources for blogging and freelancing here…

8 Ways To Make Your Clients Love You

August 1, 2016 by Elizabeth Leave a Comment

.Wouldn’t you just swell up in pride when a client delights in you and says, “We appreciate You” or “Good to have you onboard!” These are not polite diplomacy remarks. These are real comments, given by some genuine clients, for being awesome.

Now look at these compliments – How would you feel if you get one of these – ?

Because you are a star!!! Thanks for your work on this. 🙂
Look forward to some more excellent work from you 🙂
You were a soldier in this.

These are just some of the compliments from my clients. Don’t assume it may take a long time for you to make your clients love you. For me, I have delighted clients from the first project on! I have been freelancing only about a year and in this (very) short span of time, I have managed to create a great rapport with all my clients.

Follow these simple tips if you want to get more and better freelance jobs.

Tip #1. Be Passionate

About your work.

Maybe you got into the freelance business out of necessity. I know I did. I wanted to be a full-time parent and it was only after I started writing, I discovered my passion for it.

Pro Tip: Work with all your heart and all your mind, and it will show in your work.

If you have any kind of mind block for your assignment, your client, or maybe you are simply bored — as a ripple effect, all of these aspects will trickle down to your work and that is never a good thing.

Your clients want to work with people who are like them. And if they are passionate about their business, and you are not – it simply would not work.

If you are compelled to freelance but are not “feeling” anything for it, try to be grateful for the many benefits freelancing offers – the flexibility and the freedom is great compared to the million others who have to work inside tiny cubicles, all day, all week.

Tip #2. Treasure Your Clients

So maybe you are passionate about your work and you have great clients to work with. It’s when you start taking them for granted, things start to fall apart. You start missing deadlines or you fail to update them about your impromptu mid-week break. These are simple things that can spell DOOM for your freelance writing career. Don’t do these things to lose your client.

When you treasure your clients, you care about their business. You care how much your work will affect their business. You wouldn’t be in it for the money. That will show your clients what a treasure you are to keep!

Pro Tip: Never Take your Clients For Granted

Tip #3. Be Accountable

When you accept to work on a certain project or assignment, make sure you are 100% committed. If, for any reason, you cannot deliver your best or deliver anything at all – you need to keep your clients in the loop about it. If you work on hourly basis, don’t cheat on your productivity. If you say yes to a client, then be sure to deliver and do it quick.

Pro Tip: Be honest about what you can and cannot do.

Tip #4. Be Quick to Deliver

For clients, time is money. The faster you deliver, the sooner it will help your clients. When your clients give you a deadline and you deliver before time, you earn a ton of brownie points! You get more work because the client appreciates your delivery timelines. When you work with this attitude, your productivity hits the fan and you get more and better freelance jobs.

Pro Tip: Deliver before the deadline.

Tip #5. Deliver the Best

Exercise caution when you want to be quick to deliver. Do it only when you really can. Of course, doing it regularly has its perks, but delivering half-baked assignments will probably get you fired. Quick or not, persuade your soul to deliver only the best work, each time, every time.

Tip #6. Be Dependable

When you only deliver the best each time, and within stipulated timelines, your clients learn to depend on you. Say Yes every time they come to you with an assignment. Even if it means for you to burn the midnight oil, burn it! …and deliver so they keep coming back for you.

Pro Tip: Work extra hours, only if you can.

Tip #7. Be Proactive

When you have completed a deliverable, be sure to be enthusiastic and ask your client if they have more work to give you. You don’t have to wait around for your client, you can take the first step. This will show your client that you are proactive and ready for more work.

Pro Tip: Ask for more work.

Tip #8. Build Relationship

Care to know their birthdays, their children’s birthdays, anniversaries. Be tuned to what your client is feeling. Share some of your personal stories. When there is a real and a genuine connection, your client will never forget you. You will be the first person they think of when things need to get done.

Pro Tip: Get on a video call at least once a month.

Do you have some sure fire ways to make clients love you? Share how you do it in the comments below.

Elizabeth Alex is a freelance content writer for hire. Follow her on her website, Honestliz.com, Facebook and Twitter.

Ten Self-Defeating Gift-Giving Rules

December 15, 2015 by jennifer mcgahan 2 Comments

In my recipe cabinet is a three ring binder full of food-related stuff I’ve collected over the years. A book in progress, it includes recipes I’ve made for various holidays. The good ones make it into the book, the average ones don’t. I pull it down about a week before each big meal or get-together to peruse as I plan the meal.

I also keep ideas for table settings and flowers, and lists of the people who were present, as well as other miscellany. In one section I even clipped an article about three young girls who were killed in a car accident right around graduation/Memorial Day weekend. I didn’t know them, but their deaths hit me especially hard for some reason and I didn’t want to forget them. When summer BBQs start to sound good, I open my book and am reminded to say a prayer.

So it’s that kind of a book; part memories, part food, part kitchen wisdom. I’m not religious about chronicling every little detail, but this hodgepodge of a book has become a beloved part of my holiday tradition.

In the Thanksgiving section I always find and read the following advice for gift-giving. I don’t know where it came from originally, but it was given to me by a woman who mentored me through my first year as a new mom way back in 1998. It helps me get my head on straight before the big retail season hits hard. Since Black Friday has taken on a holiday-like status of it’s own, these tips may reset your thought process. I hope you find some wisdom in this list, too!

The Self-Defeating Gift-Giving Rules

1. Give a gift to everyone you expect to get one from.

2. If someone gives you a gift unexpectedly, you should reciprocate that year, even if you had no previous intention of giving that person a present. (Some people have wrapped gifts set aside for just such an occasion.)

3. When you give someone a gift, you should plan to give that person a gift every year thereafter.

4. The amount of time and money you spend on a gift should be directly proportional to how much you care about the recipient.

5. The gift that you give someone should be equal in monetary value and/or personal significance to the one you receive from that person.

6. The presents you give someone should be fairly consistent over the years.

7. If you give a gift to a person in one category (for example: coworkers or neighbors) you should give gifts to everyone in that category. And these gifts should be similar.

8. The gifts you give your children should be equal in number and monetary value, while at the same time suiting the unique qualities of each child.

9. Men should not give gifts to their male friends, unless the gifts are alcoholic beverages. Women, however, are encouraged to give gifts to their female friends, and those gifts should not be alcohol.

10. Homemade gifts are more “meaningful” than store-bought ones.

Comments are always welcome. Have a great Thanksgiving Day, friends!

Preparing Your Heart For Amazing Things

December 14, 2015 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Advent is all about preparing a place for the redeemer in your heart in the weeks before Christmas, and I’m feeling how tempting it is to overcomplicate this simple task.

Think of how truly unprepared the world was for Jesus’ birth — which was the whole point of his coming, after all! The world was not ready, would never be ready for the love Jesus came to give. If we’d have known, if we’d have received the memo, we humans would have royally messed it up with all manner of pomp and circumstance. Instead, God chose a manger, cold and dark, for his son’s grand entrance. How perfect, small, and humble a space… a reminder that all the Lord wants is space to live in your heart and life; just a little space in his lowly servant to do something amazing.

Today at church, our pastor’s message was about the two assignments in each and every life. The first is a professional assignment, a physical vocation, that thing you’re good at and that you know how to do. The other one is a spiritual assignment.

He preached on Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, a master craftsman in a highly-regarded trade whom God called to be a part of something bigger and messier, requiring humility and bravery beyond anything he’d ever imagined.

You might think you’re not cut out for that, but you are. Everyone is called to figure this out for herself. Your unique assignment is simple: to allow God to do amazing things in and through you. Although it’s simple, it’s never easy, but it’s worth it.

Don’t worry if your heart space is “good enough” for the King. God chose a dirty manger for Jesus’ birth, so certainly your heart is just perfect as it is. Perfect enough. All you have to do is open the door and let him in.

Just look at the kids. Little children are joyful. When I can’t seem to make any room in my heart for one more thing, I see a kiddo with his eyes bright and smiling, just soaking in the wonder of it all… with a full heart!

What a squalid and dreary world it would be without the hope of redemption! That’s what I don’t want to forget in all the busy-ness of the season. The running around, the events and schedules and travel plans and ship-by dates, etc. can dull your enjoyment and remembrance of the nativity story. Try to be like a child, open to wonder and delight, and make a little space in your heart to celebrate the true meaning of the season.

Preparing your heart for wonder is really as simple as lifting the latch. You could be in for a bigger surprise than you imagined!