Four Big Weight Loss No-Nos

I've worked with hundreds of people who
were interested in losing weight. Over
the years I've noticed four areas that
I believe are particular hindrances
to weight loss. If your goal is to be
successful at losing weight and keeping
it off, avoid the "big 4" no-nos.

#1 Big No-No: Not exercising on a daily
basis. Daily exercise sends your metabolism
through the roof! I have seen VERY FEW people
who are not very regular exercisers, lose
weight AND keep it off.

Losing weight and maintaining that loss
can be very difficult. However, both can
be made considerably easier with regular
exercise, preferably in the morning.

If you're interested in losing fat, you're
objective is to create a daily caloric
deficit. For example, If you're consuming
1700 calories per day, and expending 2000
calories per day, your caloric deficit is
300 calories. Losing a pound of fat requires
a deficit of 3500 calories. So, to lose
two pounds per week would require a daily
deficit of 1000 calories.

So, if you'd like to increase your daily
caloric deficit, you have two options;
1. To decrease your caloric intake by eating
fewer calories, or..
2. To increase your caloric expenditure via
more activity / exercise.
However, you cannot decrease your daily
caloric intake much lower than 1200 to
1500 or so without potentially creating
health and metabolism problems.

In fact, many people's metabolism (basal
metabolic rate) is so slow from years of
inactivity and dieting, that they are only
burning fewer than 1500 calories per day.
Without exercise, they would have to
decrease their daily caloric intake to
unhealthy levels to lose weight. And, a
caloric intake that's too low only creates
more metabolism problems and a vicious
cycle of more weight gain.

So, the only remaining factor in the deficit
equation is caloric expenditure through
increased activity / exercise.

The good news is that you can substantially
increase your caloric expenditure. For
example, if you're currently walking for
30 minutes two days per week, over a period of
several weeks you can increase your walking
to 60 minutes per day, six to seven days
per week and begin weight training for 30
minutes three days per week.

So, in this example, you would increase your
monthly exercise minutes from about 240 to
1530. Plus, in addition to the calories that
you're expending during exercise, you would
also substantially increase the number of
calories you're burning 24 hours-a-day, yes,
you'll even burn more calories while you're
sleeping because you've fired-up your basal
metabolic rate. You can't beat that, can you?

Here's another VERY important reason
to exercise while you're restricting
calories and trying to lose weight. you tend
to lose muscle tissue from any muscle that
you're not using while you're restricting
calories. You've heard it - use it or lose it.
And, there are three main consequences to
losing muscle;
1. Your metabolism (basal metabolic rate)
decreases causing you to burn *fewer* calories
24 hours-a-day and causing the maintenance
of your weight loss to be very difficult.
2. Your muscles get flabby and mushy.
3. Your are weaker and become fatigued
more easily.

#2 Big No-No: Not deciding to make a drastic
change. I've seen this over and over again
with hundreds of people. Unless someone
decides that they are ready to get really
serious about losing weight and ready to
make drastic changes, their chances of losing
weight and keeping it off are not good.

Research continues to indicate that
Americans are becoming more sedentary..
and fatter every year. This move toward
inactivity and an increase in body fat
is even more pronounced in children, who
don't get out and play anymore. Instead,
they sit in front of a TV or computer
(perhaps like their parents) for many of
their waking hours.

We know that there is a very direct,
inverse relationship between a person's
level of activity and the percentage of
their weight that is fat. less activity
equals more fat, and more activity equals
lees fat.

I received an email message recently
that I'd like to share with you. It's a
weight loss and fitness success story
that makes you want to start exercising
while you're reading it.

It's from a 48 year-old lady, Elizabeth,
who lives in Lexington, Kentucky. She
is living proof that less activity
equals more fat, and more activity
equals less fat. Here's her letter:

"Greg, I'm writing to thank you for your
inspiring articles and to tell you about
my journey (a rough one) to fitness. I
was at a healthy weight in my early
twenties and had my first child at age
26. I remained about 30 pounds overweight
after she was born."

"I managed to gain 15 more pounds during
the next four years, mostly because of
several diets I tried. After the birth
of my second child at age 31, I was 60
pounds overweight and very frustrated.
Over the next 15 years I tried numerous
diets (even eating just rice) that
ultimate led to me being 120 pounds
overweight."

"I started reading your articles two years
ago and it finally began to sink in. I
finally realized that exercise wasn't
just about the calories I was burning
during exercise. I finally realized
that I would never lose the weight and
keep it off without some real exercise
in my life."

"I reached a point in my life where my
weight was ruining my life. I got to the
point where everything was a struggle,
none of my fat clothes fit, I didn't
want to see anyone because of the way I
looked, and even walking made me
breathless. I decided that I would either
make a drastic change at that point or
I would give up. I chose to make a drastic
change."

"I knew that exercise needed to be a
priority and so I changed several things
in my daily schedule to make that happen.
I started with very little but I was very
consistent. I worked up to 45 minutes of
aerobic exercise in the morning and 30 to
45 minutes in the evening. On Saturdays,
I take a less intense, but longer walk
throughout my area of town enjoying all
the sights. I'm up to 8 to 10 miles on
my Saturday walk. I also weight train
three days a week. Please don't get the
impression that this was easy. I went
through MANY difficult struggles but
it definitely got easier as I progressed."

"I'm now 12 pounds from my goal weight. Greg,
I can't begin to explain how my life has
changed. Everything is different. Even
the way people talk to me. It's almost
like people didn't even see the person
under all that fat. Probably best of all
is that I have energy to function now.
I'm not constantly tired like I used to
be."

"Obviously, my perception of exercise has
changed now. I enjoy it and look forward
to it. I'm planning on doing a half
marathon (13.1 miles) walk in the fall.
Thanks again for your words of
encouragement."

Elizabeth
Lexington, Kentucky

Wow! This lady is unstoppable. Notice that
she first realized the true benefits of
exercise and then decided to do *whatever*
she had to for exercise to become a
consistent part of her life.

Exercise radically changes how your body
handles fat! when you're sedentary, all
the physiological signals tell your body
to hang on to the fat and dump the
metabolism boosting muscle. When you're
exercising on a daily basis, all the
physiological signals tell your body to
dump the fat and increase the metabolism
boosting muscle. Which signals do you want?

#3 Big No-No: Not taking the time to plan
and prepare your eating. Healthy eating for
weight loss won't just happen, you have to
spend time on it.

Not being prepared is a major factor that
leads to overeating and unhealthy eating.
Take time to plan your shopping and eating
for the week. Take time to prepare your
lunch to take to work, and your meal for
the evening, etc. Plan for healthy snacks
to have at home, in your car, at work, etc.
Our weight loss programs specifically
discuss how to set up an effective snacking
system.

4. Not including intervals in your aerobic
exercise. Intervals are brief periods (about one
minute) of more intense exercise mixed into your
regular aerobic exercise sessions. For
example, if you're walking, you would do a
one minute interval of faster walking once
every five minutes throughout your exercise
session.

Here's how it will look.. you'll start with
your normal three to five minute warm-up and
then five minutes into your workout you do
your first interval, one minute of faster
walking (or perhaps jogging). At the end of
that minute you should be "winded" and ready
to slow down. You'll slow down to your normal
exercising speed for the next four minutes
and then your fifth minute is another one
minute interval. This pattern continues
throughout your exercise session.

You'll derive several benefits from intervals..

1. Intervals can help you to get past a
weight loss plateau.

2. Intervals increase your aerobic fitness
level by "pushing the envelope". While doing
your interval you cross the anaerobic
threshold into anaerobic metabolism, forcing
your body to become conditioned to more
intense exercise.

3. Your increased level of fitness means that
a given level of exercise will feel easier
and that you will be able to exercise at a
higher intensity which "burns" more calories.

4. Your increased level of fitness also means
that you will be less fatigued from daily
activities and you'll have more "energy"
throughout the day.

5. Intervals increase your basal metabolic
rate (BMR), causing you to burn more calories
24 hours-a-day.

6. Intervals cause you to "burn" more calories
during your exercise session and for several
hours afterwards.

7. Intervals will tone the involved muscles
to a greater degree than your regular aerobic
exercise would.

8. Intervals can make your exercise less
monotonous and help the time pass more
quickly.

9. Intervals will energize you!

If you'd like to put a little excitement into
your exercise, and you're looking for better
results, give intervals a try.

Avoid these four "no-nos" and your weight loss
efforts are much more likely to be successful.

copyright 2004 by Greg Landry, M.S.

Author and exercise physiologist, Greg Landry, offers free weight loss and fitness success stories and targeted, highly affective weight loss programs for women, men, type 2 diabetics, and people with slow metabolisms and hypothyroidism.. http://www.Landry.com

Stress Managment: 12 Universal Laws for Managing Anger

1. The Law of Everyone

It is not neccessarily wrong to get angry. You get angry, I get angry, all God's children get angry. It's what we do with our anger that makes the difference.

2. The Law of Stress

Although we don't often think of anger as a form of stress, it is by far one of the largest and most destructive forms of daily stress. Manage your anger, and you manage a large amount of your stress. 3. The Law of Choice

Anger is rarely if ever an automatic response. It's a choice. It's a choice because we have to think about something before we get angry.

4. The Law of Shoulds

We all have beliefs about how the world and the people around us should behave. When these beliefs are violated, anger is a natural, and sometimes reasonable response. The problem is that when we "should" on somebody, it can become a trigger for our anger.

For example, if we run the sentence "that driver should not have cut in front of me" over and over in our heads, the response is not likely to be pretty. At best we'll raise our blood pressure, and at worst do something really stupid.

5. The Law of Blame

Another one of our thoughts that lead quickly to anger involves blaming someone or something. The dance of blame is a deadly two step:

1) someone is at fault, and

2) they should be punished - anger can be very punishing.

6. The Law of Cause

This one is closely related to the law of blame. There is a myth in our culture that very few people ever question. The best example is the phrase "he made me angry."

Well, bull! No one can make us angry without our cooperation.

7. The Law of Emflaming

Another myth is that if we are able to vent our anger it will automatically decrease. That is not necessarily so. I once watched a neighbor stomp around the side of his house, grumbling and swearing as he went. Stomping by the air conditioning unit, he smashed his fist down on top of it. That move not only made him more angry, it looked to me like it hurt a lot too. Grumbling and swearing even louder, he stomps into his backyard and kicks a lounge chair. It didn't appear to calm him down, and it looked like that one hurt too. I found out later that he broke both his hand and his foot on his romp around the yard.

8. The Law of Source

In almost every case, anger is a secondary emotion. In other words, we experience some other strong emotion before we feel the anger. Follow the source and you usually come up with one of three strong emotions - fear, frustration or hurt, or some combination of the above. Deal with fear, frustration and hurt and you can cut anger off at the pass.

9. The Law of Battles

Learn to pick your battles. If you get angry at everything, then your anger means nothing. If that sounds confusing, here's an example: how much would gold be worth if we all had it in abundance? That's right, not much. Gold is valuable because it is so rare. If you are always getting angry, people stop taking you seriously and just want to avoid you.

10. The Law of Worth

Ask your self this question: "is this situation worth getting angry over?" Most time it just isn't.

11. The Law of Muscles

Learn to exercise your choice muscles.We can choose to be angry or we can choose another way of handling the situation.

12. The Law of Channeling

When you do get angry, channel it into something you can use to benefit you, such as motivating you into changing what can be changed.

Visit SecretsofGreatRelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.

Ten Critical Website and Search Engine Promotion Mistakes

When it comes to promoting your website, you might think that anything you can do to get people to your website is worthwhile. However, you should think again because some shady practices will actually hurt you. Also, other SEO tactics could reduce the amount of potential visitors simply because you do not have a clear understanding of how the Internet and search engines work. Read the following tips on what not to do when promoting your website and if you are doing some of these things stop immediately and learn how to effectively promote your site.

1. Too Many Images

Search engines search for text, so if your website is composed mostly of photographs your results will be significantly lower if ranked at all. It's ok to have good photos, just make sure you have really good content as well.

2. Keyword Phrases

Keywords phrases are a great way to get more traffic. However, if you are unaware of the importance of keyword phrases or unsure how to use them effectively then you might be doing yourself in. Learn about the importance of keyword phrases and how to get them to work for you.

3. Excessive Keywords

Using too many keywords with no clear understanding of how those keywords influence search engine rankings can also cause you problems. Before you start listing hundreds of keywords in your content, learn how to properly utilize this tool to get it to work for you and not against you.

4. Links are Difficult to Find

Make sure your website is clearly laid out and any links to other pages are obvious and easy to get to. Too many times links are hidden and people cannot find them, so they simply leave.

5. Information is hard to find

Another significant problem is if information on your products or how to buy them is obscured or difficult to find. Make sure everything is out in the open and obvious.

6. Frames

Search engines do not return websites with frames very well because all of the pages link to one URL. If your website has frames, remove them as they'll certainly have a negative impact on your search engine ranking efforts.

7. Spamming Search Engines

This is a very bad idea because if you are trying to trick the search engines regarding the true content on your page, you may be doing yourself more harm than good because the search engines may blacklist your site. Avoid doing this at all costs, especially on a domain that is important to you.

8. Website Should Work In all Browsers

Not everyone uses Internet Explorer, so make sure the web page opens in any browser. If not, you will be eliminating a lot of potential users.

9. Wrong Optimization

Often times people work hard on optimizing their web pages using certain keywords. However, you must be sure the keywords you are using are relevant to your market and your products. There are programs that will help you make sure you are choosing the right keywords for your web page. If you optimize wrong, you won't get visitors.

10. Over-submitting Pages

Do not submit too many pages to the search engines in one day. The reason for this is if you submit too many pages they may be simply ignored, and in fact many search engines only accept one page per day. So, submit one page per day and be patient. An even better idea than submitting is building up your incoming links as search engines will find these and follow them to your website.

Michael Turner reveals his foolproof way to increase website traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it free right now at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/

Is 100% Annual Return On Investments Possible With Low Risk Land Investments?

In last week's article, we discussed how substantial profits could be made by investing where baby boomers may want to relocate or buy a second home. This seemed to confuse readers since they were thinking that our web site is about preconstruction and preconstruction to them means buying condos?? In this article, I hope to broaden your horizons considerably.

Unlike many people, I have a very broad definition of preconstruction investing which can be summarized as follows:

Preconstruction investing is the pursuit of real estate projects that offer the opportunity to ride rapidly increasing prices over time without the need to put tenants in place to defray costs. Since no tenants are involved, this opens the possibility to making investments in locales that are far removed from where you live.

If you adopt this point of view, then a whole world of "alternative" preconstruction investments opens up to you. Today, we are going to look at one specific type of investment: investing in developing land projects where baby boomers might want to retire or own a second home.

Before we get into the specifics, let's talk about what all investors want:

? Low risk

? Good investment returns; and

? Minimal use of their capital;

Quite frankly, these 3 reasons are what got me into preconstruction real estate investing in the first place. Now let's see how these might be achieved on a purchase of investment land that we believe to be VERY desirable to baby boomers.

Suppose we are considering the purchase of a piece of property for speculation of future returns. If, like me, you believe in the impact of the baby boomers, then you will do 3 things to control your risk:

1. Carefully select a land project where you are solidly convinced that baby boomers will want to possess it at any costs;

2. Make sure that you believe that baby boomers will be AWARE of this project in the future do to somebody's marketing; and

3. Manage your finances and investment portfolio so that if you are wrong and you do take a loss, it is not catastrophic to you.

For the time being, let's assume that you have met these conditions on a project and now you are ready to analyze your returns and your use of capital.

Now we have to resort to hard analysis. Let's look at the following ASSUMPTIONS:

1. The land project is assumed to increase at least 25%/Yr in price;
2. We plan on holding the land for 2 yrs and then resell.
3. $200,000 purchase price with $5,000 in closing costs.
4. Annual taxes/association fees of 1%.

If you take a look at the three cases in a spreadsheet format, here is how things might turn out under this scenario.

Case 1: 10% down payment, interest only, all payments made by BUYER.

Case 2: 10% down payment, interest only, all payments made by SELLER.

Case 3: 5% down payment, interest only, all payments made by SELLER.

Cases 2 and 3 require a bit of explanation. There are some early stage land projects available where the developer will take a percentage of your purchase price and escrow an amount that will make your payments for a period of time---- typically 2 years. This means that during your 2 year hold, you would only pay taxes and association fees. To enter this in the spreadsheet, we just show a 0% rate during the holding period.

If you scroll down, you can review the performance of each case. It may surprise you that even under Case 1, where you paid in a total of $48,600 out of pocket, you still see a return on investment of 127%! That equates to 51% annual return on investment. Compare that to what your friendly banker is giving you in your CD.

For many investors, beginning or not, they would prefer not to have to put in that much money so let's look at Case 2 where the developer has escrowed 2 years worth of payments. In this case, we invest a total of $29,000 with a total, out the door profit before taxes of $81,625 thus providing a total return of 281%. If you then extend that to Case 3, where only 5% down is required, then the return goes off the charts to well over 500%!

So hopefully this article has given you a very different way to think about old fashioned land purchases in your real estate investing portfolio.

Dr. Chris Anderson is a leading authority on real estate investing and has been referenced in many venues including the New York Times and USA Today. Free sign up at GetPreconstructionDeals.com for education and articles. Visit Mastermind Group for world class investing projects.

How To Keep Your Cat Healthy - Cat Feeding Explained

Cats have a reputation for being finicky eaters, but that is usually a distortion of the truth. Cats have a very keen sense of taste and smell, and they know what they like. If you have fed your cat the same food for years, then change brands, she may boycott the new menu. If you must change her diet, do it over time, mixing just a bit of the new food with plenty of the old favorite. Slowly increase the amount of new food and decrease the old.

Cats are creatures of habit. Your feline friend will feel more calm and comfortable if you feed her at the same time each day. If more than one cat shares your home, be sure that each has a food and water bowl of its own. This lessens competition, territoriality, and ensures that everyone is getting their fair share of nutrition.

Cats have unusual nutritional needs and you should check the labelling of your chosen cat foods to ensure they are included, or consider nutritional supplements. These include:

* Vitamin A

* Niacin

* Essential Fatty Acids

* Taurine

The amount and frequency of food you put out depends on the age, health, and activity level of your cat. Kittens under 12 weeks of age usually need to eat about four times each day. Adult cats benefit from twice-a-day feedings. Read packaging labels or ask your veterinarian for guidelines on how much food your cat should eat each day. Don't panic if your cat skips a meal, but if she doesn't eat for more 48 hours, contact your vet. But, keep in mind that if your cat is allowed to roam outdoors, she may be ruining her appetite at a neighbor's house. Never feed your cat table scraps. They are unhealthy for her, and create annoying begging behaviors.

I would always pick a meat-based cat food over a vegetable-based one. Despite the fact that you will pay more for the meat food, if you are concerned about the health of your cat, this will be a cost worth paying. And because meat-based products are generally of better quality, your cat will be satisfied with less of the quality cat food that she would be with a lesser quality product.

Moist, or canned food is usually a favorite - the moisture amplifies the scent-but make sure your cat also eats dry food regularly. Leave a bowl of dry kibble out for your cat to snack on throughout the day; the crunchy food helps clean her teeth. If you do feed "wet" food, make it available for about 30 minutes, and throw away the uneaten portion. This teaches your cat to "get it while the getting is good." Never leave canned food in a dish all day long; it attracts ants, cockroaches, and creates a bad habit in your cat.

In addition to a bowl of dry kibble, make sure your cat has plenty of fresh water in a clean bowl. If your home is large, or has multiple levels, consider putting out more than one water bowl so that she always has access to water and won't need to try quenching her thirst via an "unsafe" supply.

Most people know that cats are carnivores, or meat eaters, and are puzzled when their cats begin eating houseplants. This could be dangerous - some plants are toxic. A plant-snacking cat may be trying to get required minerals that might be lacking from the commercial food she eats. Give her access to a planter pot of "cat grass" (available at pet supply stores and garden centers), and she'll leave your other plants alone.

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5 Steps To A Better Motorcycle Loan With A Better Credit Score

It is common knowledge that motorcycle lenders base high importance on your FICO credit scores when approving motorcycle loans. However, what many people overlook is that their FICO credit score can highly impact the term on their motorcycle loan along with the interest rate that is assigned to the motorcycle loan.

In order to gain better motorcycle loan rates it is important that you think of your FICO credit score as a picture of how risky you are to the lender. Your FICO score is essentially a benchmark which lenders use to grade you and assign a risk to you when applying for a motorcycle loan. Since factors about your credit change on a daily basis so can your FICO credit score.

The below 5 steps are designed to help ensure you improve your creditworthiness as your credit score changes. Ultimately these steps should help you obtain better motorcycle loan rates in the future.

Watch Your Debt? Keep your account balances below 30% of your available credit limit. This is especially true with your credit card because many motorcycle lenders see credit card debt as more risky. If you have a credit card with a $5,000 limit, you should try to keep the balance owed below $1500 when you apply for a motorcycle loan.

Make Your Payment On-time - Paying your current credit bills on-time is one of the biggest factors that contributes to a higher FICO score. Typically when motorcycle lenders see potential customers that do not pay their bills on-time then they either decline them or issue a motorcycle loan at a much higher interest rate. Late payments, collections and bankruptcies have the greatest negative effect on your credit score and how lenders rate you when getting a motorcycle loan.

Establish Credit Early ? Time is very important part of improving your FICO score. Therefore, it is recommended that you start building credit early. Getting one or two credit cards can significantly help build credit. However, the key to this strategy is keeping your purchases small and frequent and paying off the balance every month on time. When establishing credit you should also keep the oldest account on your credit report open in order to lengthen your period of active credit use. The length of your credit history can make a big difference in getting approved for a motorcycle loan.

Avoid Excessive Credit Inquiries ? A credit inquiry normally happens when you apply for credit. If you have a large number of credit inquiries in a short time period many motorcycle lenders see this as a negative since it affects your FICO score. Therefore, when you are applying for credit or shopping for motorcycle loans be careful how many times your credit is accessed. Be advised that sometimes motorcycle dealerships will pre-screen you by asking you for your driver licenses and social security number. Normally this results in a credit inquiry on your credit report. Be prudent in shopping for credit and motorcycle loans.

Check Your Credit Regularly ? In today's age it is easy to get online to check your credit. Checking your free credit report regularly is very important because it can help you uncover inaccuracies that are affecting your FICO credit score. Don't let your credit health suffer due to inaccurate information. If you find an inaccuracy on your credit report contact the creditor associated with the account or the credit reporting agencies to correct it immediately.

Copyright (c) 2005, by Jay Fran This article may be freely distributed as long as the copyright, author's information and the following active live link with anchored text is published with the article:

Motorcycle Loans ?Bankruptcy Motorcycle Financing ? Used Motorcycle Loans

About The Author:
Jay Fran is a successful author at http://www.motorcycle-financing-guide.com - A comprehensive resource to compare low interest rate motorcycle financing, military motorcycle loans, after bankruptcy motorcycle loans and new & used online motorcycle buying tips for Harley-Davidson, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and more.

Avoid the Duds: 10 Strategies for Selecting The Perfect Speaker

Today, more than ever, the success of meetings relies heavily on the strength of program content and presentation. Nothing can spoil a meeting more than hiring the wrong speaker. That's because speakers do more than just convey the overall meeting message. You look to them to provide insights, awareness, and cutting-edge information in an energetic, motivational, entertaining, and professional manner. What more could you ask for? Well, the right speaker can emphasize an important message, offer inspiration, help people cope with new assignments, and lead the way towards change. Selecting the right speaker for your event is one of the most important, yet daunting elements for creating a successful meeting. Your speaker can often make or break the event. If he bombs, your reputation not only takes a severe nose-dive, but you also have the pleasure of dealing with the barrage of complaints from a disappointed audience. Yet, if he does well, you can walk away with many of the accolades, compliments, and of course, the rave reviews. By now, you probably realize that this massive responsibility is not to be taken lightly. Raise Your Expectations
The skill to selecting a great speaker is determining what combination of education, motivation, and entertainment best fits your function. Then set out to find a perfect match. But keep your expectations high, since nothing can spoil a meeting faster than booking the wrong speaker. The following 10 guidelines should help you keep your focus and also keep you away from the "duds."
1. Know the program objectives. Before you can start looking for the right speaker, you must know the program objectives. Begin with the end in mind. What are you looking to achieve? Is this an annual meeting, a training program, an incentive get-together, an awards celebration, or another type of event? This will probably be a committee or management decision, rather than one you will have to make. But you may have to make an intangible concept tangible. 2. Understand the audience's needs. Along with the program objectives, consider the needs of your audience. Does your group need industry-specific or technical information? Will a mix of motivation and entertainment serve your group's purpose? Today's audiences are generally younger, more educated, more diverse, and more sophisticated than in the past. They want content. They want to learn, but they also want it to be fun, so consider the audience needs and exactly what they expect. Consider surveying your audience. Ask them what they want or what skills would most help them in their jobs. For example, sales people may ask for advanced selling skills, but managers may request teambuilding programs. 3. Check for reputation. With countless speakers out there vying for your business, how can you possibly determine which one best meets your needs? Many speakers produce highly professional or glitzy marketing materials to help sell their services. You must look deeper than simply scanning a few brochures and ask pointed questions to find the right fit, such as What experience does this speaker have? How familiar is this speaker with this industry? and, Who else has used this person? 4. "Test drive" your prospects. If you don't have the opportunity to preview a speaker in person, then the next best thing is to request a video or audio recording of a previous presentation. A session that was recorded before a live audience gives you a better sense of a person's real ability.
Watch or listen carefully to how the speaker builds rapport and interacts with the audience. Ask yourself if this person would be right for your group. Is the combination of education, motivation, and entertainment appropriate for your needs? Does the speaker have a message that is appropriate, timely, and relevant to the theme or purpose of your event? Does it conform to your company's philosophy and policy? Do you feel the speaker is genuine and has the expertise to deliver a solid presentation? 5. Don't be star-struck. If you are considering celebrity speakers, make sure they can speak! TV personalities do a great job on the air, but sometimes have little public speaking expertise, and you should be aware that the skills needed for being on TV and for speaking live are very different. However, many well-known personalities make excellent speakers and can add enormous value and clout to your event. Politicians and sports, media, or entertainment celebrities often share life experiences, offer advice, or have an inspirational message to impart. 6. Be wary of grandiose claims. Speakers who claim to be all things to all people are probably desperate for work. Avoid them. True professional speakers, on the other hand, usually have certain areas or topics of expertise. They would much rather refer potential business to a true expert than jeopardize their reputation by trying to do a program outside of their knowledge zone. Also, beware of the charismatic and fluffy speaker as your audience wants good, solid take-away value. 7. Provide and ask for good information. Reputable speakers want to find out as much as possible about the meeting objectives, the audience, industry challenges, and so on in order to tailor their presentation to the group. Share information on your organization and audience to help the speaker design a program to fit your specific needs. provide them with newsletters, catalogs, or any other publications that highlight industry trends, key people, industry jargon or buzz words, and insider news and views.
Also include as much information as possible about the size and demographics of the audience such as age, gender, and positions. 8. Ask for an outline. Ask prospective speakers for an outline of the presentation to make sure they will be covering the material as you discussed. This will clearly lay out what's expected as verbal communication is subject to being misunderstood or misinterpreted. Seeing exactly what speakers plan to cover in the sessions should help to ensure that the material is tailored to your specific needs. 9. Maximize opportunities. Look for ways to maximize opportunities with your speakers. Discuss different ways they can add extra value and be a significant resource to help improve your meeting's success. Brainstorm ways that you feel they can assist you in planning, preparing, promoting, and presenting. Some suggestions include serving as an emcee, conducting special sessions or roundtable discussions about current issues for select groups such as company executives or the board of directors, and participating in a spouse program. 10. Trust your instincts. Through your communication with the speaker, you will quickly form an opinion or have a feeling about this person. First reactions count here. "I like this person" or "I don't like this person," or "I feel comfortable or uncomfortable working with this person," are strong indicators. These responses usually comes from your gut - a very trustworthy organ. Have confidence in your instincts and trust that so-called sixth sense. If you experience any kind of negative feeling, think about looking for someone else or get another opinion from a colleague. You want to make sure that you can work with this person and that both of you are on the same wavelength.
The true objective of hiring a professional speaker hinges on establishing a partnership where a mutually beneficial relationship grows and flourishes. When this happens, you know you've chosen well. The Perfect Match
Overwhelmed with the plethora of speakers to choose from? You may want to turn to a speaker's bureau for advice and guidance. A good bureau should act as a consultant and partner to help your event succeed. Even though many hundreds of bureaus are out there, the numbers pale in comparison to the thousands of speakers. A bureau's sole purpose is simply to make your job easier and provide you with solutions. They want to find the best possible match for your event within your price range. So, where do go looking for one of these bureaus? Here are a few places to start your search: the phone book, chambers of commerce, convention and visitors bureaus, the Internet, industry colleagues, and friends. A Final Note:
Look for CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) or CPAE (Council of Peers Award for Excellence) designations. Both these are conferred by the National Speakers Association and are considered the speaking profession's international measure of professional platform skill (http://www.nsaspeaker.org). Armed with these guidelines and resources, your search for the perfect speaker will be more fruitful. And with a little effort and some time, you will connect with a speaker who will fulfill your goals- one that will be both inform and enlighten. Your audience will thank you.

Written by Susan A. Friedmann,CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: "Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies," working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and training. Go to http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com to sign up for a free copy of ExhibitSmart Tips of the Week.