Newsletters > May 2007

Issue: May 2007

What’s New?

New E-book titled, The 7 Crucial Steps to Being a Successful Leader will be available for purchase in June. Please bookmark the site www.cherylcran.com to check back for its release.

Cheryl's Quick Tip:

Question from a subscriber:
Dear Cheryl,
I saw you speak at our recent health conference and I loved it. The question I have is how do I become a speaker?

Cheryl’s Answer:
Thank you for the compliment; I absolutely love what I do. I get asked this question at least once at every event and so I am going to answer it here for the benefit of my subscribers.
I would like to change your question if I could to: how do I create a market for my area of expertise?
The road to becoming a paid professional speaker is different for any one who has done it. In my case it was not a straight path and it came about as a result of my sales background. When I was in banking and insurance I was a top performer as a sales leader and spent a good portion of my job in front of groups doing sales presentations. I was asked by my boss to do the home buyers seminars for the bank and when I was in insurance I did numerous presentations to developers, bankers and realtors. In school I won a speech contest and my dad tells me I was a born talker. When I started my first business in 1994 I worked with a consultant to help me grow the business and he was so impressed with my results he asked me to work with him as a consultant for two years. Once I sold my first business I focused on consulting and speaking full time and worked for a few major seminar providers internationally. I have certifications in communication, psychology and organizational development as well as leadership. My business background along with the consulting experience and years working with university level seminar providers gave me the tools and skills I use today as a consultant and speaker. In my case my expertise is leadership and communication having been a leader since the age of 23 and in my consulting practice work with executives and leaders to create greater results. There are three questions you need to ask yourself to see if this path is for you:

1. Do I love to get up in front of groups to share passionately the knowledge I have that will up level business and personal results for everyone present?
2. Am I willing to invest time, money and effort into providing the best value possible to my potential clients?
3. What is my real motive for wanting to be a speaker? Is it for the glory? Is it to provide tools and value to the audience? Is it because it looks like fun?

Once you answer these questions you may want to hire a coach who can help you map out your path to becoming a paid professional speaker.

Quote of the Month:

My whole career can be summed up with 'Ignorance is bliss.' When you do not know better, you do not really worry about failing.

Jeff Foxworthy

May’s Article 2007- The Art of Relationship Making

Ask anyone who has gained some measure of success in their career and they will tell you the number one skill that has served them to the highest level is the skill in building relationships.

Donald Trump, Rosie O’ Donnell, Martha Stewart, Ellen DeGeneres all attribute their individual success to the quality of their relationships. So what is the art of relationship making that sets high performing leaders apart from others?

Here are the top 5 ways to master the art of relationship making:

1. High level self awareness- do you know your personality tendencies? Likes, dislikes and further to that your turn offs? Relationship masters know themselves so well that they can identify how to adapt to others based on their own inner self knowledge. Harvard Business Review February 2007 issue says that in their research leader self-awareness is the number one determinant of success.
2. High levels of love for others- do you find people annoying? Do you even like people? If you don’t this is a major roadblock to building great relationships. Like it or not we are a society that bases likeability as a deciding factor in who we will cooperate with. If you love people in general, if you have a curiosity for what makes them tick and if you WANT to create great connections you need to have a love for people.
3. Willing to ebb and flow- Are you rigid in your attitudes and beliefs? Do you find yourself wanting to defend your position often? Relationship mastery requires the personal willingness to move back and forth to give and take and to create wins for others which means flexibility and malleability.
4. Solution provider- Artful relationships are powerful when the basis of the relationship is on solutions. The best scenario is where everyone we interact with is focused on the same goal of being solution oriented. If we are constantly presenting problems or obstacles to others they begin to view us as too draining and will avoid us. On the other hand if you are someone who is ALWAYS looking for the solution that benefits the other person you will create beautiful and harmonious relationships that expand.
5. Make them look like a hero- people want to feel good. People want to be around people who make them feel good. If we are focused on making those in our lives and at work look like heroes they will respond with gratitude, trust and support. Recently at a huge conference a woman said to me as I passed her, “you are fantastic”. I stopped gave her a big smile, looked her right in the eye and said, “so are you!” and she joyfully clapped her hands at our exchange. The truth is when we recognize the brilliance in others they feel connected and in positive relationship to us.

The better the relationships we develop the better we feel about what we do and the more joy we gain out of our work. Here’s to great relationships!

Cheryl Cran, CSP www.cherylcran.com

Check out the Bold Leader Blog:

http://www.cherylcran.com/bold_leader/index.php

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Permission to reprint: You may reprint any items from this monthly newsletter in your own printed publication or e-newsletter as long as you include the following:

Reprinted with permission from Cheryl Cran's monthly e-newsletter www.cherylcran.com. Cheryl Cran, CSP is an author, international speaker and and consultant.

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