De-stressing

As I write this I realise that I have met several very poorly prepared speakers. And preparation is everything in my mind.

Last year we cruised with a very eminent investment advisor who has made a fortune in his own investments and from advising others. Yet he sat in a lounge every evening stressing over the following day's lecture.

Kathy and I used our NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) techniques to get to the bottom of the issue. And it soon became clear that he was nervous because he had not prepared a strategy for his talks. We worked that through with him in a matter of 20 minutes, sealed his confidence by removing his anxiety and sent him off to do a little more preparation.

The next day we bumped into him at breakfast where he was eating a super meal and humming along as he redied himself to go on stage. That talk was outstanding.

He now uses those same targeted prepartion techniques in all his lecturing and has seen his portfolio and client list grow.

The key techniques - get your presentations produced well in advance; be clear that they match the descriptions that you give to the cruise company; get a colleague or friend to review with you. And check your personal strategy. Ask yourself what you will have achieved at the end of the next twelve months if this is to be the best year of your life. Then check how your presentations fit in helping you to achieve those goals.

You will probably want to make a few small changes to your style or content - but those small changes will be enough to provide the confident platform from which you will speak.

To find out more about travelling free as a cruise speaker click here - www.cruiseimprove.com/FREE

To discover the wonders and the frustrations of moving to the Mediterranean area visit - http://www.figleaf.org/

Big mouths get...

The Business!

Here's what's going on...

Public speaking is a great way
to attract more clients, generate
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business growth effortlessly,
especially when you master the
skills of persuasion and influence.

Over the past several years, I've
discovered how powerful public
speaking is in growing my own
business. You can learn how too.

My friend Arvee Robinson, Master
Speaker Trainer has invited you
to attend a one day Persuasive Speaking
Mastery Seminar, Wednesday, December 9,
2009 in Ontario, CA.

The value of this training is $597.
Because you are receiving this
email you may come as my guest.

To register & attend at no charge go to:
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The program is limited to 200 people.

Hurry!

Planning topics

I met one speaker who says he always gets in a panic about a month before each cruise as he has to decide what he's going to talk about each day!

I tend to work the other way. I now have a wide range of talks - destination, enrichment and life-style. And before I request any cruise I choose my topics - and note how much tweaking, if any, I must do to ensure that my talks are relevant to each itinerary.

Thus when I send in my application I can include the topics list, day by day. This shows preparation and relevance.

The cruise lines seem to like this attention to detail. Even though they know now that I deliver good material it helps to be reminded.

And of course I then make sure that I deliver what I promise. I don't let them down.

To find out how to cruise free visit - www.cruiseimprove.com/FREE

To lear about our life in Southern Europe visit - http://www.figleaf.org/

Read the Contract

On our last cruise two bridge tutors (booked through another agency) caused a terrible uproar because their session time was changed one day! And this in front of passengers. They even shouted to the entertainments manager "We've paid $60 a day to do you a favour!"

Anyone who reads Daniel's advice will know that times may change. We are all advised to check the daily newsletter to confirm times.

From this point on the cruise staff treated them with kid gloves - but informed the head office not to book them again. I learned two lessons from this little episode -

1) Respect the contract, which usually says something like "Lecturers and their guests should not discuss the details of the contract with other lecturers, cruise company staff or other passengers. The details of this contract are to be kept confidential."

2) Why on earth pay an agent $60 a day to get you booked (note this money stays with the agent - the cruise company are not party to this charge!) - why pay that money, when using Daniel's Hall's system you cruise FREE!!!

To find out more visit - www.CruiseImprove.com/FREE

To read about our wonderful life in the Mediterranean visit - http://www.figleaf.org/

Memories

A lot of people were buying cameras in the various ports and even in the Solstice gift store. Some had forgotten their camera. One person had lost his camera, and two others were dealing with broken cameras.

All of this reminded me that confirming your photo equipment should be on your check list no matter where you're traveling. If you're going to upgrade your camera, it is recommended that you get the new one far enough in advance to learn how to use it. Every shot counts when you're cruising exotic places like the E. Mediterranean.

Check out a few of the great photos we took during 11 days with Celebrity
http://sn.im/med-cruise

Dale Collie
http://CourageBuilders.com
http://sn.im/contact-dale

Safety First

It was amazing how many people were injured during our 10 day cruise in the Eastern Med. Every time we went ashore, someone came back with skinned shins, broken leg or arm, cuts, bruises. Many passengers navigated the old towns and ruins in their wheel chairs and walkers. But it seems that the inexperienced have trouble simultaneously gazing at the magnificent views and walking over cobblestones or dodging along irregular walkways.

It was a good reminder for the rest of us that most of the world is not influenced by Americans with Disabilities Act or OSHA or the threat of law suits. Irregular walkways and stairs and lack of hand rails in the ruins of Greece and Italy are the norm.

Oh, one more thing to be aware of -- while one of our dinner-table mates was having a badly sprained wrist cared for, her husband asked about availability of Imodium. He didn't really need it, but declared that he did to get the free supply .... ooops .... 24 hours in quarantine. Throughout the day and evening, the kind-hearted medicos called his room to see if he needed water or anything else (basically checking to make sure he obeyed the quarantine). If he didn't report improvement at the end of 24 hours, the room assignment would continue for another 48 hours.

The strict policy is part of the ship's effort to control the outbreak of flu and other contagious diseases. Every time we turned around on board the ship, someone was offering us another squirt of Purell anti virus hand cleaner (can you have too much of that stuff?).

OK .. here's the point ... watch where you're walking, wash your hands often, and buy your stand by Imodium in town (about one euro per box - don't ask how I know the price).

Dale Collie
"Using the leadership skills of US Army Rangers to
help key people succeed in tough times."
http://CourageBuilders.com

Don't make a drama out of a crisis!

We were amongst the 2100 passengers (and 800 crew) aboard the Brilliance of the Seas in heavy storms crossing the Gulf of Leon (between France and Spain) two weeks ago. The Captain put comfort and safety ahead of everything. The stabilisers were out and the ship moved up and down - but there was none of the sideways rocking that can upset some people.

Late in the evening, while we were enjoying a superb jazz session in the main show lounge there was some storm damage that put a couple of staterooms out of use. two or three people were injured in the swells and the captain slowed down to reduce the discomfort and avoid any danger.

We were awoken next morning, still at sea, with his announcement that we would arrive back in Barcelona 7 hours late. This gave people issues with their homeward travel plans. But the company immediately opened all phone lines and internet access free of charge to help those passengers who had not booked their travel with the cruise line. Those who had booked through them were re-booked automatically.

The Cruise Director had an open questions session in the theatre and Kathy and I were able to answer a number of travel insurance questions and questions about Barcelona and onward travel.

The whole incident, which could have been a nightmare was handled calmly and professionally. No drama.

To find out more about cruising free as a speaker check out www.cruiseimprove.com/free

To read about our life in Spain visit www.figleaf.org

Destinations R Us!

Have you been to Mykonos? It's an amazing little Greek island with an impressive history.

My destination presentation on the sea day preceding our visit included comments about these beautiful windmills on the island. Upon our arrival, the bright sunshine was like a spotlight on all of the whitewashed buildings in the town.

Cruising the med aboard the Celebrity Solstice is amazing.

Dale

Dale Collie
"Using the leadership skills of US Army Rangers to help key people succeed in tough times."
www.CourageBuilders.com