Down To The Banana Republic

Note: There is a several day lag time to these
blog posts. Sorry. But Blogger was difficult to
access when I was on the ship.

Better late than never....

Costa Rica

Hello and welcome to all my new subscribers. To my
current subscribers thanks for sticking with me.
To bring you up to date, I'm on an 11 night
Caribbean cruise. I'm cruising free using the
same techniques I teach in "Speak on Cruise Ships"

See --
http://www.SpeakersCruiseFree.com/cb.html

At each stop I'm checking in with a travel log and
a tip on how you can start cruising free using
onboard enrichment programs.

Costa Rica has been my most recent stop. As is
usual when I travel to a new place I learn a
tremendous amount about it.

Costa Rica is fascinating and beautiful. Among
other things, I toured a banana processing plant
and learned that Costa Rica is the world's leading
exporter of bananas.

Chiquita and Dole are based here. And this
country takes its bananas VERY seriously. You
might say in a literal sense that it is a "Banana
Republic."

What makes Costa Rican bananas so special is the
industry is very concerned with quality. And they
go to great lengths to produce and export only
"perfect" bananas.

For example, I learned that while growing, each
banana bunch is covered with a plastic mesh to
help keep the perfect temperature. This procedure
promotes the growth of the long, slender and
unblemished bananas that we are used to seeing in
the United States, Canada and Europe.

Quality is also a very big part of Costa Rica's
other major export, coffee. Much of the world's
truly primo coffee comes from Costa Rica. I
sampled some... delisioso!

When it comes to Costa Rica's exports they are
always fixated on quality. And it has been like
this almost since the country's independence.

Perhaps its has been this focus on quality that
has made Costa Rica one of the most prosperous
and politically stable countries in Central
America.

This discussion about quality calls to mind
another important cruise free tip.

Tip #6

All the cruise lines that have enrichment programs
are also fixated on quality. Accordingly, any
enrichment program they offer likewise must be of
high quality.

What does this mean to you, the aspiring
enrichment speaker?

You too must take the quality of your onboard
programs seriously.

What do I mean?

Here's a list --

* Your knowledge base in your topic area should be
sound. You don't necessarily have to be an expert
but you should know more about your topic area
than the average cruise passenger.

* You should use the various devices and tools
that professional speakers use to sound, well,
"professional" -- "Speak On Cruise Ships"
teaches what these tools are and how to use them
so you sound prepared and polished every time.
See -- http://www.SpeakersCruiseFree.com/cb.html

* You must always be mindful of creating a
quality experience for passengers who attend your
programs. This extends beyond the time you're
presenting.

You must give these folks a few moments of your
time and attention after class time. Let me give
you an example.

Yesterday, I gave my Origami class. Many of the
attendees wanted to fold more models than we had
time for so I offered to continue the class in a
lounge. We did and we had a blast.

The extra time allowed me to give a little extra
attention and help to those who wanted it. It
also allowed me time to connect and create
stronger relationships with some members of my
audience. This always results in higher
evaluations and I thoroughly enjoy myself too.

I hope you're finding these tips helpful. But
you need to get started enjoying the great life
cruising free with enrichment programs can
provide.

If you're serious about it, get "Speak On Cruise
Ships" and learn the shortcuts.

http://www.SpeakersCruiseFree.com/cb.html

s/ Daniel Hall