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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Cruise Speaking Myths

This is an excerpt from my new book "Speakers Cruise
Free: The Opportunity to Trade Your Talents for Free
Luxury Cruises"
available on Amazon.com


Enjoy!

=========================================

Cruise Speaking Myths

by Daniel Hall

In this article I’m going to cover some of the
common myths in cruise ship speaking.

Myth 1: I have to be a professional speaker to be
an enrichment lecturer.

Reality: No you don’t. You do have to have a
passion for and be enthusiastic about your topics
but most enrichment speakers are just everyday,
normal people with something interesting to say.
Of course, you do have to be a good communicator
but you don’t have to be some slick, silver-
tongued speaker. In fact, even to this day I
stutter, sputter and stammer when I’m giving a
presentation. But it doesn’t matter, I still get
high marks and good evaluations because I love my
subjects and, most importantly, I love my
audiences and it shows. It comes through and your
audience recognizes it.

Myth 2: It’s easy to be approved to cruise free
with enrichment programs.

Reality: It is easy to get approved IF you know
how. Many folks have fallen flat on their faces
because they call the cruise lines having no clue
what to say or what to ask. This type of mistake
immediately identifies you as an amateur and you
will be rejected out of hand; Flat out refused.
That’s one of the reasons why I am glad you got
this book so you better understand the playing
field. And if you need more help you can also
invest in my program, Speak on Cruise Ships: 8
Easy Steps to a Lifetime of Free Luxury Cruises
and get my personal coaching help as part of my
Speakers Cruise Free Coaching Club both of which
are available through this website
http://www.SpeakersCruiseFree.com

Myth 3: I don’t have the credentials to do
destination type programs.

Reality: As I have said all along, you stand your
best chance of approval by delivering destination
type programs. I hear many folks tell me, "But
I’m not an expert or have credentials to speak on
a particular destination."

And my answer is, "Yes, you do have the
credentials and expertise you just have to look at
it from a new angle."

This is what I cover extensively in the Speak on
Cruise Ships program, but the general idea is
taking whatever your expertise is or credentials
are and linking them to the destinations you wish
to cruise. For example, I am fairly proficient in
Spanish (learned it on the streets of Santo
Domingo when I was a teenager) so I developed my
Cerveza Fria:45 Minutes to all the Vacation
Spanish You’ll Ever Need program (see
http://www.vacationspanish.net)

This program is a great destination specific
lecture anytime I’m on a cruise that includes a
Spanish speaking port. Now, I really did not have
an expertise or credential in Spanish language but
in this case I had a proficiency in Spanish
(having lived in a Spanish speaking country) which
was enough.

Let me give you another example, one of my
destination programs is called, "Reggae Nation:
The Cultural and Religious Roots of Island Music"
which of course is good on any Caribbean
itinerary. And what’s my credential to teach
this class?

1) I love Reggae music and back in my early
20’s I had a music radio show in Jacksonville,
Florida that featured a bunch of Reggae. I knew
the artists, the culture, and learned a little
about what Rastafarians believe.

2) Then later in my 30’s I am invested as a
knight in an Orthodox chivalric knighthood order.
I learn about Orthodox beliefs and practices and
learn about the relationship between the Ethiopian
Orthodox Church and the Rastafarian movement.

With these kinds of credentials I create my
program. But that’s me. That’s how I used what I
knew to develop a destination-driven program.

You have to identify your areas of expertise and
make your own connections. Believe me, they are
there.

Myth 4: Enrichment speakers are treated as
second-class passengers.

Reality: Enrichment speakers cruise as
passengers, not as crew members, so they get all
the passenger perks and sometimes more. But one
of the things that I hear is, "they stick you in a
lousy cabin."

First, all of the cabins that are assigned are
passenger cabins and come out of saleable
inventory. This means that if you weren’t on the
ship the cruise lines would sell your cabin to a
PAYING passenger. While it is true that you will
rarely, if ever, get an outside cabin, all the
cabins I have ever been assigned have been very
nicely appointed and of ample space. I have even
been as high as Deck 8. Usually the higher in
decks you go the larger the cabins. I have even
been in what are known as "concierge class" cabins
which are really nice.

Does it happen every time?

No, but you are always cruising free and your
cabin is always comfortable, at a minimum. So you
go with the flow, enjoy yourself and realize you
are actually luxury cruising by your wits.

You sly dog.

Myth 5: I am not getting paid for my speaking (or
a variation) they are not paying the equivalent of
my current speaking fee.

Reality: So what! This is a strictly a quid pro
quo arrangement. Most cruises I get between
$3,500 to $4,500 in equivalent value for 3-hours
of my time.

I don’t do cruise speaking to make money -
although I have figured out how to do this too - I
do it to save money!

Look at it this way: you get to take vacations you
may not otherwise be able to afford. The money
that you don’t spend goes right to your bottom
line. And is quality of life important to you?

I sure hope so. That’s what cruise ship speaking
does for me - it improves the quality of my life
and the lives of those to whom I’m closest.

As far as I am concerned, I am paid handsomely for
my efforts even if I don’t sell my books onboard,
or create products from my presentations, or get
paid shore-side speaking engagements. Just the
free cruise is enough for me. The extras are just
that, extras.

I certainly hope this clears some things up for
you. I’m telling you, cruise ship speaking is the
BEST gig on the high seas. It’s worth doing and
it’s with your effort.

I hope you agree. Now go get it done.

Daniel Hall is the author of the "Speak on Cruise
Ships: 8 Easy Steps to a Lifetime of FREE Luxury
Cruises" get his program and get started cruising
free with Daniel's personal, one-on-one help see
http://www.SpeakersCruiseFree.com

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