Professionally Speaking » Podcast Feed

Donald R. Hunter has been totally blind since seven due to a medication reaction to sulfa drugs. He has been a CEO, consultant, product marketing manager, software developer, public speaker, and financial planner during the past two decades of his corporate and entrepreneurial career. Donald has a burning passion for helping business owners get control over financial matters in their firms so that he can help them grow their business through financing and raising capital from investors. People who hear him speak from the platform often say that Donald is the "professor of finance" because his speaking style is more from the college lecture genre. Donald is currently a certified financial planner and the CEO of his commercial finance company - Donald Hunter Financial. He has a masters of business administration from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Donald speaks to chamber groups and financial planning and real estate associations, and helps real estate and

Continuing my investigation of the NSA Vendor fair I talked with Tracy Penwell who sells handbags under the name Dressed Up Cat. Her one-of-a-kind bags are created from "found" bags & objects. The bags are all made from recycled components, Penwell says, and in 2008, she was a finalist for "Best Green Handbag" in the Independent Handbag Designers Awards. She was also a 2008 nominee for the People’s Choice Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. To hear what she had to tell me about her bags, and why professional speakers are a good market for her, click on the podcast icon below.

NSA Exhibit Area As with many large conventions, the National Speakers Association gathering has an exhibit area where vendors sell everything from self-publishing solutions to, well, handbags and jewelry. Speakers have to look good on stage and off. I took the opportunity to ask a couple of the vendors about the goods they sell and why they come to exhibit at NSA. Illusion Jewlry Patricia Carbeery has been working with glass for over 25 years. She finds working with hot glass is very direct and immediate—the ever changing rainbow of color and light while working with dichroic, metals, powders, as well as the glass, continues to fascinate. She creates her own beads using the ancient technique of lampworking. To make each bead, she melts glass in an oxygen propane flame at temperatures in exces of 2000° F. She then anneal the beads in a kiln for five hours or more. All her designs are unique—incorporting her handmade lampworked beads, Swarovski crystals, silver from Bali, and freshwater pearls. Her work

Ellen Taliaferro, MD (aka Dr T) is a recovering emergency physician now serving as the Medical Director of the San Mateo Medical Center Keller Center for Family Violence Intervention in San Mateo, CA. Using her background in emergency medicine, stress management, and writing, she has created a program called Healing the Wound Within with a personal Writing Practice Prescription. In addition, she continues to speak on Domestic Violence As A Health Issue and The Medical Aspects Of Manual Strangulation As A Form Domestic Violence Assault. Dr T grew up in Will Rogers country and loves country humor. She sees herself as a true Okie: "Sooner born, Sooner bred, and when I die I’m California dead." Of note, she finished her clinical career at UTSW medical school and Parkland Hospital. While there, the Dallas Morning News named her as one of the 100 most influential Texas women — an amazing feat for an Okie. Pro-Track Profile Dr. T. is a professional member of the National Speakers Association. She's also a Board M

Back in August 2008 I wrote a long review of the Magcloud print-on-demand publishing solution from HP Labs. Since then I've helped produce a number of editions of Professionally Speaking for our local National Speakers Association (NSA) chapter as well as a magazine for my wife's College Admissions Counseling business. I was recently invited by Dick Bruso of the Writers and Publishers Professional Expert Group (PEG) of NSA to deliver a one-hour teleseminar on Magcloud. The teleseminar was given on May 21, 2009. The teleseminar covered three areas: A background on printing on demand for magazine publishers The mechanics of producing your own magazine for free Some examples and my own experience of the time and effort involved. Websites referenced in my talk Magcloud Professionally Speaking Georgia Speaker Step Into College Two Words Issuu To hear the teleseminar click on the podcast icon below. Since this is a 55 minute recording you may prefer to Download and listen at your convenience.

Dr. Ronna Phifer-Ritchie has been a coach, consultant, professor, public speaker/workshop leader, and author during the past two decades of her career. Ronna has a formidable passion for helping individuals broaden and optimize personality style as a developmental pathway to true spiritual, relational, and professional progress. Because Ronna is a specialist in the professional application of the Enneagram, her colleagues have nicknamed her the EnneaGal. Ronna is a certified Riso-Hudson Enneagram Institute Teacher, as well as a Faculty Trainee and Authorized Workshop Presenter for the Enneagram Institute in New York. She is an International Enneagram Association Accredited Enneagram Teacher and a member of the editorial committee for the IEA Professional Journal. Ronna is the project manager and assistant writer for the current Riso-Hudson book project on the Enneagram of Personality and relationships, the author of the monthly e-newsletter Elements of Style: Type Talk with the EnneaGal , and has been a te

Pat Obuchowski is the CEO (Chief Empowerment Officer) of inVisionaria, a seven year old leadership, team and life coaching organization. She helps clients achieve their vision on both a professional and personal level by sharpening their leadership, interpersonal, coaching, presentation and organization skills. She coaches for results. Most recently she served as an internal Lead Leadership Coach with Pacific Gas & Electric Company where she coached corporate leaders and teams to be more impactful and productive. Her special talent includes accelerating the learning and integration of organizational leaders and teams into new roles brought about by transitions, such as promotion, transfer, growth, mergers or acquisitions. She believes people are more fulfilled by mastering their strengths and managing their weaknesses. Creative Vision Statements She is a Certified Professional Co-active Coach through the Coaches Training Institute and completed their Co-Active Leadership and Leadership Mastery course. S

Michael E. Lara, MD maintains a private psychiatry and psychopharmacology practice in Belmont, California, where he specializes in the treatment of mood, anxiety, and memory disorders. He earned his undergraduate and masterʼs degrees at Stanford University and Harvard University respectively, then his doctorate of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. Dr. Lara completed his residency training in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford University Hospital and Clinics. Dr. Lara is board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Lara has been the recipient of several research awards in the areas of cross-cultural psychiatry, including the University of New Mexicoʼs Annual Award for Best Original Research in the Area of Cross-Cultural Psychiatry (2001). He has participated in several key clinical trials, as well as served as an invited presenter at numerous national and international medical conferences. He is the principal author of "Underst

At the recent San Francisco Writers Conference I attended an excellent introduction to podcasting. The class was taught by Britt Bravo. Britt specializes in telling, and helping others to tell, stories about creating social change. She writes for two blogs, produce two podcasts, and teaches people how to blog and podcast. Her local paper, the East Bay Express, named her the Best Podcaster/Blogger Most Dedicated to Social Change in 2007. Britt speaks and leads workshops about blogging, podcasting, how nonprofits can use social media, and how people can create work they love. She has spoken and done trainings for events like the Bioneers, Stanford Women’s Leadership Conference, Making Media Connections Conference, Writing for Change Conference, the United Way of Kern County’s Professional Development Conference for Nonprofits, and the FIELD project’s Scale Academy grantee meeting (a program of the Aspen Institute). Britt interviews individuals involved in creating positive change for her Big Vision Podcast.

Following Ted Sorenesen's moving keynote address to the 2009 Ragan Speechwriters Conference, Laure Vincent of MasterCard Worldwide won the first Annual Theodore C. Sorensen Speechwriting Award for best organizational speech of the year. The text of her speech, written for Walt Macnee, President, Global Markets, MasterCard Worldwide is available here. It was delivered to an audience of 2,000 in Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 28, 2008. I caught up with Laurie after the presentation and asked her how she felt about winning the award and something about the background to the speech. To hear what she told me, click on the podcast icon below.

After videotaping the Sorensen keynote I took the opportunity to engage in some good old-fashioned audio interviewing. There was a line of well over 150 people - half the audience - waiting patiently for Mr. Sorensen to autograph copies of his latest book, Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History I asked some of these speechwriters from around the country what they thought of the keynote speech they had just heard. To hear what they had to say, click on the podcast icon below.

Last month I attended an introductory evening on Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). It was taught by Jeff Slayter of the World's Hidden Masters publishing company.The course promised that the techniques were for applying NLP, easily and professionally in business. To survive in a retracted economy only those with top leadership skills and extraordinary ability to create results will thrive. Here's Jeff's infomercial: World’s Hidden Masters is a leadership training organization offering cutting edge education for group and corporate settings. The content of our workshops are a culmination of a decade of world travel interviewing the top executives, coaches, investors and professionals on the models and systems they have found to be the most effective in creating results in business and financial growth through investments. Using a combination of proprietary models in business & financial systems, neuro linguistics, executive leadership tools, collaborative systems & movement analysis, we train executives, i

Charlie Krackeler has been a professional speaker since 1990. His background as a successful real estate practitioner, manager of a large real estate brokerage office and the Director of Training for one of the nation's largest real estate companies led him to become of California's most popular continuing education seminar speakers. Charlie holds a Master of Science (MS) degree in law and public policy from California University of Pennsylvania. And, a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in history from Gonzaga University. He is a real estate broker, active investor, expert witness in real estate related cases and a mediator. Charlie has had more continuing education programs approved by the California Department of Real Estate than any other single individual in the State of California, and was rated a top evaluated speaker by the California Association of Realtors State Faculty five (5) years running. From 2004-08 Charlie was elected and served as President of the California Real Estate Education Associatio

Catherine Athans, Doctor of Clinical Psychology, is the author of several well-received books. She is a frequent guest lecturer on topics, which enable people to improve the quality of their lives. The recipient of several humanitarian awards, she is the founder of the Morgan Manor Foundation. Morgan manor donates to and supports the working poor in Santa Clara County, California. Dr. Athans wrote Make Your Dreams Come True Now! to supplement her series of lecturers entitled, How to Manifest Your Wishes, Dreams and Desires Make Your Dreams Come True Now! supports our journey of discovery in terms of: Let go the lies - distinguish face from fiction. Get back on the path to love. Benefit from great teachers' principles. Learn universal principles that operate just under the surface of life. Grow in your family relationships and have more satisfying social relationships. Find the healing power in your words. Re-establish hope for your life. Gain the life that God - the Source - meant for you

During my recent visit to the Toastmasters Conference in Oakland I was pleased to run into the 2000 World Champion of Public Speaking - Ed Tate. Ed won Toastmasters highest award - a world-wide contest open to all 175,000 members of Toastmasters International. He's now an internationally known keynote speaker and fellow member of the National Speakers Association. He's earned a reputation as the "speaker who energizes, educates, and entertains." He has spoken professionally in 46 states and 10 countries, and on 4 continents. Ed is also a successful trainer and author. I took the opportunity to ask Ed what are the three most important pieces of advice he has for business leaders who speak. I also asked him if he could remember the first time he delivered a speech. To hear what he told me, click on the podcast icon below.

The 2008 Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference taking place November 16-19 in Sacramento, is focused on understanding the nature of individual and organizational behavior and decision making and using that knowledge to accelerate our transition to an energy-efficient and low carbon economy. The Conference brings together a diverse group of policymakers, social scientists, program implementers, media, and energy experts to explore the practical application of social and behavioral insights to address our climate challenges. The goal is to achieve viable solutions for meeting long-term energy and greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets by improving the design, adoption, and continued effectiveness of policies, programs, technologies, and individual/organizational actions. I met with an attendee, Mike Olson, who gave me an update on the importance of the behavioral aspects of climate change and energy consumption today. He highlighted why it's important to make energy efficiency fun and the role

Following a presentation on podcasting to the Saturday morning CPC Job Connections meeting I held a drawing for the name of a lucky job seeker who would like to be profiled in a podcast interview. Aaron was the name that was pulled out of the hat. Coincidentally, he's a writer as well as a blogger. Aaron currently blogs for AOL on personal finance while he continues to look for a full-time position as a writer or editor. He also writes his own blog Tales of an Unemployed Dad. This podcast interview with Aaron is an example of publicizing your skills and background with a different vehicle than the written word (resumes, cover letters, websites, blogs). That's soooo last century, right? As the economy tanks, job seekers need to think differently to brand and market themselves. Podcasting is a low-cost, viable alternative. Listen to Aaron describe his background and experience by clicking on the podcast icon below. If you are looking for a writer or editor (or know someone who is) and like what you hear, yo

Doug is one of the leaders of a networking group in Danville, California called Job Connections. The purpose of the group is to support and encourage people as they search for employment. The group has over 2,100 members and requires new members to attend one meeting in person. Job Connections meets at the Community Presbyterian Church in Danville, from 9AM - 11:30AM every Saturday. Attendees are treated to a free selection of breakfast pastries and coffee and guest speakers provide guidance regarding some aspect of a job search. I first visited Job Connections in 2004 and on Saturday November 15th at 10:30am I'm presenting a class on podcasting as a branding and career tool to the 150+ attendees. To prepare for the class, I asked Doug about the history of Job Connections and what changes he's seen so far this year. To hear what he had to tell me, click on the podcast icon below.

I gave a 20-minute presentation on podcasting at the BiztechDay event held Saturday October 25th in San Francisco. I recorded the class on podcasting as a podcast (duh!) using my trusty Olympus DS330 digital recorder and a lapel mic. The presentation covers the basics of recording, editing and publishing podcasts. Here's the step-by-step guide to podcasting handout. Here's the slides on podcasting 101. To hear what I said, click on the podcast icon below. (Since this is a 20 minute podcast, you might prefer to choose the Download option and save it for later.)

BiztechDay attracted over 500 small business owners and entrepreneurs to the San Francisco Hilton on a sunny October Saturday. Attendees heard from a wide range of keynote speakers, content experts and panelists about ways to grow their business using the power of the Internet & Web 2.0 tools. The event opened with Tim Ferriss, lifestyle design author of The 4-Hour Workweek who was interviewed by event organizer Edith Yeung. The afternoon keynote was Blendtec marketing genius George Wright - the guy who invested $50 in a viral marketing campaign that created the Will It Blend? YouTube videos seem by millions. The closing keynote was Scott Helferman, founder of Meetup.com. Break-out sessions covered everything from social networks to on-demand magazine publishing; viral marketing to email; video to podcasting. I asked people what business they were in and what brought them to the event. To hear what some of the 500 had to say, click on the podcast icon below to hear the voices of BiztechDay.