#WARRENBUFFETTTELLSYOUHOWTOTURN$40INTO$10MILLION By Patrick Morris

Warren Buffett is perhaps the greatest investor of all time, and he has a simple solution that could help an individual turn $40 into $10 million.
A few years ago, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) CEO and Chairman Warren Buffett spoke about one of his favorite companies, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), and how after dividends, stock splits, and patient reinvestment, someone who bought just $40 worth of the company's stock when it went public in 1919 would now have more than $5 million.

Yet in April 2012, when the board of directors proposed a stock split of the beloved soft-drink manufacturer, that figure was updated and the company noted that original $40 would now be worth $9.8 million. A little back-of-the-envelope math of the total return of Coke since May 2012 would mean that $9.8 million is now worth about $10.8 million.
The power of patienceI know that $40 in 1919 is very different from $40 today. However, even after factoring for inflation, it turns out to be $540 in today's money. Put differently, would you rather have an Xbox One, or almost $11 million?
But the thing is, it isn't even as though an investment in Coca-Cola was a no-brainer at that point, or in the near century since then. Sugar prices were rising. World War I had just ended a year prior. The Great Depression happened a few years later. World War II resulted in sugar rationing. And there have been countless other things over the past 100 years that would cause someone to question whether their money should be in stocks, much less one of a consumer-goods company like Coca-Cola.
The dangers of timing
Yet as Buffett has noted continually, it's terribly dangerous to attempt to time the market:

"With a wonderful business, you can figure out what will happen; you can't figure out when it will happen. You don't want to focus on when, you want to focus on what. If you're right about what, you don't have to worry about when" 

So often investors are told they must attempt to time the market, and begin investing when the market is on the rise, and sell when the market is falling.
This type of technical analysis of watching stock movements and buying based on how the prices fluctuate over 200-day moving averages or other seemingly arbitrary fluctuations often receives a lot of media attention, but it has been proved to simply be no better than random chance.
Investing for the long termIndividuals need to see that investing is not like placing a wager on the 49ers to cover the spread against the Panthers, but instead it's buying a tangible piece of a business.
It is absolutely important to understand the relative price you are paying for that business, but what isn't important is attempting to understand whether you're buying in at the "right time," as that is so often just an arbitrary imagination.
In Buffett's own words, "if you're right about the business, you'll make a lot of money," so don't bother about attempting to buy stocks based on how their stock charts have looked over the past 200 days. Instead always remember that "it's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price."

How About Three Wonderful Companies?
The Economist compares this disruptive invention to the steam engine and the printing press. Business Insider says it's "the next trillion dollar industry." And everyone from BMW, to Nike, to the U.S. Air Force is already using it every day. Watch The Motley Fool's shocking video presentation today to discover the garage gadget that's putting an end to the Made In China era... and learn the investing strategy we've used to double our money on these 3 stocks. Click here to watch now!

Some bonus investing advice for 2014 
The Economist  compares this disruptive invention to the steam engine and the printing press.  Business Insider  says it's "the next trillion dollar industry." And everyone from BMW, to Nike, to the U.S. Air Force is already using it every day. Watch The Motley Fool's  shocking video presentation  today to discover the garage gadget that's putting an end to the Made In China era... and learn the investing strategy we've used to double our money on these 3 stocks.  Click here  to watch now!

$19 TRILLION INDUSTRY COULD DESTROY INTERNET
It's time to say "goodbye" to your Internet!

One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World-Wide-Web to bed. And if you act right away, it could make you wildly rich. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you’ll probably just call it "how I made my millions." 

#THELITTLESHOPTHAT'SPUTTINGCHINAOUTOFBUSINESS.

A new store recently opened at 298 Mulberry Street in downtown Manhattan.

And if you walk in the door, you'll see something truly amazing. And I'm not just talking about the characters from Sesame Street.

Because this is something that's about to close down 112,000 Chinese factories...

... And launch a 21st-century industrial revolution right here in the U.S.A.

Jay Leno bought one and put it in his garage (but it's not a car).

So did Nike, BMW, and Disney World. And now that Sesame Street has jumped on board... your kids' dreams could come to life inside this tiny New York storefront.

But since the sticker price has recently plummeted from $100,000 to $799, it won't be long before everyone buys one.

Business Insider says it's "the next trillion dollar industry." The Economist has gone even further, comparing its history-changing impact to the steam engine and the printing press.

Too good to be true? Wall Street thinks so. Meanwhile, technology watchers are whispering that this invention could be "bigger than the internet."

See, the innovators behind the iPod, Google and Amazon.com have been big boosters all along. And you still have time to join them — if you act fast.

Because when the skeptics wise up, the big money will already be off the table.

#JORDANLEBRONKOBESIGNONWITHNEWSPORTSBUSINESS.

Exclusive: Consulting firm Teneo has lured the three biggest basketball stars on the planet, along with golfer Graeme McDowell, to its beefed-up sports arm. Will it usher in a new era?

How do you get Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to join your new sports business?
You bring on board a former Nike NKE 0.29% executive that has close, personal relationships with all three.
The business is Teneo Sports, which has existed since Teneo Inc., a global consulting firm, launched in 2011. The key executive is Charlie Denson, who worked at Nike for 34 years and was brand president from 2001 until last January, when he retired.
That retirement didn’t last long: Fortune has learned that Denson has joined Teneo Sports as its chairman; Jordan, Bryant, James and pro golfer Graeme McDowell are its first four athlete clients.
That’s a star-studded opening lineup that contains the world’s most famous living retired athlete, the NBA’s two biggest stars, and one rising-star golfer with a U.S. Open win under his belt. Two of those men landed in the top ten of our 2014 Fortunate 50 list of athlete earnings, and they compete with each other on the court, which made getting each of them on board particularly challenging. But Denson was the draw for the basketball players. McDowell, meanwhile, already had a sponsorship with Teneo, which meant placement of its name on his sleeve.
Declan Kelly and Paul Keary, both formerly of FTI Consulting, co-founded Teneo (pronounced teh-NAY-oh) in 2011 along with Doug Band, who spent a decade as an advisor to President Bill Clinton. The company provides services such as strategic communications, management consulting, investment banking and financial restructuring to a number of Fortune 100 corporations and CEOs.
Teneo has had a sports business since the beginning, but that business primarily helped cities or organizations make bids for sports events, such as the Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010 and in Sochi in 2014, both of which Teneo had a hand in. The company also has existing relationships with NASCAR and the WTA, among others. Teneo did not, previously, work with individual athletes, with the exception of McDowell and retired tennis legend Billie Jean King, who are official partners. Under Denson’s leadership, Teneo Sports will now provide athletes with a one-stop shop for their marketing and branding needs.
This is not a sports agency, though many will likely equate it with one. The athletes joining Teneo are retaining their agents, and those agents are not joining Teneo. Rather, Teneo seeks to let agents continue to manage their clients in the way they traditionally do, while Teneo will provide a wide range of business services for its athlete clients, including wealth management, tax planning, personal branding, business development and strategic partnerships. (This news comes just one month after Teneo brought on former U.S. senator George Mitchell as a senior adviser.)
The notion that is new here (or at least in keeping with current trends) is of the athlete as CEO of his or her own brand. The athlete is the content creator and the face of the brand. The agent’s role remains the same, but Teneo aims to improve on the typical model — where athletes outsource their various business needs to a range of different specialists — by giving the athlete only one call to make for any number of business needs. Teneo has partnered with a few entities for help with these functions, including Wieden and Kennedy for creative, UBS for finance, and DLA Piper, a leading sports law practice, for legal services.
This concept comes at a time when the business of athletes off the field or court is evolving. Endorsement deals are no longer simply about brands paying an athlete a fee to hawk their products (though those still exist, certainly), but more and more are about an athlete getting equity in a promising new business. Take LeBron James and Beats By Dre as the example: James signed on early, appearing in ads and using the product, not for any kind of endorsement fee but for an ownership percentage. That small stake, estimated at only one or two percent, reportedly brought James a windfall of $30 million when Beats sold to Apple last month for $3 billion. It’s what David Wright did a few years ago with Vitamin Water, and it’s what Mark Teixeira has done with Juice Press, and Vernon Davis with D1 Sports. This new model is also, experts say, a way for big brands to hedge better against the possibility of image-damaging athlete scandals.
To be sure, other big sports agencies such as IMG or Octagon — powerhouses that Teneo does not see as its competitors in this new venture — also offer services beyond mere representation, and would likely argue that Teneo is not the first to try something like this. But Teneo believes that Teneo Sports will be a game-changer, and so it will only be seeking athletes matching the caliber of its first four: a level that probably only includes some 100 stars across all the major global sports. In other words, it’s a tall order.
But the agents of at least these four stars, for starters, are fully on board. That includes big names in the representation world such as Rob Pelinka (Bryant’s agent), Rich Paul (James’s) and Colin Morrissey of Horizon (childhood friend and agent of McDowell). Maverick Carter, LeBron’s business manager and partner in LRMR Management, tells Fortune that the appeal of Teneo Sports is an additive one — it doesn’t replace what LRMR has been doing so well for years, but adds to it.
“What Teneo is setting up is what I’ve always set out to do since I started working with him,” says Carter. “It’s exactly what LRMR set out to do. They’re not out to make his next McDonald’s deal and take a fee, like I do as my business, but they’ll just be additional smart, like-minded people in the room to help me think about everything I’m doing.” Carter and James created LRMR in 2004, and in 2007 they bought a stake in Cannondale Bikes; when they sold that a year later for an undisclosed profit, Carter says, “it showed everyone, whoa, this idea really works, it’s real. That wasn’t the way things were done, but it’s the way we want to do things.”
Each of the four stars is joining Teneo Sports for different reasons, and no meeting between them all was necessary, but Carter says he did speak to Bryant directly at one point during the process.
McDowell was interested because he sees a change in the accessibility of pro athletes: they are now touchable, tangible people with whom fans can engage. Due to social media, it’s more difficult for them to hide and to be private. As a result, the athlete brand has to be extremely authentic. McDowell, who has some six to eight endorsements or corporate partnerships already, including with Verizon, MasterCard, and RBC, is looking to further cement what exactly the Graeme McDowell brand stands for.
What the Teneo Sports brand will stand for is a different question. In an age when Jay Z is a bona fide sports agent building Roc Nation Sports into a legitimate player, and an age in which Brazilian soccer star Neymar Jr. foregoes a press conference after his debilitating injury and instead posts a video of himself to YouTube, the sports marketing world is open for change. As Maverick Carter puts it, “LeBron is at the size where he does need to be run like a big company, so I’m not afraid to bring more smart people on board to help me do it.”

#THEPOWERFULQUESTIONSTHATWILLCHANGEYOURLIFEFOREVER by James McWhinney

Information is not knowledge.” ~Einstein
A few years ago I was lost. Frustrated. Scared. Unsure. Anxious. Trapped. Unfulfilled. Stuck in a dead-end job. Smothered by society’s expectations. Didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do with my life.
I cared for myself enough to change my life, but I didn’t have the slightest clue where to start. I spent my days wishing that things would change—that I could escape a life that my soul could no longer bear.
The worst part of all, I was living the life that society had always told me to live. “Find a secure job, work hard,” they would say. “Get a solid job and work your way up the ladder.”
I don’t know about you, but it turns out that for me, the “right thing to do” sucked the joy out of life.
Imagine feeling trapped in an unsatisying existence. Wasting your precious time doing things that you really don’t want to be doing. Being afraid to express your uniqueness. Having fun on the weekends then dreading the upcoming week. Maybe you don’t have to imagine it; maybe your life is just like mine was, few moments of satisfaction drowned out by a constant grind of work that doesn’t fulfill you.
Then something hit me. It was a proverbial hammer to my head. I’d heard it before, but it had never sunk in. Then, as if out of nowhere, a voice in my head spoke loudly and clearly.
“Discover who you truly are and fully give every aspect of your uniqueness to the world. This is your path to an extraordinary life.”
I followed this wisdom as if my life depended on it. And I can tell you that my life has changed for the better since I followed this guidance.
I can tell you without any doubt that the greatest piece of wisdom that I’ve discovered in my life thus far is this:
If you want to live an extraordinary life it is imperative that you know who you truly are, and to do so you must explore who you truly are. 
These 6 questions changed my life forever. They will also change your life forever by allowing you to find your true self, and in doing so, discover why you’ve been born into this great world.
I’m not talking about the “self’” that others demand you to be or the self that acts a certain way to fit in and conform with what society accepts. I’m talking about the true you—the you who wants to authentically express your special and unique qualities to the world.
By answering these questions you will discover your unique passions, strengths, values, desires, and motivations, which are all yearning for your expression.
You have a unique purpose. Discovering the answers to these questions will allow you to align yourself with that purpose and bring real magic into your life.
Self-knowledge is the greatest knowledge that you will ever acquire. Why? Because your ability to fulfill your unique internal drive will determine your ability to fulfill your potential, which in turn determines the quality of your life.
The questions below are designed to help to know yourself deeply and find what is truly important to you. We all have an unexpressed potential; the exercises are specifically designed to help you find yours.

1. What do I absolutely love in life?

List anything that you love about the world and the people in your life. Think about any activities that get you excited and enthusiastic and make you feel most alive. This can be absolutely anything: music, sports, cooking, teaching others, learning, watching movies—anything. Within your love for these things lies deep passion.

2. What are my greatest accomplishments in life so far?

List all of the moments that you are proud of as well as the times that you’ve succeeded. To have accomplished these, you would have used some of your key strengths. See if you can identify why you succeeded. Also, list any activities, hobbies, or anything else that you do that you complete with ease. Within these lie greatest strengths.

3. What would I stand for if I knew no one would judge me?

List everything that you would do if you weren’t afraid, even your wildest dreams. This will help you discover your greatest values.

4. If my life had absolutely no limits and I could have it all and do whatever I wanted, what would I choose to have and what would I choose to do?

Describe your ideal lifestyle. List what you would do throughout the day if you knew that you were bound to be successful, what kind of person you would be, how much money you would earn, and where you would live.
This question allows you to realize who you would truly want to be if there were no limits. By aligning with this you can begin working towards the life that you truly want to create. Know that you wouldn’t have a desire if you didn’t also have the ability to fulfil it.

5. What would I do if I had one billion dollars?

List everything that you would really love to do if you had all the money in the world. Okay, so you would probably travel the world, buy a house or two, and give some money to your family. Then what would you do with your time?
This question helps you to think without limitations. When we are able to remove limitations and boundaries, we can discover what we really want to do.

6. Who do I admire most in the world?

List your greatest inspirations and the qualities that you admire about these people. Think about what really inspires you in this world. What you admire about others is also a quality that is in you. Know that you admire someone because they have similar qualities to you.
Taking the time to answer these question will change your life. The more that you can implement your passions, strengths, values, desires, and motivations into your days, the happier your life will become!
You can study to become a doctor, lawyer, teacher, or anything else, but this knowledge will only take you so far. Meanwhile, discovering the deep wisdom of self-knowledge will ensure that your life is far more meaningful and fulfilling. I’ve got a feeling that is what Einstein meant when he said “Information is not knowledge.”
The most valuable knowledge that you will ever discover is, and always will be, within.

#GERMANY'SNATIONALSOCCERTEAM #DAMAGEDTHEWORLDTROPHYATANAFTERTHEPARTY.

According to FOX Soccer,  the German national soccer team damaged the World Cup trophy at an after party in Rio.

“At one spot a small piece was chipped off, but don’t worry. We have specialists who can fix it,” FB president Wolfgang Niersbach told German news magazine Spiegel.

They weren’t able to find out how the trophy got damaged, but the good news is that it’s actually not the original World Cup trophy since FIFA took it back right after the match in order to keep it safe.

#MIAMIHEATNATIONMEDIA: #MARIONCHALMERSSPEAKOUTABOUTLEBRONJAMES by Bradford J. Ahn

Many people in the sports world are clamoring over the decision of LeBron James and how the move from Miami to Cleveland was the right choice to make, in the end. Many people, except Mario Chalmers. Chalmers and LeBron have had a history of mouthing off at each other both on and off the court and it seems like the verbal feuding between the two has not come to an end, even with LeBron over 1,000 miles away.

A subtle shot at his supposedly “big brother?” Chalmers insists that no love is lost between the two, however, who knows if Chalmers is merely trying to keep a politically correct face in the media.

Whatever the case may be, when LeBron first joined his band of brothers in Miami he felt the entire roster to be family, including Mario Chalmers. Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated reported this statement by LeBron immediately following the decision part two,

“I went to Miami because of D-Wade and CB. We made sacrifices to keep UD. I loved becoming a big bro to Rio. I believed we could do something magical if we came together. And that’s exactly what we did! The hardest thing to leave is what I built with those guys.”

Chalmers resigned with the Heat on a two-year contract and is expected to reclaim his starting duties on the Heat roster.

#LEBRONJAMESJTEXTMESSAGEDHISHIGHSCHOOLCOACH, #WANTSTORETURNTOTHECAVALIERS.

After losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 Finals, LeBron James had opted out of his Miami Heat contract. By exercising his early termination option, James instantly caused another massive media storm by becoming a NBA free agent. Where will James go? Will he play for a third team? Once LeBron James opted out, both Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh decided to follow suit by opting out of their contracts as well. At the time, this plan was for one major reason. For the Miami Heat to be able to restructure the contracts of the ‘Big Three’ and hopefully attract additional talent so that the team could once again contend for the NBA championship. However, as each day passes by in free agency, LeBron James’ NBA future seems to be parting farther and farther away from the plans of the Miami Heat. Per Joshua Teplitz, it was said that after losing the 2014 Finals, LeBron James already had his sights on returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers. James apparently texted his high school coach Dru Joyce II informing that the ‘King‘ plans to head back to Cleveland.

#AFRICANAMERICANINCIVILWARMEDICINEEXHIBIT.

The Medical Center Library & Archives is pleased to announce that we will host "Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries: African Americans in Civil War Medicine," a six-banner traveling exhibition developed and produced by the Exhibition Program at the National Library of Medicine with research assistance from The Historical Society of Washington, D.C. The exhibit will be on display from June 9th - July 19th on Level 2R of the Medical Center Library & Archives.
This exhibit will feature African-American men and women who served as surgeons and nurses during the American Civil War and how their service as medical providers challenged the prescribed notions of race and gender, pushing the boundaries of the role of African Americans in America. Many histories have been written about medical care during the Civil War, but the participation and contributions of African Americans as nurses, surgeons, and hospital workers has often been overlooked.

#ESPNSPORTNATIONTAKESASHOTATCARMELOANTHONY FOR #TAKINGMAXDEAL.

NBA star free agent Carmelo Anthony might’ve stayed with New York, but still has been receiving a lot of negative views from fans. ESPN’s SportNation decided to put Carmelo Anthony on the spot by clarifying the REAL reason why ‘Melo’ stayed with the Knicks. 

Prior to the huge contract signing, ‘Melo’ had always been clear about winning and sacrificing in order to bring a great team to the Knicks, however then turns around and inks a five-year deal worth $129 million (max figure). Per Phil Jackson, Carmelo Anthony did decide to take less than the maximum to assist with the Knicks’ flexibility in cap space, however ‘Melo’ only took around $7 million less to help ($122-$123 million/5-years). We doubt the Knicks could bring in a wave of stars to the ‘Garden’ with an additional $7 million. Listen… if money is Carmelo’s thing, own to it, but ‘Melo‘ kills his credibility if he keeps on saying that he’s all about ‘sacrifice and winning.’ Clearly, Anthony is not, especially when money is on the line. 

#LEBRONJAMES- #IAMCOMINGHOME

We can’t wait until the next NBA season begins! With LeBron James deciding to leave Miami and return to Cleveland, it’s going to be like a movie. 

#ROBERHORRYTALKSBOSHPARSONSROCKETS.

Robert Horry will always have a special place in Rockets' fans hearts.
Just two years after Houston picked him 11th overall in the 1992 NBA Draft, the forward helped the Rockets to the first of their only two NBA championships. That's when he started laying the foundation for his reputation as "Big Shot Bob" for hitting clutch shots in big moments throughout his 16 years in the NBA. In addition to the Rockets, Horry also won three championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and two with the San Antonio Spurs, joining John Salley as the only players to win NBA titles with three different teams.
Horry still lives in Houston and keeps tab on the Rockets and he briefly spoke with CSN Houston on Wednesday about the team's recent offseason moves.
On Chris Bosh:
"I thought it would be hard to lure him away from Miami. It's hard once you get settled and make the money."
On Chandler Parsons: 
"You don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, but I understand especially since you’re already paying (James) Harden and (Dwight) Howard. I’ve been involved with Rockets when something like this has happened. You have to realize it’s a business."
On the Rockets:
"If they’re smart they’ll go after (Carlos) Boozer. They need another power forward -- someone with the strength he can provide." (Note: On Tuesday, the Chicago Bulls used the amnesty clause to remove Boozer from their roster, so he can now sign with the team that bids the highest for his services and one that has the requisite salary cap space. Multiple reports on Thursday say the Lakers have won the bidding process.)
"(Trevor) Ariza's stats are about the same as Parsons' but I think Ariza is a better defender. I still see them as basically the same team as they were last year -- the No. 4 team in the West. They're still a great team, especially with a great player, defender and shot blocker like Dwight Howard." 

#PHILJACKSONSAYSDWIGHTHOWARDLEFTLAKERSBECAUSEOFKOBEBRYANT.

This may not be ground-breaking news anymore as most people pegged this to be the reason for Dwight Howard’s departure from the Los Angeles Lakers, but Phil Jackson cleared up any gray area there might have been. The Zen Master, in his new book, states that Howard had no interest coming back to the Lakers once Kobe told him he planned on playing a few more years.
Via New York Daily News:

The Lakers invited Kobe and Steve to the final pitch meeting to help persuade Dwight to come on board. It sounded like a good idea. Steve sent out an amusing tweet before the meeting: “Dwight Howard we’re coming for you. You’re going to love the statue we build for you outside Staples in 20yrs!” And Kobe made a moving speech during the pitch, promising to teach Dwight the secret of winning championships that he’d learned from the best in the game.

If the meeting had ended there, it might have worked. But after the presentation, Dwight asked Kobe what he was planning to do after he recovered from his Achilles injury. Was this going to be his last year? “No,” replied Kobe. “I’m planning to be around for three or four more years.”

At that point, according to others in the room, Dwight’s eyes went blank and he drifted away. In his mind, the game was over.

Kobe Bryant will have his name mentioned among the greats someday and surely of this era, but the fact remains that many players were never fond of playing with him. From the Shaquille O’Neal feud to the Karl Malone incident, Kobe went through the 2000s with drama attached to his name.
Even the Zen Master himself apparently wanted to trade Kobe going so far to say he was “uncoachable.” And, of course, more recently, Kobe Bryant had a “beef” with little-known guard Smush Parker. Kobe Bryant may end as the most polarizing superstar in any generation. But that doesn’t mean everyone has liked him over the years. We can add D12 to that list.

#THETHINGSTOKNOWABOUTHAVINGASOCIALMEDIACAREER.by Megan Brown

You can't eat a meal without Instagramming it. You're the Foursquare mayor of every room in your apartment. Once—a day you will remember forever—@shaq retweeted you.
Yep, you're pretty much addicted to social media. Wouldn't it be great if you not only got to use social media endlessly but also had the opportunity to design and implement creative campaigns and strategies—and get paid to do it?
It doesn't hurt that "social media" is a buzzword in, well, pretty much every industry. That means the job market is full of companies looking to hire someone for their social media. It could be you. However, there are a few things you need to know first.
As the social media strategist at iAcquire, I'm going to dish some inside information on what you need to know about having a career in social media.
1. Understand different facets of social media careers.
Working in social media isn't just writing clever tweets. It's a lot more than that, and there are different facets to these kinds of jobs. Some of these positions are separate, but often if you're working at a smaller company, you'll fill several of these roles:
Community manager: Community managers both internally and externally build a reputation for the company and extend its reach online. This includes creating a Twitter chat for your industry or company to lead, organizing offline networking events, moderating and participating in a forum your organization runs, and more. Most community managers are excellent at emulating the company voice as well as efficiently and calmly handling any complaints or issues that may arise.
Social strategist: As a social strategist, you'll create social campaigns and strategies to meet certain goals for your organization (or, if you work at an agency, your organization's clients). You will need to know how to track success on social media and target social messaging for audiences. Social strategists should be able to take advantage of tools that improve audience engagement, know how to use and interpret analytics tools, and be able to think innovatively when using social media to promote goals.
You can also look into other social media roles such as content programmers, bloggers, social networking analysts and social media developers to decide which is the best fit for you.
2. Getting a job in social media requires more than just an impressive résumé.
A great résumé helps, but when you're interviewing for a social media position, you need to bring your A-game. Companies are looking for someone who can not only speak to a community online, but who are also personable and social offline, because you may be meeting with clients and attending conferences or events.
You'll also want to display your creativity; doing so in your cover letter or elsewhere in your application can boost you to the top of the interview list. (Here's a good example of how one Brazen Careerist contributor used her creativity to land a social media manager position.) Use good judgment, and be natural. Don't be too out there. Trying too hard or appearing insane will turn off potential employers.
Be prepared to answer questions on the spot as to what you would do for that company to improve their social presence. The best candidates already come with suggestions as to how to boost a company's social success.
3. Expect to be on the job 24 hours a day, seven days a week—but get major perks.
Social media doesn't sleep. This doesn't mean you don't get any shut-eye, but it does mean that you should be prepared to handle whatever comes at you, even if you're not in the office.
Crisis situations and customer complaints should be dealt with in a timely and efficient manner. Don't jump the gun on resolving what could be a volatile situation—if necessary, call your boss. It might be the weekend, but he will appreciate that you asked for his input before making a rash decision.
However, not everything you handle in your off hours will be negative. Your company hired you to work in social media, so they want you to be social. You might get to travel to attend social media conferences and networking events to meet and learn from others in your industry. Also, if your company is hosting an event, you will be the eyes and ears for those unable to attend.
4. Harness the power to innovate and inspire others in your industry.
Although you may be learning from other social media professionals when you get started, don't mistake this communication as one-sided. Because the industry is ever changing, you will discover new ways to innovate the social space; your company, as well as the connections you've made, will give you the platform to share your insights. Social media is a field in which you not only get to participate and create, but also shape the future.
What attracts you to a social media career? What other questions do you have about the job or field?

#HOWBADGRAMMARMAYBEDAMAGINGYOURBRAND by Kevin Allen

Your brand, it seems, might be in danger as well.

It’s easy to blame the Internet’s hyper-speed culture for creating some super annoying shorthand, but for some of us, grammar is still valued.

Writing for Forbes, Jason DeMers asks an important question: Is bad grammar killing your brand? He writes:

For business owners, advertisers, and marketers, the effect of the internet on grammar and spelling reaches further than many expect. It goes beyond personal communications and being slightly irked at random typos and errors that one may come across while perusing the web; how a brand communicates and connects online is a reflection of the company itself, and that includes using certain types of languages on various social and digital platforms.

When developing a brand voice, there’s always the question of how conversational you should be in what you say and how you say it. It’s a delicate balance—and one that can make or break a brand’s image.

The need to be “authentic” is often mistaken as the need to sound like your audience. Sound too much like your audience, though, and you can end up coming across as just as roughly as they do.

How do you strike a balance? 

#THEIMPORTANCEOFSELECTINGTHERIGHTPOINTOFCONTACT by Suzy Simpson.

PR is all about building relationships, and there's none more crucial to the success of a campaign than the one between client and agency.

Sometimes, work can slow to a crawl or come to a complete stop due to a delay or breakdown in communication.

That's why a good client-side point of contact (POC) is vital. Here are a few tips for getting more out of your campaigns by selecting the right POC.

What are POCs and SPOCs?

Points of contact or single points of contact (SPOCs) are the people at the client end who are responsible for communications with a PR agency.

Their roles can vary widely. At one end of the scale, they act as a filter for agency communications and requests, ensuring they're passed to the relevant staff member and/or decision maker. At the other extreme, they can be a business owner, managing director, marketing manager, or other senior employee with the authority to make decisions and enact requests directly.

There are benefits and drawbacks to both these setups, but all can be made to work if handled in the right way. Likewise, anyone who's worked with or for a PR agency can point to a time where campaigns have been stalled or slowed by inefficiencies.

The causes of breakdowns

The role of POCs and SPOCs are subject to wide variation, and the causes of setbacks can be equally diverse. A few common examples we've seen crop up time and again include:

Being too busy: Clients often need quick turnarounds. If the SPOC or POCs hold relatively senior positions in the company, it's all too easy for them to become snowed under by day-to-day work, become unavailable. This can lead to missed opportunities, adversely affect the relationship, and generally lead to frustration at both ends.

Passing the buck: When the POCs or SPOCs are at a junior level, they'll often have to send requests up the chain, or liaise with senior staff members to gain approval on an activity, release or editorial piece. In the worst cases, and particularly when responsibilities are only vaguely outlined, this can result in a flurry of buck-passing. In the case of press releases and other external communications, numerous iterations may fly around before one is eventually approved.

Lack of buy-in: PR activities often require the participation of employees from disparate areas of a company. Even in businesses that have an internal marketing team, this can pose a challenge when the wider firm isn't engaged.

Brief briefs: Before getting started on a PR campaign, your agency will discuss your goals and put together a brief. However, if sufficient levels of detail aren't included, lactivities may be declined or sign-offs rejected for falling outside the desired area of focus.

Regulation, regulation, regulation: In several fields, perhaps most notably the professional services sector, properly adhering to regulations is a vital element of running a company. As such, public-facing communications often need to be subjected to scrutiny in this regard before being released. There's no getting around the necessity of this process, but ensuring the compliance of communications can often have a detrimental impact on the time it takes to get materials released. In the worst case scenarios, messages can be diluted to the point of being staid.

Solutions

While the difficulties discussed above are perennial, they're by no means insurmountable. If there's sufficient commitment from both sides, kinks can be ironed out and more productive relationships fostered.

The specifics of how one tackles these issues will be dictated by your individual circumstances, however. Some things to keep in mind:

Expectations: Somewhere between the successful sales pitch and the implementation of a campaign, what's expected of both parties can become vague or undefined. When questions pop up in regard to timing, approvals or key messages, the effectiveness of activities is reduced and this can lead to frustration on all sides. One way to mitigate the effect of uncertainty is to clearly set out what's expected of everyone from the get-go. At initial planning meetings, timeframes should be set for approval, turnaround and the frequency of activity.

You're unlikely to perfect process in one sitting, bu by noting red flag issues in the set-up phase, you can take steps to avoid being bogged down by difficulties later.

Picking the right POC: Despite the best intentions, if the POC is unable to meet his or her obligations, it can have a severely detrimental effect on how fruitful PR efforts will be.

Ensure you choose someone that will:

• Be available on short notice
• Be able to quickly rally the troops when opportunities arise
• Have the authority to make decisions or a direct hotline to those that do
• Have a support team or assistant in place to take the reins if they're unavailable
• Negotiate the vagaries of the approval/sign-off/compliance process
• Have ample time to engage with the campaign and react

The bottom line

The above suggestions won't act as a silver bullet for all your PR woes, but addressing issues early on will help streamline processes and mitigate any negative consequences should things go awry. It's also preferable to tackle issues like this head-on rather than burying your head in the sand, hoping for the best, and becoming frustrated when things don't work out. 

Have you had any negative experiences with agency communications or have processes proved prohibitive to your PR performance? If so, let us know in the comments.

#MOREFORTUNESFORWRITERS.

I’ve always thought it would be fun to write the fortunes found in fortune cookies. And since I have no idea how to land that job, I settled for writing a post about fortunes for writers.

Now, inspired by another clever fortune (“About time I got out of that cookie.”) here are 21 more fortunes for writers, editors, and PR professionals.

1. Remember . . . your style guide is just a guide.
2. It all comes out in the wash.
3. Beware of cookies bearing fortunes.
4. Using the word “utilize” instead of “use” does not make you sound smarter.
5. Be sure to test your elevator speech in an elevator.
6. One should never generalize.
7. Leave out the parts that people skip.
8. Do not confuse congenial with congenital.
9. There can be no winner in game of dueling style guides.
10. It’s all fun and games until you reach the approval process.
11. Walk softly and carry a big, red pen.
12. Be more or less specific.
13. We don’t need to see your credentials.
14. Avoid falling in love with your own words.
15. Read your work aloud.
16. Write sober, edit drunk.
17. Outline. Outline. Outline.
18. Most of your writing is fine.
19. It’s the job of editors to interfere.
20. May the odds be ever in your favor.
21. Sleep well and dream of best-selling novels.

#THESTEPSTOMASTERTH CRAFTOFCONTENTCURATION .

Curation is a word PR pros have borrowed from the art world and applied to the emerging field of content marketing.

Content curation involves gathering material that is relevant to your organization from a variety of sources, then organizing, adapting and enhancing it to make it worthwhile to to your audience. Curation enables you to publish content that is meaningful and entertaining to your customers and augment it with your organization’s own perspective.

With so much to cover and, often, few resources, curation can be useful to boost your organization’s brand journalism efforts. There is so much content out there from news sites, trade publications, white papers, and specialized blogs that may be relevant to your organization and consumers. Why not take advantage of it and give it your own flavor?

Here are a few steps to start your curating engine:

1. Find amazing content. Easy, right? It may seem like a daunting task given all the sources, but you can narrow it down in a few ways. Create Google alerts with key words related to your topic of interest, sign up for email newsletters from industry sites, subscribe to RSS feeds and monitor pertinent hashtags and handles.

2. Pare it down. Content curation tools can help with this step as many of them allow you to categorize content using tags, boards or other sorting mechanisms. Choose the items that will resonate most with your audience and that your experts can comment on and enhance. Curata and You Brand Inc. provide the “ultimate” lists of curation platforms.

3. Re-purpose it. Find the people in your organization that can say something valuable about the recycled content. Collect a quote or an image that displays your knowledge and enriches the original piece.

4. Share, share, share. Repost curated content on your website or blog and use your social media channels to share it with your audiences. Arm your front-line or sales staff with relevant content that they can use to spark conversations with clients or prospects. Remember: always credit the original author.

Good content helps your organization establish itself as a leader. By keeping up on current trends and showcasing expertise, curation is an excellent way to support your content marketing strategy. 

#WHYTREATINGYOURPRESSRELEASE LIKE #MADLIBSBREEDSAPATHY.

 won’t tell you the press release is dead. I also won’t tell you nobody cares about press releases anymore. I won’t tell you, but reporters probably will. (And other people will, too.)

Why? Because the worst offenders have messed things up for all of us with press releases like this:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

__(Company)__ Announces Groundbreaking __(Announcement)___

__(Company)___, the premier, turn-key provider of ___(product or service)___, has announced ___(announcement)____, which will revolutionize the way ____(consumers or businesses)____ do ____(activity)____.

“We are so thrilled to make this announcement,” said Spokesperson, CEO of ___(Company)___. “This news will surely be a cutting-edge game-changer in the ____(type of industry)___ industry.”

Catch my drift? Press releases are so crammed with nonsensical, exaggerated PR jargon that reporters have turned a blind eye to the bounty of them that hit their inbox daily.

What’s the fix? An easy one, if you take a cue from the content marketing side of the fence: Write the release as a journalist would write an article. Few reporters plump up their stories with glorified, puffy superlatives. They give the facts, straight and simple, and tell a story. The only thing you as the PR flack should be “plumping” that release with is SEO keywords and links (but even then, take heed.)

Here are my top three tips for writing a press release:

1. Never, under any circumstances, use the above "Mad Libs" as a template for a release. It’s guaranteed to fail in two big ways: Reporters won’t read it, and  Search engines won’t pick it up (who searches for “cutting-edge healthcare game-changers” anyway?).
2. Be one with the reporter. Put on that journalist’s hat and craft the press release the way she or he would – as a factual story that focuses on the “Why should I care?” factor. Skip the embellished adjectives and favor the facts, and write it the way you’d think a reporter would.
3. Be one with the searcher. Since SEO is almost half the press release equation these days, the words you use are as important to the Googler as they are to the journalist. Consider what your audience might search for when looking for that content, and ensure those words make a cameo in your release.

Have more tips to share? Let me know in the comments! 

#REVOLUTIONIZEYOURORGANIZATIONWITHBRANDJOURNALIZM.

 

 

 

 

Introducing…

Brand Journalism and Content Marketing Conference: A summit hosted by LinkedIn

 

July 24-25, 2014

Mountain View, Calif.

Your audiences see through traditional PR and marketing. It’s time for a revolution.

Join us for this summit and you’ll learn how to:

• Turn your department into a newsroom that creates content audiences connect deeply with;

• Let brand journalism convert your audiences into brand ambassadors who want to spread your organization’s word.

See the full agenda and learn more about pre-conference workshops on July 24 here.

Experts from Google, Adobe, LinkedIn and more will explain what it means to embrace brand journalism as a PR and marketing strategy—and why your C-Suite will look at you with new eyes once you do this.

Limited-time offer: When you sign up before June 20 you’ll save $200 on your registration!

If you’re ready to …

• Use LinkedIn and other social sites to generate sales leads and audience interest;

• Surprise and delight execs by proving the ROI of brand journalism;

• Solidify your brand by investing internal and external audiences in your stories;

• And connect your content strategy to your organization’s biggest goals …

… put this conference on your calendar immediately

#STOPMAKINGTHESEI5BODYLANGUAGEMISTAKES.

 

Until you get to know someone, your brain relies on snap judgments to categorize him, predict what he will do and anticipate how you should react.

You may have heard that a person only has a few seconds to make a first impression, but the truth is your brain makes up its mind about a person (so to speak) within milliseconds of meeting him.
According to research by a Princeton University psychologist, this is an evolutionary survival mechanism. Based on the information it has (how you look), your brain decides whether you are trustworthy, threatening, competent or likable, among other traits.
One way we can hack this split-second judgment is to be aware of our body language—especially in important situations. Whether you're applying for a job, asking for a raise or meeting a new client, being mindful of our body language can influence others' perceptions of us, as well as outcomes.
Here are 15 body language blunders to watch for:

1. Leaning back:You come off as lazy or arrogant.

2. Leaning:This can seem aggressive. Aim for a neutral posture.

3. Breaking eye contact too soon:Doing so can make you seem untrustworthy or overly nervous. Hold eye contact a hair longer—especially during a handshake.

4. Nodding too much:You look like a bobble-head doll. Even if you agree with what's being said, nod once, and then try to remain still.

5. Chopping or pointing with your hands:This feels aggressive.

6. Crossing your arms:Doing so makes you look defensive, especially when you're answering questions. Keep your arms at your sides.

7. Fidgeting:Fidgeting instantly telegraphs how nervous you are. Avoid it at all costs.

8. Holding your hands behind your back or firmly in your pockets:Doing so can look rigid and stiff. Aim for a natural, hands-at-your-sides posture.

9. Looking up or around:This is a natural cue that someone is lying or not being himself. Try to hold steady eye contact.

10. Staring:Staring can appear aggressive. There's a fine line between holding someone's gaze and staring him down.

11. Failing to smile:If you never smile, you can make people uncomfortable and wonder if you really want to be there. Flash a genuine smile, especially when you meet someone for the first time.

12. Stepping back when you ask for a decision:This move conveys fear or uncertainty. Stand your ground, or even take a slight step forward with conviction.

13. Steepling your fingers or holding your palms up:Both of these gestures look like begging positions and convey weakness.

14. Standing with hands on hips:This is an aggressive posture, like an animal puffing itself up to look bigger.

15. Checking your phone or watch:You're signaling that you want to be somewhere else. Plus, it's just bad manners.

 

So, what should you do?
Whether you're sitting or standing, aim for good posture in a neutral position. Stand with your arms at your sides, and sit with them at your sides or in your lap. Naturally hold eye contact, smile and be yourself.
If you have a particular problem with one of the gestures on this list, practice in front of a mirror or with a friend who can remind you every time you slip up. Do this until you become aware of the bad habit.
Can you recall a time when someone's body language made you uncomfortable? Are there any other body language blunders you would add? I'd love to hear your anecdotes and ideas in the comments

#FEMIAKINSIKUBLOGS

#TWITTERFORBUSINESS, #HOMESHOPPINGNETWORK, #FACEBOOKBENVENUTO, #CLOTHING, #HOMING, #SERVER, #PHOTOGALLERIES, #SECURITY, #FILE, #ALLRIGHTSRESERVED.

#101DIFFERENTTYPESOFCONTENT.

We keep hearing it over and over again: “Content is King. Content is King.” And it’s true.

Content is the single best way to drive people to your website today. Various types of content, strategically connected to your brand, can work wonders in capturing the attention of consumers and leading them in your direction, but you have to provide some sort of value. Teach them something. Entertain them. Do something that makes it worth their while. That’s where you have the opportunity to tell them about your brand and what you can do for them.

I always encourage my clients to create boatloads of great content. That’s when they say: “Well, we already blog, so what more can we do?” Ahhh, yes. I’m so glad you asked. Because in fact, there are actually 100 more things you can do.

I’ve compiled a list of 101 things that can act as content on your website. Some are standalone, some work together, but most important, they can all be promoted on social media and be used as resources to drive your target audience to your website. Content will help attract traffic, accumulate more social shares, improve SEO efforts, and more. Your end goal is to leverage these types of materials so you can do a better job of educating or entertaining your audience to sell your products or services, strengthen your brand, or both.

Are you ready? Here we go:

1. A/B testing and results
2. Affiliations and partners
3. Aggregation of articles
4. Animated gifs
5. Associations and memberships
6. Audio recordings
7. Background and experience info
8. Blog posts
9. Book summaries
10. Brochures
11. Cartoons
12. Case studies
13. Certifications
14. Charts
15. Cheat sheets
16. Comics
17. Comments
18. Commercials
19. Comparisons
20. Contests
21. Creative stories
22. Custom software
23. Customer reviews
24. Data and statistics
25. E-books
26. Email newsletters
27. Embedded tweets
28. Event information
29. FAQs
30. Files and spreadsheets
31. Flyers
32. Free guides
33. Full videos
34. Giveaways
35. Graphs
36. Guest posts
37. History
38. How-to guides
39. Illustrations
40. Infographics
41. Interviews
42. Lists
43. Live chats
44. Live-streaming video
45. Maps
46. Media mentions
47. Memes
48. Microblog posts
49. Micro-videos
50. Mind maps
51. Mobile apps
52. Music videos
53. News
54. News releases
55. Newsjacking write-ups
56. Newsletters
57. Online games
58. Personal bios
59. Photo galleries
60. Photos
61. Pin boards
62. Plug-ins
63. Podcasts
64. Polls
65. Portfolio pieces
66. PowerPoint or SlideShare presentations
67. Predictions
68. Pricing
69. Pricing sheets
70. Product demos
71. Product or service information
72. PSAs or video PSAs
73. Q&As 74. Questionnaires
75. Quizzes
76. Quotes and Inspirational messages
77. Ratings
78. Research or synthesized information
79. Resource pages
80. Results of polls, surveys, and questionnaires 81. Reviews
82. ROI calculators
83. Sales sheets
84. Screencasts
85. Screenshots
86. Site tour videos
87. Software reviews
88. Specification or data sheets
89. Stupid, fake, and funny images and captions
90. Surveys
91. Templates
92. Testimonials
93. Timelines
94. “To do” and “what not to do” articles
95. Twitter chats
96. User-generated content
97. Vlogs
98. Webinars
99. White papers
100. Wikis
101. Worksheets

Remember. Entertain, educate, persuade, convert. That’s your goal. 

#THEPUBLICLESSONSFROM13SONGSRELEASE #INTHE1990S by Brad Phillips

In the 1990s, we were rico suave and too legit to quit. We lived la vida loca and smelled like teen spirit. We wore gold-colored hammer pants and flannel. We went to Lollapalooza and the Lilith Fair. We listened to grunge, Britpop, and hip hop.

Nostalgia for the '90s has never been greater. Here are a few public speaking lessons based on 13 huge hits from the 1990s—from superstars including Paula Abdul and Guns N’ Roses and one-hit wonders such as Chumbawamba.

Sir Mix-a-Lot, “Baby Got Back” (1992)

Great speakers often provide the person introducing them with a pre-written and attention-grabbing introduction. When they hit the stage after being introduced, they seize the audience’s attention from the first word with a compelling opening. Sir Mix-a-Lot did exactly that by having two white women introduce his song by criticizing the size of a black woman’s butt—and then rebutting them with an attention-grabbing opening that has survived more than two decades: “I like big butts and I cannot lie.” One other note: the attention-grabber was tied directly to his message, which was about the unrealistic expectations magazines like Cosmo put on a woman’s shape. 

Backstreet Boys, “I Want It That Way” (1999)

According to a fascinating piece of research, boy bands use the word “you” more than any other word. Perhaps the boys of ‘N Sync, 98 Degrees, and Hanson were onto something. By using the pronoun “you,” they directed their message straight into the hearts of their mostly younger, female fans. The word “you” has that power, and great speakers use it often to deliver their personal-sounding messages to each individual audience member. As an example, this Backstreet Boys classic uses the word “you” or “your” no fewer than 20 times—and “you” is the first word in the song. 

Alanis Morissette, “Ironic” (1996)

None of the incidents described in Morissette’s “Ironic” are actually ironic, but her rapid-fire series of mini vignettes (a man terrified of flying who conquered his fear, boarded a plane, and crashed; the old man who won the lottery and died the next day; meeting the man of your dreams only to find that he’s married) offers a terrific template for speakers. The “short vignettes” opening can be an effective starter. As an example, a physician might open by describing the ailments suffered by three patients, with each mini anecdote receiving no more than 10-15 seconds of detail. 

Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You” (1993)

Whitney Houston’s record label hated the idea of a 45-second, a cappella introduction to this song, but her instincts to keep it were right. According to Rolling Stone, “after 14 weeks at the top of the Billboard charts, it set the record for the longest run at No. 1 on the charts.” Her unique intro stood out from almost all of the other pop music at the time—her moments of breathy silence in between lyrics broke the pattern—and that’s a lesson all speakers should remember. Speakers can break the pattern by pausing, blacking out presentation slides after using them for a few minutes, or distributing a handout to the audience (among many other ways). 

Guns N’ Roses, “November Rain” (1992)

As a general rule, it’s better to make your remarks brief than go on too long, but if a great movie can hold your attention for two-and-a-half hours, shouldn’t a great speaker be able to hold your attention for longer than the typical 50-minute conference breakout session? Guns N’ Roses pushed back against the typical constraints of pop radio, which restricts most songs to about four minutes. In 1992, the band's nine-minute hit “November Rain” made it to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the “longest song in history to enter the top ten of that chart,” according to Wikipedia, proving that longer can be better if the song—or speech—is good enough. 

TLC, “Waterfalls” (1995)

TLC’s terrific mid-'90s hit song (and award-winning video) delivered a straightforward, unambiguous, and easy to act-upon call to action: “Don’t go chasing waterfalls / please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to.” Similarly, speakers should offer a simple and direct call to action. How important is a call to action? In one study, “jerks” who received a direct call to action acted more charitably than the “saints” who didn’t. 

Spice Girls, “Wannabe” (1997)

Like TLC, the Spice Girls offer a formula for a successful call to action: “I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want.” If your audience doesn’t understand the next steps they’re supposed to take after hearing you speak, they won’t take any. Some research suggests that asking for a small and easily accomplished call to action is a good way to begin, since a small action often leads to bigger future actions. 

Elton John, “Candle in the Wind 1997” (1997)

When Princess Diana died in a 1997 car accident, Elton John repurposed his 1970s hit “Candle In The Wind” as a tribute to her. The original was about Marilyn Monroe, but Elton John changed the lyrics to become about “England’s Rose.” This is relevant for speakers who tend to deliver similar information to different audiences. With minor but important tweaks and modifications, “generic” presentations can become immediately relevant to the specific audience to which the speakers are presenting. The heart of your presentation may be the same—but the audience will feel that you’ve created it just for them. 

Los del Rio, “Macarena” (1995)

This was a terrible song with a bad video to match. But the men of Los del Rio were onto something when they followed in the footsteps of other artists who wrote songs that became popular dances (e.g. “The Twist,” “The Hand Jive,” “Da Butt,” “Vogue,” “Conga,” “The Electric Slide”). These songs became staples at weddings and proms because they involved the audience in a meaningful way. The analogy to public speaking is obvious.

Extreme, “More Than Words” (1991)

In its gorgeous ballad, Extreme pointed out that there is a difference between verbal communication and body language: “More than words / is all you have to do to make it real / then you wouldn’t have to say that you love me / ‘cause I’d already know.” As Extreme pointed out, words are only one way to deliver a message—and they’re often not enough on their own. To be truly effective, words need to be fully connected to the body language associated with them. In some cases, that means that your tone is as important—or even more important—than the words you choose. And great speakers have the ability to use their faces and bodies to communicate certain key points without any words at all.

R. Kelly, “I Believe I Can Fly” (1997)

Given his history, R. Kelly may seem like an odd choice to deliver an inspirational ballad, but his song about positive self-talk is a great internal monologue for all speakers to remember before hitting the stage: “If I can see it, then I can do it / If I just believe it, there’s nothing to it / I believe I can fly.” Many speakers say they benefit from that type of “positive visualization” by imagining the audience’s enthusiastic response to them before they walk onto the stage and begin their speech.

Chumbawamba, “Tubthumping” (1998)

Despite your positive visualization, there’s still a chance you might bomb your presentation. That’s where this song comes in: “I get knocked down / But I get up again / You’re never gonna keep me down.” With its pick-yourself-up-and-try-again lyrics, it’s a good reminder that most of us are going to deliver a dud once in a while. But your next audience won’t know that you didn’t succeed with your last audience, so it’s important not to bring that imperfect history into your new talk. Every presentation offers an opportunity to succeed anew—if you don’t self-sabotage it with negative self-talk.

Paula Abdul, “Opposites Attract” (1990)

The video for Paula Abdul’s hit “Opposites Attract” featured MC Skat Kat, an animated feline that performed choreographed dance moves with her. The video was so popular that it won a Grammy Award. It’s a good reminder to speakers that, to stand out, visuals need to be more engaging than bullets and words on a screen. Get creative. Use compelling images, relevant multimedia elements, well-designed handouts, or anything else you can think of that will bring your main points to life in a more memorable manner than audiences are used to.