You are your product. A few years ago, Simon and Garfunkel wrote a song. In it are these words: "Like a bridge over troubled waters, I will ease your mind..." These troubled waters are world-wide social, economic and political chaos in which we all find ourselves.

You, with what Naomi Rhode, past-president of NSA, calls, "The privilege of platform," have opportunity to ease minds of each of your constituencies. You can do this as you weave your verbal tapestry of education and insights, of stories and metaphors, of participation and involvement.

We're in this together, all of us on this earth. We have our lives to live, our children to raise, our significant other to love, or to find, our careers or businesses to grow. And we get to do all this in center of a maelstrom surrounded by dizzying changes, tumult, threats, upheavals, and clashes of cultures and values. Terrible consequences and unprecedented disaster await us one trigger finger away, right around corner. The potential bad guys are extremists with nothing to lose.

Even crazy changes in world weather patterns contribute to uncertainties and insecurities that have become symbols of our times. Surrounded by all this, we have our one chance to make of ourselves what we will.

You are your product. Your ability to sort out this unrest, this wild ferment, this ubiquitous agitation, is needed more than ever now. How do you bring order to multiple interests of sponsors, decision-makers and audience members now? How do you guide them to make sense of their worlds? How are you to help them master their challenges today?

These people, all of them, find themselves on wild and stormy seas stuck on a ship they no longer can control. They perceive themselves to be far from any port. Compounding matters, they are not at all certain of their compass readings. And, they are even less sure of where their safe harbor may be.

They look to you for wisdom, guidance, hope, light -- and a bit of fun. I offer you no answers, only questions. And your attitudes, thoughts, words and actions, in response to these questions, are important. They're important now, more than ever. Because now, more than ever, you are your product.

Burt Dubin, a 20 year veteran of the business of speaking, coaches and mentors speakers and wanna-be's world-wide. For samples of his wisdom, simply go to his web-site, . Down-load some of the 20 FREE articles and 26 FREE newsletters. 1 Speaking Success Road, Kingman, Arizona 86402-6543, USA. Phone 1-800-321-1225. Fax 928-753-7554. E-mail Burt at:

4. Your passion:

Are your ideas throbbing with aliveness? Does your body language match your words? Do you gaze deeply into eyes of different audience members, connecting one-on-one with each if only for a few seconds? Do you radiate an emotional intimacy with your words -- and do you express that intimacy by look on your face? Do you use power of pause, eloquence of silence, to let your ideas sink in?

5. Your state of being:

This is your primary message. It's what your audience members see and feel first. They get it subliminally. They get it instantly. They see it in your stance. They sense it in your glance. And they persist in getting it every second of your program. Are you up? Your audience knows. Are you here now, are you present? Your audience knows. Are you emotionally attuned to your topic? They know.

6. Your mental acuity:

Can you turn your talk on a dime if audience mood so indicates? Do you respond brilliantly to spontaneous questions...saying enough to satisfy, landing on your feet and staying on your track? Are you sensitive to various cultures present in room -- to their perceptions, their expectations and entitlements, their differences and similarities? Are you careful not to offend?

7. Your physical energy:

Do you arrive fully rested, on your toes, eager for this opportunity to speak? Do your eyes sparkle with aliveness as you move through your presentation? Are you light on your feet as you move about? Do you think tall as you stand before your audience? Here's an easy way to do this: Picture a silken thread at crown of your head gently pulling you up-up-up. This visualization aligns your bones and muscles into perfect order. It often makes you look taller, more in command. It helps you tingle with energy.

Burt Dubin, a 20 year veteran of the business of speaking, coaches and mentors speakers and wanna-be's world-wide. For samples of his wisdom, simply go to his web-site, . Down-load some of the 20 FREE articles and 26 FREE newsletters. 1 Speaking Success Road, Kingman, Arizona 86402-6543, USA. Phone 1-800-321-1225. Fax 928-753-7554. E-mail Burt at:

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