Category Archives: My DN Travel News

My DN Travel News, Writing/Blogging

Why Being “Dis-organized” Can Make You a Better Writer

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The above title is not a play on words. This article highlights an often missed truth that determines how productive we can be each day.

Creative types (writers, developers etc), often go through psychological peaks and troughs, that affect their output.

There are those times when you find yourself in the zone, and relentlessly churn out awesome content, to the delight of your readers – and possibly clients. But there are also times when you feel “empty” of ideas.

Suddenly, you’re unable to get anything useful written, and you don’t know why!

Most Writers Can Relate To The Above Scenario. Some Call It “Writer’s Block”.

Maybe it is. But from years of writing, and studying what many successful writers say about writing, I have come to the firm conclusion that you can immunize yourself against that notorious affliction.

It however takes great mental stamina, and self-discipline, to overcome that problem. And if you do, you’ll ultimately arrive at a point where you can achieve consistent output.

There are so many factors that can negatively affect your ability to write productively at any point in time. Fundamental is your interest in, and passion for the subject. You will also commit to doing intelligent research to cover any gaps in your knowledge.

Having said that, even after all that is in place, many writers still get periodically stuck, unable to finish what they start writing.

One possible cause is the way they plan their writing.

The most successful writers carefully study the conditions that help them achieve the best writing output at any time. Then they work hard to replicate it those conditions as often as possible.

Over time they develop a tried and tested system for creating those ideas conditions literally at will. Most of this is really a mental process.

However, at a point certain physical activities can greatly impact – negatively too – on a creative person’s ability to get the needed work done as and when required.

The Following Narrative (Based On a True Story) Illustrates the Above Point

I once read about a teenage girl who got a standing ovation after playing the violin before a sold out concert audience.

When asked afterwards about how she managed to develop such great prowess in playing the instrument, she replied that her success secret was “Planned Neglect”.

According to her, when she first started learning to play the violin, she tried to please her parents by doing her chores BEFORE retiring to practice. After a while however, she noticed that each time she did this, she often got tired too early to practice as well as she knew was necessary.

So, she decided to do it the other way around i.e. practicing first, and only doing her chores or any other tasks AFTER she was satisfied with her practice efforts. She became a child prodigy in the process!

There’s more.

Documented accounts have it that geniuses like Edison and other great minds often worked in rooms that looked disorganized, and which they rarely let anyone “organize” for them.

Yet they were reportedly able to find anything they needed, by themselves, in those same chaotic environments.

For them, the priority was their work. The business of neatly arranging their social spaces came in second place.

Guess what? The world was better off for it!

Is It Possible Your Writing Suffers Because You’re TOO ORGANIZED?

Most writers determine where, when and how they work.

Their clients trust them to make the best use of their time to get the writing project done to the right standard, and on time.

As a writer, are you too organized to be productive? Do you, for instance, obsess over house keeping? Do you always want to make sure everything is in its place before you can settle down to write? There’s nothing wrong with that. As long as you’re sure it will not wear you out before you can get some decent work done, keep doing it.

If, on the other hand, it’s making you less productive than you’re capable of being, consider adopting the “planned neglect” strategy described in this article.

You could, for instance, hire someone to do those tasks for you (if you can afford it), so you can save physical and mental energy to focus on achieving your primary goal.

Remember: If you fail to turn in your written works to specification, and ahead of agreed deadlines, the client is unlikely to call on you in future.

Further Reading

1. This artcile is based on excertps from my ebook titled “Why You Keep Failing To Achieve Your Writing Goals!(10 Habits that are Holding You Back & How to Eliminate Them)”. Click here to get the full ebook as a PDF download.

2. Proven Techniques (& Strategies) You Can Use To Start & Finish Writing ANYTHING” (FREE PDF Report)

My DN Travel News, Parenting

To Understand What You Learn, Teach It (3 Tips)

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Think about it, and you’ll realize it’s true. Anytime human beings have to demonstrate a learned skill before others, they often put in more effort than they normally would, if they had only themselves to account to.

This is why coaches and performance consultants often recommend announcing your goals. It makes you accountable to others outside of yourself. When tempted to quit, you think “Oh, what if XYZ asks how far I’ve gone?” – and you decide to keep at it!

This concept can help you achieve any goal you’re struggling with. I offer 3 examples:

1. Learning ANY Language

I’ve noticed many people struggle to achieve functional proficiency in their chosen foreign languages. Years after spending good money to attend intensive training courses, they face this challenge.

This happens not because they lack interest, but because they lack motivation to improve themselves. It can be quite difficult to keep doing something, if you’re unable to find others who share similar interests to rub minds with or exchange ideas.

For this reason, those who tend to make faster progress with learning a language, are often those exposed to environments in which their preferred language is spoken.

Consider a person who travels to a French speaking community and is forced to communicate with locals in that environment. He is likely to come away – after one month  – better off than someone listening to tapes and videos only.

Why? Because active learning beats passive learning any day. The former is more spontaneous and keeps you on your toes with the variety that’s thrown at you.

There’s nothing quite like having to respond to impromptu enquiries from total strangers. Or having to ask directions from someone who’s struggling to understand your mangled version of her language!

By the time you go through that process many times over, you’ll find that bells of improved comprehension periodically ring in your head, as you make progress.

The above explains why, if you choose to teach what you know to others not as proficient as you are, your competence is bound to improve – be it in speaking, reading or writing!

2. Academic Learning at ANY Level

It’s the same with academics. Back in the university, people who scored high in some subjects often did so by teaching what they knew to others. In the process they gained greater insights into it. And that gave them a competitive edge in tests and exams.

Even in secondary school it was the same thing. Interestingly, we took exams which tested our knowledge in certain areas without necessarily covering the entire syllabus. In my case I was to confront my demons six years later, when I went on my one year of post-university graduation National Youth Service.

I found myself engaged in teaching Mathematics (which I’d scored a distinction in during the general certification exams) at a secondary school . However certain topics – like Bases – had always stumped me. So, when I discovered I had to teach Bases to final year students preparing for the certification exams, I was forced to pick up a textbook and re-learn it thoroughly. I did not want to look clueless before the students!

Guess what? 20 years later, that experience has proved useful in coaching my kids on the same topic/subject! When you teach, you ALWAYS end up better than you were before that opportunity came your way.

3. Coaching Kids (& Employees) to Learn Faster & Remember More

It’s amazing to see how children, if properly coached, instinctively develop smarter methods of doing things than what they are taught.

My kids are always encouraged to form the habit of teaching one another whatever they learn. Today they’ve established a culture of sharing with one another. Each has one or more unique abilities. Many times I get home and I see one showing the other how to do what s/he does better.

As a parent, it goes without saying that if you have more than one kid, and you also work (or run a business), it could take a while to teach the same things to each child. A smarter approach is to use what I call Multi-Dimensional Peer Pressure (MDPP) ™.

This same principle works perfectly for coaching employees in the workplace. I know, because I applied it successfully during my time in paid employment. In fact, I conceived MDPP™ by reflecting on my experiences and achievements during that period.

(MDPP)™ basically involves teaching one person you think has the capacity to quickly grasp what you want to pass across. Then get that person, once proven competent, to do the same for others.

All you then have to do is periodically check with him/her to confirm he has done (or is doing) the teaching. You also want to touch base with those learning from him/her to verify (possibly via spontaneous verbal or practical assessment – which may be formal or informal) that they’ve gained the required proficiency.

At a point, the entire process becomes self-sustaining, because everyone involved knows what’s to happen, and actively prepares for it.

Why It Works So Well

Teaching others what you’re learning helps you re-visit it with a more inquisitive mindset, to ensure those you teach understand you. That’s what makes you come away with a better understanding of the subject.

Another benefit is that when you get those you teach to improve their understanding by teaching others, you save time, effort (and possibly money) in getting them competent. But even more importantly, you are able to do this for MORE people than would have been possible if you chose to do it alone.

I use this strategy a lot, and it works so well – enabling me avoid getting overwhelmed by requests for my attention. I refer here mostly to informal interactions I have with others – including my kids.

Once I know I’ve taught one or more others how to do a particular thing, I simply refer others who come to me, to such individuals. The only exception is when it’s a paid service I offer. This helps me stay focussed on my priorities.

Of course not everything can be taught in this manner. But quite often, for kids or young people, and in many cases adults as well, many things to be taught can be so handled.

Make yourself more successful in teaching others, by setting up a system where your students are required to take turns to teach aspects of the subject to others. It’s a powerful strategy for getting their serious attention and interest.

It forces them to pay attention to what you say and/or write, and to study it with zeal afterwards – in anticipation that they might have to come before others to talk about it. Get it?

Final Words: I Practice What I Preach (Some Useful Resources)

I offer more ideas about practical strategies you can employ to learn any language in my Proven 5 Step Formula for Learning ANY Language e-book. It’s based on my personal experiences learning to read, write and speak French back in 1999.

I practice what I preach i.e. teaching to improve my comprehension of what I’m learning. For instance, right now, I’m typing these words from my room in Calavi, Benin Republic where – in collaboration with 6 French speaking students of the university – I’ve produced audio and video components for Part 1 of my Quick & Dirty Workbook based Text Guide for English/French learners.

J’apprendre encore! (i.e. I continue to learn)…and producing my new guide for beginners has greatly enhanced my knowledge of the subject. It’s gotten me to form great friendships, alliances and client relationships within less than 3 weeks in a NEW country!

There’s no better proof that this concept works, than that!

You and your kids can become more successful learners from today, by putting it to use.

Entrepreneurship, My DN Travel News

Getting Potential Buyers to Do What You Want (5 Powerful Insights from my Study of Online Scam Artists Who Get Total Strangers to Send Them Big Money!)

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In this article, I narrate a true story of an encounter I had with an online scam artist in a Lagos cyber cafe. I then offer – for the benefit of online entrepreneurs – my insider’s perspective of strategies they employ to convince total strangers to part with their money. That is, after all, what we’re all trying to do online as entrepreneurs. In truth, we’re all marketing to a potentially unlimited online audience of STRANGERS, who we’re hoping will decide to send us their money! The only difference is that unlike the scam artists, we’re good guys :-)

Getting Potential Buyers to Do What You Want – 5 Powerful Insights from Online Scam Artists Who Get Total Strangers to Send Them Big Money!

If You’re Over 20 and Have Never Received an Email from Internet Fraudsters, You Must Have Been Living on Mars!

Victor Oladokun, presenter of the Turning Point TV show once remarked, that there is hardly anyone on the planet who uses the Internet that has not received an email scam letter from Nigerian Internet fraudsters.

They break through virtually every conceivable barrier to invade people’s email privacy regardless of efforts to keep them out.

Thankfully, efforts to stop them – by educating potential targets/victims and increasing security monitoring – are now yielding fruits. People are smarter in dealing with them.

An Interesting Cyber Café Encounter With a “Suspected” Online Scam Artist

Monday 2nd January 2006, at about 9.00a.m. I’m in a cyber cafe somewhere in Shomolu area of Lagos state in Nigeria, uploading updated web pages to my website. I’ve been at it for over thirty minutes, but despite it being a new year, it appears the poor internet connection speeds from 2005, have been carried over.

Another thirty minutes later, I give up, and decide to call the attention of the friendly cafe engineer to my need for speedier access, if possible. He expresses surprise, saying other customers are not complaining.

I point out that they are mostly either checking their emails or chatting online – those being activities requiring little bandwidth compared to mine, which involve uploads of over 80 files – some of which are up to2 MB in size.

He takes me to another PC, logs in using his administrator password and does some checks. Nodding in satisfaction, he tells me this system has more RAM than the other – apparently suggesting the other PC’s lower RAM was the problem. I say “Oh, great :-)”.

Quick Tip: When you’re paying for a service and not getting what you want, don’t keep quiet. Ask for help. No reasonable provider will call you a trouble maker for demanding good value for your money. And like it happened above, they might have a solution!

So he asks me to login using my purchased ticket ID and password. I try to do that, but all I get is a message “This ticket is already in use!” Not believing my eyes, I try again, this time checking to be sure no typo errors are made. The same message appears!!

Suddenly, the operator – who is still with me- taps me on the arm, puts his finger to his lips and motions for me to follow him. We get back to his desk and using the café management software on his PC, and my unique ticket batch number, he identifies the PC on which it’s being used! Then he walks over to the guy (mid-twenties), crouched over a terminal in a corner of the room.

To cut the long story short, we establish that the young man used some creative process to capture my ticket ID and password while I was working on my terminal. He quietly accepts to logout, and leaves the café. As the operator proceeded to reboot the PC, I noticed multiple chat windows open, with different profile photos – and names like “Janice”(a guy bearing a gal’s name – complete with photo too)!

A closer look confirmed my suspicion about what he was doing. He’d apparently tapped into my ticket time to continue his conversations with about 4 different people – ALL abroad. If I had left the café instead of asking for help from the operator, I would have returned to find my browsing time used up!

Why (and What) I Believe We Can Learn from Internet Fraudsters

Okay. Let’s get a few things clear. This is not an exposé on inside operations of an Internet Fraudsters’ network.

So don’t expect me to read details of how they operate here :-) Having said that, at the end of this article, I do offer a VERY simple, yet powerfully effective tip for immunizing yourself against internet scams – of ANY kind. So you might learn something – still!

From years of casually observing this group of people, and also being on the receiving end of their “marketing” campaigns, I’ve noticed a consistent pattern. And in my estimation, it reflects the fact that they have developed a system that works for them.

In business marketing, a system that works, is one that generates the leads and sales you need. It is in that sense that I feel we can learn at least Five (5) lessons from these guys.

1. Identify Your Target Audience’s Hot Buttons

When exchanging emails or chatting with their “targets”, these guys use subtle questioning, to learn what to say to get their target more interested. This is a very powerful concept – and it helps them decide whether or not a “target” is worth pursuing or not i.e. via the answers s/he gives.

The visitor reading your article or web copy will often be a stranger. And when he sends you an email (or calls you), you will know little or nothing about him.

But you want to develop effective question asking techniques to uncover his/her hot buttons. And that’s what you weave your offer around, to close the sale. Once you do that, most times the prospect ends up becoming a buyer.

So, we must learn to use questions to unearth the deeper motivation of our prospects. Jason Leister teaches this art of asking questions quite well. He has an ebook that has received rave reviews from thought leaders in marketing. He used to sell it, but now offers it FREE – as I explained in this past issue of my speaking IDEAS newsletter.

2. Develop Methods That Save Time & Effort

Most times these fraudsters know little or nothing about the person(s) they exchange emails – or chat – with. But they are determined, persistent, very quick thinking and intelligent.

Those are very useful qualities to have – but for us “good guys” those qualities must be put to positive and productive (not negative and destructive) use.

These bad guys use aliases of all kinds. We won’t do that – because we’re good guys, and duplicity would do us more harm than good. They prepare photos and profiles to meet the expectations of their target audience e.g. the guy who used a pretty girl’s name and photo.

We can learn from that – our online presence deserves similar treatment e.g our websites, social media profiles etc.

They often use blocks of text copied from (e.g. dating) websites to express emotions that win the confidence of a target. I imagine poor English writing competence makes them do this to avoid giving themselves away. And they do it well enough to get believed!

We can have boiler plate templates for responding to enquiries from potential buyers. I use them – in my auto responders and in direct emails as well.

It saves time, and helps us come across as consistent and professional. That can inspire a prospect to buy from us. If you don’t already use them, I suggest you start doing so.

3. Don’t Fool Around…Ask for the Money!

Eventually, at some point in their “discussions” scam artists begin asking for the money. And they are rarely shy about it. Plus they ask as often as they consider necessary :-)

But they often do so by telling lies (e.g. a relative is dying and they need money to take her to the hospital). They succeed in spite of their lies, because they successfully identify the “target’s hot button. And so they push it, till they get what they want.

That’s where we (as good guys) – again – differ.

We’ll be asking for the money based on the value we’ve shown the “prospect” we can deliver i.e. we’ll do the same thing, but with good intentions – to close our sales.

The problem is that many of us discuss with people our marketing has brought to us, but perpetually avoid (or neglect) trying to close the sale! Funny isn’t it, how what we want scares us so much we’re unable to take it, when we see it?

If you have that problem, get over it as fast as possible. I used to. But not anymore.

A True Story: Just yesterday I was in a meeting with a self-employed professional here in Benin Republic, to discuss my new MS Excel-VB driven audio, video and photo language guide.

Suddenly (after seeing my Excel application’s graphic user interface, and my website where I displayed promotional videos and screenshots of it), he said “Mr. Tayo, I think my website is long over due, and from what I’ve seen here, you can help me build it. How do we get started?”.

Note that I’d gone there to discuss a partnership proposal to market my guide to students in his institution. But in the process a selling opportunity came up.

Within 15 minutes of discussion, I provided him answers to his questions and also got answers to mine –  including agreeing a fee I was comfortable with, and a start date.

What’s the worst thing that can happen if you ask for the money?

The prospect can only say NO. But then at least you would not have to punish yourself wondering what could have been!

So, I’m going to say it again

Learn to ask for the money, preferably as early as possible – so you don’t end up wasting time with someone who’s looking for a free ride in a fancy car (thanks to Will Smith and the Fresh Prince of Bel Air).

4. Team Up Where Possible – and When Necessary

It’s always amazing to see how these scam artists can readily come up with other resource persons as and when needed.

I once read a detailed series of emails exchanged with scam artists. At various stages, they readily supplied names, addresses, and phone numbers (including scanned copies of certificates) of a lawyer and medical doctor when asked.

To put it simply, they had done their thinking and were prepared for any eventualities. So each time the “target” asked, they simply made it happen.

What they did not know was that the individual they were dealing with was simply playing with them right from the beginning: He was smart enough to sniff them out. Many others have fallen for it!

How about you? Do you have everything you need to respond to a prospect ready? If no, why not do that? And if you don’t have it all, why not team up with others who do?

For us, joint ventures and other partnerships can yield useful financial rewards and returns via increased sales, if we carefully evaluate those we adopt.

5. Play the Numbers Game

Lastly, scam artists are so proficient in using the internet to propagate their messages.

These guys successfully clone entire websites of financial institutions to defraud unsuspecting users.

They are often highly skilled in web design and development, and this enables them put their works on autopilot. This is what makes them appear so relentless.

As online entrepreneurs, to make our marketing more successful, we can harness technology and internet in the same way.

For instance, newsletter management systems (like Aweber, Mailchimp, Constant Contact etc) will enable you reliably build a mailing list of potential buyers. Add to that the use of RSS technology to propagate your marketing content from your website and emails across to various social media platforms at the click of a button.

This way you increase your marketing reach and get yourself noticed by more people than you could do by yourself. And like the old marketing rule says, for every 100 people you “speak” to, expect probably just 1 to 3 to respond.

Following up on leads is also crucial. Here scheduled autoresponders can be useful.

Therefore, to get more responses, aim to “speak” to hundreds more. Doing that manually would take too much effort, and time that could be better spent. Use web marketing to achieve the same results, and preserve your health, and sanity :-)

Final Words: A Word of Advice on Handling Suspected Scam Email Messages

If you get an email message that contains an offer that reads too good to be true, follow your gut level instinct. It most likely is TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE! So, delete it and move on. Don’t let your mind play tricks on you. I’d say it takes a great amount of GREED &/or NAIVETY to fall prey to their antics.

Be cold and clinical in dealing with any message(s) that throw(s) up a red flag(s) in your mind. You’ll know them the minute you see them – all the tell tale signs are never hard to miss (e.g. poor spelling grammar – and of course their outrageous offers etc).

The problem is that as human beings, we sometimes encounter these temptations at periods in our lives when we’re most vulnerable.

Quite often it will be a time when we have a need that coincides with the reward being offered in the internet fraudster’s message, such as the promise of easy monetary reward (e.g. an email screaming that you won a lottery you never entered for…oh come on!!!).

Try and remember what I’ve said above, and you should be reasonably safe. Hey I should know: I’m a full blooded Nigerian, born and raised in Nigeria, who has lived and worked in Nigeria for over 40 years!

That is until 1st April 2013, when I arrived in Benin Republic, to begin travelling slowly across West Africa, as a Location Independent Entrepreneur :-)

My DN Travel News, Public Speaking

3 Reasons YOU Need To Learn Public Speaking

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It may sound like I’m pushing it a bit here. But I honestly feel, based on over ten years of personal experience, that the practice of public speaking confers multiple life changing benefits on. In this issue of my Speaking IDEAS newsletter, I outline 3 specific ways in which learning public speaking can help you make the most of YOUR life.

Important Note: By the term “public speaking”, I am not restricting myself, in this piece, to acts in which a speaker has to step up on a platform to deliver a formal speech. Instead, I refer as well to those instances in daily social life, in which individuals use their speaking skills to exert influence and leadership on others – directly or indirectly. And this includes one on one interactions, as well as small or large group situations.

Having made that clarification, let’s get started.

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Publication: Tayo Solagbade’s Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS Page (PSIP) Newsletter

Date: Monday 29th April 2013

No:87

Title: 3 Reasons YOU Need To Learn Public Speaking

Author & Publisher: Tayo K. Solagbade [234-803-302-1263]

Blog URL: http://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com/blog

Archive (For E-mail only version started 14th May 2012): Click here to view

Archive (For Blog version started 24th September 2011): Click here

Hi,

Please find below the latest issue of my Speaking IDEAS newsletter.

NOW AVAILABLE!

Parts 1 AND 2 of the MS Excel-Based Quick & Dirty Guide to English Language for French Speakers…and to French Language for English Speakers)

Soyez les bienvenus!

On m’appelle TAYO. Je suis avec mes amis, avec qui je prépare la prémière partie du guide pratique pour des gens qui aimeraient parler l’anglais comme français. Maintenannt, je vous présente les membres de mon équipe.

Above: Screen shot of the new version - an automated query form that makes learning EASIER. You click what you want on the menu, and it plays it in audio, and shows photos where appropriate

Above: A new version I’ve just created of the guide. It now comes with an automated query form that makes learning EASIER. You click what you want on the menu, and it plays it in audio, and shows photos where appropriate

(Click HERE to see screenshots & Watch video)

Learn more here…

 

No. 87: 3 Reasons YOU Need To Learn Public Speaking!

**** **********

NB: If you ever find yourself wondering what else I’ve written, some days after you’ve read THIS Speaking Ideas newsletter I send out on a Monday, here’s what you can do to find out: Point your browser to www.sdacademy.org to read at least ONE new post added to my SD Nuggets blog on a different category from Tuesday till Saturday (sometimes even Sundays) in line with this publishing schedule :-)

**********

It may sound like I’m pushing it a bit here. But I honestly feel, based on over ten years of personal experience, that the practice of public speaking confers multiple life changing benefits on. In this issue of my Speaking IDEAS newsletter, I outline 3 specific ways in which learning public speaking can help you make the most of YOUR life.

Important Note: By the term “public speaking”, I am not restricting myself, in this piece, to acts in which a speaker has to step up on a platform to deliver a formal speech. Instead, I refer as well to those instances in daily social life, in which individuals use their speaking skills to exert influence and leadership on others – directly or indirectly. And this includes one on one interactions, as well as small or large group situations.

Having made that clarification, let’s get started.

From our early years in school, to the working years and even after retirement (when we become “senior citizens”), the ability to speak acceptably attracts rewards and benefits in various forms. I explore 3 key examples below:

1. Increased Friendships and Personal Influence

“Speakers – especially successful ones – are often people who tend to know a lot of other people from various walks of life. And that effectively gives them access to potentially powerful channels of influence – even power” – Tayo K. Solagbade

A natural outcome of being a public speaker (especially if you deliver results) is that you’ll get invited to many different places. After every event, it’s likely that new connections will be made during the interactions that follow after the event.

Think about any public speaking personality you know. You’ll agree with me that many literally grow a wide network of often influential friends, and contacts as they go along.

The best part is that you can never be sure who will be in your audience. Sometimes you’ll speak at an event and afterwards get called to meet with a known name or influential personality in your field or industry, who happened to be attending that event.

If you impress often enough, such people may begin to refer to you in interactiing with others. Over time, you’ll find yourself being courted by others based on those references.

Just as this can happen for self-employed speaking professionals, it can also work for career persons who deliver presentations to senior colleagues in organizational settings. In the same way, young people in tertiary institutions (and even high school) can achieve similar results.

Every opportunity you have to address influential others in groups, or as individuals, can be exploited to achieve interpersonal impact that gets you noticed.

If you do it right, that impact can attract useful friendships to you, increasing your sphere of personal influence. For instance, a simple mention of your name – or sighting of your face – could make someone waive a rule (or fee) for you to get something you want.

2. Leadership and Career Success

In school participating in class, engaging in club activities, contesting for elective office, and so on. All require speaking and influencing other students. Deliberate study and practice of the art of public speaking by any school age person – possibly with coaching provided by reasonably competent adult (e.g. parents) – will equip her to excel amongst her peers.

It is assumed here that she will of course have the needed competence to carry out relevant tasks in each area of endeavor. In some cases, as key ability required for success will be that same public speaking competence e.g. as president of the student’s union or debating society, articulating convincing arguments in favor of position or cause.

A young person who does the above – even if not successful – will have received good preparatory foundation on which to build when she enters adult society. Quite often she will have a competitive edge over her peers in this area.

It is worth noting that recruiting companies usually prefer to young people who demonstrate evidence of having been active in that manner during their schooling years. Reason: It shows they already have useful skills and experience in leading and influencing others by asserting themselves.

3. Recognition and Fulfillment

One of the most powerful ways public speaking benefits a person is the opportunity it gives you to serve others by helping them succeed by sharing what’s worked for you.

In my opinion, there’re nothing better than being able to help others discover how to improve themselves using your ideas and knowledge. That kind of investment never fails to yield returns in multiple fold – not just to you, but also to your offspring.

“It is only as we develop others that we succeed permanently” – Harvey Firestone.

A good example of the goodwill that notable public speaking accomplishment attracts is the goodwill that Femi Kuti (and his younger brother Seun) enjoy as the offspring of the legendary Afro beat musician and firebrand Nigerian human rights activist – Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

In the same way, Tom Ziglar is accorded significant recognition today as Zig Ziglar’s offspring. None of this diminishes in any way, the accomplishments of these individuals in their own right. The point being made is that the public speaking successes of their parents provided a unique competitive advantage for them to launch their own careers successfully.

And such parents, more often than not, experience significant fulfillment while alive. I believe that’s a noble goal to aim for. That is, to achieve success, recognition for ones self, that can be built upon by those who come after us – like our offspring.

Final Words: This True Story Illustrates How Speaking Competently Can Literally Open Doors for YOU!

I feel it would be appropriate to include an example of how the above benefits can manifest. As usual I use personal examples not to brag, but to re-enforce my message.

In late 2002, I appeared on a popular Saturday morning show in Lagos, Nigeria called “Morning Ride” on NTA 2 Channel 5.

Mr Tunde Fajemisin, then Programmes Manager had put me on the show to answer questions about my little book titled “Proven 5 Step Formula for Learning ANY Language in 3 Months or LESS!”. I wrote that book based on my experiences in learning to read, write and speak French in 1999.

During the show, I had to field random questions, asked in rapid fire fashion, from a veteran presenter Sadiq Daba. At a point, Sadiz said “Oh, you’re an interviewer’s delight!” – his exact words. That told me I’d done a fairly good job with his questions

That Outing Was To Yield A Quick Pay Off On The Following Monday

(NB: I should note that it actually yielded results before Monday because my sister called me that weekend that her friend called her to say she saw me on TV, and wanted a copy of my book. Same happened with my mother, whose friend called her. And others.)

2 days later, I visited a bank in Surulere area of Lagos to cash a client’s cheque. But the security operative announced that it was after 4pm, and that they had closed to customers.

Now, I’ve never been one to take NO for an answer. It’s a habit that has gotten me many unexpected rewards. So I requested that he let me speak with one of the bank officers. He protested that nothing could be done. I politely insisted. Eventually, he went in to try.

To my surprise, the gentleman he returned with took one look at me and said “Hey, you were on Morning Ride on Saturday!” in an excited voice. Quite surprised, I replied that he was right. And that was all –he told the operative it was okay, and we went back in together, while he chatted with me about the show – and the book.

Now I know it’s not like anyone gave me a bag of money :-)

But at least I did not have to leave the bank without achieving my purpose for coming there. The next day I was able to set out without having to plan to re-visit the bank to cash that cheque!

In essence, I got what I wanted, when I wanted it. And it happens like that quite often, to competent public speakers.

Based on the above, you can see that you have more to gain – and nothing to lose – by investing a little time and effort to learn public speaking. A good place to start is by joining a toastmaster chapter in your area.

At some point, you may decide to step out of the amateur leagues to become an expert-who-gets-paid-to-speak, even internationally.

When that happens, consider learning from someone who – for over 25 years – has been a mentor of some of the highest paid speakers in the world. His name is Burt Dubin. Click here to send him a message. Tell him I sent you, and you’ll get a surprise offer.

Need More Details of How to Make The Above Ideas Work for YOU?

If you need more specific details of how to make use of the ideas I’ve shared in this newsletter, send me a message using this request form (with “Re: 3 Reasons You Need To Learn Public Speaking” in the subject line).

SD Nuggets Blog™

 New posts from last week that may interest you! *
Public Speaking

[Monday]:

Entrepreneurship [Tuesday]:
My DN Travel News, Self-Development [Wednesday]:

Career Development [Thursday]:

Parenting [Friday]:

Writing/Blogging [Saturday]:
My DN Travel News [Wednesday]:
Want me to write for you? Click here…

Click now

Have a lovely week!

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Sole Agent For Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Service In Africa

Mobile: 234-803-302-1263

http://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com

Tayo Solagbade is a Performance Improvement Specialist & multipreneur. He works with individuals/businesses who want to achieve highly profitable outcomes, and also with parents who want to raise real-world competent children.

Tayo earns multiple streams of income providing clients with performance improvement training/coaching, custom MS Excel-VB solutions, web marketing systems, freelance writing services, and best practice extension support services (for farm business owners).

When he’s not amazing clients with his superhuman skills (wink), Tayo works as the creative force behind his Self-Development Nuggets™ blog, and Public Speaking IDEAS newsletter (which he publishes to promote Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring service to experts working across the African continent).

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Have you been undecided about whether or not to become a paid speaker? Or have you been trying to get your speaking career off the ground with little success?

Here’s a tip: Burt Dubin works with people who want to be speakers, and with speakers who want to be masters. Click here to visit his website NOW and submit a contact form message telling him what challenges you’re facing, and how you’d like him to help you. Tell him I sent you, and you’ll get a pleasant surprise offer from him.

Comments?

What do you think of the above message? Do you have any personal experience to share on this subject? Are there some other points you feel can be added, to help persons looking for answers? Please share your thoughts!

Share this issue!

Do you know anyone who might benefit from reading this newsletter issue? Why not hit the forward button now, and send it to him/her with a short recommendation. You can also use share it via your social media channels. Thanks in advance.

View Tayos video tutorials and demonstrations on Facebook Productivity Tips, Web Marketing, and for his Custom MS Excel-VB driven software applicationsConnect with Tayo on LinkedIn.comConnect with Tayo on Facebook.comConnect with Tayo on Twitter.comConnect with Tayo on Google Plus

What fears or doubts are keeping you from (a) taking up Burt Dubin’s monthly speaker mentoring, or (b) buying his products?

You can choose to purchase Burt’s mentoring at any of the three (3) levels listed below:

1. Top Shelf [Click here] | 2. Mid Range [Click here] | 3. Budget Delight [Click here]

Burt’s three mentoring packages can be likened to the seating options offered by airlines: Budget Delight (Economy); Mid Range (Business); and Top Shelf (First Class).

At least that’s how I like to think of them!

All three will get you to your desired destination of “speaking success-ville” – so long as you meet the requirements/play your part well (your fare, abide by the set guidelines etc). During the “flight”, the seat you have will determine how much personal service attention and preference the provider will accord you. It’s that simple :-)

So, make your choice:1. Top Shelf [Click here] | 2. Mid Range [Click here] | 3. Budget Delight [Click here]

Send me an e-mail with your questions via tayo at tksola dot com. In the meantime, why not get started by subscribing here to get his 7-Part Course (How To Succeed And Get Paid As A Professional Speaker) .  . . and receive his monthly newsletter (Speaking Biz Strategies Letter) at no cost.

Get mentored by Burt Dubin - coach of some of the world's highest paid public speakers

For over 25 years, Burt Dubin has provided a variety of speaker mentoring products and services to clients worldwide.
Download this flyer as PDF: http://tinyurl.com/bdubin-africa

Burt Dubin now offers his speaker mentoring service to experts based in Africa. Click now to download this flyer as PDF

 

 

My DN Travel News, Writing/Blogging

2 Lessons on Writing…from Tom & Jerry Cartoons!

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Yeah, I know. What on earth can Tom and Jerry cartoons teach anyone about writing? But that’s the irony of life. I don’t know about you, but simple, yet powerful insights used to elude me a lot in the past. As a result I often ended up dwelling on needlessly complex alternatives. This cartoon series helped me overcome that limitation, making me more productive. These 2 lessons make simple common sense. And they’ve gotten me hired by clients to develop Web Marketing Systems based on Article Marketing for them. I share them below, in the hope that you may also find use for them:

1. Keep It Simple for Your Audience to Follow

Tom and Jerry do not speak – most times, except when they have to scream in pain or hoot in laugher. Yet, everyone who watches them leaves with a clear understanding of what transpired in each episode.

In my opinion, that’s non verbal (and non-written) communication at its very best.

To achieve the above outcome, the script writers and producers employ easy to follow plots that the average member of their target audience can relate to. And that includes children. For instance, we all laugh at the same scenes while watching – both adults and kids.

As writers, we are told to keep our target audience in mind. On the web, there is the generally accepted rule that you need to write in a way that someone in the 6th grade can understand.

It’s simple common sense. Yet sometimes we forget. Or decide to ignore that rule.

Consider the possibility that one of your readers could have a BIG purse, but relatively poor comprehension of English. If s/he’s looking to hire a writer, what happens if s/he cannot understand what you write?

Simple answer: You most likely will not get hired – at least not by him (or her).

Today, many business owners from non-English speaking countries seek increasing access to buyers in English speaking markets. Some actively hire English competent writers and marketing professionals to handle their web marketing content for their manufactured products and/or services.

But they often seek writers who use English in a way that they can understand.

That convinces them that people with limited grasp of English – like them – would not be alienated by the content you create. No client will hire (or retain) a writer who produces content that potential buyers struggle to comprehend.

Hopefully you see what I mean here.

2. Relentlessly Deliver Useful Value – Mixed With Entertainment – to Readers

I could be wrong, but I believe Tom and Jerry cartoons have been around since before I was born. I’ll be 43 in July. So that’s a fairly long time. Yet there is rarely a time – even now – that I watch an episode from that cartoon series that I do not laugh or at least smile.

And I know I’m not alone. Forgive me being so cheekily presumptuous :-)

Each time these guys make us do that (i.e. laugh), they succeed in their objective of delivering entertainment, in exchange for our money. Amazing how well they’ve perfected that art, isn’t it?

For decades on end, generations of people across the world have continued to watch these two cartoon characters without losing interest. That’s because they fulfill their promise to meet our expectations of being entertained. Period.

When we write, it’s important to set out to add value by doing one or more of the following: informing, educating, inspiring or entertaining and so on.

We must never forget to think of the reader. Answering the “What’s In It for Me” question to meet the needs of our readers’ is the best way to succeed.

The more often we achieve our goal of adding value as outlined above, the better we succeed in our writing. Writing in this manner does not often produce instant results, but it eventually does produce useful, financially rewarding results.

Here’s a point worth noting: Quite often many writers focus too much on the “getting hired to write” kind of benefit.

My experiences have howver taught me that so many other channels of rewards exist that you can look forward to exploiting. Indeed some will lead to a chain of beneficial events happening to and for you.

To give a personal example, I have – in the past – won projects with clients by referring them to a piece of writing I produced.

In one case, a client mentioned a problem they faced in passing. Recalling that I had once written an article (with videos and screenshots) of how to solve that problem, I simply e-mailed the CEO a link to it.

More often than not, they would succeed in using the information in my article to solve the problem (sometimes they could call me to clarify aspects). Weeks later, I used the example of that solution they got from reading my article, to convince the CEO to hire me. The project was to develop and implement a Web Marketing System (with an Article Marketing component) for their already existing website.

Final Words: Build Up Readers’ Anticipation for the Future

In addition to other performance indicators which I discussed in seperate posts on this theme, evidence of success will be increased volume/quality of website traffic.

For instance, before I left Nigeria on April 1, 2013,, I was getting 450 to 1,300 visits per day on this blog. Today (less than 4 weeks later) I get 900 to over 1,800 visits per day. Not just that, the rate of subscription to my newsletter has jumped.

Here’s one of the main reasons: Ready access to electricity here in Benin republic has helped me improve the quality of my writing. I am able to spend more time thinking up and creating quality content. The feedback from visitors to my website reflects that fact.

Now, by achieving 1 and 2 above, what Tom and Jerry end up doing in the long run is to build anticipation and interest in viewers minds, to watch more. That’s why both adults and children are often ready to purchase new releases of the cartoon series.

Using lessons 1 and 2 above, avoid focussing on writing in a way that makes YOU look good. Instead devote your energy to producing write-ups make them better equipped to do what they want to do better.

In the process, you WILL look good to them. And that will make them decide to return to read more of what you write.Over time, they will tell others about you, and send feedback to you by way of emails, sometimes comments etc. At some point some who need help writing content for their own businesses, may decide to contact you. And suddenly, you would have come full circle.

Your goal of getting hired would have been achieved. But you would also have gotten there by being useful to others, thereby gaining powerful marketing traction for yourself.

The long term benefits of that will be tremendous, and definitely worth the effort.

My DN Travel News, Self-Development

How Benin Republic Youth are Driving African Innovation (PLUS Women Cassava Farmers in Nigeria Earn Extra $2,200 in Off Season By Planting Cucumbers)! – Review of 12 Page PDF 2011 Report By International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

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This update starts with a few notes about the responses to my new text and audio guide for english/french learners. I’ve provided names, links, and locations to help ANYONE interested in following up/acting on the information I’ve supplied here.(No time to read online? Click here to request a copy of the IFAD 12 page PDF report). Or head over to the IFAD website, to request a copy.

I’m getting closer to finding Samuel Agossou, the 700,000 rabbit breeding Beninese Super Agro-Entrepreneur. This update also features some amazing stories about how Beninese agro-entrepreneurs and NGOs are leading change in Africa. Also mentioned is the impressive success story of women cassava farmers in Rivers State of Nigeria who earned an extra $2,200 during a cassava off season by planting Cucumber on their farms!

Screen shot of cover page of IFAD PDF report

The Quick & Dirty Guide for English/French Learners Is Out!

We hit the streets today with flyers announcing my "Quick & Dirty Guide to English Language for French Speakers…and to French language for English speakers!"

The response has been exciting.

Screen shot of part 1 of the guide - Greetings (Salutation/Accueil)

Already, people outside Benin Republic are showing their interest as well. The products sales page has already recorded enquiries from Nigeria – starting with a student from Portharcourt who requested the FREE workbook and ONE sample audio download via autoresponder.

He also sent in a question which I just read out to my team members over here, saying "How can a beginner learn to speak French fluently". In my response, I recommended he purchase my "Proven 5 Step Formula" ebook (and the above guide) I wrote in 2002, linked below. Click here to read my FULL email response to him. I’ve published it, because I think it will benefit others.

Ebook: Proven 5 Step Formula for Learning ANY Language in 3 Months or LESS

Screen shot of cover of my Proven 5 Step Formula for Learning ANY Language in 3 Months or LESS

Out here in Calavi, we’ve had individuals coming in to make enquiries on their own.

Some have specifically asked if there are formal classes they can take in addition to picking up the guide. I’ve told them buyers of the guide get access to a series of practical sessions we’ll be organising. One thing is certain – many adults in this society want to learn to speak English.

An Irony of Life: They keep telling me: C’est le prémier language dans le monde!

Maybe they’re right. Maybe English really is the number one, most widely spoken (and possibly most valued) language in the world.

However for me, it’s funny how I’ve felt that way about French language all this while. For me, especially in the early years when I started learning to read, write and speak FRENCH, ANY French speaking person was the closest thing to God…for me!

It would appear when you strongly desire something, it affects your perception greatly – making you value it above other things.

English speakers who desire to speak French think the world of people they discover can speak French. And French speakers who desire to speak English generally appreciate persons who can speak English.

With respect to the above, if you’re on my mailing list, I’m assuming you got the broadcasts I sent out as follows:

A. On Monday (in the speaking IDEAS newsletter at www.tinyurl.com/psip86-sdn)

B. Yesterday on the leads generation squeeze page at http://www.tayosolagbade.com/qdg.html

Yesterday was spent cleaning out the errors inadvertently carried over into the online version of the announcement e.g like the outrageous inclusion of "Tayo et al"(Latin!) I made on the cover page, instead of "Tayo et ses amis"!! :-)

The guys are all so pumped up – having seen the work they contributed to online, with their photos and a video of themselves speaking!

We’re scoring on multiple fronts with this strategy. I aim to promote the text/audio based guide to career persons and self employed professionals here (and in Nigeria), offering them access to the Public Speaking practice exercise in the language they wish to learn.

I’m hoping to use this as a means of stirring their interest in – for instance – Burt Dubin’s speaker mentoring products and services I promote.

A Wonderful Cotonou Based NGO Run by Young People Providing Funds for Inventors & Entrepreneurs!

Screen shot of section of IFAD PDF report featuring the The Cotonou International Forum for New Discovery (CINC)

By the way, I had a meeting with members of an NGO doing great things here in Africa, in collaboration with organisations around the world.

The “The Cotonou International Forum for New Discovery (CINC)” is engaged in providing funding to inventors and entrepreneurs – who come up with viable ideas and projects – across Africa. More on them later in this piece. They appeared in the same PDF report by IFAD as the next achiever I mention below:

I’m Getting CLOSER In My Search for Samuel Agossou – the 700,000 rabbit breeding Beninese Super Agro-Entrepreneur – Click HERE to Watch The Video

As it turns out, contrary to suggestions from people in goverment, and lecturers of agriculture in the university who suggested he did not exist (since they did not know him), I’ve downloaded a "TerraViva" PDF report (described as "a product of the “Amplifying the voices of WCA young farmers” project funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)).

It features my 700,000 rabbit breeding Beninese super entrepreneurial farmer (Samuel Agossou), with pictures and more details, on 2 pages.

Screen shot of section of IFAD PDF report featuring Samuel Agossou - 700,000 rabbit breeding super agro-entrepreneur

So he does exist – those who should know simply don’t!

I’m determined to find him – and with this latest discovery, I know I’m getting closer.

Amazing That Benin Republic Is Achieving Great Milestones in Agricultural Development & Many Do Not Know

In that same PDF report a large group photograph split into 2 pages (see below) is seen in which many Beninese ministers appear along with sixty young entrepreneurs from around the world(of which the rabbit entrepreneur is one – as mentioned above). .

The event was organised by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) at the Palais du Congress here in Cotonou, Benin Republic, from October 10 to 13, 2011. It was an international workshop and exhibition of innovation on “youth entrepreneurs – agents of change”.

Screen shot of section of IFAD PDF report featuring group photo of attendees (with Beninese goverment ministers) - international workshop and exhibition of innovation on “youth entrepreneurs – agents of change” - at the Palais du Congress here in Cotonou, Benin Republic, from October 10 to 13, 2011

It was in that same report that I read about the above mentioned Cotonou based NGO, and after extensive Google searches, found their website, got their phone number, and then met with them at the office premises close to Ecobank Agbontikon.

Also featured in the PDF by IFAD are about five other (again!) Beninese based agro-entrepreneurs

These are young people (in their early forties or younger), breaking barriers with their creativity and innovation. They include Laurette Dossou-Yovo, Dieudonné Aladjodjo, Mahoub Damala, Assise Fiodendji, and others.

Screen shot of section of IFAD PDF report featuring Assise Fiodendji - Benin Republic Agro-entrepreneur

Some of them are graduates of the famous Porto-Novo based Songhai Integrated Farming Centre, created in 1985 by a priest, Father Godfrey Nzamujo.

Screen shot of section of IFAD PDF report featuring the Songhai Integrated Farming Centre - Porto Novo, Benin Republic

The United Nations recognizes Songhai as a regional centre for excellence, and it teaches young farmers to be entrepreneurial. During my first week in Benin Republic, I visited the centre to drop off a letter for the director with regard to the Commercial Rabbit Farming Guide I’m trying to finish by including information from real life entreprises like theirs.

The irony is that I had to search for and find ALL this information by myself – and then have the Beninese I’ve met express surprise that such developments are occurring in their country!

Indeed, across Africa, many are NOT aware of some of the amazing revelations featured in that PDF, about exceptional milestones being achieved by Beninese agro-entrepreneurs in particular.

Click here to request of the IFAD 12 page PDF report, and marvel at the potential Africa demonstrates that it can manifest, through Agriculture, from a small country like Benin Republic.

Note, very importantly, that most of this happened without direct government intervention. These young people simply collaborated with themselves and mostly foreign organisations to make their dreams come true. Having said that the CINC president mentioned in an interview that they now work with their country’s ministers, to achieve even greater progress – having established themselves as a force to be reckoned with.

Women Cassava Farmers In Rivers State Of Nigeria Develop New Idea That Earns Them An Extra $2,200 From Planting Cucumber On Their Cassava Farms In The Off Season

Thankfully, I was pleased to find – in the IFAD report – that it’s not just the Beninese who are scoring big – even though they are obviously out in front :-)

Screen shot of section of IFAD PDF report describing how Women Cassava Farmers In Rivers State Of Nigeria Develop New Idea That Earns Them An Extra $2,200 From Planting Cucumber On Their Cassava Farms In The Off Season

At the 6th regional forum of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) held in November 2011 at Libreville, Gabon the success story of  “The United Ladies Cassava Farmers Association from Rivers State in Nigeria” was told.

They developed an idea to plant and harvest cucumbers in the off-season. This led them to realise an extra 350 thousand naira (2,200 dollars) from their cucumber harvest.

Now that’s a substantial addition to their income. And that’s definitely something that others can adopt.

Taking It To The Next Level By Putting Our Egos Aside & Working Together: I’ve Proposed to CINC, A Workshop to Teach Entrepreneurs to Make Wines/Drinks from Pineapple Peels

Last week, during the meeting I had with them, I proposed among other things, collaborating with the CINC, here in Cotonou, to organise a workshop: to teach interested persons how to use the massive quantities of pineapple peels being currently thrown away by sellers here in Benin Republic, as raw materials for making wines/drinks of different kinds at extremely low cost, for good profit.

It appears they like my ideas. They’ve said they’ll be inviting me to meet with the president (Barbara Macon).

I certainly hope we can make this happen, as I’m sure many Africans will benefit from the synergy. This continent needs it.

Before I joined Guinness, I learnt practical low cost ways of making good quality wines from over ripe pawpaw fruits while working in a small Lagos based factory.

The owner was a retired brewer. The wines were bottled and sold across the country. He’s still going strong today.

My exposure to international brewing practices and procedures has boosted my undestanding even further. And the way things are going here, I may end up launching a production operation here as a model for others to learn from – possibly exporting across West Africa.

Oh look I’ve written over 1,300 words already!

Once I get started on the subject of developing Africa using technology and agriculture, I get carried away by my passion!

Better stop now, before I write a book…but then again, that’s not a bad idea…:-)

How you had an enjoyable read!

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Excel-VB Solutions, My DN Travel News, Recommended Websites & Articles, Writing/Blogging

3 Ways Speaking a Foreign Language Can Make You Succeed More Often

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Speaking a foreign language can help you in paid employment as well as in business. I have had the unique priviledge of experiencing the amazing benefits derivable from being able to speak a foreign language, on both sides of the fence.

Below I outline 3 powerful rewards you can expect to reap repeatedly, from being able to speak a foreign language:

1. Unsolicited Support/Assistance – Often When You Least Expect It

There’s nothing quite as exciting and fulfilling as having obstacles that most others are unable to surmount literally get removed from your path by total strangers.

And that, simply because they discovered you can communicate in their language!

Be it in your country or abroad, there will be times when what you seek may seen impossible to get.

Then suddenly you hear the person in charge answer a phone call, or speak to a colleague in a foreign language that YOU, unlike others present, can understand.

Suddenly you realize there’s a chance you can connect with her (or him) on a different level.

And things go beautifully from then on.

The others, lacking similar abilities, are left wondering how you pulled that off!

This has happened to me, more times than I can count.

Out here in Benin Republic, my ability to communicate in French has endeared me to many who meet me.

For instance, finding rented accommodation like I did, at a quarter of the going rate happened not because I’m an expert french speaker(far from it!), but because (as many tell me) they appreciate the work I’ve done (and continue to do) to improve myself.

It apparently inspires those keen to learn english to keep at it.

Indeed, the relentless manner in which many have approached me to teach them to speak english like I speak french, is what made me create my Quick & Dirty Guide To English Language for French Speakers…and to French language for English speakers!

Above: Screen shot of the cover/introduction page - click to download free guide workbook and audio file

2. Greater Opportunities for Friendship & Learning

While acting as Production Manager for a 5 week period in 2001, I initiated a series of trials to see if brewhouse output could be improved by increasing the quantity of “grist” (milled maize and sorghum) loaded into the old model mash filters used in the brewery.

Now this was not something that could be done arbitrarily.

Certain loading capacity calculations needed to be done to ensure the best possible results were obtained.

The problem I faced in implementing my idea was however that I could not find anyone who could give me reliable details of the formula for estimating loading capacity for the kind of grist we used.

The manufacturer – Meura, a Belgian company – originally built the plant to handle malted barley based grist(as you may know, French is spoken in Belgium).

But luckily for me, I remembered that a technical representative of the company had flown in few months before I got nominated to act as Production Manager.

At the time, I was his host in my office as Training & Techniaal Development Manager(TTDM), and while chatting he’d discovered I could speak, read and write French.

From then on, our relationship stopped being formal. By the time he left I’d learnt a lot about the filters and how they worked.

And that was why when my surprise nomination to act as Production Manager came up, I readily explored ways to use what I’d learned to improve the filters’ performance.

Realizing that I did not have enough information to competently modify the loading of the filter, I decided to write to my friend.

Starting my email in French (first paragraph) with pleasantries, I made my request known.

24 hours later, a reply arrived from a colleague of his, who explained my friend was away on leave.

But he went on to supply the exact filter loading formulas for our grist type, which they had derived based on extensive trials.

It was just what I – and any Production Manager – needed!

Little wonder that the substantive Production Manager (upon his resumption from leave) and other managers in the technical function, requested copies of that formula as soon as I announced that I had it, in a post secondment report I published after successfully completing my acting assignment!

As you can imagine, the above may probably never have happened if my French speaking skill had not enabled me get closer to the Meura rep.

3. A Foreign Language Gives You a Uniquely Powerful Competitive Edge

Again I say this from experience. Personal experience.

Living and working in a society where a very great majority of people do not speak French or any other foreign language confers a unique advantage on those who can.

And if you can also read and write in that language, your chances get even better.

In a past article, I shared the story of how I got massive career boosting recognition at senior management level while attending an international workshop in Hotel Aqua Palace, Douala Cameroon.

The short conversation I had with the expatriate Managing Director of Guinness Cameroon, in the hotel bar, took place while other delegates from Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania, Kenya, etc looked on.

After that event, many positive things immediately began happening to me: Click here to read that article to learn more.

Final Words

Think about all I’ve said above, and you’ll see I’m right.

Why not get started on the path to learning a foreign language today?

If you’d like to learn english or french, my new workbook guide (with audio) can help you: Quick & Dirty Guide To English Language for French Speakers
…and to French language for English speakers! – Click to download free guide workbook and audio file

My DN Travel News, Public Speaking

Humanize Yourself By Talking About Your Mistakes: Audiences Will LOVE You For It! (PLUS Speak English or French FAST – FREE Downloads)

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What would you do if as the invited speaker for an event, you make the mistake of travelling (by air) to the right city, but in the wrong state, less than 12 hours to the event? That’s what happened to Burt Dubin in 1983!

As a mentor of world class speakers (for over 25 years), Burt encourages his protégés to be students of life – and to share their mistakes, in order to better connect with their audiences. In this teleseminar, Burt practices what he preaches by telling that story in a teleseminar hosted by Bryan Caplovitz of Speaker Match Radio.

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Publication: Tayo Solagbade’s Weekly Public Speaking IDEAS Page (PSIP) Newsletter

Date: Monday 22nd April 2013

No:86

Title: Humanize Yourself By Talking About Your Mistakes: Audiences Will LOVE You For It!

Author & Publisher: Tayo K. Solagbade [234-803-302-1263]

Blog URL: http://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com/blog

Archive (For E-mail only version started 14th May 2012): Click here to view

Archive (For Blog version started 24th September 2011): Click here

Hi,

Please find below the latest issue of my Speaking IDEAS newsletter.

Speak English or French FAST – (F*R*E*E Downloads)!

Part 1 of the MS Excel-Based Quick & Dirty Guide to English Language for French Speakers…and to French Language for English Speakers)

Soyez les bienvenus!

On m’appelle TAYO. Je suis avec mes amis, avec qui je prépare la prémière partie du guide pratique pour des gens qui aimeraient parler l’anglais comme français. Maintenannt, je vous présente les membres de mon équipe.

Above: Screen shot of the cover/introduction page - click to download free guide workbook and audio file

Above: Screen shot of the cover/introduction page

Below: Screen shot of part 1 of the guide – Greetings (Salutation/Accueil)

Screen shot of part 1 of the guide - Greetings (Salutation/Accueil)-click to download free guide workbook and audio file

This guide comes with clickable phrases (see above) so you can hear audio recordings in which my team members pronounce the words. You also instantly see pictures, to aid your comprehension and practice.

Parts 2 to 10 cover: Making enquiries (Renseignments), (Telling the time) Quelle heure est-il?, Numerals, Days/Months/Years, Market Transactions, Travelling Situations, Dining Situations, Emotional Expressions, Simple Sentences, Nouns related/connected to (1) the Human body (2) Animals (3) School (4) Farm (5) Human Relations; Common verbs and their conjugations etc.

Note that in the different parts, pictures of the objects or situations described appear when you click on the relevant phrase – just as you also hear the voices of my team members reading out the phrase, so you appreciate the correct pronunciation.

Click HERE to download free guide workbook and audio file

PUBLIC SPEAKING EXERCISE – To Aid French Speakers learning the English Language!

In collaboration with my team members, a special event will be organised here in Calavi (Benin Republic) for persons who purchase copes of this guide i.e. French speakers who want to learn to speak English.

They will write short (one page) speeches in their favoured French Language, and we will help them translate to English. They will then be coached to deliver the English versions of their speeches to audiences as a way of helping them gain better grasp of the language.

This is an exercise I have personally benefitted from. My plan is to engage the support of sponsors – including my contacts in the local TV stations here, to publicise this event, to organise it for as many groups as are interested.

For details of how to get a copy of the guide (on CD/DVD or via download), send me a message via this form

 

No. 86: Humanize Yourself By Talking About Your Mistakes: Audiences Will LOVE You For It!

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NB: If you ever find yourself wondering what else I’ve written, some days after you’ve read THIS Speaking Ideas newsletter I send out on a Monday, here’s what you can do to find out: Point your browser to www.sdacademy.org to read at least ONE new post added to my SD Nuggets blog on a different category from Tuesday till Saturday (sometimes even Sundays) in line with this publishing schedule :-)

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What would you do if as the invited speaker for an event, you make the mistake of travelling (by air) to the right city, but in the wrong state, less than 12 hours to the event? That’s what happened to Burt Dubin in 1983!

As a mentor of world class speakers (for over 25 years), Burt encourages his protégés to be students of life – and to share their mistakes, in order to better connect with their audiences. In this teleseminar, Burt practices what he preaches by telling that story in a teleseminar hosted by Bryan Caplovitz of Speaker Match Radio.

What follows is a text transcript version I created from the audio.

Byran: In addition to being diligent and having tenacity, is that another key factor that you think a speaker needs to have? They need to be a great storyteller?

Burt: …I would say that yes, but more important than that, be a student of life. I have been a student of life, eh ever since my father abused me as a child when I was four years old. That’s another story I don’t think we’ll get into at this time, but I’ve always studied the human condition right from the time I was a child, wondering why things are as they are.

And from this study, the opportunity came to observe and I must say, to grow wise.

And it is important to allow yourself to grow wise about what’s going on in your world. What’s going on in your country, in your city, durng your times. And from all of these, you can take a step back, if you can take a step back out of the arena, if only for a few minutes a day and watch what you see. And…harvest such wisdom as there may be for you.

You see the world through your eyes.

Your perception of truth is indeed your truth. And it is important Bryan, when we stand before audiences to share our perceived truth based on such wisdom as we may have.

And if you share it with passion. If you share it with enthusiasm. If you share it with deep belief. If you share your perceived truth with real ah enthuse..(ehm I’m looking for a certain word…I guess I’ve used the word).

It is this passion that carries your message home. You may not be right – so to speak – in the eyes of everyone in your audience, especially if you have  a political view. However at least they will be able to see that this is your perceived truth.

So we go back to authenticity.

It is importsant that YOU, the speaker, whoever the speaker may be – this is for everyone on the call – speak with authenticity about matters which you know well. Speak with authenticity about matters which you know well.

You may not always be right, but your perceptions are yours.

And what about when you make a mistake?

Oh heaven knows everyone of us makes mistakes. I’ve made 10,000 or more. We’ll take that word apart. Mistake. MIS – TAKE. A mistake is only a MIS – TAKE: what do they do in the movies, when there is a MIS – TAKE?  they do it over.

I’ll give you an example.

I remember the time  I showed up (laughs) in the right city but the wrong state to present a program. This really happened. 1983.

Bryan: Right city, wrong state?

Burt: (Laughs) Ha…Right city, wrong state. You wanna know what happened in that?

Bryan: Sure

Burt: It really did. I showed up in Burlinghton, Vermont, because I was working with a travel agent at the time. I was speaking 4 or 5 days a week. And I had my travel agent do all my bookings. And I got all my booking cities from the person in charge of  the seminar company for which I was then working, way back then.

And she always gave me my cities by name of city only. So I went to my trusted OAG – Official Airline Guide – and there was only one Burlington in the OAG, and it was in Burlington, Vermont!

So I had my travel agent book me into Burlington, Vermont ten o’clock one night. Called the Howard Johnson, and asked if they had transportation from the airport. The first thing I noticed was they had the wrong area code.

I’m not such a dummy. I was in line when the brains were given out!

I realized they did not have the wrong area code. I was in the wrong area code! So, ten o’clock at nite, they roll up the sidewalks in Vermont at nine o’clock at nite. No flights out until the next morning. I am in big trouble!

I find a room for the night. I don’t get to sleep, and I wake up the seminar coordinator, and I say “Hey where am I supposed to be this morning”. And she said it was a different Burlington. It happened to be Burlington Massachusetts!

Thank God it wasn’t Burlington Illinois, it woud have been really serious.

So in the middle of the night, I did what I had to do. Called Air Vermont, got a flight out at 6a.m, from Burlington Vermont, to Logan airport, in Boston, from which I could get a limo and an hour later I could be in Burlington, Massachusetts (Laughing) to do the program.

I went througth all of that. But I turned it into fun.

I happened to like… happen to love Vermont maple syrup – and I’m in Vermont! So I got up very early – I didn’t even go to sleep, I slept about an hour ­– and put on my clothes.

I found a coffee shop – an all nite coffee shop, and at 4 O’clock in the morning, I had hotcakes with Vermont maple syrup  – Oh boy was that perfect!

Then I hightailed it to the airport. I got to Logan airport by 7a.m. Got to the venue by 8a.m and they all said “Where are you? Where’ve you been Where did you sleep last nite?”(Laughing)

Anyway the program I presented on adrenaline – just adrenaline – I got no sleep – was one of the best programs I ever did (Laughs). I thought you might like that little story.

Bryan: (Laughs) Ha ha…at least you remember it that way!

Burt: No..hey man that’s the way it was!

Bryan: So, that is another example of telling a great story. Do you includes stories like this of your life experiences, even when presenting your standard workshop or something?

Burt: Always. You see they are the lubricants. They…You know lubricant makes the wheel of commerce go round. These are the lubricants, they humanize you.

People love to hear about your mistakes!

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FREE PDF REPORT: How to Get Kick As* Clients – By Jason Leister (www.artofclients.com)

FREE REPORT: How to Get Kick As* Clients - By Jason Leister (www.artofclients.com)

Just as I was putting finishing touches to the 15th April 2013 issue of this newsletter, Jason Leister’s e-mail broadcast to subscribers popped into my Blackberrry messages window.

Amazingly – in a theme consistent with that issue – he announced that he’s giving away his highly rated “How to Get Kick As* Clients” PDF report for FREE. Not optin required. Nothing.

Now Jason’s email offer’s arrival is an excellent example of one of those “coincidences” I mentioned will happen IF you take diligent action!

All he asks in return is that we spread the word about his PDF. That’s why I’m doing this. And it’s also why I’ll be creating a permanent link to it via a thumbnail image on my website.

Yes, that’s how much value I place on it: You see, in a tribute blog I published last year, I listed Michel Fortin as one of 5 mentors whose works really influenced me (another is Burt Dubin). It so happens that Michel has read Jason’s PDF. His review tells me it’s a gold mine. Period.

I intend to do my bit to see that Jason gets rewarded for his generousity. So click here to get your copy now – and don’t forget to spread the word. That’s ALL he asks. It’s the least we can all do…and it’s good Karma too :-)

Need More Details of How to Make The Above Ideas Work for YOU?

If you need more specific details of how to make use of the ideas I’ve shared in this newsletter, send me a message using this request form (with “Re: Use Persuasion to Save (or Make) MORE Money” in the subject line).

SD Nuggets Blog™

 New posts from last week that may interest you! *
Public Speaking[Monday]:

Entrepreneurship [Tuesday]:

Self Development [Wednesday]:

Entrepreneurship* [Thursday]:

Entrepreneurship* [Friday]:

Writing/Blogging [Saturday]:
Want me to write for you? Click here…

Click now

Have a lovely week!

Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Sole Agent For Burt Dubin’s Speaker Mentoring Service In Africa

Mobile: 234-803-302-1263

http://www.spontaneousdevelopment.com

Tayo Solagbade is a Performance Improvement Specialist & multipreneur. He works with individuals/businesses who want to achieve highly profitable outcomes, and also with parents who want to raise real-world competent children.

Tayo earns multiple streams of income providing clients with performance improvement training/coaching, custom MS Excel-VB solutions, web marketing systems, freelance writing services, and best practice extension support services (for farm business owners).

When he’s not amazing clients with his superhuman skills (wink), Tayo works as the creative force behind his Self-Development Nuggets™ blog, and Public Speaking IDEAS newsletter (which he publishes to promote Burt Dubin’s Public Speaking Mentoring service to experts working across the African continent).

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Have you been undecided about whether or not to become a paid speaker? Or have you been trying to get your speaking career off the ground with little success?

Here’s a tip: Burt Dubin works with people who want to be speakers, and with speakers who want to be masters. Click here to visit his website NOW and submit a contact form message telling him what challenges you’re facing, and how you’d like him to help you. Tell him I sent you, and you’ll get a pleasant surprise offer from him.

Comments?

What do you think of the above message? Do you have any personal experience to share on this subject? Are there some other points you feel can be added, to help persons looking for answers? Please share your thoughts!

Share this issue!

Do you know anyone who might benefit from reading this newsletter issue? Why not hit the forward button now, and send it to him/her with a short recommendation. You can also use share it via your social media channels. Thanks in advance.

View Tayos video tutorials and demonstrations on Facebook Productivity Tips, Web Marketing, and for his Custom MS Excel-VB driven software applicationsConnect with Tayo on LinkedIn.comConnect with Tayo on Facebook.comConnect with Tayo on Twitter.comConnect with Tayo on Google Plus

What fears or doubts are keeping you from (a) taking up Burt Dubin’s monthly speaker mentoring, or (b) buying his products?

You can choose to purchase Burt’s mentoring at any of the three (3) levels listed below:

1. Top Shelf [Click here] | 2. Mid Range [Click here] | 3. Budget Delight [Click here]

Burt’s three mentoring packages can be likened to the seating options offered by airlines: Budget Delight (Economy); Mid Range (Business); and Top Shelf (First Class).

At least that’s how I like to think of them!

All three will get you to your desired destination of “speaking success-ville” – so long as you meet the requirements/play your part well (your fare, abide by the set guidelines etc). During the “flight”, the seat you have will determine how much personal service attention and preference the provider will accord you. It’s that simple :-)

So, make your choice:1. Top Shelf [Click here] | 2. Mid Range [Click here] | 3. Budget Delight [Click here]

Send me an e-mail with your questions via tayo at tksola dot com. In the meantime, why not get started by subscribing here to get his 7-Part Course (How To Succeed And Get Paid As A Professional Speaker) .  . . and receive his monthly newsletter (Speaking Biz Strategies Letter) at no cost.

Get mentored by Burt Dubin - coach of some of the world's highest paid public speakersFor over 25 years, Burt Dubin has provided a variety of speaker mentoring products and services to clients worldwide.
Download this flyer as PDF: http://tinyurl.com/bdubin-africa

Burt Dubin now offers his speaker mentoring service to experts based in Africa. Click now to download this flyer as PDF

 

 

My DN Travel News

AUDIO: Why I’m Traveling SLOWLY Across West Africa to Show Business Owners, Experts & Professionals How To Use Public Speaking & Web Marketing Systems for Low (to ZERO) Cost Business (or Self) Promotion

This is what you could call my “Mission Statement”. This blog post contains the download link to the audio version of an 8 minute video presentation I created, as well as a verbatim text transcript. The video was recorded using my Blackberry Pearl 9105 Smart phone video camera on Sunday 31st March 2013 from 11.23 a.m in Lagos. The next day (Monday 1st April 2013, I arrived in Cotonou, Benin Republic) to begin my Location Independent Entrepreneuring across West Africa (click the link for full details of my action plan) .

Unfortunately, the video did not turn out as well as I’d hoped. So, this morning (Friday 19th April 2013) I used a conversion software to strip the audio from the video as an MP3 file, for interested persons to download: Click here to fill a form to email the 11MB audio file (along with my 11 page resume and 5 other useful PDF reports) to yourself.

Click here to fill a form to email the 11MB audio file (along with my 11 page resume and 5 other useful PDF reports) to yourself

===Video Transcript Text Begins====

Right this is Tayo Solagbade, and I’m creating this little video clip to explain 4 different objectives that I have for going on my slow trip across West Africa.

It’s been a while, I’ve been running my website since 2007…2005 sorry. And ehm so it’s about 7 plus years old now. And over the years I’ve learnt quite a lot as an entrepreneur, and over the years I’ve also discovered new ways of doing things – having exploited the strategies I’ve studied from other people.

Now one of the most powerful methods of achieving business marketing promotion I have discovered is the use of public speaking. And I have found out that more often than not, you can achieve multiple benefits in terms of product sales, name recognition, brand building, ehm, I’m not talking theory or academics now.

Like I always tell people: “This is Street Wisdom and NOT Textbook Theory™”.

Basically, what I’m saying is that a lot of people are just busy spending money on traditional or conventional methods of marketing, when you have, in their hands already, the power to create awareness about everything they can do for others without having to spend any money, or if at all they have to spend any money, it won’t be much.

So, ehm, my purpose here is to take my message from my country, Nigeria, and take it across West Africa, for starters. I read a young lady on the Internet – I do not want to mention her name now, but I will mention her name as I travel along – who is an internationally recognized speaker from Africa…though she was based in the UK before she started her outfit.

But she was complaining about what she called a dearth of “made-in-Africa” speakers. I agree with her. We have a lot of people who are in business – I’m talking about the experts-who-speak now, not just people who speak and say they are motivational speakers.

There’s nothing wrong with being a motivational speaker. I’m just saying that we need people who are professionals i.e. practicing professionals in their various fields. We have fashion designers, we have lawyers, we have doctors, we have people who are business owners and manufacturers. They can use public speaking as a business marketing tool.

So we need more people like that to get into the business of public speaking.

So then they can kill two birds with one stone: they market themselves and at the same time they educate people and add value to them. Okay. Professionals are people who are already equipped with experiences and knowledge that can add value to the lives of others.

Now when they come to speak to people they help people to gain insights into what it takes to function in their own environment. At the same time they gain credibility before the members of their audience. And I have found out that public speaking is a powerful tool that can be used anywhere in the world – and it has actually been used across the world as a zero cost or very low cost promotional strategy.

For some strange reason not much of that is being done in Africa. A lot of people are scared of speaking, and they need help. So my purpose is take that message across the West African section of the continent. I represent Burt Dubin, and he is the mentor of some of the highest paid speakers in the world. You can always go to www.speakingsuccess.com, and you should be able to see on that page, on that home page, my name and a link to his website.

You can always write him and find out or call him and find out if he knows me. Everything I’m saying now, everything I’m doing now…this trip I’m going on, he has been aware of it at every stage of planning. I’ve been in this arrangement with him since 2011, and it’s been great learning from him. What hope to do is to show others how to do what I have done.

I have used public speaking to get myself noticed at some of the highest levels.

Last year, I was the guest speaker at the Yaba College of Technology’s Centre for Entrepreneurship Development’s Annual Semester Entrepreneurial Lecture.Basically, I got that opportunity because I used the strategies he told me about. Click here to watch a short Video Clip of my outing during that event (scroll to the bottom of the post).You can download the PowerPoint slideshow and mind map I used from here.

 

I have also used that same strategy to get clients. And, I’ve gotten a (project) that paid over N350, 000 (Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira). I cannot convert that in dollars at the moment, but you can do the math.

(NB: While recording the video I couldn’t, but now that I’m transcribing it, I can…N350,000 come to about $2,300 US Dollars).

And I did that by giving a talk that lasted just an hour. By the time I was done, the company CEO and the partner invited me to speak with them. They paid to have me speak to them again on a consultancy basis, and then they hired me to do it (i.e. develop a web marketing system).

Today, that company – those two company owners actually manage their own website. They’ve gone through quite a lot. They’ve had some challenges, and on their own, using the exposure they had to what I taught, have been able to actually recover from that – on their own, and now are trying to promote themselves more effectively using the techniques I taught them about the Web Marketing System.

So basically what I’m saying is that I’m a real person.

Some people have been subscribers to my newsletter for over 5 years, and they’ve wondered. Now I’m going across Africa – some of you are in Cameroon, some of you are in South Africa (I may not get that far…not immediately anyway).

But my point is there’s an opportunity for other people to get to meet me in the flesh, and see if the things I’m talking about are for real.

I have messages for Farm Business Owners – the need for them to use the Internet, and technology, in a much more effective way to save a lot of money. That’s why I have my software for Feed Formulation and things like that.

People need ideas!

In Africa we seem to think that we should just sit back and use the techniques and strategies from the times of our ancestors. The rest of the world is moving ahead – and many times we depend on foreigners, sometimes our black brothers from America to tell us things.

And yet those people, their skins are black like ours, or they’re Africans like us, by lineage, BUT, they do NOT have an understanding of our local situation here.

We are superior in terms of our knowledge of the circumstances under which we live. We are best placed to develop solutions and strategies for ourselves. So the sooner we begin to do that – and that’s the whole reason why we’re going to school in the first place as far as I’m concerned.

What’s the point of getting a degree, of getting any form of education if you’re not going to use it? People all over the world are doing that – in Japan, in China, I mean the Asians are doing that in a great manner.

There’s not reason why we can’t do that. We don’t need to have pockets of success. We can actually take our success and replicate it. Okay. And I think one of the most powerful ways to do that is to first of all develop a capacity – a capability – to use Public Speaking as a means of communication and education.

Invite Me to Speak To Members of Your Group or Team

That’s the reason why I’m going on my trip. Of course, you can imagine that I intend definitely, to get myself rewarded financially – directly or indirectly. And all of that is described on this website. You can check it out.

But I offer three quarters of what I’m bringing to you, FREE. No charge. Instead I look for partnerships with potential sponsors who might look at the opportunity to interact with me, and use my learning events and other services I provide, as a means to expose their products and services to those of you who are going to invite me.

So, my message is that…consider inviting me. I may not be in your country yet. I do not want to mention the country I’m starting from* but I have been in touch with their (consulate). And they have indicated interest in giving me a chance to see what they can do for me.

*NB: I’ve since announced in a blog post that I started from Benin Republic – and as of today am in my 3rd week here.

But the thing is, I’m on my own. And I’m going out there, and I know exactly what I need to do. The point I’m making is, if you know that you would like to get access to what I have said I have to offer, get in touch – the link to my website is here. My email address is tayo at tksola dot com.

Get in touch. I may not be accessible on phone, so don’t bother using the phone numbers on the website, because I’m going to be on the move, and I’ll probably set all of them to voice mail.

Like I said, if you’d like to get in touch use the links on my website or use my email address. I look forward to meeting you. Thank you.

===Video Transcript Text Ends====

LEARN MORE

The talks I will give to business owner, experts and professionals, will focus on the use of Public Speaking and Web Marketing Systems for business promotion. Read my 3 part series on “Why You Need a Web Marketing System (WMS)” – using the links provided below:

Part 1 of 3: Why You Need To Change the Way You Find Buyers for Your Products/Services

Part 2 of 3: Understanding How (Routine/Repeated) Use of Paid TV, Radio & Print Media Short Changes YOU

Part 3 of 3: A Passion for What You Do, Will Help You Use A WMS to Get New/Repeat Business At Close to Zero Cost

Above: In May 2012 I was the Guest Speaker at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development’s Annual Semester Entrepreneurial Lecture at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos. (Click here to download the PowerPoint slidesshow and mind map I used for that talk). 

Invite Me to Speak: If you’re in West Africa click here to invite me to speak to your members or group on this topic.

 Tayo Solagbade - headshot

Get mentored by Burt Dubin - coach of some of the world's highest paid public speakersFor over 25 years, Burt Dubin has provided a variety of speaker mentoring products and services to clients worldwide.
Download this flyer as PDF: http://tinyurl.com/bdubin-africa

Burt Dubin now offers his speaker mentoring service to experts based in Africa. Click now to download this flyer as PDF

 

 

 

Career Development, Entrepreneurship, Farm Biz, General, My DN Travel News, Parenting, Public Speaking, Self-Development, Writing/Blogging

Why I’ve Told LinkedIn to Delete My Profile (Talk About Trying to Give a Dog a Bad Name to Hang It)

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UPDATE: Isn’t it just amazing? I sent the request for linkedIn.com support to delete my tayo@spontaneousdevelopment.com profile at 13.05pm on 19th April 2013, and after failing to reply my previous email sent more than 24 hours earlier, I get a response confirming my request has been carried out at 13.11pm on the SAME day.

An amazingly quick reply from Linkedin.com - a record judging by my experience with their support department - funny they should do this in response to my request to have my account deleted...LOL!

Wow! Talk about SELECTIVELY speedy response. Oh, by the way, she also added: “If you change your mind, just let us know”. Sigh…what a pity!!!

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It’s unfortunate, but this post has to happen – because the guys at LinkedIn.com seem unprepared to be fair and impartial in their dealings with me – for whatever reason. I’ve never been shy about voicing my opinion. And the last thing ANYONE can ever succeed in doing is put me down or intimidate me. Those who have had dealings with me know this for a fact. I also have a habit of going out of my way to help others I discover to be on the receiving end of any form of abuse, or unfair treatment.

As I type these words, I have not heard from them with regard to my request for details of the “suspicious activities” they claim they noticed in my account.

How difficult can it be to specify EXACTLY what it was they saw that was a violation of their terms of use?

I have asked them, they have not replied. I thought it had to do with the discovery I made this week – see below – but in the response they gave me, it is apparently not. Yet, they will not tell me what it is I did wrong.

Now what’s that about I ask???

Ever since I wrote my post titled “If You Can’t Find Me On LinkedIn.com, Here’s Why…” last month, I have patiently waited to hear from them about removing the restriction placed on my profile. This was after I’d sent the the copies of my passport as requested within 48 hours of receiving their email.

Guess what? A few days ago, I wrote to inform them I noticed I’d received a surprising email update via my olufeltks at yahoo dot com email address from LinkedIn.com.

As you will notice in the screenshot below, I noted that that was an account I’d opened over 10 years ago, and never used. It was therefore surprising that I was getting updates on it – it did not even have ANY data on the profile page!

Asking them to delete that old profile, I noted that the updates for that account and my real account at tayo at spontaneousdevelopment.com could have both been coming into my blackberry (since I setup my smartphone to receive mails from them).

I told them it was possible that was what they saw as “suspicious” activity in my account – since I may have clicked on a link on it accidentally before making this discovery that the notification was for a different address. Having said that, considering I’ve been using my blackberry with LinkedIn.com for over a year now, I expect a problem would have come up BEFORE now if the old account had been sending me messages like this.

The way I see it, this only began recently – possibly last month. I am VERY careful in dealing with such notifications – which is why in my first post on this last month, I was able to detect the scam LinkedIn notifications that I displayed in it.

Note that I also mentioned in my email to them, that in the 10 years since that profile was created I had NOT logged in even once – I did not even know it still existed and even if I tried I would be unable to recall the password.

More importantly, I only began trying to use LinkedIn for business about 3 years ago – via tayo at spontaneousdevelopment dot com

What really got me ticked off was the reply I got from the LinkedIn rep. She wrote back confirming she had deleted the yahoo! email based profile as I requested and then proceeded to REPEAT the same message they had originally sent me about the “suspicious” activity they claimed to have noticed in my real account.

What was worse, she then requested that I send a scanned copy of my passport to them: something I’d done and inserted screenshots of in my post dating back to 19th of March!

To cap it off, I’ve NOT heard a word from her since I sent an immediate reply. In that reply, I forwarded a copy of the mail I’d sent with the passport on 19th March, asking why she was AGAIN requesting me to send it, without even acknowledging the one I’d sent before!

Not one word from her up till this moment.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When I sent that first email on Monday 15th April telling them about the 10 year old profile, I got (as I have always gotten) an autoresponse confirming the email reached them). But when I sent my second email in which I pointed out that I got autoresponse confirmation when I sent in copies of my passport on 19th March, and that I was sure it reached them, guess what happened? THE AUTORESPONSE FOR THAT EMAIL NEVER CAME TO ME!

The Yoruba’s would say “Ejo eleyi oni owo ninu O!” Translated contextually, that means: “There’s more to this than meets the eye!“

As you will find from reading the screenshot copies of the 2 emails I sent them this week, I made it clear that if I did not hear from them, by today 19th April 2013, that this matter had been resolved, I would want them to delete my profile PERMANENTLY from their website.

This post is therefore meant to notify visitors to this website not to henceforth bother clicking on the LinkedIn.com share icons provided. I’ll be exploring ways to get rid of it. But in the meantime, please do not bother clicking on it.

One thing I’ve learnt from using the web is that it’s NEVER smart to put yourself in a position where others can dictate what happens to you. That’s why smart people don’t set themselves up to be messed up by the next Google algorithm overhaul.

In my honest opinion, I believe these guys made up their minds I was guilty without even trying to verify if that was so. They took action without regard for the impact it would have on my image as a person promoting myself and my products for others to buy from me.

That’s unfortunate. Like they say in my language (Yoruba), there are many routes that you can follow to get to the market:

I no longer wish to follow the LinkedIn route. Period.

Below: Screenshots from the emails exchanged with the representative this week:

 

My first email to linkedin support on Monday morning 15th April (it was still 14th April in the US - hence the date and time you see - Click to view larger image

 

The LinkedIn autoresponse to my first email to linkedin support on Monday morning 15th April - Click to view larger image

 

Linkedin support reply - Click to view larger image

My reply - Click to view larger image

My 2nd reply email forwarding the from 19th March containing my passport images - Click to view larger image

Final Words

Did you notice that in her first – and only – response above, she said she looked forward to my response in order to further assiste me.

Well, like I said  above, when I responded this time around, protesting that I had proof that my email bearing image copies of my passport had reached them last month, no autoresponse came, and she has not replied since.

This is exactly what happened last month (see my first post on this), when I sent the passport images the first time. They never replied – even though I go the autoresponse. And they still did not reply when I wrote a follow up 2 weeks later , to which I also go an autoresponse. A screenshot copy of that follow up email is provided  my first post on this issue.

Like I said above: “Ejo eleyi oni owo ninu O!“

I’m done here :-)