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One of the groups I belong to hosted an event last night. It was a combination wine tasting and financial investment seminar. Who doesn’t like to combine serious money talk with multiple bottles of wine? Count me in.
Besides, I think, I might not have the requisite bundles of money, but I know that people do. And I want to find out how they did it.
So, because the sky is opening and huge forks of lightening split the sky, the affair is off to a late start. We are seated at a long white-tablecloth-fancy-wineglass-table, and proceed to chat amongst ourselves. Wait. for. the. Introduction.
I start to get a tad restless as do my fellow attendees. Are we swirling and sipping the grape here or pondering our financial future? Apparently neither. I taste the cheese cubes. Salt. Aah. Tongue now dry. I begin to seriously eat the purple grapes on the platter, no longer caring if they are purely decorative. I studiously avoid the plastic ones, though.
A good forty minutes in, our financial hosts reluctantly begin the presentation. No. Wait. He forgets the presentation booklets but because he has a few left over from earlier presentations, he produces four and asks us to scrunch in and “share.”
In the packets are tips that account for the miserable financial outlook for females. It’s sort of titled that way too – Loser Lists, or some such.
The packet screams: (Women don’t save when unemployed!) That gives me pause for thought. Do unemployed men save?
Apparently females don’t do a lot of things. We think we can get back into the workforce after an extended maternity leave of two or three years (the nerve), when we do return we make waaay less than we did before, we only make a fraction of what our male counterparts do…on and on.
Oh! And we live to 1001 – outliving men by 100 or more years at least. He has the stories.
He waits while it sinks in. You’ll be old. And no longer cute.
Then there is a helpful checklist. Gather your financial documents and put them in one place sort of thing. (That female squirrel like nesting behavior should be good for something, I think.)
I felt like I had time traveled back to the 80’s, and became feminist enraged all over again. I hadn’t felt that need for years and years. Okay, bad start. What’s next? When do they get to the part where they explain what nifty (and safe) investment strategies are out there?
I grumble whisper to my neighbor. When do we find out about the mutual funds, or the annuities, or the whatever? She nods and agrees with me. I swear we’re being quiet. Excuuuse me – the speakers frown. (Like we’re keeping them from sharing the good stuff.)
The bad news is that even if you save, you lose. Because you’ll never keep up with inflation. So says the presenter. There’s such a thing as being too safe, he intones. You’ll need to develop the intestinal fortitude for risk, he says.
You’ll also need to call them and go over your special situation. (Roof and food?)
Oh, the wine? I taste the second one and dutifully read the list, where it shares that in addition to fruity notes of melon and lemon, it has undertones of slate. Slate? Where do I spit?
I motion to her. Um, what are slate undertones and where do they come from? She tells me that she did not write this. But that some say that undertones are developed by where they ferment the wine.
So I leave, wondering how they keep wet wine on flat slate. I have visions of my son’s childhood where he was fond of a cartoon dog that could fully form from nothing more than water…Is it a Waterdog sort of thing?
Reach us at: www.mckernsdevelopment.com
As a Strategic PR & Marketing consultant I conduct media training, providing strategy, style and message coaching for business, RFP proposals, presentations, speeches and awards.
Today’s chamber meeting made me think about the presenters I often coach, and the importance of finding the right tone and style when presenting. My local Chamber of Commerce is an interesting mix. Upscale and well-funded equestrian interests mingle with influential business leaders; and all are courted by politicians and big business.
Sure, Offshore drilling in Florida, has great potential for temper flare (always interesting). But today’s debate is even more fascinating because of two radically different speaking styles.
Debater #1 – The Environmentalist - rises slowly. A silver-haired, former long-time academic professor, he’s now a current member of a well-known environmental group; against offshore drilling in Florida.
Debater #2 – The Slick Speaker - bounds to the stage. Young, energetic and a room-taker. An extremely polished and practiced public speaker; he’s on the pro drilling side.
The Environmentalist quietly says drilling will not bring relief in supply or pricing for 20 years; and inevitably brings oil clumps onto the feet of those visiting Florida’s pristine white sand beaches.
The Slick Speaker bounds to the podium. Fires back that the possibility of drilling would end the speculation bubble, instantly driving oil prices down. Asks, if your doctor says he has the potential for a future cure, would you say, no thank you?
Point.
Boom!
The Slick Speaker says that environmentalist groups are known for (among other things) driving spikes into trees to kill or maim loggers.
Ouch.
The Reprimand. (The Moderator cautions the speakers not to use off topic attacks, although clearly, only one has done so.)
Take away points:
Tread carefully if you plan to use off topic ambush statements, or you’ll risk losing your audience.
Balance your energy level to the room and to the opponent; modify a previously given speech by tailoring it to the specific audience (and opposition);
Show respect to your opponent – you can still win the point.
Want more? Reach us at www.mckernsdevelopment.com
Tags: media training; public speaking, strategic PR and marketing
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