Maybe you are (or want to be) a professional speaker seeking to make more money by finding new clients?

Maybe you are a professional who would like to leverage your speaking skills to grow your business?

In either case, this book is for you.

This is a book review of Ford Harding’s book –  Rain Making: Attract New Clients No Matter What Your Field — which offers abundant advice for marketing your skills through speaking, writing, and other pursuits.

What’s in Rain Making?

Rainmaking is divided into four main parts:

1. Marketing
   Covers basic strategies for building your reputation and generating leads.
2. Networking
   Describes the myriad ways to build your professional network and maintain it.
3. Sales Tactics
   Uncovers selling and pricing fundamentals.
4. Strategy
   Bringing it all together.

Rain Making is full of practical advice that you can apply immediately to improve your marketing efforts.

I particularly liked the numerous real-life stories and anecdotes sprinkled throughout the book, often to lead off chapters.

My only disappointment was the single chapter on web marketing which I felt could use a significant rewrite and more pages. (Perhaps a decade of experience in this field leaves me wondering how just 5 pages can cover such an important topic.)

Successful Marketing Is…

A core theme of Rain Making is that successful marketing and sales comes down to three variables:

• Increasing your network size
• Increasing the percentage of buyers (people in your network who hire you)
• Increasing the revenue per client

The author points out that your strong communication skills are a key advantage to improving all three variables.

How Does Rainmaking relate to Public Speaking?

This book aims at two audiences among Six Minutes readers. Which group do you fall into?

Group 1 – You are (or want to be) a Professional Speaker…

Rain Making teaches you the fundamentals for many of the business aspects of public speaking such as:

• How to use print or online media to market your speaking skills
• Creating publicity for yourself
• Building a network of people who might hire you, or recommend you
• Landing that coveted (and lucrative) keynote gig
• Pricing yourself
• Knowing when to turn down low-paying speaking opportunities

Group 2 – You use (or want to use) your Speaking Skills to Complement Your Growing Career…

Rain Making is littered with tips and techniques that show you how to leverage your strong communication skills to give you an advantage over your competitors:

• How to generate public speaking opportunities
• How to organize seminars and conferences which allow you to network and build your credibility
• How to use your one-on-one communication skills wisely
• How to deliver presentations that impress your potential client

What Other Reviewers Have Said

Bob Potemski:

The ideas, concepts, and tactics are applicable to all training professionals who have to market their training functions, especially you independent training consultants whose livelihood depends on your marketing abilities to sell yourself to a new customer.

Emily Grandstaff-Rice:

Rain Making is a superb guide to obtaining work, and frankly, an easy how-to book on becoming a true professional.

Reg Nordman:

Buy it, read it, and keep it close.

Suzanne Lowe:

So, fear not, you potential readers who feel like you can’t clear the decks to read one more business book. I’ll bet this one can actually make an immediate improvement in your revenue results.

Aspiring Solo:

The author, Ford Harding, speaks with authority (the book cover points out that his books are required reading for certification with the Society for Marketing Professionals).

Many people shy away, even run, from the tasks entailed in selling one’s services. Harding walks his readers through the practical, logistical and psychological. He addresses the shyness factor and how to overcome it using reason and common sense. Introverts can do it, too, argues Harding.

Tim Klabunde:

Rain Making is a book for professionals who are interested in learning how to develop their career. Its easy to understand focus on marketing tactics and strategies makes it an excellent tool for developing successful marketing strategies for an individual or company.

Similar Articles You May Like... Book Review: The Wealthy Speaker by Jane Atkinson 6 Key Steps to Dip Your Toe into the Professional Speaking Pool 21 Questions: Is This The Year You Communicate Effectively? 9 Steps to Conquer Nerves and Communicate Clearly in Interviews 10 Ways Your Presentation Skills Generate Career Promotions Business Communications Book Review: Fire Them Up (Carmine Gallo)

Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

Is this the year you become a more effective speaker?

Is this the year you conquer your fear?

Is this the year you customize every presentation for the audience who will receive it?

Is this the year you worry less about ums and ahs, and worry more about connecting with the audience?

Is this the year you realize its not the quantity of information conveyed, but the quality of how you convey it?

Is this the year you eliminate the phrase “I don’t need to rehearse”?

Is this the year you stop driving people to tap on their Blackberry and iPhone during your speech?

Is this the year you stop letting poor communication skills stand between you and the career that you want?

Is this the year you solicit honest feedback after every presentation?

Is this the year you act on the feedback received?

Is this the year you not only read and talk about Presentation Zen and Slide:ology, but actually put the lessons into practice?

Is this the year you stop putting people to sleep?

Is this the year you study storytelling techniques?

Is this the year you stop allowing your colleagues to commit communication suicide and give them honest feedback?

Is this the year you realize that a lengthy Q&A session is not “stealing time” away from your presentation?

Is this the year you stop using PowerPoint as a crutch?

Is this the year you realize that eye contact and gestures mean nothing if you don’t have a clear message?

Is this the year you find your voice?

Is this the year you use it to communicate whatever message resonates in your heart?

Is this the year you lose your ego and have a conversation?

Is this the year?

This is the conversation I’m having in front of a mirror on January 1st.

What conversation will you have?

This may help: 5 Habits to Achieve your Public Speaking New Year’s Resolution

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Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

Are you facing an important interview?

Would you like to go to your interview totally prepared and feeling like a well-toned athlete ready to win the championship?

Being interviewed for a job or by the media can generate the same tension and anxiety as public speaking does for many people.

In this article, you will learn to take on interviewing like an athlete preparing for the championship. You will understand how to prepare yourself to be transparent for interviews so that you can share yourself, your ideas and your expertise authentically.

Think about the word interview. Break it into syllables: in-ter-view. To be interviewed means to let someone see in to you, and that will feel vulnerable. So, like an athlete, you must prepare, not only to answer questions, but to open yourself to be transparent and to manage the physical tensions and emotional anxieties that happen when you are being evaluated or questioned.

I will outline nine steps for conquering your nerves and communicating clearly that I have both taught my clients who were preparing to interview and used successfully myself.

These steps will be divided into three sections

1. Changing the way you think about the interview process
2. Preparing to share your experience and expertise
3. Handling the bodily-felt tension and anxiety

How to Think about the Interview

1. Be there to help.

Don’t think about an interview as an audition or test. Thinking so puts you in the position of being judged, which will trigger tension and anxiety. Instead, think about your interview as an opportunity to help the interviewer.

Remember that the interviewer need help. He is looking for someone to hire because his company needs someone to help them be successful. So, think in terms of helping the interviewer find out how you can help his company. If you are being interviewed by the media, think about helping the reporter and his listeners understand something that you know about.

2. Detach from the outcome.

Let go of it having to be a certain way. Evaluate your expectations and really look at what you think needs to happen in the interview. Anytime you have to have it be a certain way, you will be stressed.

So, evaluate what you are pressing to have happen and then let it go. Be willing for it not to happen the way you want it. This puts you in neutral energy where you can feel open to more possibilities. Turn your results over to a higher power and ask that the outcome be for the highest good of all concerned.

Prepare to Answer Questions

3. Determine likely interview questions.

List on paper the questions that your interviewer will most likely ask you to answer. Be sure to include the really hard interview questions that you are afraid to answer. And also include, “Tell me about yourself.”

4. Write and practice your answers.

For each of the questions, write your answers on paper.

Then, practice them aloud until you can share your answers fluidly. You may be tempted to skip the practice, but don’t. Vocal expression is different from the thought process. You must speak your answers out loud for fluid expression.

5. Decide how to sell yourself.

Next, list on paper the important points that you want to communicate to the interviewer about your background, abilities, qualities, experience and expertise.

6. Illustrate key points with stories.

For each important point you want to make, write down the things you want to share and an example (story) that backs up the point.

For instance, if you say you managed a team effectively, tell a story about a challenging situation that happened that proves you managed the team well. Then, practice sharing your points and stories aloud until you can speak them fluidly.

Handling Tension and Anxiety

7. Warm up your body.

Before you go to your interview, do enough physical exercise so that your body is loose and flowing. Make sure you stretch fully and that you elevate your heart rate so that blood is pumping.

Most people don’t realize how much physical tension impairs their ability to communicate freely. Actors and athletes know the power of warming up. You should too.

8. Ground yourself in your body.

Get out of your head and into your body. Learn to relax your mental attention down into your body all the way to your feet.

Imagine you melt energy out of your head and let it flow down through your body until you fill your entire body. Grounding clears your head and creates a sense of physical strength and emotional safety. You can think on your feet when you are in you feet, and you can speak from your heart when you have attention in your heart area. This is the most effective antidote to performance and presentation anxiety I know.

9. Breathe.

Really. Breathe. After you ground yourself, take deep breaths, fast breaths, and slow breaths until you relax. Breathing helps your brain oxygenate and relaxes your body. Focus on breathing for 10 minutes an hour before your interview.

When you have finished these steps, you will feel ready to interview. Instead of feeling dread, you will be eager to get to the interview so you can share yourself. You will feel like an athlete who is ready to take on the current world champion.

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Sandra Zimmer is a former actress who is now a professional presentation coach. She works with professionals who are struggling to communicate in front of others. Her specialties are transforming fear of public speaking, telling authentically persuasive stories, speaking voice and accent reduction for foreign-born professionals. Visit Sandra's blog: Speaking Freely

Reading comprehension and writing skills are taught heavily in school. You and your peers may not be equally skilled, but the differences are relatively minor.

Presentation skills, on the other hand, are largely neglected in schools, and few people put effort into developing them. Thus, presentation skills are a primary differentiator among you and your peers. Master your presentation skills, and become the master of your career options.

This article highlights 10 ways your career will improve if you have superior presentation skills.

The Best Career Move You’ll Ever Make: Developing Superior Presentation Skills

Presentation skills (and oral communication skills in general) can be learned by anyone. It’s not hard, but it takes dedication and time. Helping you develop these skills is the focus of this blog, not to mention Toastmasters, speech coaches, and speaking books. By making it a priority for your career, you can learn and master these skills.

The career benefits awaiting you are plentiful, including:

Benefit #1: You are noticed

Poor presenters: Let’s be honest. The presentation skills of most of your colleagues suck. The bad news is that you have to endure thousands of presentations from them over the course of your career. The good news is that the bar for presentation skills is low. You can vault above it with minimal effort.

You: With superior presentation skills, you’ll get noticed every time you make a presentation. Further, you’ll be more confident, and will find yourself volunteering to present more often. This results in more opportunities to deliver your message with the eyeballs of those in your organization on you.

Benefit #2: You are memorable

Poor presenters: They regularly commit “Death by PowerPoint”: bullet after bullet, reading from the slides, few meaningful images (clip art does not count), and otherwise doing things that audiences hate. The best part of their presentation is when it ends, and everyone is free to return to their offices. Soon after, they are forgotten.

You: You understand how to connect with an audience. You use highly visual slides, and few bullets. You structure your presentation to aid in its understandability. You finish strong. Your presentation is memorable = You are memorable.

Benefit #3: Your ideas win because you communicate them clearly

Poor presenters: Your colleagues are smart. They have good ideas, and they know how to implement them. But they never get the chance, because they can’t communicate their ideas in a way that is clear to the stakeholders who decide which path to take.

You: Your ideas win more often because you know how to convey them. You utilize analogies and metaphors. You know how to deliver a message that emphasizes benefits, not features. You know how to customize your message depending which stakeholder you are speaking with. Career advancement comes to those whose ideas direct activity.

Benefit #4: You become the go-to employee for customer presentations

Poor presenters: Because their internal presentations are poor, managers hesitate to let them lead the show before customers. Their role in customer presentations is a spectator.

You: After demonstrating your presentation skills internally, you’ll be the one called on to give customer presentations too. Presentations for proposals influence whether you get the customer contract. Final presentations influence whether you receive repeat business. The closer to the customer you get, the more integral you are to the customer relationship, and the more valuable you become to your employer.

Benefit #5: You are a leader

Poor presenters: Lack of presentation skills leads to lack of confidence. Attempts to lead are thwarted because nobody follows.

You: Great leaders are great communicators. Great communicators are great leaders. Persuasiveness and charisma convince people to view you as a leader. This perception is translated into reality as you inspire those around you to greater achievements.

Benefit #6: You are a better listener

Poor presenters: They are too concerned about their own presentation mishaps to listen attentively to the audience.

You: Presentation skills are not only about what you say; it’s about how you listen. With a heightened sense of how to convey a message to your audience, you have also developed keen listening skills. Listening effectively to your audience makes you a better listener at all times. This, in turn, makes you more approachable…

Benefit #7: You are more approachable

Poor presenters: They may welcome the idea of interacting with others, but they are not seen as approachable because their presentations are always always one-sided information dumps, not conversations.

You: You are more approachable because you “put yourself out there” more often. You design your presentations to be interactive conversations. You encourage Q&A during and after your presentations. Colleagues will come to you first with ideas and opportunities because they know you are receptive to listening to them.

Benefit #8: Your network will grow

Poor presenters: Their presentations are either boring or confusing. Boring presentations lead others to see them as boring co-workers. Confusing presentations fail to be clear about what they offer. In either case, nobody leaps at the opportunity to work more with them.

You: You get noticed, you are memorable, and you are more approachable. Other people become your PR machine, spreading the news about how great your presentations are and how strong your ideas are. Your network naturally grows as people want to interact with you more often.

Benefit #9: You are a better negotiator

Poor presenters: They go into a presentation without doing audience analysis. Likewise, they go into a negotiation without analyzing the interests of the other side, or considering the delicate language needed.

You: Of course, negotiation is about strategy — analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. But, it’s also communication — communication of your ideas, your proposals, and your interests using a language more palatable to the other side. This applies to negotiating with customers and suppliers as well as internal negotiations for a better job, or increased compensation and benefits.

Benefit #10: Your interviewing skills will get you the job

Poor presenters: They have difficulty demonstrating that they actually have the skills listed on their resume. Poor communication skills in an interview leads to a failing grade from the interviewer.

You: Interviews are high-pressure presentations. There may not be slides, but your presentation content is you! Superior speaking skills will earn you top marks in the “communication skills” box on the interviewer’s form. With your superior speaking skills, you will also find it easier to demonstrate that you possess the other necessary qualities for the job.

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Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

Learn to speak the language of motivation with Fire Them Up!, the subject of the latest Six Minutes public speaking book review.

Fire Them Up focuses not on short term steps (things to do), but on seven qualities of inspiring business communicators (things to embrace).

The target audience is broad: CEO, salesperson, manager, merchant, entrepreneur, coach, teacher, pastor, and parent.

Overview: Fire Them Up!

This book has two halves, each with 7 chapters.

The first half of the book dedicates one chapter to each of the 7 Simple Secrets which Gallo advocates:

1. Ignite Your Enthusiasm: Light a fire in your heart before sparking one in theirs
2. Navigate the Way: Deliver a specific, consistent, and memorable vision
3. Sell the Benefit: Put your listeners first
4. Paint a Picture: Tell powerful, memorable, and actionable stories
5. Invite Participation: Solicit input, overcome objections, and develop a winning strategy
6. Reinforce an Optimistic Outlook: Become a beacon of hope
7. Encourage People to Reach Their Potential: Praise people, invest in them, and unleash their potential

These chapters are brought to life with many short anecdotes taken from successful individuals and companies known for great business communications: Apple, Cranium, Starbucks, 24 Hour Fitness, and many more.

The second half of the book examines seven remarkable individuals in-depth, and shows how they exhibit the 7 Secrets. This includes individuals ranging from Apple founder Steve Jobs to Gymboree CEO Matt McCauley to U.S. Navy IT Manager Robert Labrenz. Inspiring views of inspiring people!

Excerpts From the Book

To give you a flavor of a book’s lessons, here are a set of short excerpts spanning several chapters.

Three Types of Communicators

The Introduction describes the three types of communicators:

1. The Chief of Blah
2. The Chief of Mediocrity
3. The Chief Inspiration Officer

The rest of the book is devoted to helping you become the third type of communicator in your organization.

Learning from Cranium: Are your ideas CHIFF?

Chapter 2 (Navigate the Way) introduces the Cranium mantra, CHIFF: Clever, High quality, Innovative, Friendly, and Fun.

CHIFF has become a common language, a way of communicating the vision of the company. … Everyone measures success [of ideas] by asking “Is it CHIFF?”

Do you want a drill, or do you want a hole?

Chapter 3 (Sell the Benefit) discusses a popular marketing mantra: “sell the benefit, not the feature.” I’ve never seen this principle more concisely conveyed than by the anecdote near the end of the chapter:

There is a saying in the insurance industry that every year, 6 million quarter-inch drills are sold, and yet nobody wants a quarter-inch drill [feature]; they want a quarter-inch hole [benefit].

Praise for Storytelling

Chapter 14 tells the story of inspirational teacher Ron Clark, and includes this praise for the power of storytelling:

Personal stories are motivational because your audience can interpret their current situation through the lens of your experience. Personal stories work in the classroom or in the corporate environment. Tell more of them.

About the Author — Carmine Gallo

Carmine Gallo is a communications coach with a client list that includes Intel, IBM, and Nokia. His resume boasts stints at CNN, FOX, CNET, and CBS.

Gallo credits these authors for inspiration:

• Marcus Buckingham: First, Break all the Rules
• Jim Collins: Good to Great
• Stephen Covey: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• Wayne Dyer: Change Your Thoughts — Change Your Life
• Chip and Dan Heath: Made to Stick
• John Maxwell: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
• Tim Sanders: The Likeability Factor

This is very good company. I have read (and thoroughly enjoyed) books by 4 of them, and have seen a fifth speak. All have a fantastic reputation.

Gallo Interviewed about the Book

This interview with Carmine for the Forbes.com video network is a sneak peek into Fire Them Up.

Click here to view the embedded video.

More From Carmine Gallo

After completing Fire Them Up, I find myself craving to read Carmine Gallo’s other book: 10 Simple Secrets of the Worlds Greatest Business Communicators. As the repeat of “simple secrets” seems to imply, I wonder whether these books overlap in content? Do they follow the same approach? How do they differ? Is it worth reading both?

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Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.