We did it y’all!

Click here to read the article about the award (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/6672032.html)

More will be coming soon.Stay tuned.

Still shouting!

Jonathan

“Your Connection Coach”

What do you think?

POST YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!

Question–How would YOU use this clip in one of your talks?

Write your answer below!

I didn’t know what to expect. I was asked to speak to students at my alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin, at the McCombs School of Business. I was a Marketing major back in my day. This was the first time I was able to accept the invitation to come “back home” since I left. I was excited…

but… 

We have all heard the expression familiarity breeds contempt. It also breeds complacency. I was geared up for either a warm reception as a successful alum who is coming back to share insider secrets about how to make it in the real world, or I would be seen as ‘some dude who is keeping us from being able to eat the free food they promised.’

The group that brought me in was formed to foster minority achievement. In my mind, because the person who invited me was black, I figured I was going to be speaking to a sea of black folks. Oh, I was going to let them have it! I had a whole list of topics I was going to address, from minority achievement to debunking the stereotypes on campus and in life. To my surprise, that night, “minority” meant anyone who saw the flyer and wanted to show up. The audience looked like the United Nations. Only two black males showed up. I was pissed about that…but that’s another topic for another day. We are our OWN worst enemy!

I had to quickly adjust my message so I wasn’t too slanted toward the African American perspective. Because most of my audiences are white, I am already used to telling my story from a more universal perspective so everyone can feel included. But this was a little different. I had to totally scrap the plan I had so I didn’t sound like Al Sharpton on the mic.

SPRINKLE OF WISDOM:

Connection is connection. It doesn’t matter who you’re talking to, you still have to figure out what aspects of your life are like theirs so they can feel like you “get” them. It can be as simple as one word change or taking off your tie. Don’t think about what makes you feel most comfortable, think about what makes you relate best to your audience.

I was very happy with the way things turned out. I used my story as the foundation, but weaved relevant examples into the framework of the talk. I actually abandoned about half of the talk and stayed on my soap box about excellence without excuse. It was pretty powerful.

SPRINKLE OF WISDOM:

The doggone microphone had so much static, it sounded better when I unplugged it!  This is another obstacle you have to overcome when you’re working on connecting with your crowd. Environment is a critical factor in how the audience receives you. If there are pans clanging, babies crying, cell phones ringing, etc., these all deduct points from your overall connection score. Most times, it’s not your fault, but it sure is your responsibility to handle it. You have to learn how to adjust your mic without breaking your stream of thought. Pros can have nearly anything happen and the audience is none the wiser.

I’ll go over this at PRESENTATION POWER. It will make so much of a difference in how well you connect and how many products you sell in the end.

Connection is key,

Jonathan

Your Connection Coach

I was recently featured in a national radio interview entitled, Your Life, Your Money…Your Way.

We discussed topics ranging from transitioning from your full-time job to entrepreneurship all the way down to secrets for shutting out distractions and getting more done in less time.

Check it out…and LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW!

LOL. ROFL. LMAO…

 Today was hilarious, in a “so wack all you can do is laugh” kind of way. I am shaking my head even as I type this.

 So, here it goes.

 A few weeks ago, I was going over the details of my upcoming events with my assistant. I asked her about today’s event and got the shock of my life. She told me the time, no problem; the topics, no problem. Then I asked her about the venue. She said we were doing the talk in the gymnasium…a college gymnasium!

 “What?!” I said. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She said that it was the only place on campus “big enough” to hold the amount of people we were expecting. So, you know what I asked next…”How many darn people are we  expecting?”

 “About three thousand,” she calmly said.

 I lost it. I started having visions of a Dane Cook-like show where people would be lined up around the building, waiting to get a ticket to see “the” Jonathan Sprinkles. I’m so not famous, but it felt like I was about to be a rock star, even if only for one day.

 I had a $300 upright banner printed so the hoards of people could find my book table afterward, I flew my assistant out to help me capture the moment on film and to assist with crowd control afterward. I didn’t want 3,000 people to stampede the new African American Idol, all in the name of getting a book signed. I was about to be the freakin’ man.

 So, we get to the school, and my first talk is in…the cafeteria…during lunch….in the middle of the tables…with a !@$#!ed up sound system! I literally started laughing as I began my talk, figuring that this must have been God’s way of humbling me so I didn’t get the big head before my sold out performance that evening. I have to admit, they were the most attentive cafeteria crowd I’ve ever had. They respected the fact that I was an invited guest so they didn’t fully protest the fact that I was talking right above their plate, spitting on their chicken nuggets. The microphone kept going out, so I had to constantly stop, restart my sentence, and try to see if they heard what I just said. It was like having a one hour cell phone conversation with two people stuck in the middle of the desert. “Can you hear me now? What was the last thing you heard me say?”

 I made a decision though. I went back to my roots, back when I was glad to speak anywhere and gave them the best I had. I had to walk 360 degrees around the podium and platform because I was smack dab in the middle of the cafeteria. I did my very best and threw in audience participation moments to give them something to look at instead of listen to me howl for 60 minutes.

 SPRINKLE OF WISDOM:

Nothing will save you better than a well-delivered audience participation moment. If an audience isn’t feeling you, all of your jokes will bomb, no matter if they are funny elsewhere or not. Comedy is about rapport. Your poignant stories will bomb too because you need a certain amount of tension within your audience to make it ‘pop.’ If they aren’t feeling you, they can care less about how it ends. But to pull someone out of the audience is guaranteed gold. They don’t know how it’s going to end, so they will pay attention to see what happens next.

 I finished the talk pretty abruptly, okay with foregoing the big close. I was okay with delivering the message and saying, “Thank you, I’ll see you tonight…if you can get in.”

 That evening, 30 or so of their student leaders had a special dinner where they asked me questions about my life and my thoughts on certain topics. I really, really enjoyed this. I gave them the other side of me. I was practicing like it was the paparazzi interviewing me for a major magazine spread. My heart goes out to young people. I feel so sad that they don’t have anyone to look to who isn’t trying to corrupt their minds or get them to download their ringtone. Although it has taken me a while to embrace the tag of role model, I am working hard to be the man they can look at and aspire to become. I still have a way to go, but I’ll get there.

 Then…the big show!

 I walked in the gym and to my surprise, only about 150 were there. I was glad that it was early, so the other 2,850 people on their way could find a seat. I set up my banner, established the best angles to shoot, etc., etc. I was just so glad I got there so early to set it up because the masses were certainly going to take up a lot of my time. Except that…

 …they never came.

 At the height of the evening, the attendance was enough to fill up the two middle sections with athletes, a few student organizations and a couple rows of people from the community. I am being liberal to say 300 people.

 And the microphone sucked again. The mic was so bad…

 …how bad was it?

 I chose to turn it off and SCREAM instead of having this Radio Shack reject continue to cut out on me. Yeah, it was that bad. Again, all I could do was laugh. Me and my 300 were going to have to literally  be like the move 300, shouting to get the troops in the back to hear my message. I just wish I was half as ripped as them.

 Talking to athletes is very different. They have a special way they want things said. I used a lot of metaphors for competition and leaving your mark on the school. However, I had to also pick up the students who were in the audience as well, so I couldn’t get too sidetracked. It was a challenge, but I made a decision and gave ‘em that heat. I know for sure that I did my best.

 At the end of the day, I had no voice and sold a bank-breaking three books. I still have a backache from carrying this over-stuffed suitcase full of books I have to return home with. The baner…well, maybe one day it’ll get some use. I guess I can stop wearing sunglasses inside also and telling people “no pictures, please.”

SPRINKLE OF WISDOM:

Regardless of the circumstances, as a pro, you have to go all out. If you mail in a talk because of something you don’t like, you are not only hurting those who are in the audience, you are hurting your chance at getting rebooked or referred. When the mic sucks, they know it, too. They will respect you more if you persist instead of turning into a diva. You have to have the guts to stick it out, not take yourself too seriously and somehow turn it around. This is why they hired you instead of a local city councilman. You are supposed to be able to do things to create environments that others can’t. I know it’s frustrating and I know it’s like running through quicksand, and I know you don’t like curveballs thrown at you. But one day, when you’re doing your live national PBS special and something goes wrong, you’ll be well-prepared.

I have to admit, I am really confused right now. I have no idea what to say about my recent experiences. I couldn’t even begin to give you a blow-by-blow account of the last five schools I’ve spoken for. I can tell you that this orientation season has been my busiest ever. While I’m certainly no Dave Coleman or SwiftKick (those guys are gone for six weeks at a time), I have been, by my standards, on the go. I’m writing this in a Hilton hotel lobby, not sure what to make of everything I have experienced over the last fortnight.

 On one hand, I rocked University of Baltimore, Blacks in Government (not an orientation) and Tyler Junior College (not an orientation). But that was it. I felt like I freakin’ sucked at all the others. I felt like a father, preaching to his kids about something they could care less about. I even walked away yesterday saying, “Whatever, I don’t care…I don’t care…I don’t care.” But I do care. I knew I was lying. I was hurt because I felt I lost a hold on my audience and my skills at the same time. I felt boring. Corny. Un-hilarious. Exactly what I think of most motivational speakers when I’m in the audience. This trip, I feel like I’m a part of that crowd.

I’m certain about a couple things. For sure, I’m bored. I am not growing as a speaker. I’m not sharp. I’m ‘presenting,’ not speaking. My mind isn’t sharp but I act like I’m afraid to step out and try something new. I have three days of content, but I’m choosing to play it safe at the last minute for fear of going down a place I can’t come back from during a talk. Motivational crap aside, I do believe that being comfortable is the worst possible place to be. It’s dangerous because you cap your success. But when you can speak for 75 minutes without even being fully conscious and people still give you positive feedback, it’s hard to switch.

I know this isn’t true, but I feel like I’m going in a downward spiral. Every time I think about four of my orientation talks, I cringe, like imaging seeing your child get hit by a car. This isn’t what I imagined it would be. Not hardly. I don’t even remember who spoke for my college orientation. I kinda feel like I’ll be in that same category for the class of 2013.

Orientations are different because, like graduation, they really don’t want you there. You are a road bump, an interloper. You are the only thing standing between them and lunch or free time. If you’re not funny or swallowing fire (a la Curtis Zimmerman), the shorter your talk, the better. You have to be “bringing it” every minute of your talk. Very compelling stories. Very interactive. Very relevant. Otherwise, you’re talking to a group of people who is wondering why you are there and even moreso, when are you going to leave.

One of my comrades pointed out to me this evening that this generation is the first who isn’t impressed with something unless they see themselves in it. They don’t take pictures, they take self-portraits. Everyone under 25 knows how to aim the camera at themselves and take accurate photos without looking at the viewfinder. Digital photography has made it such that, if you don’t like the first photo (or five), you delete it and try again. When we had film in cameras, that luxury didn’t exist. My point is, they are self-indulgent. If you can’t involve them in your talk and invite them on stage, you’re wasting your breath. Your funky little story means nothing unless they can take part in the action.

I’m going to figure this thing out. I’m having ‘a moment’ right now, but I’ll be back. I’ve been told that most top comedians get to a point in their career where they question whether they are still funny. I understand the feeling. I’m not worried at all. I embrace the adversity as an opportunity to finally move up to an even higher level in my game. I will go down as a legend. I actually hope that statement makes you laugh. If so, please inform me. I will be sure to invite you to the ceremony.

What am I saying???

I’m so bitter tonight! Lol.

SPRINKLE OF WISDOM:

Everyone has good talks and bad talks. One good outing won’t make your career and one bad one won’t break your career. Get over it and more importantly, get over yourself. If the focus is on how YOU look, you are already losing. If you obsess over helping the man or woman in your audience who really, really needs to hear your message, your ego will shrink and your performance will increase. No matter how badly it goes, someone was blessed by your words. Start with that, then objectively evaluate your next move from there.

Also, if you can identify with most of what I’ve said, you most likely need someone to help you avoid costly mistakes and pull more out of you than you knew was in there. It may be a good idea to come to Presentation Power so you can get someone to work out the kinks in your presentations that may be keeping you from getting rebooked or closing more sales.

Ursuline College gave me a rare opportunity to make my fifth annual appearance. I have been to different schools and organizations more than five times, but only a select few have I been there for five years. At this point, I am only seven full-time years into my career. This was obviously a milestone.

 Interestingly, the biggest lessons came long before I hit the stage. Their budget was slashed tremendously this year, so they couldn’t afford even the reduced investment that they were paying from previous years. I had to make a decision about what to do; go for the money or keep the relationship going. In this instance, there wasn’t one correct answer, so I had to think about the long-term benefit of both.

Obviously, I chose to take the engagement. As it turns out, it was a wise choice. I never regretted for a minute making the sacrifice of giving them this date, even at a sharply-reduced profit to me. I am a big believer in forging solid relationships and everything working out in the end.

 Here are a few IMPORTANT TIPS you will want to remember:

1. If you take a reduced fee, don’t give a reduced performance. Always over-deliver. That crap about giving them what they paid for will make you look like a goon in the end. If you internally have a problem with what you’re being paid, don’t take the date. Don’t take your feelings out on the audience. Give them your all, whether you’re being paid or not. Remember, you are planting seeds in your audience, and you don’t know who they know…or who they WILL know!
2. Make sure you notate on your contract that the discount is a one-time-only reduction. If you don’t handle yourself wisely, you may lock yourself in at a lower price. If your client “discovers” that they can get you for half of what they normally paid you, you may have a struggle with getting back up to the normal investment. Be clear that you will take ONE hit, then it’s their turn to step up next year. Stick to your guns. One concession often breeds another.
3. If you do take a reduced fee, make it up in other ways. Get your talk videotaped. Ask for tons of referrals and ensure they are present to see you speak. Make it worth your time to be there by the in-kind services that your host can provide. Joe Martin is a wizard at this. He talks about how he gets 3 to 5 spin-off talks every time he speaks because of the list (which he shares in his interview on “Insider Secrets of Six-Figure Speakers”) of things he makes people do when they can’t afford him. It’s brilliant!

Sister Diana, Ursuline’s president, said, “I was afraid we couldn’t afford you this year.” I told her that they will always be able to afford me because I’m going to make sure I’m always affordable to the school that took a risk on me when I first got started. We have grown together and I place a premium on that. I told her today that my goal is to get so big, the whole community will want to come to Ursuline to see me speak and we will have to move the event to a larger venue. I guess it’s on me to make that happen.

 Until then, I’m there. Annually. With joy.