Categories
Work Life

How to Get Motivated and Love Your Job Again

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Remember your very first day on the job? Your shoes had a shine like the tiles on the Space Shuttle and the crease in your slacks could have diced celery. The air was somehow fresher, the birds chirpier. You had been hired. You’d been given a chance to excel, a chance to make a difference.
Now contrast that with this morning.
Are you motivated to wake up every morning and go to your job with full enthusiasm?
After a while, most people end up making one compromise after another until they’ve resigned themselves to mediocrity. It’s darned hard to keep that first-day buzz going.
BUT…there’s no reason you can’t choose to recover a good measure of that first-day feeling. You can motivate yourself to strive for excellence, and put it to good use in the service of everyone whose lives you touch on a daily basis. And, you can love your job again.
It’s all about making the choice to do it.
Why You Need to Get Motivated, Find Your Enthusiasm, and Love Your Job Again
Have you ever met a two-year-old who wasn’t enthusiastic? We come prepackaged with it. And then…
What happens to us?
What happens is that we make a choice. Some of us choose to make the effort to stay in touch with our inner enthusiasm and love our jobs. Others find reasons to lose touch with it—boredom, responsibilities, challenges, fatigue.
But here’s the problem: Enthusiasm is the lifeblood of all success. Without it, nothing great happens. If you choose to lose touch with your inner enthusiasm, you are choosing mediocrity. It’s really that simple.
Sure, there are plenty of reasons to curb your enthusiasm. But there are just as many reasons to find it again including celebrating your incredible good fortune. In the process you can make that fortune even better.
Here’s How to Find Your Enthusiasm
Step 1: Start with the fact that you’re not dead yet, that you were born at all, that you have a job, and that compared to a lot of folks, you have a pretty darn good job.
Step 2: Now take a close look at the circumstances of this good job you have. Write down your five biggest complaints and spin them into positives. For example, “My boss micromanages me” can be reframed as “My boss cares enough about me to step into my work when I need help.”
If you’ve truly committed to finding your first-day buzz again, you should be an awful lot closer to it now than you were ten minutes ago.
All this rethinking and reframing has removed a HUGE energy drain from your life—one you were probably unaware of. It takes massive amounts of energy to continually reinforce your own sense of victimhood. Excellence is MUCH less expensive. Now that you feel lucky instead, what on Earth are you going to do with all that energy?
How about playing the Big Game you signed up for?
Now, you just filled yourself up with a lion’s share of this precious thing called the human spirit, and it will not invest in mediocrity. So play the meaningful, bighearted game you always dreamed of playing, and leave the mediocrity to others. Get motivated and start loving your job again.
About the Author:
Roxanne Emmerich is renowned for her ability to transform the “ho-hum” attitudes of leaders, executives, business owners and entrepreneurs just like you into massive results-oriented “bring-it-on” attitudes. To discover how you can get motivated and love your job again, check out her new book – Thank God It’s Monday. Now, you can get a free sneak preview at: http://www.thankgoditsmonday.com/preview_the_book/

Categories
Communication Skills

Learn to be Humorous – Public Speaking Jokes

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Many people equate the ability of being funny with the telling of jokes. This is not the case as you do not need to learn to be humorous in order to deliver effectively a joke. But I am going to look at some pointers on specifically how to handle jokes. I’m not going to give you public speaking jokes, but I will help you select ones appropriate for your situation.
Where people fall down with jokes is in their initial selection, their remembering of the joke and their delivery of the punchline.
First of all you have to consider the situation that you’re going to be delivery your jokes in. If you’re out with friends, in a social environment then, presumably, you will know what types of jokes are appropriate to tell to this particular friend and what aren’t.
Get on to your favourite search engine and look for some jokes that might be suitable for your circumstance.
If you are to deliver a presentation in a business situation, then the rules are going to be completely different. Here’s a quick snapshot of the subjects that I would avoid:
1.Racial. I think this pretty much goes without saying, but I wanted to be as explicit as I can and not leave any stone unturned.
2.Sexist. Again I think this goes without saying. Using this sort of humour can offend over half your audience. Why that much? Well, anti-women jokes will alienate the women and you may even have married couples present which means you’ll alienate some guys too.
3.Disability. Humour that mocks any sort of disability is also a no-no.
4.Sexual in nature. Avoid humour that is sexually explicit that could cause potential embarrassment.
5.Political. This seems innocuous compared to the other topics, but why run the risk of dividing your audience or offending the person who pays you?
6. Religion. You might be a Believer, but what if you speak to a room full of people who aren’t? Or vice versa. Mocking any sort of religion is a big no-no. Even the Jedi Faith.
I would also avoid making derogatory comments about the organisation that you’re speaking for, unless you don’t mind not getting paid.
When using street jokes, it is best if you are able to tell the joke in your own words. That way it will help reduce the possibility of you forgetting it. Go over it several times so you get used to the important elements that will feature in the set-up part of the joke.
Say the joke out loud and change words that you wouldn’t normally say. The closer the joke is to your own natural speech rhythm, the easier it will be for you to tell it and the easier it will be for your to remember it.
By editing the joke you are able to get to the punchline a lot quicker. Being succinct in this way is ideal for humour.
This will also help you remember the punchline, which is one of the elements that people can forget. The punchline is very important as it allows you to generate the laughter.
That said, it is not more important than the set-up line. The set-up line is all the information that occurs before the punchline. Without that information to establish the situation and story of the joke, the punchline will fail.
As an example here’s a punchline from Gilbert Gottfried:”Is it hot in here, or am I crazy?” Hilarious, right? Not unless you already know the joke. Which means that you need to recall the information provided by the set-up.
Let me put you out of your misery and give you the set-up line: “Last night I was having dinner with Charles Manson, and in the middle of dinner he turned to me and said…” Now you’ve got the final piece of the jigsaw the humour makes sense.
So select a joke, make sure that it’s not going to offend anybody. Practise saying the joke out loud which will allow you to edit it to fit your own way of speaking. Practise saying the joke several times as this will also allow you to remember it.
JasonPeckPhoto.jpgJason Peck is a Humorist, Speaker and Consultant based in London, England. For public speaking tips and to learn how to add humor to your speeches and presentations to win over your listeners visit: Pro Humorist.

Categories
Sales & Marketing

Word of Mouth Marketing Works Best

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Young Entrepreneur: Word-of-mouth is certainly the best form of marketing available. In a recent study by the authority site emarketer.com, it was shown that fully 53% of online traffic comes from word-of-mouth – recommendations and referrals made by others.
The growth of the Internet has certainly enhanced the potential for positive results from word-of-mouth referrals. News used to take a lot longer to spread when the telephone was the most effective means of communication. News can now travel at lightning speeds through the many forms of e-mail, instant messaging, SMS text messaging and the Web 2.0 children – Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, etc.
Nowadays, in Internet marketing terms, it is relatively easy to prompt people for a recommendation. “Tell a friend” scripts are easy to promote and these messages stand a great chance of reaching their proposed recipients, due to the fact that they are coming from a trusted friend or acquaintance. Recognizable e-mail addresses normally sail past those pesky spam filters.
There are many ways to generate valuable online publicity through the use of press release services. You should have a clear strategy, defined and regular, and strive to incorporate different tactics. A series of written press releases should aim to show your product or service as relevant and “hot”. Create a buzz around your product. Inject some controversy and color and always aim to establish yourself as a credible expert in your niche.
One of the beauties of the Internet as we know it today is its ability to provide viral exposure. Whilst aiming to brand yourself as the credible expert, consider giving something of value away for free. Make sure that you research this well, however, so that your intended audience feels that you truly are giving away something of value and that this is not just your opinion!
Find out what value and what kind of information your target audience is looking for. Are they looking for inspiration, or simply a lighthearted message of some kind? Use the many Internet distribution channels to provide something of perceived value at little or no cost. Never employ the hard sell – but do make sure that you include subtle links so that interested people can find you.
Why word of mouth is still the best form of marketing [Young Entrepreneur]

Categories
Communication Skills

Learn to be Humorous – Joke Format

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When doing a presentation an easy way to connect with your audience is to use humour. Not only do people like to laugh and be entertained but they will also more easily remember your message. But need to know an effective joke format.
My aim is not to turn you into a comedian I am simply going to present you with some ways to add humour to your speech or presentation.
In the first instance, you want to make sure that your speech as an overall objective. What’s the message that you’re trying to get across? From there you should find at least 3 supporting points that support your main point.
Once you have that down, concentrate on creating your speech first. That’s the most important thing. Create the speech first and then focus on finding the humour afterwards.
Punchlines are different from jokes which tend to be mini, self-contained stories. A punchline can just be your personal reaction to something that you’ve said. Here are two joke formats for you to consider when structuring your speech:

1)
Intro
2nd Funniest joke
Main body of Jokes
Theme
Funniest Joke

The second format is as follows:

2)
Intro
Funniest joke
Other Jokes
Theme

This last one ends on a serious note instead of a laugh. Personally, if I’m doing a humorous speech I’d rather end on a laugh. But that’s just my personal taste.
You will still also need to make at least 3 points during your speech. People have come to hear your message and not just be entertained by your sense of humour. So during your main body of jokes section, make points that relate to your overall theme.
What you might consider doing is reducing your actual speech or presentation by about a third or even a half. Keep the core details that are necessary to convey your message to your audience. So what do you replace the edited content with?
Funny jokes, funny stories, maybe you could quote other comedians or witty people as long as you give credit where it’s due. There’s no sense delivering a line by Dave Chappelle in your presentation and passing it off as your own. There will always be someone who can attribute it to the original author, plus it’s illegal and highly unethical.
You can legitimately quote another comedian as such: “as Jerry Seinfeld once said…” you can immediately get your audience into a better state to laugh as they’ll remember their favourite Jerry Seinfeld moment.
Then if the line doesn’t have everyone rolling in the aisles then you can get out of it by saying, “obviously it’s much better when Seinfeld did it”. Your listeners will love you all the more then because you will have revealed yourself to be slightly vulnerable.
Ask yourself “what are you trying to convey to your audience?” What’s the take home message that you want them to walk away from your speech remembering?
If you can follow some of these tips in your next presentation you’ll be well on your way to being remembered for your humorous speeches.
JasonPeckPhoto.jpgJason Peck is a Humorist, Speaker and Consultant based in London, England. For public speaking tips and to learn how to add humor to your speeches and presentations to win over your listeners visit: Pro Humorist.

Categories
Business Trends

Pizza Industry Latest Facts and Figures

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Article contributed by Franchise Direct
Franchise Direct has analyzed the latest facts and figures from the pizza industry. What emerges is a snapshot of a food franchising sector that is well-positioned to thrive during the current economic downturn.
This research comes from assessing FDD (UFOC) documents of a sample size of 20 pizza franchise chains, as well as published industry sources.
Generally-speaking, the restaurant industry has shown initial resilience in coping with the downturn. Americans continue to rely on restaurants, primarily take-away establishments, for their daily eating. National restaurants surveys show an industry bracing for hardship, but confident that consumers will remain loyal.
Franchise Direct’s research shows that pizza franchises make up a majority of America’s restaurants. Our findings state that pizza franchises experienced consistent sales growth up until last year, when the industry slowed. There are a number of reasons why pizza franchises are projected to remain strong. Commodity prices will fall in the coming years, creating savings for the purchase of ingredients. Pizza franchises will also seamlessly fit into new consumer trends, such as the switch towards healthier and organic food options and the integration of new technology in ordering food. Our research suggests that pizza franchises present a deft balance for consumers searching for a quality at an affordable price. It is believed that pizza franchises will succeed as other more expensive dining options fail.
Pizza franchises also boast a number of advantages as far as purchasing a restaurant is concerned. New entrepreneurs can avail of a franchisor’s assistance in getting their business up and running. Our research reveals the typical franchise fee for a pizza restaurant. That figure tends to drops significantly for carry-out restaurants and double for larger, full-service pizza franchises.
The total investment sum for a pizza franchise can also vary greatly depending on location, unit size and whether the restaurant is take-out or dine-in. Our research tracks the range in investment in owning different types of pizza restaurant, factoring in fixtures, signs, inventory, training expenses, payroll and more. There are also a number of ongoing fees that the franchisee must be accountable for and our analysis details every payment that one can expect to make.
Most pizza franchises come with an exclusive territory, although some franchisors maintain a right to open new outlets within a given territory in certain circumstances.
In all, it remains hard to forecast the total earning potential of owning a pizza franchise. Every franchised industry is facing challenges at the moment, with the economy flailing and the sales expected to drop across the board in 2009. Cost control, management efficiency and slumping commodity prices will help to offset the sales decline brought on by the slump in the economy. According to research by Franchise Direct, pizza franchisees who can enhance their service and offer true quality to consumers will be the ones that will enjoy positive outcomes in 2009.