Because I Have it all Together, and Other Lies I Want You to Believe About Me

A Christmas Wish

As a funny female speaker, I get to perform a lot, but it’s always so wonderful to have the opportunity to go back to my acting “roots”. I was very thankful to be a part of this project. I believe in the message.

 

If You Are Not Incorporating These Into Your Speech – You Are Losing Your Audience

To learn more speaking tips subscribe to Stacy’s blog or contact her directly.

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Video Transcript:

“Hi. My name is Stacy Pederson and I’m falling off my stool. Let me sit up straight. All right, that’s a fabulous intro. But my name is Stacy Pederson and I’m a funny speaker, a clean comedian, and acting and speech coach. Today, I want to share with you learning styles. What is learning styles? We all learn certain things different ways and how I discovered this was I used to teach children acting. I created curriculum for an acting school that I co-founded. Then I also was involved in children’s ministry for many years and I wrote a lot of the curriculum for that. I discovered that there’s really three specific learning styles of how we can take in information and retain it.

You’ve probably heard of it, but just in case you haven’t there’s auditory learners, which is listening, there is visual learners, which is seeing, and then there is kinesthetic learners, which is kind of a tactile, you have to move, you have to be doing something in order to retain information. So for you, if you recognize that you fidget a lot, that’s me, I’m very kinesthetic, if you have to write certain things down or you won’t remember even if you never looked at your notes again, or you got to move like pace in some way in order to retain information, you’re kinesthetic.

If you need to see something visual like you’re listening to the radio and you have a really hard time paying attention, podcast, things like that, are not your thing you either need to read the book or you need to see the video. You need PowerPoint slides to be able to retain the message, then you’re visual. Then if you love listening to podcasts and anything that doesn’t require you to move, or you can totally track with a speaker without even really needing to see them, there’s a good chance you’re auditory. A lot of people make the mistake when they give speeches and really just focusing on the auditory with an occasional PowerPoint slide. I have a really hard time. I’m totally ADD, if I was gonna be honest.

So for me, I have such a hard time paying attention especially if it’s anything longer than 20 minutes. That’s the average attention span, really, is they it’s 20 minutes, but it’s actually shortening with each of the generation’s coming up younger and younger. So if you’re gonna be talking for 25, like a Ted Talk, or 60 or a 90-minute keynote or presentation, you’re gonna lose a lot of people in the room if you don’t switch up your learning styles. So do your PowerPoints help? Absolutely. PowerPoint slides can help as long as they’re not super boring and it’s just words on the screen reiterating what you just said. If your PowerPoint slides are nothing but bullet points it’s not helping. You’re gonna want to think outside that PowerPoint box and come up with something visual.

If that’s not something that comes easy to you then I recommend hiring someone or asking just someone that you work with or someone you know that’s a little more creative, that’s a little more in tuned to visual arts then I would ask their opinion and their help because something like a really powerful image can really stick in the minds of the visual learner. That’s something that they’ll walk away with, remembering that particular image and that’s how they’ll remember your takeaway point is because of the visual you gave them, not just words on a screen. That also comes into play if you should choose to use props.

Props are something that you have on the stage that you either hold in your hand, that would be called a personal prop, or that you can use to demonstrate a visual with that helps share the story, that helps bring home the point. Basically, to be used as a metaphor. That can help visual learners as well. For tactile learners, this is where group engagement can help where you have them break apart and discuss around their tables because they’re actually get to move a little bit. Taking notes, a lot of people don’t take notes anymore because they’re typing either on their phone or their iPad. But it actually requires the handwriting to be able to retain some of that. So this is just one of the things I’ve been using in one of my recent talks about …

One of my talks is that how to be happy when your life is a mess. One of the key elements of being happy when your life is a mess is something called flow. So what I did was I just came up with this think business card. As you can see, this is the back. Then when you flip it over it just says it’s always a good idea, which I think on this screen it’s gonna read backwards. But basically through this exercise that I tell them they have to write something down that is always a good idea for them to engage in when they’re struggling. So it would be like go for a hike or play a sport or you know, pull out a musical instrument. It’s always a good idea. But it’s the actual act of writing that helps those kinesthetic learners take the point home.

How I know this works is I just gave a speech … Well, I gave two speeches this week and both times I had a couple people come up to me and say, “Wow, that card,” and that’s what they talked about. That was their takeaway and how they were gonna keep it. I knew that they is a really good chance they were kinesthetic learners because they didn’t talk about any of the other stuff. They didn’t talk about the visuals, the logos, the images, or any of the other stuff. So that’s something that you’re always gonna want to incorporate is are you hitting those three learning styles. If you’re not and you’re just focusing on auditory then you’re losing 70% of the room sometimes. So you’re gonna really want to pay attention to that.

Again, my name is Stacy Pederson. You are welcome to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you’d like to have more speaking tips if you are a sales presenter or an executive or you give speeches, deliver speeches, maybe even an author trying to get into the speaking circle. If you could follow me there or on my blog at stacypederson.com. If you’ve seen any of my other videos, you’ll hear me say, “That’s Pederson with a D.” P-E-D not Peterson. You could follow me there. I always have a link below because nobody can ever spell my name. So three learning styles, make sure you’re incorporating those. Thanks so much.

 

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30 Cheap and Easy Meeting and Event Planning Party Themes

Have a tight budget or not a lot of time to plan an event? Due to availability of décor, venues, color schemes, etc., I’ve found these themes extremely easy to plan with. (Note: they are all generic-no Mickey Mouse, Superhero, etc., If you choose to use a licensed character as a theme, you’ll pay more for party supplies. All of these events below can be done with general color schemes and décor to reduce your overall cost. )

 

  1. Tropical
  2. Cowboy/Cowgirl/Western
  3. Roman
  4. Princess/Castle/Medieval
  5. Garden
  6. Pirate
  7. Sports/Baseball/Football/Soccer
  8. Cityscape
  9. Theatre/Plays/Comedy
  10. Airplanes/Cars/Trains
  11. Farm
  12. Safari
  13. Time Periods: Such as Victorian/ 1950’s/1980’s/ etc.
  14. Fiesta/Mexican
  15. Ocean-Non Tropical/Nautical
  16. Movies/Hollywood-Especially Retro Hollywood (Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, etc.)/Oscars-Red Carpet/Movie Premier
  17. Mountains/Camping/Hiking/Outdoor
  18. School (especially fun for corporate when having the opportunity to drag in their high school pictures)
  19. Construction (Also great for corporate when revealing new product, changes within a company, or team building)
  20. Space
  21. Technology/Future/Retro Technology
  22. Rock Stars/Music/Funk/Rap/ etc.
  23. Tea Party
  24. Circus
  25. Road Trip/Diners/Route 66
  26. Retro Candy
  27. Zoo
  28. Opposite Seasons-Example: Christmas in July, Summer Vacation in January
  29. Winter Wonderland
  30. Enchanted Forest/Fairies
  31. AND a bonus! Prom. Yep a good old fashioned High School Prom theme complete with cheesy balloon arch for “prom pictures”.

Stacy Pederson  is a Colorado based Humorist and Funny Motivational Speaker who is incessantly insecure with a chronic Thai Food / Netflix binge habit.

StacyPederson.com

Questions to Ask When Planning an Event

Event Planning

As an actor, speaker, comedian, and past events coordinator, my work life revolves primarily around events. From weddings to huge corporate conferences to a small backyard bluegrass bbq, I’ve seen and experienced a lot. Every event is unique, but event planning is not. A $100,000 Conference requires the same planning process as a $100 birthday party. This series of blogs is designed to help you break down the planning process into simple steps to help make your event a success.

The Day of Doom

It was a normal workday. Nothing out of the ordinary, until your boss calls you in and tosses a casual comment about you heading up this year’s corporate party/event. As you walk out if his office, you can feel your stomach drop and the questions start to swirl. “Event? What kind of event? For who? Corporate as in, our office Corporate, or the entire across the US/World Corporate?”

Before scanning the internet for a new job, relax and jot down the following questions. You can either ask yourself, the event person from last year, your boss or anyone else in charge.

Who specifically is the Event For?

Is the event for your department? Entire Office? Are Spouses coming? Children? Is it for the community?

-If it is for the community-who exactly in the community?

Once this is answered you need to get specific.

What are Their Demographics?

-What are their age ranges?

-Gender?

-Largely married or single?

-Do they have kids or no kids?

-Economic Status? (This is especially important when planning fundraisers or ticketed events.)

What is the Overall Goal of the Event?

-Is it to raise money?

-Woo new clients?

-Celebrate and acknowledge employees?

-Is it to recognize and appreciate donors?

-Strictly for having fun?

I can’t emphasize enough how important the overall goal of your event is. You’ll need to filter through every idea from food to decorations to entertainment through the funnel of: “Does it help facilitate the overall goal of the event?”

Is There a Theme?

This can make your life much easier if there is a theme. If there’s not, than I strongly suggest you and the planning team come up with one. (I’ll have a blog specifically based on themes.) A good place to start is a company slogan that is being used this year for training or advertising purposes. For churches, a verse that has already been chosen. For non-profits, something that ties in your mission statement. These can be adjusted to fit within a holiday theme if needed. I’ll explain more, including examples, in the future blog regarding themes.

Is There a Budget?

Hopefully, there is a budget from the previous year. If not, you’ll need to start from scratch. The following questions are with the assumption there is a past budget to pull from.

-Where is the budget from last year?

-Is it adjustable at all?

-If so, who do I need to get approval from?

What Parts of the Event Last Year Were Successful/Unsuccessful?

This is a question you can ask to anyone you know who attended the previous year’s event. You will get a myriad of things people liked or didn’t like based on their demographics and personality. However, some things will stand out as unanimous. If the vegan potato bar was a hit-but the fire breathing hypnotist clown who was the board member’s son-was hated by everyone-you know what to nix or keep for this year.

Do I Get A Planning Team?

-Hopefully the answer is “yes”, “yes”, “yes”!

-Who chooses the planning team? (I will have a specific blog based on choosing a perfect planning team.)

-How much time do I get with them? If this is for work, it’s an important question to ask.

How Much Time Can I Spend Each Week on the Event?

-This is important if it’s part of your job. If the answer is 2 hours a week for 3 weeks, then you’ll need to plan a super easy event held at Chipotle’s. If it’s 5 Hours for 15 weeks, I want to come because it’ll be amazing.

 

Stacy Pederson Funny Motivational Inspirational Humorist SpeakerStacy Pederson  is a Colorado based Humorist and Funny Motivational Speaker who is incessantly insecure with a chronic Thai Food / Netflix binge habit.

StacyPederson.com

The Types of Speakers Meeting and Event Planners Call On…and It’s Not Looking Good for Me…

Stacy Pederson Corporate Funny Keynote Comedian Speaker

I was one of THOSE kids in school. The kind that sat in the front row…sort of. (I was actually placed there because I had the attention span of a gnat.) My desk was a disaster. My hair was askew.  BUT I was a great example to the class. People pleaser to the core. The moment the teacher asked a question I knew the answer to, my hand shot up in a, “Me, ME, MEEEE”, “notice me”, “pick me”, “LOVE ME” frenzy.

Have you ever noticed teachers never call on the front row kids? Their eyes dart frantically across the room for someone-ANYONE-else to raise their hands. We’re the last resort kids because we ALWAYS have our hands up. Front and Center- in a visibly, highly annoying fashion.

NOW as a funny speaker…nothing’s changed. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. I have to sit on my hands because that same tendency to throw up my arm and scream, “PICK MEEEE” to meeting and event planners burns within.

Here’s who I’ve discovered Meeting and Event Planners Call On and It’s Not Looking Good for Me:

1.      The Good Kid. The kid whose desk is perfectly straight, homework turned in, solid grades, steadfast and follows through like clockwork. When a task needs to be done-such as sending a note to the office-this kid is who gets called on. No messing around, talking in the hallway, tripping over shoelaces…This kid does the job dutifully, responsibly, and does it well. When in doubt-send the good kid/speaker out.

2.      The Cool Kid in the Back of the Class. The kid that walks in a room and doesn’t have to say a word. His leather jacket, good looks and magnetism says it all for him. He never needs to throw up his hands. He’s just IT. All that. (Aka-my husband. He was one of those kids… Whatever…) He doesn’t need to even make eye contact with the meeting planners because he knows everyone wants him and eventually-if they know what’s good for their business- they’ll want him, too.

3.      The Mad Scientist. The kid who gets written off by his peers that no one pays attention to. Then one day he turns in an earth shattering algorithm that solves world hunger and alleviates class oppression all in the time it took me to locate my lunch box. His appearance and presentation may not be polished, but THIS kid’s a stinkin’ genius. He’ll graduate college with honors before I figure out how to walk, talk, chew gum, and roll my eyes in middle school-mean girl-synchronized perfection.

4.      The Class Clown. Witty, lovable, maybe not that brilliant, but always has the class in stitches at just the right time. Attention getting, creative, unpredictable, but the audience’s response is always worth the risk.

5.      Me. The kid who eventually gets called on for the mere fact I’ll put my hand down. Ok- not exactly…. (There’s a good chance my hand isn’t even up because I didn’t hear the question. I was distracted trying to locate my ruler that’s buried behind the green and red paper chain I made for Christmas but forgot to give to my parents…2 Christmases ago.) It isn’t until just the right question grabs my attention that my head and my hand shoot straight up… “PIIIICK MEEEE!!!! I actually know this one!! I can do this one! Hire me! ME, ME, MEEEE!!!!”

This article is my passive, completely non-effective, overly obvious way of putting my hand up to be noticed. Think of the movie, “A Christmas Story” where Ralphie gives the teacher a fruit basket…and a wink…

StacyPederson.com…wink

Hand raise- PICK ME link: https://youtu.be/AuOS57PjTKY

Stacy Pederson is located in Colorado where she can be found second guessing herself as an actor, writer, speaker and clean comedian. She is obviously not a skilled marketer.

#meetingplanner #eventplanner #speaker #obvious #PutYourHandDown