Saturday, October 20, 2012

Music Lists I Use in my Programs


 
 
I have saved a large image of my top program play lists in Pearltrees. 
  1. Click on the Music bubble. 
  2. Click on the YNS Music Lists Fall 2012 bubble.
  3. In the screen that opens, click again and it will open up the full image that you can right-click and download and view.  Good luck!

Saturday, August 4, 2012

New Visual Tool for Indexing Web Sites

rhettdean and Study / Fellow Speakers / Travel / Social Media in Rhett Laubach (rhettdean)

I stumbled upon this app (www.PearlTrees.com) and have found it to be a very functional and cool method for organizing and sharing web sites.  It has an iPhone and iPad app that I use to add sites to my tree, seen above and accessible here - www.PearlTrees.com/rhettdean. I have added and will continue to add sites I find valuable. It is a useful tool for anyone (teacher, speaker, corporate trainer, etc.) who is in the business of aggregating and sharing information on the web. I have used http://Delicious.com/pliblog for years to index content I find valuable.  However, Delicious doesn't do a good job of visually representing the information or of just showing the source web sites.  PearlTrees does.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Slide Show: "I Am" Team Bonding


I have a self-running slide show called "I Am" that works great for team bonding.  Instruct each team to sit close together with their team mates so they can chat softly.  Each slide contains the beginning of a sentence.  The goal of each team member is to finish the sentence to their team and explain why their answer.  Set the rule of only one person talking at a time.  This isn't conversation or asking follow-up questions time.  This is personal sharing time from one team member to the entire team.  Each slide will stay on the screen for two and a half minutes, so make sure you have twenty plus minutes to do this activity.  You will get a good amount of honest, open and authentic personal sharing and team bonding. 

Download link  - http://tinyurl.com/I-AM-YourNextSpeaker

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Website: Send to Dropbox

If you are a Dropbox user (and you should be), you probably have wished for the same thing I have wished, which is the ability to be able email files to your Dropbox.  The free service I have found and am currently using is Send to Dropbox.  It creates a unique email address that is linked to your Dropbox.  It is simple and seamless.  You email to your unique address and the document shows up in your new Attachments folder.  Perfect.

www.sendtodropbox.com.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Books: The New Authenticity Rules E-Book



My new Authenticity Rules E-Book is here.  Following are just a few of the questions I answer in this complete speaking and facilitation handbook.

  • What is the best way to control nerves?
  • What are your three biggest enemies?
  • Why is authenticity so important?
  • What is the CVS Formula?
  • What makes a great keynote?
  • How do you keep an audience engaged?
  • Why does it matter how you give driving directions?
  • What can you learn from a kangaroo?
  • What is the Can’t Ignore Club?
  • How do you make boring content engaging?
  • What is the 7-Minute Rule?
  • What are energy gaps?
  • What is the difference between effective and non-effective coaching?
  • How do you establish credibility?
  • What are the steps to effective workshop planning?
  • How do you handle difficult audience members?
  • How do you know what the audience wants to hear?
  • Why does your personality determine how you should build a speech?
  • How is a surfer like a great presenter?
  • What is the MOVE Formula?
  • What do you do when a herd of water buffaloes attack your presentation?

Click here to purchase your copy today ($5).

PS - Learn more at www.AuthenticityRules.com.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Website: Issuu.com

Issuu is an online document sharing and viewing tool.  It is a great place to publicly display PDFs, PowerPoints, etc.  It can also be used to share documents with a select group of people.  Registration and use are free.  Below is the link to my Issuu library with some leadership documents you will find useful. 

Rhett's Issuu Library

Saturday, May 5, 2012

PDF: Torchbearers



The link below is to a PDF containing seven defining characteristics of a Torchbearer - someone who is a fully engaged leader in an organization.  Use this list to help you teach "engaged leadership" and have your audience members/students use it as a goal list for improvement.

Torchbearer Card

The seven characteristics are:

1.   Thirsty for helping the organization grow.
2.   Owns a strong allegiance to the organization.
3.   Values and fosters relationships within the organization.
4.   Gains part of identity from the organization.
5.   Clearly understands his/her role.
6.   Knows and believes in the organization's core values.
7.   Speaks positively about the organization and the membership.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Website: Tinyurl.com


 www.tinyurl.com

In the world of URL-shortening, there are a million different providers.  I have used www.tinyurl.com from the start.  Anytime you need to share a web address in a presentation, magazine, brochure, poster, tshirt, etc. that is longer than 15-20 characters, go to www.tinyurl.com and shorten the link.  Facebook, Hootsuite, Twitter, etc. - they all do this automatically for you for social media sharing.  But for off-line sharing, it is useful to share URLs that are short - easier for people to write down, remember, share and actually go to.  Here is a list of Tinyurl's I have. 
(Bonus: each one is a link to a leadership teaching/learning resource for you.)

Thursday, April 12, 2012

PDF: Top 40 Speaking Tips Brochure

A few years back the Oklahoma Department of Career Tech put together a brochure listing my top 40 speaking tips.  You can download this and share it from the link below.


Rhett Laubach's Top 40 Speaking Tips

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Website: ifttt.com

Funny name. Useful tool. http://ifttt.com. Ifttt stands for If That Then This (and variations of that phrase). It is a tool that allows you to schedule automatic and recurring web tasks. Here are three examples of tasks I have set up.

1. Blog Posts to Evernote.
I have always needed an automatic system that saves to my Evernote any new blog post I publish. This tool allows that to happen. So, any time I publish a post here, on my leadership blog or on my speaking skills blog, it will automatically send that text to my Evernote - which is my primary information gathering, filtering, indexing and creating platform.

2. Starred Google Reader Posts to Evernote.
Similar to the first task, except this saves to my Evernote content other people have published. I read about 150 blogs everyday via Google Reader. When I read one that is excellent, I star it. Now, when I do this, that content will automatically be saved in my Evernote for quicker access and easier searchability.

3. Facebook Pictures to Dropbox
When I post a picture on my Facebook, this tool will automatically save a copy of that photo (albeit a Facebook-version low-resolution copy) into an IFTTT folder in my Dropbox - my primary tool for saving docs I can access across devices.

There are many more uses for this tool. Some of them are easily discovered via their Recipes function. These are customized Tasks other users have created that you can use for your information.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Books: The New Authenticity Rules E-Book



The new Authenticity Rules E-Book is almost here.  Following are just a few of the questions answered in this complete speaking and facilitation handbook.
  • What is the best way to control nerves?
  • What are your three biggest enemies?
  • Why is authenticity so important?
  • What is the CVS Formula?
  • What makes a great keynote?
  • How do you keep an audience engaged?
  • Why does it matter how you give driving directions?
  • What can you learn from a kangaroo?
  • What is the Can’t Ignore Club?
  • How do make boring content engaging?
  • What is the 7-Minute Rule?
  • What are energy gaps?
  • What is the difference between effective and non-effective coaching?
  • How do you establish credibility?
  • What are the steps to effective workshop planning?
  • How do you handle difficult audience members?
  • How do you know what the audience wants to hear?
  • Why does your personality determine how you should build a speech?
  • How is a surfer like a great presenter?
  • What is the MOVE Formula?
  • What do you do when a herd of water buffaloes attack your presentation?
Email me - rhett (at) yournextspeaker.com - if you would like a copy.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Website: Dropbox

We run a very mobile operation. Multiple speakers/trainers/staff all communicating and working together via mobile phones and laptops. Therefore, it is vital we have an easy to use, secure and flexible method for sharing files. This method is Dropbox. I'm sure you've heard of it, but in case you haven't, Dropbox is the premier file-sharing tool out there. I can add to, delete from, share and access all types of files from my laptop, iPhone, iPad and any computer in the world via the web. It is essential to our operation.

Signing up is free. Try it out today.

 

Friday, March 30, 2012

Book: Leaders in Gear

My leadership and presentation skills book, Leaders in Gear, is a powerful study guide to improving your personal leadership, team leadership and presentation abilities. Learn more about this valuable resource and order your copy today - http://leadersingear.blogspot.com/.

Leaders in Gear Preview

Leaders in Gear Excerpt

A few testimonials:

"Without a doubt I would recommend Leaders in Gear. As a college student, I value that the book gives practical, real life examples of leadership in addition to ideas that could really revolutionize an organization. After reading this book, I hope to not only strengthen the organizations that I’m involved in, but also further develop my own leadership skills."Kyla Clawson, Animal Sciences and Industry and Agricultural Economics Youth Livestock Programs Intern

 

"A must read with powerful tips on every page to shift your leadership gears into overdrive and genuinely impact who you are, who you will become, and non-stop, real-life “how to’s.” I'd recommend this book to managers, speakers, consultants, and organizational leaders; everyone who cares about becoming more effective--now. Rhett literally hands the reader an entire career of experiences devoted to building character, skill, and personal impact. With Leaders In Gear, you’ll find yourself in the driver’s seat." Steve Roesler, President and CEO Roesler Consulting Group

 

"This is a great read for anyone who is in a position to serve others. ‘Leaders in Gear’ not only helps improve speaking and presentation skills, but challenges the reader to become an authentic leader. Rhett does a great job of explaining and giving insight on how to be a leader with a heart to serve and a mind to work." Travis Martin, Indiana FFA Former State President

 

"We feel it is important for our instructors as well as our state and local officers to be able to emulate how to be a leader. This book gives them insight on how to lead and how to present." Linnie Berkenbile, Oklahoma BPA, State Program Administrator

 

“Leaders in Gear is a great resource for student leaders! It is formatted in a no-nonsense practical way that can serve as a resource for student as the hone their leadership skills.” Emily J. Griffin Overocker, University of Central Oklahoma, Director, Student Leadership Development

 

Monday, March 26, 2012

Music: How to Find Our Playlists on iTunes

We use music in 99.9% of our keynotes, workshops, conferences and trainings.  The reason is simple:

1. Music is a great setter of emotional context. If we want the audience to be enthusiastic, reflective, social, etc., we have a song to help set the mood.

2. Music is an international language and is a complex medium.  Therefore, we have over twenty different leadership activities based on music.  Name that Tune, Mood Music, What is Your Theme Song are just a few examples. 

We have published a few of our CPP playlists (Clean, Powerful, Positive) to iTunes.  If you have iTunes already installed, you can click here to go directly to the lists.  If that doesn't work, follow these steps:

(Click here to download iTunes. Its free.)

Step 1:
Go to your iTunes software and click on "iTunes Store".
 Step 2:
In the top right-hand corner, type yournextspeaker into the search bar.
 Step 3:
You will see a box of results titled Playlists.  Click on the More link.
 Step 4:
Here you are. We currently have twelve playlists published.  You can click on each to see their full description.  You have to purchase each song individually, but they are the ones we use.

* iTunes does list some songs as Explicit even when they are totally clean.  Not sure why.  We do not use any songs where the inappropriate words are bleeped out.  We only use CPP (Clean, Powerful, Positive) songs.

Let me know if you have any questions/comments.  Thanks!

rhett@yournextspeaker.com

Monday, March 19, 2012

Activities: The Source for YM

I have created hundreds of leadership games/activities over my 20 year career.  Many times I have sought out other resources for inspiration or actual activity ideas.  The best source I have found is the following link.  They have a highly-indexed and easily searchable database of thousands of activities, games and more.  Check it out!

http://www.thesource4ym.com/games/default.aspx

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Links: The Huge PLI Delicious Database

Delicious.com is social bookmarking. People with similar interests can browse through web sites others have "tagged". I have been tagging under the topics of leadership and presentations for five years and the database is up to over 1,500 highly-indexed websites, white papers, videos and blog posts. I read 150 blogs everyday (via Google Reader) and tag any content I find that fit four criteria:

1. It is content dealing with leadership or presentations.
2. It is fresh, new content.
3. It is written by a source I respect.
4. It is concrete content that had immediate application for personal use, professional use or is a teaching/training/speaking tool.

Basically our Delicious database is a masters study in leadership and/or presentation effectiveness - my two passions professionally. Check it out!

http://delicious.com/pliblog

PS - You can also access this database from our free iPhone App. Search pliblog in the app store.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

App: Our Free Leadership & Presentation Skills Mobile App

A few years ago we developed a free iPhone app that feeds students, teachers, trainers and professionals our three primary content streams:  the PLI leadership blog, my speaking skills blog and our Delicious database
Get our iPhone app free here.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Activity: Balloon Toss

Over on our PLI leadership blog, I blogged on four leadership activities you can use during your next event.  Following is the link to number three in the series.  Check it out!

http://plileadership.blogspot.com/2012/02/general-activities-for-your-leadership_23.html

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Fundraising: $193,224 in a Week

When I am not delivering keynotes and workshops across the country, I am creating and delivering leadership curriculum to schools and businesses via our PLI leadership curriculum.  One of the parts of this is online resources.  An example is The Warehouse - a portion of our PLI website that has additional resources for our PLI teachers/trainers.

In the Innovativeness section of the Warehouse you will find a PDF detailing how one Oklahoma student council group raised $193,224 in 2009 for charity.


Copyright 2012 Rhett Laubach
Copyright 2012 PLI, Inc.
Free to share and use with credit.


PDF: Leaders in Gear Credo Poster


In 2010 I released my first solo leadership book project titled Leaders in Gear. At the end of the first chapter is a short poem titled the Leaders in Gear Credo.  This can be used as either wall art, a discussion starter or as a foundation for a presentation.

Download the PDF here.

Copyright 2012 Rhett Laubach
Free to share and use with credit.

PDF: The Leadership Quotes Card Set 2011



This is a PDF with 27 images containing quotes I have either tweeted or said during a program.  This resource has many applications, but I have used it two specific ways:

1. As wall art for my workshops, conferences and/or camps.
2. As a discussion starter for small groups.

Download the PDF here.
View/download the images here.


Copyright 2012 Rhett Laubach
Free to share and use with credit.

Video: The Leap Show



I use this five minute slide show/video during many of my keynotes as a closing send off of inspiration.  Enjoy.


View video here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SKIKx768Eo
Download slide show here:  http://tinyurl.com/theleapshow

Copyright 2012 Rhett Laubach
Free to share and use with credit.