1. APSS KEYNOTES JULY 2010
NEXT APSS MEETING ON TUESDAY 27 July ‘10
Editorial Team It’s the end of yet another term at Asia Professional
Speakers - Singapore! It’s been a great journey for me
James Leong and for APSS as well. The current Exco members put
David Lim, CSP in a lot of effort to make this a great year. In this term
Mike Podolinsky, CSP (2009-2010) we tried a few things in our attempt to
‘raise our game’, and I think we succeeded too. Here
Shirley Taylor
are a few things that were received very well by all
Nishant Kasibhatla members:
1. Share-A-Tip Segment at the monthly meetings
NEXT MEETING 2. Themed APSS events (Social Media, Networking
AGM & and Humour)
Monthly Meeting 3. Added Value Workshops (by Rob Salisbury and
Frank Furness)
Date: 4. APSS Charity Event – Raise Your Game
Tuesday, 27 July, 2010
I would like to thank all the Exco members for their
Venue: support, without whose contribution and dedication we
Sheraton Towers would not have ended this year on such a great note.
Hotel (off Newton Thanks also to all members for making this a year of
MRT station) record attendances! One of our monthly meetings (the
Humour Lab) had 70 attendees.
Time: The office bearers for the next term will be elected
7pm - 9.30pm during the next AGM on 27 July. We will have two
(Registration starts fabulous speakers with great topics (Pamela
at 6.30pm) Wigglesworth and Michael Podolinsky) to share with
Light refreshments us their expertise. I look forward to seeing you all on
will be served 27 July 2010. Let’s end the year on a high note!
All this value for : It has been a fantastic year for me. I have learnt a lot
Members: SGD $20 in my role, and it has been my privilege to serve APSS.
Thank you once again to all the Exco and members for
Member’s Guest: $30 your support and contribution.
Non-Members /
Walk-Ins: $40 Nishant Kasibhatla
President 2009-2010, APSS
2. WHAT’S HAPPENING IN JULY MEETING
Word of Mouth, Word of Mouse Marketing
Low cost ways to market your business
It’s no secret that the second half of 2010 will continue to be a challenging year
for businesses regardless of the industry, whether you’re selling a product or a
service. Now more than ever companies need to promote their businesses so
that their target audience knows where to go when they are ready to buy.
Promotion is equivalent to sales. Without it, there is no business. Most
companies, entrepreneurs or start ups don’t bother to include promotion in their
business plan because they believe they can’t afford it, when the truth of the
matter is, they can’t afford NOT to.
How you will benefit:
• Create an attention grabbing 15 second elevator pitch
• Discover the ways to get referrals for your business
• Learn how to place banner ads on sites without paying huge advertising
costs
• Create surveys to reach out to your customers to learn about their needs
• Make your printed articles go the distance online
Pamela Wigglesworth is a Singapore-based American corporate
trainer, speaker and founder of Experiential Hands-on Learning, a
training and development company. A resident of Asia for 20 years,
she conducts public workshops and in-house trainings that help
retailers, fashion designers and apparel manufacturers enhance their
branding and marketing communications so they engage their
customers and increase sales.
Pamela is a member of Asia Professional Speakers Singapore and the
Marketing Institute of Singapore. She is an Executive Committee
member of the Textile Fashion Federation of Singapore, was a
founding board member of the PrimeTime Business and Professional
Women’s Association and is the Singapore Alumni Coordinator for the
Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles. She is WSQ certified
in Advanced Certification in Training & Assessment (ACTA).
3. WHAT’S HAPPENING IN JULY MEETING
8 Dynamic Speech Openers and
8 Powerful Speech Closers
There are 1000 ways to open or close a speech. Michael Podolinsky CSP invested
the last 28 years of his life into learning the art and craft of professional speaking.
Having witnessed the masters of our craft, he will share with us 8 Dynamic Speech
Openers and 8 Powerful Speech Closers in just 45 minutes. He will also share the
strategy of opening and closing, their importance in your speech, how to position
the perfect opener for your next speech, and the ideal closer to mesmerize your
audience. Audience members will contribute ideas and options to this
INTERACTIVE session.
You will learn:
• Dottie Walters, "Open with a laugh and close with a tear" formula and why
it works
• The value of 'bookends'
• 8 Dynamic openings including humor, questioning, startling statements
and singing
• 8 Powerful closers like dynamic actions, gimmicks, quotations and poetry
Michael Podolinsky CSP Develops Passionate Leaders and Teams,
equipping them with the skills necessary to succeed.
Singapore's first resident CSP and 28-year professional (22 years in the
Asia-Pacific region) earned his 90% for repeat business by consistently
providing impactful information, thought provoking stories and his
trademark 'Mike Factor' FUN and animated style. With audiences from
8-8,500 across 6 continents in 33 countries, Michael impacts 11 million+
people worldwide.
Pearson Prentice Hall author of 13 business books, 500+ newspaper/magazine articles,
frequent radio/television guest, he is one of few in Asia who can conduct facilitations at top
levels and deliver keynotes for C-Level people.
Michael's proprietary ABCD method of public speaking is the easiest to understand and use
and fits any speaking or presentation situation. He is known by the 'companies he keeps'
including: IBM (on 3 continents), 3M (North America and Asia), AIA (46 times),
Nokia, Singapore Air Force and Navy, CISCO Systems, MOE, Pfizer, NUS, SIM (375
programs), Microsoft, HP, Temasek Holdings & 700+.
4. THIS MONTH’S ARTICLE
Making Great Connections that Count
Building great working relationships is key to your success and happiness
in the workplace
by Shirley Taylor
Your effectiveness at work will largely depend on how much people want to interact and connect with you.
The route to professional effectiveness is not only paved with knowledge and experience, but also with
relationships. If people avoid you, it will be very difficult to do your job. If you are to make successful
connections – connections that you can count on when you have new ideas and goals – you need to
develop great working relationships.
Here are five steps you can take if you want to make great connections that really count:
1. Increase your credibility
Your credibility is the extent to which others believe what you tell them. Very often at work you will have to
convince people of your point of view. You need credibility for this. You will gain a certain amount of
credibility from your experience. However, if you are to make successful connections – connections that
you can count on when you have new ideas and goals – you need to gain respect, create trust, and build
rapport. This won’t happen if you engage in office politics and gossip. It won’t happen if you are inconsistent
in your responsibilities. Credibility comes with transparency, engagement, and honest hard work.
2. Find common interests
Dale Carnegie said, “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people
than you can in two years by trying to get the other person interested in you.”
How many people in your office do you really know? How many times do you enter the lift with the same
person yet never even acknowledge them? Do you walk past co-workers’ desks and never nod your head
or say hi? What a sad way to work. Make an effort to get to know your colleagues and clients so that you
can build on commonalities. For example, comment on a photo or an object on a colleague’s desk. You
may find you have a story to share, or you may learn something new that you can discuss.
Making an effort to gain eye contact, spark up a conversation, smile, even just nod and say ‘hello’ is also a
much more enjoyable and rewarding way to spend your day.
3. Be courteous
I’m often amazed at how discourteous some people can be in the office. I see people walk through an office
in the morning, eyes down, headphones in their ears, without even acknowledging anyone around them.
We’re all busy. We all have a lot of things on our minds. But that’s no excuse for rudeness. Everyone has
a right to work in a cordial environment, and work flows more smoothly when the atmosphere and the
people in it are pleasant. Put a smile on your dial, and be civil.
Continued on next page....
5. THIS MONTH’S ARTICLE
4. Make others feel important
Many of my workshop participants tell me that some bosses have a lot of trouble acknowledging good work,
or saying a simple “thank you” for a job well done. Feeling unimportant or unappreciated is extremely
de-motivating. If you are a manager, make an effort to talk to your staff about something other than
business from time to time. Ask them about their families, their upcoming holiday, their weekend. Listen to
them. Show you are approachable. By doing this you will win their respect, and at the same time you’ll learn
more about your staff and will pick up useful information that will help you guide and motivate them.
One of the most fundamental rules of developing relationships is to respect other people’s feelings. We all
like to be recognised and appreciated. If you want to make friends and enhance your reputation as a great
communicator, learn how to make others feel important.
5. Show humility
There’s nothing worse than someone who brags and boasts about themselves. These people will have
others running away from them rather than wanting to get closer. Humility involves maintaining our pride
about who we are and about our achievements, but without arrogance. Humility means having a quiet
confidence and being content to let others discover your talents without having to brag about them.
Interestingly, very often the higher people rise and the more accomplishments they have, the higher their
humility index. If you want to improve your relationships, practise humility. It’s a strength, not a weakness.
Most people would agree that their satisfaction at work is largely derived from the way they, their colleagues
and their clients communicate. As with any other endeavour, the more you put into it, the more you’ll get
back. When you start practising these basic success tools for making great connections, you will see the
massive rewards they can bring, both personally and professionally.
Shirley is Series Editor of the Success Skills Series of books published by Marshall Cavendish
International. Check out www.STSuccessSkills.com to see the latest titles.
APSS welcomes new member: Rajan G Ramchandani
Congratulations Pang Li Kin on becoming a professional member
27 July 2010 - Annual General Meeting + Monthly Meeting
APSS is a member of GSF
192, Pandan Loop, #04-10,
Pantech Business Hub,
Singapore 128381.
Tel: (+65) 67779843
Fax: (+65) 31257170
ROS Registration Number: 0259/2003
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