Did you miss my tips on "How to Be a Sexy Speaker!" on Monday, July 11^th on Ungenita Prevost's Billion Dollar Beauty Mastermind Group Teleseminar?  Not to worry!  You can still get these helpful tips on being a sexy speaker in social situations and at networking opportunities.  Remember, every time, every place you speak, you have the chance to be an influence and an inspiration.  That's very sexy!

If you'd like a copy of the recording, email  Marion@marionclaire.com and put "Recording" in the Subject line.  I'll be happy to send you the link and answer your questions and comments in return.  Please do me a favor and send me your feedback when you've listened to it.  I need to hear from you!

Go to www.marionclaire.com and on the Home page, you will find a link to download this valuable speaking tool:

5 MAGIC KEYS TO CREATING ANY SPEECH!

Knowing the answers to these Five Questions will enable you to create a fabulous speech for almost any occasion.  Download your Free Report now and make creating your next speech so much easier! 

           You're an expert on classical literature who's been asked to join a panel on why 18^th  and 19^th century women authors are relevant and influential to 21^st century  readers.  You've chosen some of your favorites, Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) on which to base your premise that these women of another age wrote about heroines who would fit quite naturally into our modern era with perhaps just a change of clothes and a chance to go to law school.  You've prepared carefully, your bullet points are all in a row, and you've even planned ahead for any objections to your conclusions.  All systems are go.

            You're the next to last speaker, so you're listening carefully to what the other panelists have to say.  To your horror, one of the speakers ahead of you has chosen a similar point of view, even used the same authors as examples, and said almost exactly what you were going to say!  What are you going to do?  You have just a few minutes to completely revamp your remarks so that you don't sound like a mimic, a trained parrot, or an unprepared copycat riding the coattails of the speaker who came before. 

            Fortunately, this particular nightmare doesn't happen very often, but knowing how to deal with it is a technique that should be in your speaker's toolbox.  The good news is that you can handle it with just a few tweaks to the comments you were planning to give anyway. 

            What can you do and how fast can you do it?

            First, don't panic!  It only feels like a disaster.  You're still in control of your part of the program.  Say to yourself:  "I can do this!  I am in control!"

            Secondly, take a deep breath.  Deep breathing will keep your heartbeat down around normal which will allow the next important step.

Think!  Focus!  Ask yourself, "How can I turn this lemon into lemonade?"

There are a number of things you can do to differentiate yourself from the previous speaker.  Locate the points in your talk that have not already been said.  Tweak them so that they become the focus of your remarks.  Jot them down on a few notes or keep them in your head, whichever works best.  If you can, add some of the points you'd previously decided to leave out when you were preparing your speech. 

When it's your turn, here are some ways to use them:

1)  Tell the truth.  Admit that there are similarities in your approach to that of the previous speaker.  Great minds do run in similar paths.

2)  Compliment yourself and her for being on the same wave length and having a similar point of view.  Avoid saying anything negative about yourself or her.  Create the feeling that you're friends, not enemies.  The audience will admire you for your candor and generosity. 

3)  Piggyback your points onto her positions by delving deeper and expanding on your information.  Segue from her points to yours using simple transition phrases like, "In addition to (what was said), it's also important to know that..."  and  "Along with (what was said), the author was also extremely concerned about..." and a simple, "Jane Austen, as you might know, was also..."

Keep smiling.  The audience doesn't know this isn't the way you planned it.  They'll never suspect you're anything but absolutely confident and knowledgeable.  And you'll be proud of your cool head in a crisis.