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1. I need your help. When approaching a service agent or receptionist, this opening line appeal to someone’s instinctive helpful nature. You’re likely to get a better response (and better service!) if you use this line. 2. You don’t know me, but. Be honest. Don’t pretend to be someone’s best friend. Especially on the phone, help someone know right away that you are calling as a stranger who hopes…

1. Google Alerts. These keep me in the know of my key areas of study. Additionally, they enable me to monitor of where my name, articles, blog posts and books show up around the world, especially on the Internet. 2. May I Ask Who’s Calling? For years I’ve been telling receptionists, “Yes, tell Mr. Jackson it’s The Nametag Guy.” I’m still amazed at what a great first impression this…

At the recent Big Read festival in St. Louis, Harry the Nametagged Gorilla made a special appearance. He hung out at the SLPA booth, encouraging passerbys to join in the fun. Meanwhile, he also helped promote a few of his favorite books, namely Bob Baker’s Guerilla Music Marketing Handbooks. At one point, a group of kids saw Harry, but were apprehensive to approach. Fortunately, throwing out dozens of packs…

It’s just after 5 AM. I’m sitting here in the hallway by the ice machine on the 14th floor of the San Fransisco Hyatt. The housekeeping lady just walked by and gave me a strange look. Maybe I should go put a shirt on. Just kidding! Although I am really out here in the hallway. My wifi signal was pretty bad, and this was the only place I could…

A is for ATTITUDE B is for BREAK PATTERNS C is for CONSISTENCY D is for DISCIPLINE E is for EVOLUTION F is for FRIENDLINESS G is for GOOD WITH NAMES H is for HAPPINESS I is for IDEAS J is for JOY K is for KNOWLEDGE Emerson once said, “Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I shall learn of him.” 80,000. That’s…

I’m pretty bummed out. NSA St. Louis was set to host its annual Speakers U this weekend, in which veteran speakers share their experiences and wisdom about the speaking industry to prospective members. Now, although I wouldn’t call myself a veteran, I was still excited about the opportunity to share what I’ve learned in my four short years in this business. Unfortunately, we had to cancel. Not enough people…

I just finished another great program with First Financial Resources in Irving, TX! We discussed several techniques on how to become that guy, namely, accessibility. I shared my (new) favorite example from last week’s post, So this is what happens when you’re not tainted by the corporate world. Then they took part in the traditional Nametag Job Title Exercise, from which we had some excellent participation. Favorites of the…

(Special thanks to Wicks for the beautiful painting.) I’m such a sucker for John Maxwell books. His stuff is the greatest. It seems like every time I have an extra half-hour at an airport, I buy a new one. Probably my favorite of his books is Success, One Day at a Time, in which he says, “Success is waiting for you to make the first move.” I first read…

The other day a client of mine had an odd request: “Scott, could you close your speech by discussing the future of marketing and product innovation?” Well, I’m no futurist. But I guess I’ll give it a shot… I answered her request with the following four words: more choices, less time. Let me throw a few numbers at ya: • In the August 2005 issue of FastCompany, their research…

The world will try to put you in a box. This includes people such as: •Your parents •Your friends •Your coworkers •Your bosses •Your competitors •The media •Organizations of which you are a member And the moment you realize that you don’t need their box is the moment you are set free. In National Speakers Association, there is a form I fill out which indicates the “topic” on which…