Tony AlessandraThe ONLY Official Site to Book Tony for a Speech

I thoroughly enjoyed your speech and found many new, useful ideas to use immediately in my business... That's a great presentation. Thanks!
--Rose Clayton

I wanted to pass along my personal thanks to you for speaking at our annual Program Manager's conference. All of the feedback that I received, both in person, as well as in writing, was overwhelmingly positive, and your talk was a big part of that! Thanks again, and I hope that we'll see you at a future Harris event.
--Amos Morse

Thank you for the kind words. Your presentation was the best of all outside presentations - everyone thought you were great! I look forward to the opportunity to put you in front of other clients of ours in the future.
--Jay

Tony's presentation had real impact. The points he made were not only relevant to our audience, they were delivered in a way to make them memorable and fun. It was great to have such an important topic delivered with punch as well as humor. His anecdotes were fabulous. Ask him about the pots and pans.
--Corrine Smith

Thanks so much for your presentation at NSA San Diego last week. It was the best combination of practical tips and inspiration that I have seen at an NSA meeting ever! Thanks again for your powerful message and willingness to spend so much time with those of us starting out.
--Jim Cartmill

Do You Listen as Well as You Speak?

Think about how you like people to listen to you. What are the important responses you look for in other people when they are listening to you? Here are four things most people mention:

First, eye contact. This is a sign of attention. When you do not have eye contact with your listener, you may feel like you are talking to a brick wall.

Second, verbal responses and vocal participation such as, "Hmm," "Yeah," "Wow!" and "No kidding?" These show interest in what is being said.

Third, other acknowledging gestures such as smiling, nodding your head, slightly leaning forward with interest (when appropriate), directly facing the speaker, and appropriate facial expressions or body language. All of these gestures say, in effect, "I'm really interested in what you have to say." Speakers like to see that.

Finally, the fourth kind of acknowledgment is making clarifying remarks that restate the speaker's points, such as "If I understand you correctly, you're saying that..." or "In other words, the biggest hurdles are..."

Use these techniques and you will show courtesy to the speaker. Equally important, you will enrich yourself by joining in a give-and-take dialogue that increases your understanding.