Articles
Browse every published article connected to George Torok, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
Articles
Browse every published article connected to George Torok, or search within this exact expert archive.
When he was a boy his sister taunted him, "You'll never be anything." He skipped classes and slept during the day. But that taunt hurt him. It angered him. It awakened the fighting spirit within him. He wanted to change but he didn't know how. George Foreman became heavy weight boxing champion ...
How to emphasize the key points of your presentation so that your audience hears, digests and remembers your message. When you are delivering a presentation to your management, a proposal to the committee or changes to your staff they are not hanging on your every word. When you get to the key ...
Before you deliver your next presentation you must ask yourself one critical question. If you ask yourself this question before every presentation you will create a more effective presentation every time - and you will write it faster. You will be better able to adapt the length of your presentation to last minute changes. You will look and feel more confident and convincing. You will be better prepared to handle questions and interruptions from your audience. You will be better equipped to avoid wasteful tangents. You will stay focused.
Imagine that you could continue to market successfully the same way for ten years. Do you like that thought? Well delete that daydream because it just isn’t so. Welcome to marketing 2008. It’s more threatening, more promising and more exciting. Buckle your seatbelt, take your motion sickness ...
About eight minutes into my breakfast presentation to the local chamber of commerce at a fancy restaurant the fire alarm rang. The alarm was annoyingly loud so naturally I stopped speaking and forced a smile. You can imagine my first thoughts. They were angry selfish thoughts. Why now? Why me? ...
Learn from Google. They know something about the presentation of information. They took the chaotic information soup of the Internet and presented the information in the way that people want. Google didn't invent this but they are the number one search engine. Why is Google so popular and how ...
Entrepreneurs - the fastest growing area of our economy. What makes these strange people, risk takers and wealth generators tick? Why do entrepreneurs take risks, endure pain, fatigue, and embarrassment? What makes them run? Is it money, fame, rock and roll or sex? None of the above! ...
"Companies are increasingly falling into two categories - those that are innovative and those who go out of business" Dan Brandan CEO HP Canada A company should never be satisfied with its products and services. You must always be innovating. Hewlett Packard began with $500 in cash and ...
When was the last time you sat through a terrible presentation using computer projection? When was the last time you gave one? If you want to avoid disaster and give your career a boost then apply these ten tips the next time you present with the computer projector. And if you want to do a ...
All problems are not equal. Some will bite you. Some just nudge you. Those nudges are worthy of more attention. There are two types of problems, acute and chronic, with two distinct warnings signs and different methods of solving them. You need to be aware of both and how to deal with them. ...
You are attending a business or association meeting, when out of the blue, the meeting chair asks you to say a few words. How do you get through this? Follow this sure-fire process to write your speech in five minutes or less. Decide on the message that you want to give to this group. Do you ...
Got problems? Want to learn to love them? Solving problems can be fun and very rewarding. Creative problem solving is the skill most needed through the next years. Use this skill in your private life, your career, your business and your community. Follow the five steps that point to that ...
Smart marketing starts with asking the right questions and uncovering the answers that will help you build your business. If information is power, how much do you know about your customers? Try this quiz. 1 Who are your three best customers? 2 Why do they do business with you? 3 What is their competitive edge? 4 What are their greatest challenges? 5 Who are their chief competitors? 6 What significant trends are impacting their industries? 7 What do your best customers have in common? Marketing intelligence doesn’t need to be expensive.
Your Guide to Personal Marketing "If you build a better mouse trap - the world will beat a path to your door." Do you still believe that old expression? Let's try another one. "Go to school; get a good job; and the company will look after you." The first statement is from Emerson - the ...
Imagine the media talking about you. That builds your visibility, credibility and perception of expertise. Whether you call this promotion, public relations or publicity, remember two important points: 1. It is free. Well nothing is free - you pay in time and effort. 2. We believe more what ...
"If you always do what you've always done you'll always get what you've always gotten." proclaimed Peter Urs Bender, keynote speaker and best selling author of five books including "Leadership from Within". But Bender adds this warning, "If you continue to do what you've always done - you will get less. Just to stay even you must change what you do - and to grow you must change drastically how you do it." Bender spoke on communication and leadership skills. But his statement applies to most aspects of business and our career.
Every member of your audience is different. You can’t treat them the same and expect the same reaction from all of them. You must be prepared to connect on different levels and receive different reactions to your presentation. Consider this challenge. Imagine that you are presenting to the ...
Your presentation is not about you. It's about your audience. How can you create a presentation that is about your audience? Know your audience First, you need to understand their mindset, conce s, comprehension, interest, bias and motivation. I suggest that you list those six factors, then ...
As long as you eat and breathe you will stay alive. But is that really living? In a crisis that might be enough. If your business is in crisis - deal with it. But the magic potion to keep your business alive is growth. Growth is the real goal That is the litmus test of keeping your business ...
Find a mentor. Mentors can help you cut years off your growth curve. They can save you from making mistakes they made or seen others make. You are then free to learn from new mistakes. A mentor is someone - perhaps a family member, friend or business associate - who is more experienced in the business who is willing to give you some of their time, advice and support. Mentors never do this for money. They enter into the relationship because they want to help you. They see some potential in you and maybe a little of themselves in you. They want to help and you must be ready.
Got problems? Want to learn to love them? Solving problems can be fun and very rewarding. Creative problem solving is the skill most needed through the next years. Use this skill in your private life, your career, your business and your community. Follow the five steps that point to that ...
What is mentoring about? Mentoring is a special relationship between a master and an apprentice. You can find good examples in modern culture: Obiwan Kanobee and Luke Skywalker from Star Wars and Cane (David Carradine) from the old Kung Fu TV series. In centuries past this was the only way to pass on critical knowledge of a craft. The mentor's role was to teach, coach and encourage. Why have a mentor? Your mentor can help you avoid costly mistakes and cut years off your growth curve.
Personal marketing makes it easier to sell, by building relationships nurtured on awareness, value and trust. Make your relationships more fruitful by making them personal. Use these powerful yet simple tips from the book, "Secrets of Power Marketing: Promote Brand You". It is the first guide to ...
If you haven't been to Las Vegas recently - you must go. When you visit take good notes. Las Vegas is an inspiring business model. Las Vegas is a place to learn how to run your business. It might be called the sin city. But the real lessons of Vegas are not about gambling. It's about how to run ...
Breakfast is a good time for networking. Why? Because it is a good way to start your day - focused on building your business. Also, breakfast is an inexpensive meal and the meeting need not go on too long - unlike dinner. Lunch is a good second choice for networking meetings. One-on-one or ...
Harry Houdini died in 1926. Yet he is still remembered as the greatest escape artist of all time. Even David Copperfield doesn't come close in terms of brand and name recognition. That is the power of personal branding. Build a solid personal brand and it catapults you to success. Build a really good personal brand and it survives your death. Will your brand survive 80 years after your death? More importantly, will your personal brand help you while you are alive? Just imagine how difficult it was to build a personal brand at the beginning of the 1900's. There was no Internet.
Why did the downtown restaurant close? The downtown restaurant opened about a year earlier. I wasn't surprised that it closed. I was surprised that it stayed open so long. It was around the corner from my office. I walked past it every time I visited the restaurant next door - about once a ...
Leadership Quotations Compiled for you by George Torok One man that has a mind and knows it can always beat ten men who haven't and don't. George Be ard Shaw, "The Apple Cart" (1930), act I All great truths begin as blasphemies. George Be ard Shaw, Annajanska (1919) When a stupid man ...
Preparing a speech can be like sculpting. You keep removing the excess clay until you have your work of art. If you want to start your presentation with a bang instead of a bust avoid these ten mistakes. These tips will show you how not to start your speech. 1. You like me, you really like mer Sally Fields did this when she accepted her academy award. Her gushing outburst was mocked because it seemed unprofessional. We all want to be liked but Sally pushed our puke button with her act. If they are giving you the award don't insult them by pretending that you don't deserve it. 2.
Imagine yourself at mission control; 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – SPEAK! When the space shuttle blasts off - those first few seconds of lift are critical. It comprises a small portion of the total journey, yet if someone errors - they crash and burn. The beginning of your speech is much the ...
Look at the mess we're in. Why doesn't somebody do something? When was the last time you heard or even thought that? Look! Up in the air, it's Superman! We're saved. What a hero. If only I had his powers I could be a hero. If only I was born a leader. Wrong! The big myth is that leaders are ...
All problems are not equal. Some will bite you. Some just nudge you. Those nudges are worthy of more attention. You will encounter two types of problems, acute and chronic. They have two distinct warnings signs and different methods of solving them. You need to be aware of both types of problems and how to solve them. You may already know about the first type. But knowing how to identify and solve the second type will provide greater benefit for you and your organization. The acute problem is most common. You don't need to go looking for it.
Just answer this simple question: “How can I help you?” Networking is the science of connecting with other people to advance your agenda. What do you want more of? Sales leads, resource contacts, job offers? You can get those results from networking - if you do it wisely. Be honest with yourself. The only reason you network is because you want something from others. There is nothing wrong with that. So don't feel guilty if that is your purpose in networking.
Imagine that you could continue to market successfully the same way for ten years. Do you like that thought? Well delete that daydream because it just isn't so. Welcome to marketing 2008. It's more threatening, more promising and more exciting. Buckle your seatbelt, take your motion sickness ...
Got problems? Want to learn to love them? Solving problems can be fun and very rewarding. Creative problem solving is the skill most needed through the next years. Use this skill in your private life, your career, your business and your community. Follow the five steps that point to that ...
At some point in your presentation you will be expected to answer questions from your audience. They might have some burning questions that need to be answered before they buy into your message. Handling their questions with authority can make the difference for you between a successful ...