I just finished an interview online with Coach Judy Nelson. I really enjoyed it and want to thank Judy for having me on. Judy is a well-known coach and former non-profit CEO. She also has co-written a book with Chicken Soup for the Soul author Jack Canfield. She was very engaging and we covered many topics from professional to personal. If you haven't heard the interview yet, please click the link to check it out. Here's a link to the MP3, and a quote from Judy herself:

I personally use SureSpeak with my clients, and it has helped me grow my business."

Wow.

Thanks to Judy for having me on her show, and if you're interested in the private label site I talked about on the show, email sales@surespeak.com. Or you can always email me directly at darren.schwartz@surespeak.com.

Thanks!

Tomorrow, at 11:30 am Central Time, Darren will be a guest on Coach Judy Nelson's Blog Radio show. Click on the following link to listen in!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coachjudynelson

The research firm Forrester recently reported

As sourcing professionals make purchasing decisions in times of economic slowdown, software-as-a-service (SaaS) can benefit their organizations by offering a deployment model that lowers near-term expenditures, allows buyers to prove the value of a solution before committing to it, and shifts significant aspects of the investment risk from the organization to the SaaS provider.

Hey SureSpeakers,

From time to time, we get approached by the media looking to interview us or satisfied users. Currently, a very well known publication is looking to interview a few people who have used SureSpeak to practice for job interviews.

Are you interested in taking part of this opportunity? If so, let us know. The people we choose will receive a copy of "The Confident Speaker" (NY Times Best Seller) and an iPod Shuffle.

Thanks!

Darren

I was the best man in a wedding recently where I had to give a speech; actually, I gave 2 if you include the rehearsal dinner. Based on the laughs and the feedback I received, it went very well.  Unfortunately, I cannot relay any of the stories that I told – when you know a guy for 30 years, the best stories are usually ones from your early twenties that can only be told in private, or watered down for a rehearsal dinner. Besides, how was I supposed to know there was a second cop??

Anyway I have given many speeches at many weddings including my own. That speech was a 45 minute tangent that included sharing the advice from my uncle (“don’t get mad at the same time”-whoops, blew that 1,000 times in ten years), my tailor (I cannot even try to water down his words- they were straight out of the Gulag), and the welcoming of our newest friend of eight minutes, my cousin Andrew’s date. Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Caveliers and manager of the Southfield Michigan Twins (Little League Champions 1978-1981) still calls it the best wedding speech he’s ever heard.

My point is not to brag, but to relay several important facts. The first is that I practice all of my speeches and presentations over and over again, so I know them like the back of my hand. Second, even though I do that I am still ALWAYS nervous. The key is that because I have practiced so much, I quickly get into my groove and once I am past the first minute or two, all anxiety is gone and I am in my element. Knowing the speech like it’s the back of my hand allows me to do or say things that are spontaneous, which then makes the whole speech authentic and spontaneous, and usually funny (no one’s perfect!) Bottom line is that my pre-speech process is boring – practice, practice, practice. Hey, anyone know a website where I can practice my speech with a webcam???

We've been getting a few questions on the difference between an OnDemand Coach, a Coach and a SureSpeaker. Let me break it down for you here, along with a visual on how each relationship is formed.

Coach: I recently posted an entry on this subject--on how to invite a coach. A coach is someone you invite to your SureSpeak account, who gives you advice on all of your recordings. Unless you specifically choose this person not to see a video when recording, they will be invited to all of your videos, and can provide feedback on them as well.

SureSpeaker: If you have a coach, your relationship to your coach is that of a student, or SureSpeaker. We are all SureSpeakers of sorts.

OnDemand Coach: An OnDemand Coach is someone who you invite you coach you one video at a time. This is done when you are recording a SureSpeak: Let me show you how...

1) Choose the lesson you would like to record, or click on the "Record" tab to record Freestyle.

2) Record your SureSpeak. If you would like only one person to see your recording, click "Just me practicing, keep it private" after you've named the video.

3) Click "Save & Score".

4) The next page you see is the "Coaching Box". Here you will see a button to invite an "OnDemand Coach". Click the button, and you are taken to the invitation page.

5) Choose your coach from a current list, or enter a new coach.

6) Click "Send Invite"

You can use the spacebar as a shortcut, to stop recording? Well, you can. Why would you want to do that you ask? Well, now that you're sending your videos for coaching to all your friends and collegues (you are sending your videos, right? If you don't know how, see the last post) you want to make sure the recording process is seamless and looks good. So, if you hit the space bar, you don't have the unsightly two seconds of recording you, looking all over for your mouse.

This was suggested to us by one of our users--so keep the suggestions coming! We love them.