More On Introductions by Max Garcia

*Introduction*
Ok, now you have gotten the attention of your audience and they are ready to follow you and the next inspirational speakers off the face of the earth. You have to keep them engaged now. I personally like to play a killer video or tell them a power story with out first even saying my name greeting everyone or anything. Then after I get their hearts and minds with my gain attention I say something along the lines of "Good afternoon, My name is Max Garcia and your next period of instruction will be on... or if I am giving a motivational speech I might say hello, my name is Max Garcia today we are going to talk about..... then comes the purpose



*Purpose*
The purpose of this period of instruction is to help you become a more effective business speaker (or what ever it is for you)....
Now the business speaker is ready to talk about the learning objectives, how you are going to teach your class, a basic overview, testing information, safety requirements along with anything else needed to get them engaged. It might sound like this for inspirational speakers:
(After gaining attention) Good afternoon ladies and gentleman, my name is Max Garcia today we are going to talk about improving every aspect of your lives. The purpose of this class is to give you the tools to get what ever you want. During this you will learn powerful ways to overcome fear, tactics for speaking ect. Now, let's talk about our learning objectives...(This is obviously where the business speaker should discuss specific learning objectives, the more specific the better).

Next you could mention how your students or audience will be tested. For inspirational speakers they might not be tested on paper however you might mention to them that they are evaluated every day by their families, co workers ect. Depending on the training business speakers may also want to mention any safety guidelines they have.

Again we are getting them used to paying attention to you during all this. Just as the teacher gives the students a chance to warm up their brain with a review before the lesson, business speakers can start getting every ones mind on to the subject with the intro we just talked about. Remember, you don't want to just jump right in to it, you want them to stop thinking about home and start listening to you before you get to the meat and potatoes of your speech or class. Last but not least business speakers should transition to the main topics from the intro (now that you know what you will learn and how much it will affect your life lets talk about...). They should also have a definite conclusion to their presentation. This format is similar to how professional classroom instructors in the Marine Corps give classes. For more information on how to be confident speaking in front of people visit my web site www.themaxgarcia.com, or inquire about our coaching programs. Until next time, have a blessed day.

Unselfishness, Courage and Knowledge by Max Garcia

OK, we are almost done this long lesson on the Marine Corps leadership characteristics or as we call them traits. By the time we are done you will be better prepared to lead in any capacity. This will also help you to develop more of a motivational leadership style. You will also be able to identify the good and bad in leadership speakers and bosses.

Unselfishness- This one seems simple but it is surprising how many leaders only care about themselves. Now of course we should care about the company, the institution, the production, our personal progression ect. BUT you must care about the welfare of your subordinates. If you don't show any compassion for their personal lives then they will give you the bare minimum. In the Marines the most junior guy eats first and the most senior Marine eats last. If there is a shortage of food the staff and officers will go with out. Troop welfare is something we practice on a regular basis with our hearts. Too many people think about what is good for themselves and nothing else. Remember to give your people a pat on the back, a break, a jacket if it's cold, the list goes on. They will completely have no respect for you if you don't do for them but always do for yourself. Of course they will die for you if you are of a motivational leadership style always staying firm but fair.

Courage- Most leaders lack in this dept of leadership characteristics. There are two kinds of courage. There is the type where a Marine, fire fighter or a police officer puts him self in danger for the benefit of others. More often though there is moral courage. The type to tell someone face to face they are wrong. The courage to stand up to your boss for the sake of those who work below you. The courage to correct one of your employees for wearing the wrong uniform or showing up late. The list goes on you get the point. Unfortunately most people set the rules but don't enforce them. I love hearing a leadership speaker preach about this. If you are a leadership speaker, talking about this will get heads rolling as managers will want to step it up.

Knowledge- Short and sweet, if you don't know your job how can you lead people in that field. If you don't know what you are doing then you need to have the courage to ask someone for help (even if they are junior to you). Focusing on leadership characteristics like this will make you more promotable and respectable. This is how you become the go to guy or gal. Reading technical manuals or standard operating procedures will help you gain knowledge ultimately improving your proficiency.

These should be enough to digest for a couple days as you incorporate them in to your motivational leadership. Good luck.

Leadership With The Marines by Max Garcia

As a leadership speaker I always make it a point to teach the powerful leadership characteristics I have learned in the Marine Corps. If you are of a motivational leadership style you will enjoy learning and teaching these 14 leadership characteristics to your managers and subordinates alike.

The Marines call these leadership characteristics the 14 leadership traits, also known as JJ DID TIE BUCKLE (we will get to that in a minute). I learned these traits very early in my career as a young lance corporal age 19 (E-3) trying to pick up the prestigious Corporal. At the rank of Corporal you become a Non-Commissioned Officer with new leadership responsibilities. The rank is not easy to obtain or maintain. The lesson has served me very well as I firmly believe in a lead by example, motivational leadership style.

The fourteen leadership traits are as follows:

1)Justice
2)Judgement
3)Decisiveness
4)Initiative
5)Dependability
6)Tact
7)Integrity
8)Endurance
9)Bearing
10)Unselfishness
11)Courage
12)Knowledge
13)Loyalty
14)Enthusiasm

Notice the JJ DID TIE BUCKLE to help you remember them. If you are already practicing or teaching a motivational leadership style these will help you put a more definite name on what you already know. If you are just starting your career you will clearly be able to notice these leadership characteristics or lack of them in your co workers and managers. Keeping these in mind on a daily basis will also help prepare you to be a manager and eventually a leadership speaker.

The 14 leadership traits are somewhat self explanatory, especially if you are already a leadership speaker. We will discuss them more in depth next. For now become familiar with them and establish for yourself what you think each characteristic means.

Conduct Off Work by Max Garcia

As a leadership speaker, your conduct off work can and will affect your success in any business. Many people only think ethics and leadership characteristics apply while they are at work. The reality is that today is the information age. Your followers will know what kind of person you are off work. Word gets around fast. Don't be surprised if someone in your company sees you during your off time with out you knowing it. If you are acting outside the same leadership characteristics you preach and expect during the day your motivational leadership will lose credibility. People talk, I'm not saying it's fair but it's fact. It would be nothing in today's world for someone to e mail all their co-workers if they saw a leadership speaker acting like a fool outside the work place.

I once remember a work function we had where the senior man in the company sitting at the head table clearly had too much to drink. He kept making so much noise with his laughing and loud talking. It was a sight, it was funny. This is the same guy who preached leadership characteristics and ethics to us in such a motivational leadership style. He eventually had to be escorted by his staff away to avoid further embarrassment for everyone. I ran in to this guy several years later and that was the first thing that came to mind when I saw him. I couldn't help but to tell the people I was with. How is that for motivational leadership?

A leadership speaker of any kind must lead by example both on and off work.

The Right Music for Your Business by Max Garcia

I once heard a Christian speaker give motivational speeches about how listening to the right music can improve your life. He pointed out that when you listen to songs that talk about how "the wife left me, the dog died, my truck broke down" ect. something happens in your brain. The Christian speaker (sure wish I could remember his name) went on to explain how your subconscious mind hears those things and can put you in the same pattern. If anything you are at least going to feel similar to the artist that wrote the song. The not so good part is that like attracts like, so you surely are not going to attract the love of your life if you are listening to broken heart type love songs.


The Christian speaker later mentioned that positive songs could also do the same for you. Often when I am running and feel tired I start singing the song "I feel good, da da, da da, da da, da". If I feel myself getting bummed out for no reason I start singing "And I'm feeling... good da dat da dum da dat". Instantly I feel better.


If you are in a position where using motivational leadership is the key to your business you should always be pumping something positive in to your brain because your people will feed off of you! When you feel powerful your motivational speeches will come out of your mouth naturally and seem more genuine. If you have ever watched a movie with a killer soundtrack like "Rocky" and felt like you can conquer the world afterword know your motivational leadership style and motivational speeches can do the same. You may even want to consider playing up beat music in your work place, chances are it will increase production.

Patience and Leadership by Max Garcia

I know it can be so hard to be patient sometimes. Patience is one of the leadership characteristics most people lack. Most people choose to blame the employee or the boss for everything. This is not motivational leadership, this is simply not accepting responsibility.

A great leadership speaker once told me that an effective communicator takes responsibility for both sides of the communication. This leadership speaker named Marshall Sylver said "like it or not, it is your responsibility to communicate clearly, and it is also your responsibility to ensure the other person understood you correctly". That is motivational leadership.
The Marines took that one step further with the leadership principal that states "ensure the task is understood supervised and accomplished". When things fall through the cracks these are the type of leadership characteristics I bring up.

The leadership characteristics you choose to take on will make or break you and your company. People are quick to play the blame game in business. Businesses who encourage leadership characteristics like team player while using words like united we stand divided we fall, always bounce back. When you use motivational leadership over bull headed leadership people will want to work for you. A real leadership speaker will tell you that an effective manager does not have to use fear to get his or her point across.

Confidence With the Opposite Sex and Cigars by Max Garcia

Last weekend I went to a cigar event in my local cigar store. When I first got there I have to admit my personal confidence was not where it usually is. It ended up being a lesson in building self confidence that I will be able to teach in my next DVD. My wife ran next door to the grocery store to get some beer. While she was gone I had no one to talk to, like many people I felt uncomfortable. It was only a few minutes but it felt like hours. I thought wait a second, I teach people how to improve confidence. What can I learn here to teach others. As soon as I thought that I noticed to young ladies purchasing a couple boxes of nice Drew Estate cigars. As a big fan of all drew estate cigars I was dying to know what they purchased. Now that I had something to talk about my personal confidence instantly improved. We spoke for a while on the subject even after my wife returned and was introduced.

I realized, this is a way to improve confidence for single people. Go to a cigar event or other event you are interested in to meet other singles. Because we had something in common I knew that they knew I was not hitting on them and that alone was building self confidence in all of us. I thought to myself there is definitely something to this. For anyone single looking to improve confidence when dealing with the opposite sex, forget bars and clubs where women especially have their guard up ready to wound your personal confidence. Instead, look to meet people in your comfort zone while you are building self confidence in dealing with the opposite sex.

Three Rules for Confidence II by Max Garcia

The second Rule. If you want to move up, you must master your current role and improve confidence to prepare for your next senior position. Too many times I see new Marines avoiding the undesirable task. Sometimes it is because they are lazy but other times it is because they don’t understand how to complete the task and do not possess the personal confidence to inquire. Before you know it a couple years goes by and that person is due to get promoted. Now you have a newly promoted manager who is lost, building self confidence at the last minute. I tell my people, “How can I promote you if you don’t have strong personal confidence of your everyday duties. If you’re in a leadership position you should be building self confidence in other people. They will be coming to you for answers. You don’t want to be the Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) that causes a Marine say, I’ll ask someone else because he won’t have a clue. The judging does not get any nicer with the subject of proficiency. Lower level workers must understand that they don’t rate a promotion just because of time. They must prove they are ready to be junior leaders. The time to improve confidence in their job field is not after the promotion. This theory is backed up by the twelfth leadership trait in the Handbook For Marine NCOs. This trait is Knowledge (Estes 1995)