NEW ALL-AMERICAN HERO FOR 2012

At a time when people mull over the past year and plan for the new one, a show has begun running in London that allows you to step back in time. "The Rat Pack Live From Las Vegas" in the West End has prompted me to adopt an unlikely new hero - Dean Martin. More famous for his drinking exploits than almost anything else, the late Dean Martin is played by an accomplished Martin impersonator, Mark Adams, who has played the same role in a variety of Dean Martin tributes. What Mark Adams captures to perfection, after a lifetime's study of the boxer-cum-singer is the perennial coolness which Dean Martin managed to portray. I can spot his expertise because watching The Dean Martin Show was a routine event in my (dodgy) upbringing.  Mark Adams - Dubbed the Dean Martin of the 21st Century Whether singing, telling jokes or clowning around on stage with fellow Rat Packers posing as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Junior, Mark Adams manages to simulate that extraordinary Martin talent for doing things without looking as though he's trying. It's an amazing ability if you can manage it on TV or on the speaker's platform. I'm seeking to emulate it. Though I won't try too hard of course - because that would ruin the effect. And as for that infamous Dean Martin affair with the bottle, well there was obviously something to it. Without it, we would never have had that famous Martin line: "I feel sorry for people who don't drink. They wake up in the morning and that's the best they're going to feel all day." Nor would we have had: "You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on." But on stage in the West End, the Dean Martin character makes a partial demolition of this whisky-sodden image, saying that if the drinking stories were all true he would have been dead fifteen years earlier. My personal assistant, the highly efficient Miss Google, has done some research which backs this up. After the Dean Martin show ended, his son Dean Paul Martin, spilled the beans over his on stage drinking. He revealed that much of the "booze" his dad drank during the real Rat Pack performances was actually apple juice.  Martin with his own wine label - or is it apple juice? Though being Mr Cool while sipping apple juice is probably an even harder trick to pull off.

THE NEED FOR PROPER PREPARATION But so you know I'm not planning to model myself on just any passing American, there's another US character who I'm determined not to emulate. I hope you'll do the same. Looking back over the past year for lessons to inspire people to boost their communication skills, there's one big character who I find myself drawn towards more than any other. His name is Rick Perry - a four-term governor of Texas. If anyone thought George Bush Junior was the best example of why Texas governors don't always make the most impressive presidential candidates, then Rick Perry has forced us to think again. Mr Perry has earned a place in the history books of the American primaries for committing a gaffe which is regarded by some observers as the worst ever - forgetting one of his own key policies. He was the guy who in a prime-time debate with his Republican opponents reiterated his promise to scrap three government agencies. He then named two of them (Commerce and Education) - floundering when he couldn't recall the third (it was Energy, Rick) before coming out with an excruciatingly memorable "Oops". Rick Perry, who managed to remember two of his three budget cutting proposals There isn't a better person than Rick Perry to underline the point that when it comes to communicating something important we need to plan for it, prepare for it and practise for it. And if you do find yourself heading for a potential rabbit-in-the-headlights moment where you can't remember something important - yes it can happen to us all - then there is a way of wording yourself around it, rather than crashing bang into it several times over as Rick Perry managed. So if you don't want to be the next Rick Perry - or you are Rick Perry - and you want to take part in my next open session to supercharge your communication skills then visit http://michaeldoddmedia.com/presentation_training.php  GETTING THE ORDER RIGHT As I run a lot of workshops for business leadership groups, I tend to listen carefully to their suggestions. And the latest bit of advice I've received makes perfect sense. It's to set out my various communications workshops in their ideal order - with one leading on smoothly to the next. So while every session that I offer is self-contained, I've come up with a running order for those wanting to complete the series in the most logical sequence. It amounts to "The 8 Step Programme For Boosting Your Business Communication Skills". 1. GIVING GREAT ANSWERS TO TOUGH QUESTIONS: Showing how to stand up to blowtorch-on-the-belly questioning, whether it's from customers, prospects, staff, shareholders, journalists, bank managers or members of the public. 2. PERFECTING YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH: Supercharging your effectiveness when introducing your businesses - in formal and informal situations. 3. POSITION YOUR COMPANY FOR FREE MEDIA PUBLICITY: Giving you a deeper understanding of what makes news, and improving your ability to spot what's of interest to the media within your company and then grab and hold public attention. 4. MAKE YOUR MEMBERS LOCALLY FAMOUS: Showing how you can boost your profile - positioning yourself as a "go to" person the media will want to contact. 5. BOOSTING YOUR MEDIA STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE: Equipping you to plan for positive and negative situations which can put your company in the media spotlight - and to perform with aplomb during triumph and disaster. 6. PRESENTING WITH CONFIDENCE, IMPACT AND PIZZAZZ: Overhauling or polishing the content, structure and delivery of you presentations to get you to a higher level when addressing an audience. 7. CREATE YOUR OWN WEBCASTS: Learning how to get your message across while talking to the camera - and coming away with your own recording that you can put on-line. 8. BECOMING AN INSPIRATIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATOR: Getting your messages across in an inspiring way on those most difficult issues which tend to find their way to the leader's desk. Each session can be customised to suit exact requirements - so an element of pick-and-mix can be possible at every stage. BOY MEETS GIANT CHARACTER I met some great characters in 2011 - who I'm looking forward to meeting again in 2012. As you're reading this, you're probably one of them. But there's one huge character who won't stick his neck out to read this column under any circumstances. He's too busy chomping his food. And slobbering on his fans. Besides, he's not web-savvy. But despite his insatiable appetite, his sloppy eating habits and his lack of e-skills, this character has become a colourful part of many of my sessions on boosting communication skills. He is of course Jock the Giraffe, who I met on the outskirts of Nairobi. Jock helps me help others to become more brilliant communicators.  Jock with a bearded Australian friend He does this by being the vital player in my quest to get people to give graphic examples to illustrate their points. Too often people seek to explain something important without painting a vivid picture in the minds of their audience that they can see, hear and feel. Talking about "all the wildlife in Africa" is too abstract to stand on its own. Which is why we all need our own Jock The Giraffe to bring our talking points to life. If you don't have your own Jock yet, get one early in 2012. And if you can't find him, I'm here to help. Happy New Year, Michael

TRULY SHOCKING REVELATIONS FROM THE DEEP SOUTH

As you read this you'll probably be just getting over the news from the Republican primary race that former US House of Representatives Speaker, Newt Gingrich, had a huge and surprising victory in South Carolina. Sadly for politics everywhere, Gingrich won off the back of a series of negative "attack" advertisements targeted at the favourite, Mitt Romney. But there's a curious "only in America" aspect about the latest ad. It doesn't focus on the allegation that Romney had been a job-destroying corporate raider - or the fact that, despite his zillions, Romney only pays 15 per cent tax. Alas it's worse than that. The ads focuses on the fact that - wait for it - Mitt Romney can speak French! Zut Alors! Quelle Horreur! And worse still, the Gingrich camp has hard evidence to prove their shocking contention, with Romney captured on a promotional video for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City saying "Bonjour, je m'appelle Mitt Romney". Mitt Romney: A notorious French-speaker caught in the act! In most other parts of the world, speaking an extra language would be regarded as a plus, though in Switzerland, Holland and Scandanavia where folk routinely speak three, four or five languages, only having a single second language might look a bit limited. In Australia - not overwhelmingly known for its linguistic talents, my feeble efforts included - Foreign Minister and one-time Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has largely built his image around the fact that he speaks fluent Mandarin. It's even been good enough to "stun" President Hu Jintao, according to Melbourne's Herald Sun. So unusual skills on your CV can work for you or against you. One thing I've picked up on the professional speaking circuit, is never lead off with your CV skills in a speech. Amongst the worst starts to presentations are those which begin: "let me tell you all about myself." What the audience wants to hear at the beginning is what you can do for them. When you've got a couple of gold nuggets of skill or experience relevant to your audience, it's far better to drop them in along the way (I was going to say "en route" but I didn't want to distress my American readers). So if you were smuggled onto Robben Island to advise a prisoner called Nelson Mandela, or you helped Bob Geldof found Band Aid, let your audience know by all means - but not before you've told them something brilliant that will directly help them.

KANSAS CITY HERE WE COME If you're not French - or you speak the language so badly that Americans will let you off - there are still good reasons to go to the U.S. A friend tells me it's "99 per cent certain" that he's got a media training mission lined up for us in Kansas City in April. I'm looking forward to it because I have a special connection with the city - even though I've never been there. As I imagine millions will recall, I had a starring part as a member of the chorus in the Manly Boys' High - Manly Girls' High production of "Oklahoma!" some years back. Mercifully, I had no solo singing or dancing role. But I did have my moment in the sun. In one of the best numbers - "Kansas City" - cowboy Will Parker (played by school swimming champion Tim Bushell) sings: "Everything's up to date in Kansas City  They gone about as far as they can go  They went an' built a skyscraper seven stories high  About as high as a buildin' orta grow." My role (in the unlikely event that you missed it) was to faint in shock at this monumental achievement. School mates David and Adrian had to catch me as I fell backwards. Fortunately they managed to achieve their task on every occasion...though I wasn't always convinced they would remember. Will Parker singing about what's up-to-date in "Kansas City" in a rare early version not featuring M Dodd or T Bushell My companion on the Kansas City mission wants us to re-enact the fainting scene at the start of each day for our audiences - though baring in mind what I said earlier about starting with your CV, I have some reservations about this. And besides... can I be sure that he'll remember to catch me? Meanwhile, if you know of anyone in Kansas City who wants to book a speech from an Australian speaker posing as an international communications expert, please let me know. I can offer sessions on "Giving Great Answers To Tough Questions", "Becoming An Inspirational Business Communicator" or "Mastering the Media - With Balls"  Mastering The Media With Balls I will even promise not to do my fainting rendition at the start of my performance - though I cannot guarantee that members of the audience won't swoon about the amazing things I can tell them about the world outside Kansas City. DEVELOPING A NETWORKING STRATEGY A colleague of mine in the Professional Speaking Association has brought out a new book on how to boost your business through networking and referrals. Andy Lopata has been described by The Sun" as "Mr Network" (though hopefully this wasn't determined by hacking his many voicemails). He commendably believes in selling "through" people in your network rather than selling directly "to" them. The book makes excellent points about not simply doing the odd bit of networking, but to develop strategies which make it work for you and your networking partners. If you need any persuasion about the power of recommendation from those within your network, Andy has a graph about what influences people's buying decisions. At the top of the list with 90% trust level are recommendations from people you know. At the bottom of the list with 24% trust level are text ads on mobiles. So word of mouth is more trusted than anything else - ahead of all arms of the media (including, it seems, even The Sun). "Recommended" gives all kinds of useful advice on how to develop a networking strategies. If you're trying to build business, "Recommended" is recommended. And networking can take place almost anywhere - even in a helicopter. Here's a picture of an intrepid helicopter networker, taken by Andy Lopata, as we both received a lift home from a speaking event - courtesy of a high-flying hotel chain owner. Picture credit: Mr Network Mind you, we didn't do that much networking in the air. After we climbed in our pilot kindly asked us to keep an eye out on all sides for any aircraft flying at our level. This rather concentrated our minds - though we must have done our job well as Andy and I both lived to tell the tale. PRESENTING WITH CONFIDENCE, IMPACT AND PIZZAZZ For those wanting to boost their skills in talking in front of an audience, my next open session of "Presenting With Confidence, Impact and Pizzazz" is running on Monday 30 July. It's at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London's Portland Place. Details - including the early bird booking offer - are at http://michaeldoddmedia.com/presentation_training.php Royal Institute of British Architects (the apparent bars on the windows are so you can't escape until your presentation skills have massively improve!) LAST WORD ON KANSAS CITY Meanwhile, back to that song. Some may recall that after the sky scraper revelation in Kansas City, there's an even more shocking verse about a strip show that Will Parker visited. "One of the gals is fat and pink and pretty As round above as she was round below I could swear that she was padded from her shoulder to her heel But then she started dancin' and her dancin' made me feel That every single thing she had was absolutely real! She went about as far as she could go Yes, Sir! She went about as far as she could go!" When we were planning the show the director had an idea for one of my friends who - for the sake of the any lingering sensitivities - we can call Fred. Fred was a bit on the chubby side - and was also something of a character. The director suggested that during this verse Fred should parade around and remove a garment or two as if he were the stripper. I thought it was a fabulous idea. But Fred wouldn't be in it. If Fred ever gets the opportunity to run training sessions in Kansas City, I suspect he'll regret it. In the end, the role of the stripper was played by a mere girl - so the verse lost much of its comic appeal. And worse still, in our modest school production, the lass was never given the opportunity of going about as far as she could go. Keep smiling, Michael