ProSpeaking: Tod’s Secret Card-Tab Technique
You’ve just gotten off the podium and, naturally, there’s an enormous lineup forming to meet you. In many cases, people just want to thank you for the presentation or ask you a question or two.
Well-intentioned as they may be, this is not the time for you to answer any more than the most basic of questions — some people’s enthusiasm get in the way of noticing that other people are waiting to speak with you as well.
Most commonly, people will want you to email them your slides (something I never do — if they want to see it again or show it to another group in their company, they should pay me to give the presentation again, in my opinion) or have you get back to them on something.
Since I’m a crappy note-taker, I’ve developed this system of folding the corners of business cards so I can remember what each person wants when I get back to my hotel room. Here are my hints; feel free to invent your own:
- Top-Left: Potential client (I always ask their preference and have the corner point at either their email address or phone number, depending on how they prefer I contact them.)
- Top-Right: They want more info/stats/references from my points
- Bottom-Left: Potential client — Tell agent to call them
- Bottom-Right: “Friend” them on Facebook
If you need more tabs, don’t forget you can fold the corners over backward and you’ve got four more. You can get another four by folding horizontally or vertically, either toward or away from the printed side. I’ve found, though, that four positions is more than sufficient.
Regardless of what they talk to you about, hand them your business card and ask for theirs if you don’t have it yet. You want to put your card in the hands of as many people as possible. It’s just good marketing.
Great news release I received today
Hey Tod,
If this
email
was a
TV
it would
be the
new
Sharp
AQUOS
XS1 -
less than
one inch
thick.
But if
this
email
was the
Sharp
AQUOS
XS1
it would
be the
clearest,
brightest
email
you’ve
ever seen
in Canada.
One
million
to one
dynamic
contrast
ratio,
amazing
colour
depth;
simply
the most
stunning
LCD TV
available.
I’d attach
the news
release,
but that
would
make this
already
long
message
even
longer.
Instead,
here’s
a nice
photo
of the
XS1 in
profile,
to show
you what
we mean.
The Clicks Behind Your Back: Social Networking in the Classroom
Passing notes and cheating on tests have gone high-tech.
And unless you’re armed with the latest information about how your students are using social media, you may find yourself with a lot of catching up to do.
In this provocative and entertaining keynote presentation, Tod Maffin explains how teachers and school administrators can harness the tools of today’s social networking web sites to promote deeper learning.
You’ll hear educational technology thought-leaders via videocam, and discover how the very multimedia technology that surrounds our students daily is slowly and systematically harming their ability to learn. (60-90 min).
Can You Recommend a Retreat Centre?
I want/need to go to a one- to two-week retreat (yoga, meditation, classes, crafts, learning/courses, walk/hike, rest, healthy food, etc) Can anyone recommend any? I don’t mind travelling to get to the right place.


Tod Maffin is exclusively represented by The Lavin Agency, with offices in the United States and Canada.