[VIDEO] How To Start Your Talk Or Speech

This is a video from my former site for professional speakers, but there are great tips in here for anybody that has to give a speech, talk, or presentation of any type.

Al Duncan – Saint Leo University – MLK Day 2012 Keynote – Testimonials

Testimonials from university staff and students after Al Duncan’s MLK DAY 2012 keynote address at Saint Leo University. “Exceptional Service To Others: The Price Of Greatness”

[VIDEO] Duncan Nugget® #281: Bogeys & Birdies

Economists at the University of Pennsylvania analyzed 2.5 million golf putts. (You know the game, right? If given four strokes to get the ball in the hole, but you do it in 5, that’s a bogey. Not good. You took too many shots. If you do it in 3 strokes, that’s a birdie. Awesome.)

The analysis showed that golfers concentrated and performed better when playing to avoid bogeys versus playing for birdies. Think about that.

It shows that people tend to be more motivated by fear of loss than desire for gain.

It works the same way in life:

“All of my bills are paid. That’s good enough.”

“I passed the test. That’s good enough.”

Not cool.

That’s doing just enough to get by and avoid a loss.

Million-Dollar Question:
In the game of life, are you playing to avoid a bogey (loss) or get a birdie (something exceptional)?

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Think about the last time you challenged yourself. What were you doing? What made it a challenge? What was the outcome and what lessons did you learn? How are you using those lessons now?

2. Do you think that risk-taking is an important part of success? Why or why not?

3. If you had to take a risk on learning something new that could be embarrassing if you mess it up, how would you handle the situation? Has something like happend to you before? What did you do about it?

4. Do you think it’s better to take an easy class and get an “A” or take a challenging class where you might get a “C”? Explain how you came to this decision.

5. If you were 100% guaranteed to succeed, what is one thing you would challenge yourself to do? What would it take to be successful at this challenge? What are 3 things you can do to begin to build the skills and acquire the necessary resources to get it done?

[VIDEO] Duncan Nugget® #179: Old Excuses

New year.

Old excuses.

Man…it seems like some people are just destined to be LAME.

Million-Dollar Question:[break]Are you still making the same old excuses[break]in a new year?

STOP The Bullying Assembly – Crawford Long Middle School

Atlanta, GA – On December 7, 2011 the 600 students at Crawford Long Middle attended a STOP The Bullying Assembly. The assembly was planned and sponsored by the Power Over Prejudice Ambassadors in partnership with the National Junior BETA Club, Successful Motivated Articulate Responsible Tenacious Scholars (S.M.A.R.T.S.), and the Anti-Defamation League.

In addition to special performances by the CWL middle school band  and the school cheerleaders, Ms. Tahjae Hermans and the Student Advisory Group performed an Anti-Bullying Rap. The keynote speaker for the event was international youth empowerment and soft skills expert, Al Duncan. Using Duncan Nuggets®—short success principles and action steps—he stressed the importance of valuing yourself and others. Duncan exclaimed to the students, “Duncan Nugget #317 is: People are priceless!”  The event ended with the entire student body reciting the school’s Anti-Bullying Pledge.

[VIDEO] Duncan Nugget® #149: The Aspects Of What You Expect To Accomplish

Recently, a friend of mine gave up on his business.

“Al, I wasn’t prepared for the financial aspect of running a business.”

He’s not alone. Many people fail to reach their goals because they lack understanding about aspects of what they are trying to accomplish.

Plenty of great musicians have been taken advantage of because they didn’t understand the business aspect of the industry. There are leaders who expect to be successful, but become demotivated because they weren’t prepared for challenging aspects of leadership.

Regardless of what you expect, ask yourself questions like: What do I have to sacrifice? Time? Money? What problems could arise? What additional knowledge and resources do I need?

Answers to those types of questions will help you to master the aspects of what you expect to accomplish.

Million-Dollar Question:
How well are you prepared for the various aspects of what you expect to accomplish?

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ACTION STEPS AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

[VIDEO] Duncan Nugget® #190: Fire Hazards And Flammable Material

People spend way too much time putting out fires in their lives. I’m talking about preventable, avoidable problems that end up becoming a raging inferno of destruction in your life.

It makes no sense.

If you want to spend less time putting out fires then get rid of the fire hazards and flammable material in your life.

If all of your friends are idiots…duh! That’s a serious fire hazard.

Spending money you don’t have, procrastination, and other bad habits like those are flammable materials. They can cause your dreams and opportunities to go up in smoke.

If you spend a little more time getting rid of the fire hazards in your life and keeping flammable material away from your goals and aspirations, you’ll spend less time putting out fires.

Million-Dollar Question:
How soon are you going to remove the fire hazards and flammable materials in your life?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What are the top 3-5 little problems that become big problems because people don’t take care of them right away?

2. What steps do YOU take (or should you take) to prevent little issues and bad habits from becoming major problems in your life?

3. What you do when a person is the problem in your life? What would you suggest to a friend who was trying to keep “people” problems from messing up his or her life?