Thoroughly enjoyed delivering the luncheon keynote for the Ignite Clean Energy Summitt in Boston for the MIT Center for Enterprise.

Based on feedback from the group, they found the following tips particularly helpful in POPing the pitches they were to present to venture capitalists the following day.

POP! Your Pitch Tip #1: Say something in the first 30 seconds that gets peoples’ eyebrows up, or they’ll go back to their Blackberries.

POP! Your Pitch Tip #2. The purpose of a venture capital pitch is NOT to get funding; it’s to get a follow-up meeting.

POP! Your Pitch Tip #3. Turn audience members into word-of-mouth advertisers by crafting your USP into a rhythmic catchphrase people can repeat, word for word.

POP! Your Ptich Tip #4. Insert a one-minute story about how you originated your idea so decision-makers connect with you on a personal (right-brained) as well as professional (left-brained) level.

POP! Your Pitch Tip #5. Your confidence is indicated by the volume of your voice. If people can’t hear you, they conclude you don’t have the confidence or clout to carry off your venture.

POP! Your Pitch Tip #6. Your business name is a deal-maker or deal-breaker. Do people “get” your business name the first time they hear it? If they don’t understand it, they can’t relate to it and they won’t want it.

POP! Your Pitch Tip #7. PROPS! When you hold up a sample of your product, people SEE what you’re SAYING which makes it infinitely more compelling.

POP! Your Pitch Tip #8. Tower, don’t cower. Leadership potential is measured by posture. A fig-leaf position means you have something to hide. Hunched shoulders and a tucked-down head are signs of tentativeness. Adopt an athletic stance (feet shoulder-width apart), lift your chin and make steady eye contact with everyone in the room at least once to command respect.

POP! Your Pitch Tip #9. The two most powerful words in a pitch? “For example.” Back up each claim with a real-life example of a satisfied client or successful project so investors know you’ve delivered results before and can be trusted to do so again.

POP! Your Pitch Tip #10. Don’t just ask for the sale – plant a specific action seed by telling them where to find you immediately afterwards. For example, “I’m Chris, in the green jacket, with CleanerGreenerNow. I’ll be over there (point) in the back corner at the next break. I welcome your questions and would be glad to provide specific details on how we’re going to scale this in the next 12 months.”

Our opening keynoter at last year’s Hawaii Writers Conference was the incomparable Bryce Courtenay. Amazon had just notified him that his life-changing novel The Power of One has been their 5th biggest-selling book for years . . . just after To Kill a Mockingbird. Go Bryce!

Bryce rocked us in our seats with his oh-so-true observation that “Writing is a perishable skill.” Are you waiting for the “write” time to finish your book? What if those perfect circumstances never come?

If you have a story to tell and a message to share, join us Labor Day weekend at the historical Royal Hawaiian Hotel (yes, the famous Pink Palace) on the beach in Waikiki for our 17th annual www.HawaiiWritersConference.com

We have an incredible line-up for this year’s event. It starts off with a week long intensive retreat (August 28 – Sept. 3) in which you have the luxury of immersing yourself in your project while working in a supportive small group with an instructor dedicated to helping you move your manuscript forward.

The impressive instructors include such notables as Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Powers (Flags of our Fathers, Mark Twain) and first-Oprah-pick Jacquelyn Mitchard (Deep End of the Ocean). And yes, I’m heading up the Business/Self Help section and looking forward, once again, to helping participants in my group crystallize a commercially-viable project that gets interest from agents and editors.

The conference itself (Sept. 4–7) begins with a gala starring songstress Norah Jones. I’ll be Emceeing (for the 17th year) and am excited about our great keynoters including:

* Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie)

* Jospeh Finder (The Moscow Club, High Crimes)

* Alice Hoffman (Here on Earth, The Story Girls)

* Kristin Hannah (Firefly Lane, True Colors)

* Michael Arndt (Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay – Little Miss Sunshine)

* Bobby Moresco (Co-producer for Oscar winners Million Dollar Baby and Crash)

* Diane Ossana (Golden Globe for Best Drama – Brokeback Mountain)

Are you in the market for an agent, publisher or producer? Jump the chain of command and take advantage of this rare opportunity to meet face-to-face with publishing and Hollywood insiders who have the power to give you a contract. MWC (renamed Hawaii Writers Conference since we’ve relocated to Waikiki) originated the concept of giving authors and screenwriters the chance to pitch their projects directly to decision-makers.

Save yourself time, money, frustration and the SLUSH PILE by connecting directly with such powerful agents (Jilian Manus) and editors as Neil Nyren of Putnam (represents Tom Clancy, Patricia Cornwell, Ken Follett, Clive Cussler) and Georgia Hughes of New World Library (Ekhart Tolle’s The Power of Now).

If you have always wanted to get published or produced,THIS is your opportunity to stop wishing and start acting. Fast-forward your cookbook, childrens’ book, business or self help book, memoir, screenplay or novel’s success by putting yourself in the place where luck is most likely to happen. Hope to see you in Hawaii for this chicken-skin (Hawaiian for goose-bumps) experience.

“Instant gratification takes too long.” – Carrie Fischer

Thanks to Twitter, a whole generation of people now think and communicate in 140 character sound-bites.

What’s that mean for us? If we don’t learn to say a lot in a little, fast, we are taking ourselves out of the game.

Every single time we communicate, whether in a staff meeting, blog post or conversation with a 20-something, we need to, as bestselling author Elmore Leonard says, “leave out the parts people skip.”

One way to do this is to put our mind in gear before we put our mouth in motion. Before “mouthing off” with what’s top of mind, we can ask ourselves, “Is this interesting? Does this add value to what’s already been said? Does it introduce something new?”

If not, maybe it’s better left unsaid.

Enough said.

Sam Horn 'lady in the black hat'

Elizabeth titled the article Author Profits with Perfect Pitch and started off with “Sam Horn is an expert at getting noticed, professionally and personally. The author, speaker and consultant, whose latest book is about naming and pitching products, always wears a black hat, so people can easily spot her at crowded conventions.”

Elizabeth’s right. People at conferences often come up to me and say, “There you are! I’m writing a book and so-and-so told me I had to talk to the ‘lady in the black hat.’”

Since the point of POP! is to stand out in your crowd (vs. get lost in your crowd), it’s nice to know I’m practicing what I’m preaching.

Elizabeth went on to chronicle the inspiration for POP! which resulted from watching authors’ inability to compellingly pitch their projects to publishing decision-makers at the Maui Writers Conference.

“The agents’ and editors’ eyes would glaze over and they would talk themselves out of a deal,” Sam recalls. “She decided she could create a stystem for coming up with a pitch, title and tag line without ’spending a lot of money, having an MBA or sitting around and hoping creative lightnig will strike.”

The article ends with my heartfelt sentiments about my work, “I feel incredibly fortunate. Every day, I get to work with people who thrill me and help them crystallize what they have to offer.”

Thanks Elizabeth for capturing how fortunate I feel to help people get their quality book out of their head and into the world so it can make a positive difference for others and a prosperous living for them.

I’m heading to Book Expo in New York to celebrate 5 clients who have books coming out this month from major publishers and to pitch several projects-in-progress.

visit www.SamHorn.com for my June newsletter which will showcase those books, and check back for my next blog post where I’ll share best-practice tips from my Ask an Expert presentation for IBPA’s Publishing University on Tuesday.

Edie Fraser, author of Do Your Giving While You are Living

Just think. 90 years ago, women in the U.S. did not have the right to vote.

Thanks to the efforts of Alice Paul and other dedicated members of the Women’s National Party who fought long and hard for the passage of the 19th Amendment, we now have that right.

On Tuesday evening, May 19th, 500 women leaders stood in the home of the WNP – the historical Sewall-Belmont House on Capitol Hill right next to the Senate Office Building — and celebrated Women and Giving.

Honorees that evening included Edie Fraser, serial entrepreneur who founded the Business Womens Network and Diversity Best Practices, and six female political leaders including Senator Mary Landrieu from Louisiana, Kay Hagan from North Carolina, Debbie Stabenow from Michigan, Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota, Maria Cantwell from Washington and Congressman Carolyn Maloney who chairs the powerful Joint Economic Committee.

Dozens of women executives from such organizations as WALL*MART, United Nations Foundation, KidSave, CARE, Center for Citizen Diplomacy and AARP Foundation supported the event which was a Who’s Who of philantrophists and advocates for women leadership.

I get “chicken skin” (Hawaii for goose bumps) thinking that at the exact same spot where women planned, strategized and ultimately realized our right to be treated equally, (be sure to watch the video Iron-Jawed Angels with Hilary Swank to appreciate what our fore-mothers did on our behalf) . . . . hundreds of women gathered who run billion dollar organizations, manage thousands of employees and who oversee global projects having a positive impact around the world.

A special treat that night was when two bright, talented Girl Scouts from the Washington DC area spoke of the impact their participation in Gril Scouts had on their ability to think big, dream big and give big.

I had the pleasure and privilege of Emceeing this memorable event and wrapped up the ceremonies with The Triple T.

I asked everyone to get out their cell phones, iPhones, Blackberries and digital camers and to T – text a women who had given support to let her know she’s appreicated for doing her giving while she’s living; to T – twitter about the inspiring event they were experiencing; and T – take a photo with a new friend they just connected with.

There were 500 women in the Sewall-Belmont garden — yet 5 minutes later, 5000 people knew aobut this extraordinary event because of the Triple T. What’s even better is that 5 days later, 500,000 people will know about the importance of Doing Your Giving While You are Living – thanks to the posts, photos and shout-outs on blogs, websites and social media pages.

I can only imagine that Alice Paul and her “sisters” are smiling somewhere — knowing their efforts paid off and their dreams of women giving at the level of which they’re capable are being fulfilled.

Knowing many of you care about the written word and the writing world, I wanted to bring an article to your attention entitled “Finding the Right Words To Remember Him” by Sally Jenkins in today’s Washington Post.

Jenkins fondly shares her memories of Edwin “Bud” Shrake, known for his work in Sports Illustrated and “Harvey Penicks’ Little Red Book,” the best-selling sports book of all time.

Jenkins says Bud followed the writing advice of Rudyard Kpling, who insisted that “to write means to be patiently ruled by the subconscious: ‘You wait, you listen, you obey.’”

She honors him with her description that he “didn’t write pretty, he wrote true Sort of the same way his friend Willie Nelson would transform country music and the way people sang.”

Take a moment to check it out. It’s an eloquent piece including Jenkins’ fond farewell to Shrake’s and her belief that his epitaph ought to be, “He did everything he wanted to, and nothing he didn’t.”

The goal of this blog is to feature what’s POP!d out recently in the hopes you can use these insights to get your ideas, business, products and services noticed, remembered and monetized.

Well, humbly submitted, what POP!d out recently is something I did at a conference that has reaped huge rewards.

I love Emceeing. I’ve had the privilege of Emceeing the Maui Writers Conference (regarded by many in the publishing industry as the finest in the world – www.HawaiiWritersConference.com) for 16 years. Every year, my priority is to create a community in the first few minutes so attendees feel welcomed, connected and confident this is a good investment of their valuable time and money.

I took this to a new level at the Invent Your Future Conference in CA.

Several participants approached me to say they thought the conference was one of the best they’d ever attended, and they were sad more of their co-workers couldn’t attend due to budget cuts. After hearing this several times, I wondered what I could do about it.

If you read the newspapers, you know that many conferences are being cancelled or downsized because of the tough economy. Corporations that used to send large contingents of employees to professional meetings are having to cut back.

After mulling it over, I thought of a way to “scale” the conference and extend its influence to people who weren’t able to attend.

I only had a few minutes so I needed to make this quick. I walked out to the center of the stage (no lectern for me) and addressed the group.

“I’m going to ask you to do something NO conference has ever done.

In fact, every conference has asked you NOT to do this.

Please take out your cell phones, iPhones, Blackberries and digital cameras . . . (dramatic pause and imaginary drum roll) . . . and turn them ON.

Now, I’m going to ask you to do The Triple T.

What’s the Triple T, you ask? It stands for Text, Twitter and Take a Photo

TEXT: Please text a friend or co-worker and tell them about an idea from this morning’s session you found particularly interesting. Tell them about an insight you’d like to share at next week’s staff meeting or about a recommendation you’d like to discuss next time you get together.

TWITTER: Twitter your followers and let them know you’re at this conference enjoying the wit and wisdom of MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, NPR’s Cokie Roberts and Bertice Berry.

TAKE a PHOTO. Get together with someone you’ve connected with and ask a table-mate to take your picture. Swap business cards and schedule a follow-up call to share progress reports. If your organization (like Northrup Gruman, Genentech, or NBC) sponsored a group of students, take a picture with the students and swap emails so everyone can post that photo on their Facebook wall, LinkedIn page or company website.

Okay everybody. You’ve got 5 minutes to DO THE TRIPLE T.”

You should have seen what happened. A room full of people happily texting, Twittering, taking photos, swapping cards and having a great time.

When I called everyone back to their seats (no easy feat), I explained the purpose of what we’d just done.

“There are 500 people in this room. However, in the 5 minutes you texted, Twittered and Took photos with your colleagues and new friends, there are now 5000 people who know about this conference.

When you go back to your homes and offices and blog about this, write an article for your company newsletter or respond to comments about this on your social networks, there will be at least 50,000 or 500,000 people who know what happened here.

You are SCALING and PERPETUATING the influence of this conference. People who didn’t have a chance to be here in person are now benefitting from the MoveHERS and ShakeHERS you just heard. Your epiphanies will not be ‘out of sight, out of mind’ as soon as you walk out these doors; they will live on in the photos, articles and blog posts you share with the world.

And in sharing the wealth of the lessons learned here, you are recognizing and rewarding your organization for investing in your professional development. This makes it a win for you, your company and for this conference and its speakers and sponsors.

All that in 5 minutes.”

Are you chairing a public meeting, professional conference or networking function? Why not scale its influence by doing The Triple T ?

If you do, thanks for giving me – Sam Horn, the Triple T Emcee – credit for originating the idea. Here’s hoping The Triple T maximizes your event’s impact by taking it viral and giving it online “legs.”

As I promised in my ezine to my mailing list, I’m sharing some personal impressions and take-aways from the PINK luncheon honoring Edie Fraser and Jack and Suzy Welch.

One of the most profound “keepers” comes from the last chapter of Suzy’s 10-10-10 book in which she shares a story about attending a gala New Year’s event.

What was amazing was that instead of reveling in the champagne and exquisitely decorated surroundings, their table conversation revolved around the question, “Do you know a dozen people who are really happy?”

Everyone put their heads together and threw out names for consideration, but most were quickly dismissed with “bitter,” “hates his wife,” “living the picture,” “too intense” or something that took them out of the running.

Jack and Suzy finally pronounced THEY were happy and went off to dance.

What about you? Can you come up with a dozen certifiably contented people? They don’t have to be successful by society’s standards; they just need to be, as Suzy says, at peace with themselves.

Are you? Why or why not?

If you want to have a really interesting conversation, throw this question out for discussion next time you get together with friends. Ask your group to come up with 12 people who are genuinely happy – people who are living life on their terms and at peace with themselves and others.

Please report back! I’m eager to hear your results and insights.

I’ll share mine following the May 19th event at the Sewall-Belmont House where I’ll be asking a LOT of people this question, “Are you really happy? Do you know anyone who is? Discuss!”

After meeting Jack and Suzy Welch at the PINK luncheon in Atlanta and hearing them speak, I know why their co-authored book Winning and her new book 10-10-10 are POPing off the shelves.

He is a focused, powerful speaker who doesn’t pull punches. When asked if it was true many corporations are cutting back on their giving in these tough economic times, Jack said, “That’s why the #1 goal of any company should be to WIN. Because if you win, you have the resources to continue on giving. If you’re in a spot, change it!”

Suzy modeled why 10-10-10 has become an instant bestseller. She obviously agrees with Muriel Rukeyser who says, “The world is not made up of atoms, it’s made up of stories.”

Suzy showscased each point with a real-life example, re-creating each scene with back-and-forth dialogue so we felt we were “there” as the story unfolded.

For example, she told about the epiphany that resulted in the creation of 10-10-10 (a 3-step process for getting clarity in the midst of confusion so we can make sound decisions when we’re pulled in a dozen different directions.)

That’s Suzy’s story, but suffice it to say, it involves a business trip to Hawaii that included taking 2 of her 4 children. Trying to be all things to all people, she signed them up for hula lessons so they’d be occupied while she delivered her presentation. Lo and behold, Suzy looks away from her Power-Point only to see her kids’ faces glued up against the glass doors, screaming, “Mommy, Mommy.”

Yikes. What to do? Well, that’s where the 10-10-10 process comes in. Check out Suzy’s book for the rest of that story (pages 4-7) and to apply her valuable process to a dilemma you’re facing.

As to the photo with this blog post, that’s Suzy Welch (former Editor of Harvard Business Review) on the left, Betty Siegel (25 year President of Kennesaw State University) Paige Hall (CEO of About Face, the turn-around specialists), Jack Welch (former CEO of GE), Marilynn Mobley (Strategic Counsel for Edelman), Sam Horn, and Kimberly Douglas (a client who was celebrating the launch of her book The Firefly Effect that day).

How could I write a blog about what POP’d out this week without discussing the phenomenon that is Susan Boyle?

Perhaps you’re one of the 85.2 million (!) people who have viewed her YouTube clip of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables that received a rousing standing ovation from the just-moments-before jaded judges and audience on the Britain’s Got Talent TV show.

Susan, a 47 year old “unglamorous” woman who lives with her cat in a tiny town in Scotland, doesn’t own a computer, has never been kissed, and had never heard of YouTube. Now, one week after her audition went viral, she has 1 million “friends” on Facebook, her own Wikipedia article, and is the Web’s hottest entertainer.

Why? What has contributed to this “perfect storm” of instant global fame?

Henry Jenkins, co-director of MIT’s Comparative Media Studies program, attributes it to something he calls “spreadability” in which online consumers find and then voluntarily forward a favorite clip to their social network.

Lynn Johnson, a Salt Lake City psychologist says it’s because we “want to believe in something higher.” When we discover it, we achieve an emotional state called “elevation,” a warm, glowing feeling that comes over us when something transcends our expectations.

A Washington Post article by Jose Antonio Vargas mentioned that many people “were drawn by the one-act-play quality of the video, with a beginning, middle and end complete with a heroine (Boyle) and a villain (the snarky Simon Cowel).”

Anne Jolley, a self-confessed frumpy 47 year old interviewed by USA Today reporter Maria Puente, confesses to being “disheartened, disenfranchised, disillusioned and dis-just-about-everything-else in these bleak times.” She said Boyle’s performance lifted her spirits and gave her “reason for hope in the world and proof that dreams can come true.”

I agree with all the above.

What’s this mean for you? If you’re a speaker, musician, author, politican or leader . . . it means that to the degree you:

* transcend people’s expectations,
* give disenheartened people reason for hope
* elevate people’s spirits

is to the degree they voluntarily spread YOUR message and take your cause, campaign, creation or company viral because they become your enthusiastic word-of-mouth advertisers.