Entries Tagged 'Education Specialists' ↓

When eBay sent me out on my first eBay University in Lincoln, Nebraska, I was a bit nervous and unsure about my role as an instructor. I listened to Marsha Collier and Christopher Spencer the first time out and I noticed how much the audience enjoyed their personal stories. They really tuned in when the instructors talked about their own real experiences and used them in their teaching. We all have unique experiences we can share with our classes. Some smart moves we've made, some not so smart, but still very valuable when teaching your students. Stories reach people's hearts, they help them remember points you make. Even the stories about how we've made mistakes, come on now you have a few of them too. I know I do. For example:

I once bought 1600 Lance Armstrong posters (two pallets) at a pretty good price. I did my research, and they were selling nicely. I sold a lot of those posters, but really 1600? Even if I sold two a day EVERY day it would take over four years to sell them all. I finally sold them as lots and broke even on the deal. Still, not the smartest thing I've done, but a good story when discussing which products to choose to sell and how much inventory to purchase. (Thank goodness my neighbor had a nice dry barn for me to store them in since they wouldn't all fit in my house.)

"But I'm Not a Storyteller"

Yes you are. An eBay seller has to be one of the best storytellers ever. We can entice a stranger to send us money by using only 55 characters in our listing title. We can also start a virtual firestorm of emotion in 88 characters with our feedback comments. We can tell stories. As an Education Specialist teaching a class, you can use your personal experience to really make a point. People remember stories better than facts & figures, it's just the way our minds work. So use stories and illustrations to make a main point stand out.

For example, when I'm discussing how important the 55 character title is, I use an example of the 200 NASCAR coat racks I bought for resale. I sold them for months using "NASCAR Coat Rack" in the title. Then sales slowed a lot. I got to thinking, "who would want a NASCAR coat rack?" Someone with a NASCAR coat! Obviously. So I did a search for NASCAR coat and guess what, none appeared. So, (I thought) "if I want a Dale Earnhardt coat what do I search for?" "NASCAR jacket". So I now began selling "NASCAR Jacket Racks" and sales took off once again. In fact better than before. Changing one word in the title made all the difference. The story is more interesting than just telling them what the book says to tell them.

One caution though. Do not make your presentation all about you. You will come across as a bit conceited and your class will get tired of hearing you. You should only "pepper" your presentation with appropriate experiences.

For example, if you have a class who obviously understands how to write an eBay item description, cover the material and move on. But if that class has a problem understanding aspects of photography, use an appropriate story or illustration to make your point. If you're teaching them about having a good background in their photograph, you can instantly make your point with the eBay Teapot Story, which is now an internet legend (albeit a true one).

You should think of your experiences and stories as songs in your repertoire and use them when appropriate. They are powerful tools. They are uniquely yours. And you'll be able to speak with feeling about them to effectively teach your students.

[tags]ebay, education specialist, ebay class, stories that teach, ebay classes[/tags]

Popularity: 3% [?]

Last fall I had the opportunity to teach at the CAN (California Association of Nonprofits) Conference in Los Angeles. The attendees were all interested in new ways of fund raising for their organizations. In fact, in a survey of those who attended fund raising is the topic most on their minds.

If you are an Education Specialist, consider speaking with the non profit organizations in your local area. They receive donatoned items (some good, some not so good) which they have to dispose of in some way. As you can imagine, eBay can really help.

Since nonprofits are trying hard to keep as much of the donation as possible, they cannot often afford to hire eBay Trading Assistants to sell the items they've received. Some TA's charge upwards of 30%, so it would be much better for the nonprofit to have an in-house person handle the eBay auctions. If you can teach them how to handle the items, and steer clear of auction-management companies that would take a large chunk of their proceeds, you are genuinely helping these organizations.
eBay's Giving Works program has been a tremendous force for good in allowing nonprofits to move donated items, as well as allowing generous members of the eBay community to donate to the charity of their choice. eBay has chosen MissionFish as their partner in handling charity auctions. If you're going to teach locally about this, you'll want to make yourself very familiar with the process for:

1. Registering with eBay
2. Registering with MissionFish
3. Fees for charity auctions and how eBay handles them.

These organizations are not always able to pay as much as for-profit businesses. You may have to create a special rate for them and even work out some form of trade. Many of their sites get pretty good traffic and you may ask if they'll include a link to your site on their website. You may also be able to teach a class for your regular rate, invoice them, and then "donate" the class as a tax deduction. (Check with your tax person before doing this though - I'm no tax expert, and laws vary from state to state of course.)

In any case, you'll enjoy working with these interesting organizations that are in place to help others.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The latest news from PowerU, the folks that handle eBay's Education Specialist program is a bright shiny new Store Page for registered instructors.

Improvements include:

• True Cost FedEx Shipping Rates
• Quicker Processing of all Student Manual and Add-On Curriculum items
• Streamlined Program Renewals
• Order History for recordkeeping and reference

Changes Instructors will see include:

• The Store page will direct you to three distinct locations:
• CafePress: eBay Education Specialist items such as mugs, calendars, hats, shirts, etc.
• PowerU Store Items: Continued access to polo-shirts, t-shirts, lapel pins, and more.
• Training Materials: This is where you can order your Instructor Manuals, CDs, and Student Manuals.
• Instructors will take on more of the responsibility in shipping prior to submitting orders. This will however free up PowerU staff and make order processing more timely.
• Instructors will be required to have a current training event in the PowerU system to download or purchase Instructor Manuals and PowerPoint presentations.

This new addition should make the experience of ordering products through the Education Specialist site easier and quicker.

Popularity: 3% [?]

eBay University, Miami, FL 2004 - The scene: With over 350 people in the room, I've lost control. People are yelling at each other. It took several mojitos that evening to recover.

Whether you have many or a few in your room, you must maintain control of the room for the sake of those who really want to learn. It's your responsibility as the speaker. How can you do this without being a jerk to your students?

First, before the students even arrive you'll want to make sure everything is in place for the presentation.

• Temperature should be comfortable
• Seating ready
• Computer on and connected to the internet
• Presentation loaded

Once people are in place, begin with some housekeeping. Even if it's a small group. Tell them what you expect.

• Cell phones on vibrate, and talking done outside the room
• Kindly ask that talking between students be done outside
• Hold questions till appropriate times.

During your class if you have interruptions by any of the above, the way you handle the first one or two will determine how your audience will behave going forward. If you let one person interrupt you, they will assume that they may all do that. If you let one person talk on their cellphone, they will assume they all may do that. And you'll lose control and need a mojito before you can go on.

The reason the Miami crowd got all surly with each other was people were interrupting over and over with their personal questions. It broke up the presentation and made it hard to follow. In many cases the questions would have been answered had the questioners waited. If I had tactfully handled this situation right at the outset it would have quieted the questioners and kept the other class members happier. (And would have lowered my alcohol bill for the evening.)

Most of your classes may be much smaller, but the principles still apply. Your first responsibility is to the group, to teach them the class. Secondly, the individual students have questions and you should try as hard as you can to answer them. I offer free support to my students via email after the class. I have never been sorry for this, and it's a great service to the students.

If you get a question and you don't know the answer, admit it. Don't fake it because you may actually lead someone the wrong way. Besides that, there could be a silent Powerseller sitting in the audience who'll blurt out "That's wrong!" which is highly embarrassing and will cause you to lose credibility.

If you have experienced any situations that you'd like to relate, please feel free using the comments link below.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Your voice is your main tool if you're a public speaker, take care of it. Most of us will be speaking for several hours at a time. If you don't learn to protect your voice you will really be miserable as you speak, and may well lose your audience.  You can prepare ahead by having one or two bottles of water handy before you begin.
Relaxing is very important to breathing properly. Breath control is vital to properly use your voice and make it last for hours. Especially if you are not using sound equipment your voice is at risk.
As you speak make sure you are standing with good posture, relax your throat muscles, breath deeply - especially at the beginning of the session. Then like a singer, speak from down in your belly - not your throat. You want to learn to use your diaphragm to push the air out. This will help you project very well, and it puts much less of a strain on your voice.

When you are addressing the class be careful not to turn away from them while talking. This causes your voice to drop and many will not hear what you say. This is irritating to the class and they'll likely let you know. Face them when you speak as much as possible. Find a few with friendly faces throughout the class and speak directly to them.

In my next post I'll deal with the subject of controlling your audience. Your suggestions and comments are always welcome.

Popularity: 4% [?]

After speaking in front of crowds for many years, I've learned a few techniques to help my fellow presenters which I thought I'd share.

I've taught classes numbering 7 to 700. These have taken place in a variety of rooms with and without sound equipment. When you're using your voice for four to six hours, standing in front of an audience, trying to keep their attention, the way you handle yourself will go a long way toward good evaluations and repeat engagements.

First of all, an average room will likely be a few dozen people. In a classroom setting you will usually not have a microphone, so I'll cover that specific topic later in this category. Lets talk about how you can relax when speaking in front of others.
In a survey some years ago people were asked what they feared most. Number two was death. Number one - speaking in front of others. People would rather die than speak in front of an audience!

Humor can help break the ice and get you and your audience to relax. Be careful though, if you have a canned joke and it bombs you may be more nervous than before.

Outside of a little initial humor, the best relaxation technique I've found is preparation. Knowing your presentation well is a key in being comfortable. You need to know the presentation forward and backward. When you do, you'll know what's coming next and your presentation will flow nicely. Having the logical points in mind will help you not wander around but keep your audience focused on a logical progression of points. For example, in teaching eBay it's logical to start with registering > setting up a Seller's Account > researching an item > choosing a category > etc. It will help you relax if you have these things in mind.

I have found that it is very helpful to meet a number of the attendees and talk with them before the class. This helps in two ways. First, you have a handful of people with whom you're comfortable and can directly address. Also, you can get the 'temperature' of the room by finding out their experience, interests, and perhaps some questions early on. I have been put in front of a large class without doing this, and it can be intimidating. If that happens, you should warm up by chatting a little and finding out why some of them are attending. Do they want to sell things they currently have in their homes? Are they looking to buy items to resell? All this will help them and you be more relaxed.

In my next post I'll deal with the subject of keeping your voice. Your suggestions and comments are always welcome.

Popularity: 3% [?]