On February 11, 2009, I'll be the featured speaker at the February dinner meeting of Chicago ASQ Section 1201.

There's still plenty of time to make reservations if you'll be in the area.

Date: Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Time: Social/networking begins at 5:30 pm,
Pre-dinner at 6:00
Location: Wellington Restaurant & Banquets (http://www.wellingtonbanquets.com/)
Arlington Heights, IL (NW suburb of Chicago)

There is no charge to attend the presentation only, but advance registration is required. Chicago Section members who find themselves "between employment" should be aware we have a special free dinner program for them because we believe so strongly in the necessity of providing networking opportunities for our out-of-work members.


The meeting is listed on the Cove calendar
http://elsmar.com/Forums/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=282&day=2009-2-11 (http://elsmar.com/Forums/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=282&day=2009-2-11)



Typically, There is a pre-dinner presentation at 6:00 pm, then dinner is served at 6:30 pm and the main speaker (me) presents immediately following dinner.


I note our Chicago Section website (http://www.asqchicago.org/) has not been updated to take dinner reservations, yet. I will monitor and report as soon as it is updated.


To date, I've only met a few of you. Now's your chance to see whether I'm as good (or bad) as you think I am;););)


There is definitely a beverage service available (regardless if you have dinner!!):cool::cool:

Hey, will that be anywhere near Houston-Hobby?:D

Hey, will that be anywhere near Houston-Hobby?:DJust a few miles north of Houston. Maybe you could make it in an Apache 64 with one fuel stop!;)

The Chicago ASQ site doesn't seem to like Firefox. For example, this page (http://www.asqchicago.org/dinner%20meetings/generalmeetings.htm) looks like this using Firefox 3.0.5:

http://elsmar.com/Forums/picture.php?albumid=45&pictureid=793

But it looks like this in IE 7:

http://elsmar.com/Forums/picture.php?albumid=45&pictureid=794

Yep! Another benefit brought to us ASQ members by the quality-conscious folks at ASQ HQ! Perhaps the FF folks don"t like ASQ?

Yep! Another benefit brought to us ASQ members by the quality-conscious folks at ASQ HQ! Perhaps the FF folks don"t like ASQ?An email exchange with the ASQ Chicago webmaster indicates his thanks for bringing the discrepancy to his attention. He is "investigating" solutions. I'll continue to monitor the situation.

I thought the meeting went well. We had about 120 for dinner and the presentations.

If you were there and I missed buying you a drink, I apologize - the meeting and presentations ran at a fast pace, starting with friendship and job networking at 5:00 pm, continuing until the final gavel at 9:30 pm with very little opportunity for table hopping.

I did stick around for 15-30 minutes to answer questions folks were too shy to ask in public.

I changed a lot of my original presentation (dumping a bunch of PP slides) to more of a motivational speech, since many folks seemed to be in gloom city about the job outlook.

I did my best to tout the Cove to the entire assemblage at least four times during my presentation and to everyone with whom I had a one-on-one conversation before and after my presentation.

Interestingly, we had a staffer from ASQ HQ (name slips my mind) in attendance. Spy?

I really like the idea of a dual program. Do you have any problems finding speakers?

I really like the idea of a dual program. Do you have any problems finding speakers?I belong to two relatively large Sections: Chicago and Northeastern Illinois, which have 3,000+ members between them.

On any given meeting day, we have at least 3 or 4 members present with "vest pocket" presentations available, ready to step up if a scheduled speaker doesn't show. Mostly, we have to sign up six months or more in advance to get a presentation slot.

For smaller as well as larger Sections, everything hinges on having a go-getter Program Chair who makes sure good speakers get scheduled and that the "mechanics" of doing a presentation (A/V, printed handouts, food service halted, waiters stop clearing, etc.) are all taken care of to given a presenter optimum conditions. Often, this means having an emcee who takes the trouble to learn how to pronounce the presenter's name correctly.

Keeping to a tight time table is important. Speakers and presenters often need to be reminded and the reminders enforced to make the meeting pleasant for everyone. Nobody gets incensed if a presentation is shorter than planned, but audiences vote with their feet when they run overtime. I remember being young with kids, babysitters, and early work start times and getting up and walking out on a meeting scheduled to end at 9:30pm which hadn't even introduced the main speaker by 9:45. If I were a speaker in such a position, I might walk out myself and sure as heck couldn't be convinced to come back.

Everything hinges on making the meeting pleasant and fruitful for the audience. No speaker is happy to go in front of an outraged audience. Speakers put in such a position pass the word and other speakers avoid the venue like poison.

Being a small Section is not necessarily a barrier to a good program, but neither can it expect to book a prominent speaker like Zig Ziglar unless he is married to the Program Chair. Small Sections get good results when they plan themes for a series of meetings in advance and then look for folks (especially within their own Section) willing to bone up on the topic and present. A good incentive is the extra recertification units earned for presenting.

ASQ Sections have some guaranteed annual or semiannual themes which almost guarantee good audience attendance:


tips, tricks, and traps for certification tests
organizing recertification units
change management
tips, tricks, and traps for second and third party audits
job hunting when opportunities are limited at present employment

It always helps to keep in mind something Mark Twain used to tell folks trying to book him for a presentation:
"If you want me to speak on a topic for ten minutes, I need two weeks to prepare. If you want me to speak two hours on a topic, I'm ready now!"

The gist being:
a prepared, organized speech takes time to prepare; a rambling, disorganized speech is likely to leave the audience confused and restive, boding ill for both speaker and audience.

The bottom line:
Give a speaker/presenter plenty of lead time to prepare a tight, concise presentation.