The word seminar has a negative connotation. Several industries (sales, real estate, time-shares, and multi-level marketing to name a few) loosely use the term to describe their gatherings. The majority of these "seminars" turn out to be nothing more than high pressure sales pitches.
Every "seminar" that I've been to has been 3 hours of smoke, mirrors, deception, and false promises to turn at least one aspect of my life into nirvana.
Every "seminar" that I've been to has ended right when the high pressure sales pitch starts. Apparently, I'm not smart enough to recognize the steal of a lifetime when it presents itself.
When you've been to enough of these you begin to hate the word seminar. Let me share something with you...these presentations are NOT seminars.
A seminar is a form of instruction. Seminars bring together groups of people to pass on information about an area of expertise. In any seminar there is a leader or instruction who engages in dialogue with the students. At the end of a seminar you are given the option to purchase further learning materials. Real seminars don't end in a professional manner. Professionals tend to leave the guns and threats at home.
Now that you know what a real seminar feels like, lets discuss 2 Reasons You Need to Attend a Public Speaking Seminar.
1. Compact
Seminar lengths range from one fourth of a day (on the low end) to 3 days (on the high end). Seminar leaders pack years of knowledge, skill, and experience into each session.
It takes 4 years to get a bachelor's degree that you probably won't even use. It takes 1 day to sit in a half day seminar, soak in the information, and begin using it in your day to day activities.
2. Cheap with an Incredible Return on Investment
Let's look at the average cost of non essential purchases:
Now let's do a calculation. For simplicity's sake we will only apply the car payment once. If we sum $500, $300, $50, $400, $1500, and $1000. That's $3,750 flushed down the toilet. You will never experience a return on investment from this money.
Top flight seminars on topics ranging investing in foreign markets to public speaking typically from $300 to $450. $450 is 12% of $3,750.
Normally, a person would look at the cost of attending a seminar and gasp. $450 seems like a quite a chunk of change when you are not used to investing in yourself. Look at the list of items we discussed earlier.
If you invest in a public speaking seminar you will learn a skill that 98% of the population doesn't possess. You can then turn around and use your knowledge to buy 10 HDTVs.
Conclusion
My aim for this article was two fold. I wanted to clearly define what a seminar is. The word is abused. As a result of that abuse people are defensive when they hear it. Hopefully, I've put a stop to that.
My 2nd objective was to explain why seminars are useful tools for learning. I was in public school for 12 years and college for 4 years. Very valuable information was passed to me during those years.
I've conducted a 3 hour seminar that literally changed my clients outlook on life. I'm not trying to devalue formal education. I'm just stating the facts.
I also sought to clearly illustrate the low costs of participating in a seminar. That mission has been accomplished.
The next time you want to learn something don't be apprehensive. Find a seminar and attend it. Trust me, it's well worth your time and money.
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