“I do not object to people looking at their watches when I am speaking. But I strongly object when they start shaking them to make sure they are still going!” –Lord Birkett

OK. You have been working in the company for a few years now and, through hard work and enthusiasm, have risen up the ranks to a responsible middle-management position. You know your job backwards and are confident that you could rise to any challenge.

One day your Chief Executive asks to see you. You know you have kept your nose clean of late so this can only be good news. No doubt he has a job that needs doing and has looked no further than you. A good choice!

He sits you down and, after a little polite chat, he says:

“As you know, our company is looking to develop its services into other sectors and an opportunity has arisen to raise our profile at a national conference. If we can make our name there it could be the best thing that has happened to us in years. I need someone that I can trust to pull this off and I have been keeping an eye on you for some time. I would like you to make a presentation about our company at the conference.”

What would your reaction be? Perhaps:

* I have never spoken in public before
* Everybody will be looking at me!
* I am sure that I will forget what I have to say!
* I may get asked a difficult question!
* What happens if I screw up!

But it does not have to be so frightening. In fact, it can be immensely stimulating and rewarding. There is no other feeling like standing on a platform in front of people, with them hanging on your every word. You can see by their rapt attention that you have them in the palm of your hand. And afterwards they come up to you and say how much they have enjoyed your presentation.

You don’t believe me! Well, read on and believe how even you could PRESENT LIKE A PRO by applying my Ten Ways to WOW Your Audience

Step 1 - Understand Your Audience

“Some speakers electrify their listeners, others only gas them”
Sidney Smith

The first lesson you must learn is that your presentation must be geared towards your audience’s needs, not yours.

Your audience will respond to your approach, based broadly upon their:

- educational background
- culture
- existing knowledge of the subject
- technical expertise
- position within the organisation
- enthusiasm for the subject and event
- expectation of the experience

Ask yourself the following questions:

• How much does my audience already know about the subject?
• What do they expect from me?
• What interests them in the subject area of my presentation?
• What is their likely attitude towards me and my subject?
• Are there any ‘hidden agendas’?
• Is there any internal politics or inter-group tensions I should be aware of?
• What ‘language’ do they speak?
• Do they want to be at the event? Were they pressed to attend?
• What is the age range?
• What is their educational and social background?
• What is their cultural or ethnic background?
• Could religion and/or politics influence their reception to my presentation?
• What positions do they hold in the organisation? Is there a mix of grades present?
• What presentation style are they most likely to relate to?

Step 2 - Set Your Objectives

“Men never plan to be failures; they simply fail to plan to be successful”
William A Ward

The key to planning a powerful presentation is to determine its objectives. Again, these should be largely formed with the audience in mind. For example, they may be to:

* pass on pure information: the results of some recent market research, perhaps

* improve the work performance of members of the audience by imparting new skills or knowledge to them

* change the attitude of the audience towards factors that they have recently faced, or will be facing in the future

* persuade key decision-makers to use a product or service your organisation offers

* introduce new working policies or procedures

* entertain and amuse

Step 3 - Structure Your Presentation

“A speech should be like a lady’s dress: long enough to cover the essentials, but short enough to be interesting”
Anon

Have you ever heard anyone complaining that a presentation was too short? No? I bet that you have heard the opposite, though! Your presentation should be structured into three distinct sections:

The opening (5% - 10% of total time) has three main functions:

1. To attract the audience’s attention as a means of starting the presentation on a positive note.

2. To explain the purpose of the presentation

3. To advise the audience of any ground rules

The main body (75% - 85% of total time) should be split into a number of main sections: from three to no more than six. This is where you aim to fulfil your main objectives, be they to pass on information; change attitudes; introduce new concepts; or to entertain.
Each section should be easily identified by the audience as being separate to that which proceeds or follows it. The use of bold visual aids with the title or description of the section (possibly numbered) will assist in differentiating each section.

The conclusion (5% - 10% of total time) is the most important section of the presentation because people tend to remember the last thing they hear.

The four purposes of the conclusion are to:

1. Recap the important points you made in the main body of the presentation - although do not be tempted merely to repeat them at length. Make them short and snappy.

2. Reinforce the main message - which could be the dire consequences of not taking the actions you have proposed.

3. Provide a springboard for action: in other words what you want the members to do after the presentation.

4. End on a high note. Do not let your presentation peter out to a feeble, forgettable end.

Step 4 Practice, Practice, Practice

“When other speakers present, we applaud. But when Demosthenes speaks, we arise and go to war!”

The above quotation refers to Demosthenes, a speaker in ancient Greece, who had a stutter, but who practiced his speeches so much, with pebbles in his mouth to counter his stutter, that he became famous for his passion and eloquence.

Do not try to ‘wing it’ - the only way to guarantee a successful presentation is to practice it until it becomes second nature. Doing so:

o Helps reduce the possibility of nerves on the day
o Improves the delivery of the presentation
o Determines the timing of it
o Allows you to refine the content
o Familiarises you with any aids you will be using

Step 5 - Arrive Early and Check

“There are risks and costs to a programme of action. But they are far less than the long-range risk and costs of comfortable inaction”
J F Kennedy

It is essential that you arrive in plenty of time in advance of your presentation, not least because it will allow you time to gather your thoughts, have a glass of water and a deep breath, and relax before you take the stage. Better still, visit the venue days in advance, thus allowing you to take any necessary actions or amendments to your plans.

The principle reason for arriving early is to check every aspect appertaining to your presentation. You need to check out the:

* Room

* Environment

* Equipment

Step 6 - Control Your Nerves

“The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public”
Anon

Let’s get one thing straight first: to some degree, everyone has butterflies in the stomach before having to speak to an audience. The key is to have the butterflies flying in formation.

Can you ever remember someone having difficulties when performing or speaking in public? I bet that you felt for him and his discomfort. I bet that you wanted to find some way to help him; to reduce his discomfort. Audiences are not evil; they do not want you to fail. And if things do get a little difficult for you they will want to assist you through it, rather than revel in your discomfort. They will wait patiently; suggest words; tell you that you have missed out a page of notes; or put the transparency on the OHP upside down. After all, it could be them up there having to make the presentation! So put your fears into perspective.

Step 7 - Build Initial Rapport With Your Audience

“A speaker who does not strike oil in ten minutes should stop boring”
Louis Nizer

You have researched your audience (Step 1) so you know a lot about them. Hence, you have all the information you need to build an immediate rapport with them. One-size-fits-all may apply to socks but it does not apply to audiences. You must understand what their ‘hot buttons’ are and be prepared to press them from the outset. The over-riding objective must be to get them on your side.

Try out these ideas to build an initial rapport:

• Boost their personal egos.

• Stress the importance of their roles, however menial they believe them to be.

• Talk their language.

• Dress the part.

• Establish your credibility.

• Use examples and anecdotes they will relate to.

• Stress that you understand the challenges they face.

Step 8 - Deliver with a Passion

“We communicate with passion - and passion persuades”
Anita Roddick

Once you have built an initial rapport with your audience, you must maintain it throughout your presentation. People will have come to hear you speak with some preconceptions and expectations. They may initially have been negative but you have worked hard in your initial five to ten minutes to grab the audience’s attention and raise expectations for the remainder of your presentation. It is your job now to meet, or even exceed, their high expectations. You must stand and deliver!

There is nothing more engaging in a speaker than for her to give the impression that she is really enjoying the presentation herself. It may be that she has given that very speech a hundred times but the audience feels and believes that this is the first time and that they are being given special attention. Yes, it is about the professionalism of the delivery, but it is also about the enthusiasm behind the delivery - the passion. Speakers must make their audience believe that they, the speaker, are as interested in, and committed to, the subject as they hope their audience will be.

Step 9 - Tell Them a Story

“Once you get people laughing, they’re listening and you can tell them almost anything” –Herbert Gardner

People have been using stories as a means of passing on information and messages since time began. People would sit around a fire and exchange experiences and these stories would be passed on from generation to generation. People love to hear stories - they hold our interest as they take us from level to level, from incident to incident, building up our curiosity until all is revealed at the ending. Our love of stories begins in early childhood and never leaves us. The camp fire may have been replaced by the bar counter or the dining room table but the fascination remains. Effective speakers understand the power of storytelling and use it to good, even dramatic, effect in their presentations. Stories add variety and can be used to illustrate and emphasise messages.

Step 10 - Use Visual Aids and Props

“Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it”.
Joseph Pulitzer

Visual aids are used to add interest for your audience, and there is a wide range of such, including:

* Slides (OHP or PowerPoint)

* Video

* Flipcharts

* Slide projectors

* Props, models, jigsaws, Lego pieces etc

* Graphs, charts

* Demonstrations

* Cartoons

* Photographs

* Handouts

Props. Even novice speakers should consider using props as well as visual aids. Props are particularly good at adding interest and humour to a presentation. Here are some props that I and fellow speakers have used to good effect:

• A giant toy telephone to reinforce points about telephone selling.

• Throwing small toy dinosaurs or ostriches into the audience when talking about people’s resistance to change.

• Simple magic tricks.

• Wearing costumes - from complete clown outfits to a simple baseball hat.

• Toy bombs or machine guns to grab the audience’s attention through noise.

• Aerosol sprays to invoke the sense of smell associated with a story, perhaps.

Copyright Alan Cutler 2005

Permission is given for this article to be copied and used in any way so long as it is not changed in any way.

Alan Cutler is a Member of The Professional Speakers Association and The International Federation of Professional Speakers. Further details of his services are at http://www.leadershiptalks.com

This article is taken from his 48-page ebook ‘PRESENT LIKE A PRO! Ten Ways to WOW Your Audience’. Copies can be purchased for immediate download for only $14.95 by clicking on http://www.leadershiptalks.co.uk/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=14

Do Governments Save Money by Watching Smokers Die Prematurely?

This was the conclusion of a report, commissioned by Philip Morris, who looked at the cost of smoking in the Czech Republic in 1999. They concluded that tobacco can save a government millions of dollars in health care and pensions because many smokers die earlier. They reported that the government had benefited from savings on health care, pensions and housing for the elderly that totaled $30 million - the “indirect positive effects” of early deaths (Arthur D. Little International, 2000).

I was shocked to hear this “death benefit” argument for the first time, after making a presentation to a group of professionals - informing them that tobacco use is the chief avoidable cause of illness and premature death for over 430,000 Americans each year. It reminded me of the dialog in the movie, “Traffic,” when Michael Douglas playing a congressman/ drug czar asked a Mexican general (played by Tomas Milian), “How do you treat your drug addicts? And the general responded by saying, “We let our drug addicts treat themselves. They overdose and die, and then there is one less drug addict to worry about.”

Although the argument is immoral, unjustifiable, and factually inaccurate (National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids, 2001), it would appear that 46 States in the United States are indirectly supporting this dreadful argument as only 5% of the tobacco-settlement funds (of the $206 billion settlement for tobacco-related health costs that went to 46 States according to a National Conference of State Legislators study), are being spent on tobacco prevention and treatment programs.

Should the U.S. Federal Government be in the Tobacco Business?

Federal taxpayers are directly paying more than $340 million to tobacco farmers to make up for lost income because of low prices and tobacco litigation settlements. These direct payments are in addition to subsidies in the form of tobacco crop insurance, administrative costs for price supports, and non-recourse loans. This subsidy supports expanded tobacco production at the same time that the federal government is spending millions actively discouraging the use of tobacco for public health and safety reasons (Green Scissors, 2006).

These subsidies also occur at the same time that our political candidates accept millions of dollars in contributions from the tobacco industry. Tobacco companies are heavily invested in politics, contributing $36.8 million to federal candidates and political parties since 1989, the Winston-Salem Journal reported Oct.23, 2004.Observer, June 25, 2000.

Do Government Laws Prohibit Minors from Legally Smoking Cigarettes?

Federal law does not allow retailers to sell cigarettes, tobacco, or smokeless tobacco to anyone under the age of 18. Laws regarding the possession of tobacco are left up to the individual states. I wonder why it is legal for minors to smoke cigarettes in most States, but illegal for minors to buy cigarettes when there are approximately 1.23 million new smokers under the age of 18 each year (Gilpin, et al., 1999), and more than 6,000 children and adolescents try their first cigarette each day (CDC, 1998).

• More than 90% of first-time use of tobacco occurs before high school graduation. Because the average age at first use is 14.5 years, smoking prevention must start early.

• Approximately 40% of teenagers who smoke eventually become addicted to nicotine.

Hawaii presently has a bill before the Legislature that would prohibit the use of tobacco products by minors, with penalties including tobacco education, community service, fines and driver’s license suspension (Honolulu Advertizer, March 12, 2006). Why has it taken the 50th State - 50-plus years to propose this bill? And what are the other States doing with the other 95% of their settlement, if their not attempting to educate and treat smokers?

Children smoke 1.1 billion packs of cigarettes yearly. This accounts for more than $200 billion in future health care costs. The health consequences of this addiction are enormous. Tobacco smoking is responsible for 1 of every 5 deaths and is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States.

Should Governments Promote Life and Provide Treatment for Smokers?

Proponents of the “death benefit” argument would say that tobacco victims (46.5 million American smokers, CDC, 1997) deserve to die, because they have chosen to smoke and risk the consequences. Does this also include the 70% of smokers who want to quit (Health Education Authority, 1995), but find themselves physiologically, psychologically, and socially addicted to nicotine? In fact, less than 25% of smokers who try to quit succeed as long as a year (Stolerman, I.P. & Jarvis, M.J., 1995).

It does not appear that Governments are actively supporting treatment for smokers. In 2001, a survey of the federal-state Medicaid coverage for tobacco-dependence in the United States was conducted, and only 1 State in 50 (Oregon) provided for all the tobacco-dependence counseling and pharmacotherapy treatments recommended by the 2000 Public Health Service (PHS) guideline. Only 10 States in 2001, offered some form of tobacco-cessation counseling services to the 11.5 million federal-state Medicaid program patients that smoke (CDC, 2003). A lack of reimbursement for tobacco-cessation counseling services is also the most common complaint for private health insurance companies when inquiring about treatment for smokers.

If the death benefit argument was applied across the board to all areas, then these proponents would end all medical research directed at preventing and finding treatments for illnesses and diseases, and promote euthanasia for all unproductive people in society including the elderly, severely retarded, mentally ill, and physically handicapped. The answer is not in condemning victims of diseases, disorders, and addictions, but in providing effective prevention, education, assessment/ diagnosis, treatment, and aftercare programs for those in need.

Diagnosing Nicotine Dependence

Nicotine addiction is classified as a nicotine use disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV - TR, 2000). The criteria for the diagnosis of 305.1 - Nicotine Dependence - include any 3 of the following within a 1-year time span:

o Tolerance to nicotine with decreased effect and increasing dose to obtain same effect

o Withdrawal symptoms after cessation

o Smoking more than usual
o Persistent desire to smoke despite efforts to decrease intake

o Extensive time spent smoking or purchasing tobacco

o Postponing work, social, or recreational events in order to smoke

o Continuing to smoke despite health hazards

Screening for Nicotine Dependence

Screening tools are available to assist counselors and therapists with diagnosing this condition - such as the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire (FTQ). Two items in the FTQ that are considered the key questions are as follows:

1. Do you smoke within 5 minutes of awakening?
2. Do you smoke greater than 25 cigarettes per day?

Individuals that answer - Yes to both questions are highly dependent on nicotine (Prochazka, 2000).

Note: If after reading the above, you started rationalizing to yourself, “Well it usually takes me 6-minutes to light-up after I get out of bed or I never smoke more than 20 - cigarettes per day, (As my old graduate professor use to say) STOP BULL-SH#%ting yourself and go see a therapist.

Co-morbidity & Nicotine Dependence

Addictions such as nicotine dependence and other addictions as a rule do not develop in isolation. Individuals can shift from one addiction to another or sustain multiple addictions at different times. The National Co-morbidity Survey (NCS) that sampled the entire U.S. population in 1994, found that among non-institutionalized American male and female adolescents and adults (ages 15-54), roughly 50% had a diagnosable Axis I mental disorder at some time in their lives. This survey’s results indicated that 35% of males will at some time in their lives have abused substances to the point of qualifying for a mental disorder diagnosis, and nearly 25% of women will have qualified for a serious mood disorder (mostly major depression). A significant finding of note from the NCS study was the widespread occurrence of co-morbidity among diagnosed disorders. It specifically found that 56% of the respondents with a history of at least one disorder also had two or more additional disorders. These persons with a history of three or more co-morbid disorders were estimated to be one-sixth of the U.S. population, or some 43 million people (Kessler, 1994).

Psychiatric disorders are more common among tobacco users than in the general population. Among patients seeking tobacco cessation services, as many as 30% of them may have a history of depression (Anda, et al, 1990) and 20% or more may have a history of dependence (Brandon, 1994). Most descriptive studies of alcohol abusers published in the past 20 years have reported tobacco use rates of at least 90%. (Bobo, 2000). More research and information is needed on the co-morbidity of nicotine dependence and behavioral addictions such as pathological gambling, eating disorders, and sexual addictions.

Poor Prognosis

We have come to realize today more than any other time in history that the treatment of lifestyle diseases and addictions are often a difficult and frustrating task for all concerned. As already noted, less than 25% of smokers who try to quit succeed as long as a year (Stolerman, I.P. & Jarvis, M.J., 1995). Repeated failures abound with all of the addictions, even with utilizing the most effective treatment strategies. But why do 47% of patients treated in private treatment programs (for example) relapse within the first year following treatment (Gorski,T., 2001)? Have addiction specialists become conditioned to accept failure as the norm? There are many reasons for this poor prognosis. Some would proclaim that addictions are psychosomatically- induced and maintained in a semi-balanced force field of driving and restraining multidimensional forces. Others would say that failures are due simply to a lack of self-motivation or will power. Most would agree that lifestyle behavioral addictions are serious health risks that deserve our attention, but could it possibly be that patients with multiple addictions are being under diagnosed (with a single dependence) simply due to a lack of diagnostic tools and resources that are incapable of resolving the complexity of assessing and treating a patient with multiple addictions?

New Proposed Diagnosis

Since successful treatment outcomes are dependent on thorough assessments, accurate diagnoses, and comprehensive individualized treatment planning, it is no wonder that repeated rehabilitation failures and low success rates are the norm instead of the exception in the addictions field. Treatment clinics need to have a treatment planning system and referral network that is equipped to thoroughly assess multiple addictive and mental health disorders and related treatment needs and comprehensively provide education/ awareness, prevention strategy groups, and/ or specific addictions treatment services for individuals diagnosed with multiple addictions. Written treatment goals and objectives should be specified for each separate addiction and dimension of an individuals’ life, and the desired performance outcome or completion criteria should be specifically stated, behaviorally based (a visible activity), and measurable.

To assist with resolving this problem a multidimensional diagnosis of “Poly-behavioral Addiction,” is proposed for more accurate diagnosis leading to more effective treatment planning. This diagnosis encompasses the broadest category of addictive disorders that would include an individual manifesting a combination of substance abuse addictions, and other obsessively-compulsive behavioral addictive behavioral patterns to pathological gambling, religion, and/ or sex / pornography, etc.). Behavioral addictions are just as damaging - psychologically and socially as alcohol and drug abuse. They are comparative to other life-style diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease in their behavioral manifestations, their etiologies, and their resistance to treatments. They are progressive disorders that involve obsessive thinking and compulsive behaviors. They are also characterized by a preoccupation with a continuous or periodic loss of control, and continuous irrational behavior in spite of adverse consequences.

Poly-behavioral addiction would be described as a state of periodic or chronic physical, mental, emotional, cultural, sexual and/ or spiritual/ religious intoxication. These various types of intoxication are produced by repeated obsessive thoughts and compulsive practices involved in pathological relationships to any mood-altering substance, person, organization, belief system, and/ or activity. The individual has an overpowering desire, need or compulsion with the presence of a tendency to intensify their adherence to these practices, and evidence of phenomena of tolerance, abstinence and withdrawal, in which there is always physical and/ or psychic dependence on the effects of this pathological relationship. In addition, there is a 12 - month period in which an individual is pathologically involved with three or more behavioral and/ or substance use addictions simultaneously, but the criteria are not met for dependence for any one addiction in particular (Slobodzien, J., 2005). In essence, Poly-behavioral addiction is the synergistically integrated chronic dependence on multiple physiologically addictive substances and behaviors (e.g., using/ abusing substances - nicotine, alcohol, & drugs, and/or acting impulsively or obsessively compulsive in regards to gambling, food binging, sex, and/ or religion, etc.) simultaneously.

New Proposed Theory

The Addictions Recovery Measurement System’s (ARMS) theory is a nonlinear, dynamical, non-hierarchical model that focuses on interactions between multiple risk factors and situational determinants similar to catastrophe and chaos theories in predicting and explaining addictive behaviors and relapse. Multiple influences trigger and operate within high-risk situations and influence the global multidimensional functioning of an individual. The process of relapse incorporates the interaction between background factors (e.g., family history, social support, years of possible dependence, and co-morbid psychopathology), physiological states (e.g., physical withdrawal), cognitive processes (e.g., self-efficacy, cravings, motivation, the abstinence violation effect, outcome expectancies), and coping skills (Brownell et al., 1986; Marlatt & Gordon, 1985). To put it simply, small changes in an individual’s behavior can result in large qualitative changes at the global level and patterns at the global level of a system emerge solely from numerous little interactions.

The ARMS hypothesis purports that there is a multidimensional synergistically negative resistance that individual’s develop to any one form of treatment to a single dimension of their lives, because the effects of an individual’s addiction have dynamically interacted multi-dimensionally. Having the primary focus on one dimension is insufficient. Traditionally, addiction treatment programs have failed to accommodate for the multidimensional synergistically negative effects of an individual having multiple addictions, (e.g. nicotine, alcohol, and obesity, etc.). Behavioral addictions interact negatively with each other and with strategies to improve overall functioning. They tend to encourage the use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, help increase violence, decrease functional capacity, and promote social isolation. Most treatment theories today involve assessing other dimensions to identify dual diagnosis or co-morbidity diagnoses, or to assess contributing factors that may play a role in the individual’s primary addiction. The ARMS’ theory proclaims that a multidimensional treatment plan must be devised addressing the possible multiple addictions identified for each one of an individual’s life dimensions in addition to developing specific goals and objectives for each dimension.

The ARMS acknowledges the complexity and unpredictable nature of lifestyle addictions following the commitment of an individual to accept assistance with changing their lifestyles. The Stages of Change model (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1984) is supported as a model of motivation, incorporating five stages of readiness to change: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. The ARMS theory supports the constructs of self-efficacy and social networking as outcome predictors of future behavior across a wide variety of lifestyle risk factors (Bandura, 1977). The Relapse Prevention cognitive-behavioral approach (Marlatt, 1985) with the goal of identifying and preventing high-risk situations for relapse is also supported within the ARMS theory.

Conclusions

The impact of nicotine dependence and poly-behavioral addictions is of course financially devastating. The estimated smoking attributable cost for medical care in the US in 1998 was more than $75 billion and the cost of lost productivity due to smoking-related disability was estimated at over 80 billion per year (CDC, 2003). But making life and death decisions based on a cost analysis is putting a price on life itself, which I believe no mortal man has the authority to do. Considering that addictions involve unbalanced life-styles operating within semi-stable equilibrium force fields, the ARMS philosophy promotes positive treatment effectiveness and successful outcomes that are the result of a synergistic relationship with “The Higher Power,” that spiritually elevates and connects an individuals’ multiple life functioning dimensions by reducing chaos and increasing resilience to bring an individual harmony, wellness, and productivity.

Partnerships and coordination among all service providers, government departments, and health insurance organizations in providing treatment programs are a necessity in addressing the multi-task solution to Nicotine Dependence and Poly-behavioral addictions. I encourage you to support the addiction programs in America, and hope that the (ARMS) resources can assist you to personally fight the War on nicotine dependence within poly-behavioral addiction.

For more info see:
http://www.booklocker.com/books/1966.html

http://www.geocities.com/drslbdzn/Behavioral_Addictions.html

Poly-Behavioral Addiction and the Addictions Recovery Measurement System,
By James Slobodzien, Psy.D., CSAC at:

James Slobodzien, Psy.D., CSAC, is a Hawaii licensed psychologist and certified substance abuse counselor who earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology. The National Registry of Health Service Providers in Psychology credentials Dr. Slobodzien. He has over 20-years of mental health experience primarily working in the fields of alcohol/ substance abuse and behavioral addictions in medical, correctional, and judicial settings. He is an adjunct professor of Psychology and also maintains a private practice as a mental health consultant.

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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010 (Conference Edition). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 2000.

James Slobodzien, Psy.D., CSAC, is a Hawaii licensed psychologist and certified substance abuse counselor who earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology. The National Registry of Health Service Providers in Psychology credentials Dr. Slobodzien. He has over 20-years of mental health experience primarily working in the fields of alcohol/ substance abuse and behavioral addictions in medical, correctional, and judicial settings. He is an adjunct professor of Psychology and also maintains a private practice as a mental health consultant.

Once marital aid were not usually around, one could only acquire them from smelly backstreet shops in a smelly part of London. Now, marital aid can be found in most department stores. With marital aid becoming more and more available marital aid are now widely considered a good and healthy way to explore your sexual side. Although there are lots of marital aid retailers and outlets available, there is not any exciting advice and info out there for which marital aid are the best. The marital aid with the greatest marketing campaign does not mean that it is the best marital aid available. Most marital aid information is created by a marketing department and a PR firm. But seeing straight forward info is difficult. This is where Sex Bomb comes into the equation. Sex Bomb was built by a group of marital aid lovers and they only stock the best marital aid, that they have tested, and trust. If one wanted to questions the company which marital aid were the nicest, the corporation would say hands down that it is the Bondage Gear. It comes in many sizes and shapes, and even colours. You can usually it under ?10, but they can go up to ?40. The second exciting marital aid you can get is obviously the dong!

Imagine the following scenario; Ten years ago you decided to
quit your job and start your own company. For ten years you
worked hard, made sacrifices, and it paid off in the end.
One of your first employees, a loyal, hard working employee
has been by your side the whole way.

Things were going great. Until about eight months ago.

All of a sudden, clients whom you had worked for for years
were not returning your calls or e-mails. Then, sales from
your online products site started dropping dramatically.
One day, out of the blue, that long time devoted employee
did not show up for work, nor would they return any calls.

What you did not know was that employee who you trusted with
your life had spent the last eight months intercepting /
reading all your e-mails, installing monitoring software on
your computers to watch everything you do, contacting
clients without your permission with the explicit purpose of
feeding them false information. The employee was downloading
all proprietary code for you online products store, setting
up a duplicate site on another server, and taking orders for
those products.

In another recent case, an employee of an institute of
higher learning was threatening to blackmail the executive
staff. They had been notified that any action taken against
the individual would result in loss of large amounts of
critical data and negative publicity. We were hired to
determine the validity of the threat and to collect evidence
for possible legal action. What we found was quite
disturbing. The suspect employee had installed logic-bombs
throughout the organizations network. These logic-bombs
required specific action be taken every 48 hours by the
suspect employee. If the employee did not perform a
specific task within the allotted time, for instance, if he
/ she had been terminated, the logic-bomb would execute.
There was much more to this story and none of it was
positive.

You have just been the victim of corporate fraud
————————————————
But how could this happen to you, and by someone who you
trust? It happens more frequently then you know. If you
can gather enough evidence and convince the District
Attorney to take action you might only have to spend $20,000
to $50,000 to sue this person. On the other hand, if you
can’t get the District Attorney involved, it may cost you
hundreds of thousands of dollars, and you won’t know what
the outcome is until it’s all over!

A Few Things You Can Do
———————–
These are not fictional stories and everyone is equally at
risk for such an event. Make sure you have strict controls
and guidelines to keep your business safe. Any proprietary
information, whether it be code, sales information, client
lists, or financials should be well guarded. Obviously this
information must be shared with others in your organization,
but it can be done so with audit trails. As a business
owner you should know who has access to what, when, and
how.

The objective of this article is not to make people
paranoid; its purpose is to promote awareness. Most people /
employees are law abiding and productive, but don’t make the
mistake of letting your guard down.

About The Author
—————-
Darren Miller is an Industry leading computer and internet
security consultant. At the website -
http://www.defendingthenet.com you will find information about
computer security specifically design to assist home, home
business and small business computer users. Sign up for
defending the nets newsletter and stay informed and empowered
to stay safe on the Internet. You can reach Darren at
mailto:darren.miller@paralogic.net or at
mailto:defendthenet@paralogic.net

With more than two-thirds of Americans classified as overweight or obese, consumers are looking for new ways to lead a healthy lifestyle, while still eating the foods they love. The latest United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Nutrient Database shows that 19 cuts of beef meet government guidelines for lean beef 1, including many of America’s favorites like tenderloin, T-bone steak and 95 percent lean ground beef. And, 12 of these lean beef cuts have, on average, only one more gram or less of saturated fat than a skinless chicken breast, per 3-ounce serving.

Low Fat Meat Cuts Reflect Current Demand for Healthy Beef

“This new data illustrates how beef is changing - it’s simply not your father’s steak anymore,” said Mary K. Young, M.S., R.D., executive director, nutrition, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). “In fact, many people are surprised to learn that some of their favorite beef cuts are lean.”

In addition, the updated version of the USDA Nutrient Database indicates that many low fat meat cuts are 20 percent leaner than they were 14 years ago. And, according to new research, consumers are increasingly choosing low fat beef in the grocery aisle when shopping for healthy dinners. In fact, 68 percent of all muscle cuts sold at retail and 17 of the top 20 most popular whole muscle cuts meet government guidelines for low fat beef.

The 19 lean cuts, beginning with the leanest, include: eye round roast, top round steak, mock tender steak, bottom round roast, top sirloin steak, round tip roast, 95 percent lean ground beef, brisket (flat half), shank crosscuts, chuck shoulder roast, arm pot roast, shoulder steak, top loin (strip or New York) steak, flank steak, ribeye steak, rib steak, tri-tip roast, tenderloin steak, and T-bone steak.

“There are now so many lean options for people who enjoy the great taste of beef,” said Richard Chamberlain, chef and proprietor, Chamberlain’s Restaurants and board member, Texas American Heart Association. “Many of the most popular cuts in my restaurants, like top sirloin, tenderloin and top loin, are some of the leanest cuts available. Today, you don’t have to sacrifice taste and enjoyment when trying to eat healthy.”

These 19 beef cuts meet government guidelines for lean with less than 10 grams of total fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per serving. Beyond lean beef’s favorable fat profile, beef is - and has always been - a nutrient-rich powerhouse. Just one 3-ounce serving of beef is an excellent source of five essential nutrients: protein, zinc, vitamin B12, selenium and phosphorous, and a good source of four essential nutrients: niacin, vitamin B6, iron and riboflavin.

In addition, beef’s fat profile is generally misunderstood. Half the fatty acids in a 3-ounce serving of lean beef are monounsaturated fatty acids - the same heart-healthy kind found in olive oil that research shows may have cholesterol-lowering abilities. And, one third of the saturated fat in beef is a unique fatty acid called stearic acid, which has been found to have a neutral or cholesterol-lowering effect.

“Research shows lean beef can play the same role as skinless chicken or fish in a cholesterol-lowering diet,” said Dayle Hayes, M.S., R.D., member of the Council for Women’s Nutrition Solutions (CWNS). “In addition, beef provides essential nutrients that can have a positive effect on some of today’s major health issues like weight management and bone health.”

Don Seger manages news and information for Fairbury Steaks. For more information on premium beef, premium pork, quality seafood and other fine meats, visit http://www.fairburysteaks.com

Using “Title Tags” for your web links & images is an arsenal many companies fail to utilize. These tags will help search engines to navigate through your information.

In the last topic we talked about Meta Tags within your web site source code. We also discussed how important it is to use the same words in your content that you included within your meta tags.

Another tip for your to complete your web page optimization is to include title tags for your relevant images.

Title Tags For Your Images:

It’s well known that more and more people are now searching “Goggles Image Search Engine” People love to find images, why not help them find the images related to your business?

Let’s say you sell cars, wouldn’t it be nice to have all your cars listed online found within that “Goggles Image Search Engine”? This feature will allow more people to find your web site.

Tip #1 When Utilizing Titles On Your Images:
Creating titles or utilizing the “Alt” command as we say will let a search engine know what the image is about.

Like mentioned before, search engines are nothing more than robots going through your web site. They don’t stop to look at your images, they only see the code.

Providing a title or Alt command for your image will allow the search engine to know what the image is all about which will increase your web sites content relevancy.

Tip #2 When Considering Image Links:

When using an image for a web link to another page, give your image a name that is meaning full to your service or product.

Ex. Well use this image below that will link to this page!

Using Title Tags

1. I’ve linked the image button to this page called “Using Title Tags”
2. I’ve named the image button “using_title_tags.gif”
3. The title of the image is: “Using Title Tags”

All of these steps will let the search engines know exactly what the image is about! Yes, I agree all these steps seem like a lot of work but in the end, when your sales are up, you won’t be thinking about how much work it took but how successful you have become.

Notice how all these steps have given 3 “Key Phrases” for search engines to look at to determine the meaning of the image.

1. ( a href= ) - The web link command to another page
2. ( img src= ) - Where to find the image and what it’s called
3. ( alt= ) - The title of the image

—————————————————————————–
Let’s recap what you’ve learned so far…

- Search Engines are robots that look for “Meta Tags” & “Web Page Content”
- Meta Tags include: 1) Title, 2) Description, 3) Keywords
- Make sure your Meta Tags describe your web page content
- Add a relevant Title to your web links
- Add a relevant “Alt Title” to your images for more visitors

Martin Lemieux
Smartads - President

Affordable Web Design & Web Site Marketing
www.smartads.info & www.smartads.ca

Martins Weekly Marketing Tips: www.smartads.info/newsletter
Daily Web Marketing Tips: web-marketing.smartads.info
Entrepreneur Help Site: mindpower.smartads.info