4 “No Brainers” For The Awards Committee

Posted on March 22, 2007 | Filed Under Tips and How To's

Receiving an award is a big thing for most people.  Whether the setting for the ceremony is informal or formal, we all like to be recognized and appreciated.  With this thought in mind, there are a few things that an award committee (yes - even if it’s only 1 person) can do to boost the value of the award to the recipient, and at the same time garner some recognition for the organization itself.

  1. Announce when and where the ceremony will be held to all members of the group or organization well in advance of the actual date.  While this sounds pretty obvious, you’d be amazed how often this little act is overlooked resulting in a less than SRO crowd.
  2. If the ceremony will be open to the general public, notice should also go to any local newspaper or posting boards which are receptive  to local  “News”.  Doing this notification may also result in some unexpected press coverage.
  3. During the actual ceremony be sure to take some photos.  They can be used on the company web site, emailed to the recipients of the awards, or even framed and hung in a lobby or office for others to see.
  4. Announce the winners!  Write a small press release or article with the details and send it to newspapers or other local media.  Have it posted on your web site and included in your newsletter.  Basically, unless it is a “Top Secret” affair, spread the word far and wide!

Undertaking the four simple steps above does not involve a tremendous amount of time, money, or even effort for that matter.  But the results can be very gratifying for all involved.  Take the award experience one step farther than normal and reap the benefits.

Posted By Gary Barber FireAwards.comTags: ,

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How Do You Accept an Award? Tips on How to Give an Acceptance Speech

Posted on March 16, 2007 | Filed Under Tips and How To's

Accepting an award is like walking a tightrope. You need to be gracious, grateful, and humble–but not so humble or self-deprecating that the audience thinks you are trivializing the honor. The warm glow of the occasion can suddenly turn chilly or sour with a few ill-chosen words.

One gentleman I was coaching was due to receive an award from an organization with over 100,000 members. Two thousand people would be in the audience.

“I want to be funny,” he told me, “so I’ll start by saying how desperate they must be to give me this award.” I persuaded him that he’d be insulting the organization and everyone who had ever been honored. We worked together to come up with a gracious acceptance speech, still funny, but one that would leave everyone present feeling great about the evening, the award, and the organization.

Sooner or later, you’re probably going to be presented with an award. It may be a surprise, or you may have time to prepare. Use your answers to the following questions to weave a warm, wonderful story that will leave everyone with a big smile (and maybe a tear.)

Who nominated you?
Who invited you to join this group or encouraged you to get involved in this project or event?
What is your connection to this group?
How do you feel about the people and the organization’s goals?
Why are they giving you this award?
When was the first time you attended a meeting and what were your experiences?
Have you seen someone else accept this same award? People will not remember all the details of what you say, but they will remember the stories you tell. Include a memorable vignette or incident, something entertaining or touching about your connection.
Dan Maddux, Executive Director of the American Payroll Association, received the Meeting Partner of the Year award from the National Speakers Association in 2001. His four-minute acceptance speech was one of the highlights of the convention. First, he said he was honored. Second, he said what his audience loved hearing: “I consider professional speakers to be my partners and my best investment in the success of my conventions.” He told a story about a much-loved NSA member, Jeanne Robertson, and how she had educated him, revealing that nearly all popular speakers have more than one speech. Whenever he liked a speaker and his audience related to them she told him, he could keep bringing them back to do other presentations. He reenacted their conversations, imitating her southern accent. One of Jeanne’s claims to fame is her stature; so Dan, a tall man, pretended he was looking up at her. That brought the house down.

Show-biz can provide wonderful examples of great acceptance speeches. When Russell Crowe won an Oscar for The Gladiator (2000), he dedicated it to “Everyone who has seen the downside of disadvantage.” Then he got the 2002 Golden Globe Award for A Beautiful Mind. First, he gave credit to the characters in the film, offering special thanks to “John and Alicia Nash, for living such an inspirational love story.” He added, “A Beautiful Mind is just a movie, folks, but hopefully it will help us open our hearts … to believe that something extraordinary can always happen in our lives.”

It’s okay to be excited. Sally Field’s joy when she won the 1979 Academy Award for Norma Rae has never been forgotten: “You like me! You really like me!” And when she won the 1987 Oscar for Moonstruck, Cher said, “I know this does not mean I am somebody, but I am on my way to become somebody.” I quoted her when I won the 1996 Cavett award, the highest award offered by the NSA.

Action-star ‘Everyman’ Harrison Ford was honored with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2002, for “outstanding contribution to the entertainment field”–or more specifically, 35 movies over four decades, including Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Witness, The Fugitive, and Patriot Games. “In anticipation of tonight,” he said, “I wrote two speeches, a long one and a short one. I’ll give you the short one: ‘Thank you.’ But it seems there might be enough time for the long one as well, which is: ‘Thank you very much.’”

Whenever you have some advance notice, be sure to ask how long you are expected to speak. The shorter your time slot, the more you will need to practice! When the time comes, look directly at the audience. Never read your remarks. You can walk up on stage with notes, but they should consist of a few bulleted points.

Whenever you are involved in leadership in your professional organization, your company, or your community, or in philanthropy, you are likely to get an award some day. It’s better to have a few well-crafted remarks ready just in case than to be caught speechless. Or worse, saying the wrong thing. Be gracious. Be modest. Be prepared!

Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE is a San Francisco-based executive speech coach, sales trainer, and award-winning professional speaker on Change, Customer Service, Promoting Business, and Communication Skills. She is the author of Get What You Want!, Make It, So You Don’t Have to Fake It!, and Past-President of the National Speakers Association. She can be reached at: PFripp@Fripp.com, 1-800 634-3035, http://www.fripp.com

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Choosing Great Awards

Posted on March 14, 2007 | Filed Under Tips and How To's

Choosing an appropriate award can sometimes be a daunting task. Some things to keep in mind when selecting a meaningful and memorable award can be found in this article.

Taking into consideration the deed or achievement being rewarded, my favorite solution to making a choice is to apply a simple two-step test. The test I use is, 1) to consider if the award is something that I myself would like to receive and, 2) determine if the item is one which I would display prominently in my own home or office, then there is a very good chance that your award recipient will feel the same.

Another consideration to factor in is the amount of personalization or wording that you want to adorn the award. If you have a lot to say, then you will need to choose an award with plenty of room to do so. Plaques with large engraving areas are usually best for this. Conversely, if the message will be limited to a few words, then a trophy or statue may fit the bill.

A very important aspect when choosing great awards is “Bang for the Buck”. If purchasing only one award this is not such a problem - you have $100.00 to spend on the
Retiring Fire Chief, and that is easy to deal with. However, a purchase involving many awards going to several recipients means you will have to decide how much to spend on each, and with that comes the added burden, in many cases, of setting a dollar value based on award importance. To get the best “Bang for the Buck” it is a good idea to sit down for a few minutes and lay it all out on paper. The total amount of money you have to spend on one side, and all the awards or gifts needed on the other. This is also the time to rank your list of awards by importance or prestige. Now you’ll be able to see exactly what you have to work with and by fiddling with the numbers for a while, will be well armed for your award buying attack.

One last tip for making great award choices is to minimize as best you can, the number of people involved in the selection decision. From many years in the awards business - I can emphatically say that the old adage “Too Many Hands Spoil The Pie” is very much in effect!

Gary Barber - www.FireAwards.com

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