1. May I attend any one of your programs?

2. What is your personal, professional background?

3. How do you maintain so much energy?

4. How did you become a professional speaker?

5. How do I become a professional speaker?

6. Can I get a list of the books you mention in your seminars? 

7. Help! I have signed up for Dr. Zimmerman's Tuesday tip and I am not receiving it!

8. You mentioned in your seminar that you were once disabled with rheumatoid arthritis. And now you’re in great shape. What did you do?

9. Other questions? 

May I attend any one of your programs?

Yes and no. Typically I am hired by corporations or associations to speak to their employees or their members. These meetings are not open to the public.

There is one exception, however. Occasionally a prospective client wants to “see me in action” before they hire me. They want to see if my content or style will fit their audience. So they ask if they can preview me.

In those situations, I will ask my client if it’s okay to have someone sit in the back of the room to observe my presentation. They almost always say “Yes.” If that is something you’d like to do, give me a call.

However, I offer one major program each year that is open to the public. You may attend my two-day Peak Performance Boot Camp. It’s all about excellence, and you will learn how to bring out the best in yourself and others. It’s a powerful program that always sells out. Click here for more information on the next Peak Performance Boot Camp and how you might sign up.
 

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What is your personal, professional background?

My formal education includes a Bachelor’s degree in Speech, Theatre, and Political Science. My Master’s degree is in Speech-Communication and Sociology. And my Doctorate is in the field of Interpersonal Communication and Psychology.

After 15 years of work as a university professor, I founded the Zimmerman Communi-Care Network, Inc. in 1985, a speaking, training, and consulting company. As the president of that company, I have delivered hundreds of presentations across the world and maintain a 92% repeat and referral business.

In addition to my presentations, I have developed dozens of audio, video, and written materials to reinforce the skills and strategies that I teach. Click here for a list of available resources.

Besides teaching and speaking, I’ve worked in retail sales, radio broadcasting, recreation management, and prison therapy. And, of course, I’ve learned a great deal by working with hundreds of organizations, having access to their leaders, and consulting with the top decision makers in business, government, health care, and education. For a more detailed biography, please click here.

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How do you maintain so much energy?

People often wonder how I can travel so much, speak so often, and yet be so energetic. There are several things I do.

First, I avoid mind binders. In other words, I don’t tell myself negative self-fulfilling prophecies. Whereas some people will say, “I couldn’t handle the travel,” I avoid such statements. I simply decide I don’t have time for jet lag.

Second, I tell myself lots of positive affirmations. I keep telling myself such things as: “I can do it…I am filled with energy…I am positive and enthusiastic about every moment of my life.”

Third, I am very careful about what I eat and the exercise I get. Although I’m far from perfect on this, I take very good care of myself. Being self-employed, there’s no such thing as sick days, and so I very rarely get sick.

 

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How did you become a professional speaker?

Quite accidentally. I served as a university professor from 1970 to 1985, was very good at it, and truly enjoyed my work. I had no plans of ever becoming a full-time “professional speaker.” In fact, back then, very few people even heard of such a profession.

During those teaching years, I gave lots and lots of free presentations to various service clubs. People in those audiences asked me to speak in their organizations. When I wasn’t teaching at the university, I accepted their invitations to give a keynote address or deliver a seminar for them.

The invitations and “paid” engagements kept coming and coming, and I was soon faced with the problem of having two careers on my hands. I was a full-time professor, and I could possibly become a full-time speaker. I couldn’t do both and maintain the quality of work and balance of life that was important to me.

So in 1985, I resigned my tenured professorship and “began” my career as a full-time, professional speaker. That year, with no marketing, no brochure, no calling, no video, I booked 167 full-fee speaking engagements. I simply responded to a ringing phone. I had unknowingly built up a backlog of demand and business that I couldn’t handle when I was teaching.

Since that time, I have delivered more than one hundred paid engagements each and every year. My business has enjoyed more than 20 years of double-digit growth, and it is my plan to keep on serving others.

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How do I become a professional speaker?
 

Every day that I’m speaking, someone asks me this question. It’s a dream that many people have.

Let me begin with a warning. It is a very difficult business. About 85% of the people who attempt such a career do not make it. Within a year or two, they’ve gone back to more traditional employment, or they stay part-time speakers almost forever.

If you’re serious about becoming a speaker, there are three things you must have: expertise, platform skills, and business smarts. If you are lacking any one of these three elements, your chances of “making it” are very slim.

First, you need expertise.  I assume you already have this. In other words, you’re an expert on something. Audiences don’t want to listen to someone who is simply paraphrasing a few books they have read. Perhaps you have expertise that comes from real life experience, or you have expertise that comes from your work or formal education. A combination of all three is usually best.

Second, you need platform skills. In other words, you must know how to build and deliver a presentation. You have to look and sound good on the platform. If you haven’t mastered that, I suggest you join Toastmasters. There are thousands of Toastmasters Clubs across the world that meet on a weekly basis, and their only purpose is to help you become a better public speaker. Their service is basically free, and there is probably a chapter close to you.

Another option is your local college. Almost all of them offer beginning and advanced public speaking courses. Again, the fee is nominal, but the training may be very helpful.

Third, you need business smarts. You may have some expertise, and you may be an excellent speaker, but that’s not enough. If organizations don’t know you exist, if you don’t know how to market your services, if you don’t know how to run a speaking business, your chances of success are not very good.

For this information, there is only one option. You must join the National Speakers Association. They have chapters across the country, and each of them offers monthly programs on every aspect of the speaking business. Contact them at http://www.nsaspeaker.org /

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Can I get a list of the books you mention in your seminars?

Yes. I refer to several books that I think are particularly good. From them I gather new insights and stay up to date on the research.

Of course, I couldn’t give you all the books I’ve used over the years. That would number in the hundreds. But click here for a long list of books I recommend. I’ve categorized the books according to topic and added a few of my own comments to guide your choices.
 

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Help! I have signed up for Dr. Zimmerman's Tuesday tip and I am not receiving it!

Every week, I hear from several people who say they've been dropped from the “Tuesday Tip.” They tell me they used to get it, but they haven't received it the last few weeks or months. They're wondering what happened, and they want to be back on the subscription list.

First, we NEVER add anyone to the “Tuesday Tip” who does not request a subscription.

Second, we NEVER delete anyone from the “Tuesday Tip” unless they ASK to be removed.

So if you're not getting the “Tuesday Tip,” your organization, your IT people, or your web host is probably blocking it. Many times they perceive a mailing as large, as popular as the “Tuesday Tip” to be spam and filter it out before you have a chance to get it.

In most cases, all you have to do is tell your IT people that this is a REQUESTED email that you want to receive. They'll make sure it gets through to you.

And if that doesn't work, sign up for another FREE subscription using your home email address. Just go to the home page of my web site to sign up, and I’ll even give you a FREE book for your trouble.

If nothing works, call Chris in my office at 952-492-3888. She’ll do her best to get the “Tuesday Tip” into your hands. You might also keep in mind that my “Tip” is posted every week on my web site. Just click here to see the latest “Tip.”

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You mentioned in your seminar that you were once disabled with rheumatoid arthritis. And now you’re in great shape. What did you do?

Well, I’m not a medical doctor, so I would never presume to prescribe a medical course of action. All I can say is what worked for me.

When I was having great difficulty in walking, I began an extensive reading program. I wanted to read everything I could find to see what other people had done to overcome a similar illness.

The book that caught my attention and turned me around was the book by Dan Dale Alexander, called Arthritis and Common Sense. It describes a simple dietary change that worked miracles for me.

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Other questions?

You may have another question I didn’t address. Please feel free to ask. I will answer you.

All you have to do is email me questions@DrZimmerman.com . Or if you prefer, you can call me at 952-492-3888. I may not be in the office, but my staff will arrange a time for us to talk.

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