Ellie Shorb

As part of Beauvoir School's Leading Voices speaker series, author Dan Heath will speak tonight about his new book SWITCH: HOW TO CHANGE THINGS WHEN CHANGE IS HARD at the Washington National Cathedral this evening - April 28th at 7pm.

Heath will discuss ideas on how to bring positive changes in our lives where we work and where we live.

Heath co-authored the book with Chip Heath and also co-wrote the best selling book, MADE TO STICK: WHY SOME IDEAS SURVIVE AND OTHERS DIE.

Tickets will be available at the door for $25. Parking is available in the Cathedral garage.
Those interested may contact Angela Harrison about this event at 202-537-2359 or click on the Leading Voices link: http://www.beauvoirschool.org/leadingvoices/

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the Capital Speakers Club of Washington, DC's annual Workshop at the lovely Willard Intercontinental Hotel in DC. Here are tips and tricks from the pros:

Susan Miller, PhD, author of SPEAKING TO BE HEARD THE FIRST TIME, had the following advice:

1. Stride confidently to the stage and take a solid stance (without shifting side to side)

2. Smile

3. Warm up your voice by humming before you take the stage and/or by making razzes with your lips

4. POP! Project. Open jaw. Prepare your delivery.

Arnold Sanow, author of SPEAKING TO INSPIRE AND PERSUADE, suggests remembering the following acronym: SOFTEN

S=smile

O= open (your jaw and throat)

F= focus - people can only be 100 percent focused for 8 seconds or so without drifting just a bit, so keep it fresh

T- territory (stand no closer than about 13" from the person you are speaking to in the US- different distances show respect in other countries

E= eye contact - make contact with the audience but don't stare at one person for more that just a couple of seconds

N= nod in agreement and gesture where appropriate (again with hands near the heart, not with arms flailing

Jerome Barry, author of SPEAKING TO PERFORM AND ENTERTAIN, spoke of the value of elongating vowels and saying consonants faster and of ending sentences strongly, rather than letting one's voice trail off at the end of the sentence. His voice training taught him the value of proper breath when speaking and of supporting one's breath properly when speaking. Proper, upright posture is a great help when speaking in public as well...

More to do in DC: For folks with small kids, the Guppy Gala at the National Zoo is a trip! FONZ members only pay $15 for admission and others $25 per person (but kiddos under two -- no charge for you!)

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ActivitiesAndEvents/Celebrations/Guppy/default.cfm?fonzref=guppy.htm

The event will feature great food, decorations and good music as always -- Sponsors include Giant, Subway, Yellow Book, Coke, and United Healthcare.

The National Zoo is a treasure - and is free (you just pay for parking unless you walk, bike or take Metro!) so this fundraiser is a great idea for those who want to support all the wonderful programs this National Treasure has to offer!

Want a really fun, inexpensive night out in DC? Head to a Hexagon Show at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts for a night of political satire. The 55th annual show runs thru April 10, 2010 and is titled "Dancing with the Czars" -- This year, the $ raised goes to Rebuilding Together DC.

Each year for the last 55 shows, the proceeds have gone to benefit area charities- the writers, musicians, actors and dancers are unpaid volunteers - many a DC-area celebrity has been part of these shows in the past. I have attended for several years - GOP and Dems equally skewered.... Funny stuff! My mother-in-law was in the can-can line back in the 1960s! (The show always ends with a line of high-kicking beauties!)

For tickets, go to www.hexagon.org The tix are cheap (around $35 each!) - A great night out in DC!

Just an hour from DC and 25 min from BWI and Annapolis, Gibson Island is a fabulous enclave of 200 homes on 1000 acres on the Chesapeake Bay. There are waterfront homes on the Bay, on the Magothy River and on Otter Pond, as well as inland homes on the market today.

The big news is that many of the homes now on the market have been actively listed for more than a year, but guess what? Buyers are coming out, sellers are negotiating, and properties are moving. The lowest asking price home on Gibson Island in the last couple of years was $1,800,000 and that home just sold for $1,400,000. Three other recent sales + my buyers who'd been looking at the island for over 14 months have just put a contract on a lovely property.

This island, which is so special, has home owners who live on the island full time as well as owners who own vacation property there. Homes ranging in price from just under $2 million, to just under $6 million come in all styles and all sizes.

My listing on the island- currently the lowest priced home on the water on the island now...

Priced at $2,695,000 - 5 bedrooms, built-ins, cherry hardwoods, many decks, private dock on glorious Otter Pond.

The market is movin! Good news!