Teleseminars, Audio Downloads, Podcasts: Listen Up So You?ll Learn and Earn More

Internet Marketers love audio. You can't blame them. They used to have to spend weeks, or even months, writing an ebook to have something to sell. Now, they just pick a hot topic, interview an expert for a couple of hours with the recorder turned on, and Bam! They've got a hot new information product.

The audience for these products seem to love audio too. It's certainly quicker than reading a book. Because it can be produced more quickly, information can be more timely. One late summer day in 2005, Google changed how it ranked AdWords. That same night a teleseminar on the subject drew thousands of listeners.

Audio is Great Except for One Problem

Audio looks to be a perfect medium for online learning and communication except for one thing. A lot of folks don't know how to listen very well. Not the kind of listening you need to do if you're going to learn something.

Check with participants right after a teleseminar ends and they say they learned a lot. Ask them about it a few days later and most report they've forgotten exactly what it was they learned. That's true whether it's a seminar, a podcast, or even an audio download. Even when they have the file, most people don't listen more than once.

Listening to learn and to retain is actually a skill that has to be developed. It's not hard. You just have to know a few tricks. Once you do you'll be able to hang on to the key parts of what you hear. You'll remember new knowledge so you can apply it to your own marketing and business efforts. You'll start listening to learn and earn more.

5 Tips For Honing Your Listening Skills So You Can Learn More

Prepare. Give some thought in advance to what the speaker will talk about. Try to determine what you know and don't know about the subject. That way, when the presentation starts, you'll be ready to pick up on those areas you don't know as much about. Download and review any material provided in advance. If you have time, search for related material online and scan to get more background on the subject.

Focus. Once the speaker starts, concentrate. That's actually not as easy as it sounds. Our minds think 4 times faster than a presenter speaks. That's why it's so easy to find your mind wandering while listening. Three quarters of the time your mind is twiddling it's virtual thumbs! You've just got to keep bringing your attention back to the subject. Also, make sure you eliminate distractions. Instead of gripping a phone handset, use a speakerphone or headset. If you're attending a seminar, make sure to sit where you can see and hear clearly.

Find Your Purpose. Determine both before and during the presentation what makes it important TO YOU. It needs to have a purpose ? a concrete, vivid reason. You won't have much motivation to listen without one. If it turns out you can't find a purpose, stop listening. Go on to something that uses your time more effectively.

Look for Patterns. Visualize the patterns of organization in what's being said. It will help you remember key points. Patterns are easier to recall than isolated facts. For example, how does the speaker begin and end each topic? With a brief summary of the main idea? What about details or examples? Are they used to make certain points? Can you easily see the relationship between the points presented? It's likely you'll find more organization in prepared speeches and seminar presentations than teleconferences, particularly interviews. But presenters almost always start with some idea of structure even if they drift off course. Do your best to find it.

Take Notes. It's true what they told you back in school. Taking notes enhances listening and recall. When you take notes, though, don't go overboard with detail or they just become another distraction. Tie them to the patterns and structure you find. Not everything is equally important. Be selective. Think of your notes in terms of review. The one thing that really helps recall is what almost no one does: review notes after the presentation and in the future.

Listen Well and You'll Learn and Earn More

Listening to learn is a skill you have to develop. You've just seen five tips that will help. Once you do you'll be able to more easily remember what you hear in teleseminars, podcasts and audios. You'll remember new knowledge so you can apply it to your own marketing and business efforts. You'll start actively listening and you'll learn and earn more.

Ronald A Murphy is a Copywriter and Graphic Designer specializing in Direct Response and Internet Marketing. Murphy writes and designs sales letters, direct mail packages, inserts, web sales pages, direct email, newsletters for marketing, Internet articles, white papers, and other sales focused materials. He provides expertise to clients serving financial, business, technology, health, opportunity and fundraising markets.

For more information on copywriting and marketing, visit his site at RAMurphy.com. There you can subscribe to his newsletter, R A Murphy's Copywriting and Design Tips. You can also read Murphy's Blog on Copywriting and Design for Internet and Direct marketing at RonaldAMurphy.com.

Copyright 2005 Ronald A Murphy. Permission to reproduce this article in any form is freely given so long as the text and this credit box stays as is without modifications.

---

How to Use Your Computer as a Recording Studio

A few years ago there was a revolution in recording... Read More

Get Personal by Adding Your Voice to Your Site

Many customers in today's online business world are shopping around... Read More

Jingles - What Constitutes A Successful Jingle Campaign?

What constitutes a successful jingle campaign? In this article we... Read More

MP3 vs. WMA

There are just a few audio compression formats out there,... Read More

wav; Recording Voice or Instruments

A graduate student in Belfast wrote to me about a... Read More

Adding Sound To Your Web Site - The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Many webmasters like the idea of adding background music to... Read More

Why I Hate Flash Audio and What I Did About It

I love spoken-word audio. I've been listening to seminars, lectures,... Read More

Heres Exactly What Makes Web Audio So Powerful

Have you ever tried to communicate with another person using... Read More

Audio Websites -- Web Developers: Make Money Now

Are you a website developer looking to establish a long-term... Read More

How to Add Audio to Video

Digital media is everywhere you look. Music and video production... Read More

Adding Streaming Audio to Your Website

Adding streaming audio to your web site can help you... Read More

How To Record Streaming Audio, Internet Radio And

When it comes to music on the Internet, you have... Read More

Internet Radio: A Sanctuary in the Rubbish Tip

The internet, it's a whole world of information and entertainment,... Read More

Teleseminars, Audio Downloads, Podcasts: Listen Up So You?ll Learn and Earn More

Internet Marketers love audio. You can't blame them. They used... Read More

Add Audio to Your Web Site and Increase Your Sales up to 35%!

Ok, you've got your site built, you have traffic coming... Read More

What The Muscle Power of Audio Can Do for Your Site

How Audio can Influence SalesAudio can enhance your website by... Read More

Seven Ways to Warm Your Prospects Using Website Audio

Gone are the days when putting audio on your website... Read More

Transmit Clean Digital Audio with Digital Coaxial Cables

In the world of digital audio, there are two types... Read More

Alternatives to MP3

Although MP3 is the most popular format for encoding music,... Read More

How to Create Professional Audio Books from Scratch

My name is Alan Twigg and I'm writing this article... Read More

Five Tips to Become a Soundbite Genius

1. Speak in soundbites to everyone.Getting key phrases for concepts... Read More

Dont Use Web Audio The Wrong Way

Have you ever wrestled with a set of instructions, but... Read More

CD/DVD Master Preparation Tips

"CD/DVD Master" is the disc you provide to your CD/DVD... Read More

Why Arent You Using Audio?

As use of the Internet continues to grow geometrically, we... Read More

The Ten Commandments of Using Streaming Audio On Your Website

When it comes to placing audio on your website there... Read More

Streaming Audio Recorders

1. i-Sound WMA MP3 Recorder 6.x - On Sale www.abyssmedia.comi-Sound... Read More

Creating Web Content Using Audio Recordings of Expert Interviews

Creating Web Content Using Audio Recordings of Expert Interviews The... Read More

7 Ways to Use Website Audio in Your Marketing Arsenal

Most visitors to your website are using computers with audio... Read More

Why Publishing MP3 Can Cost You A Fortune

This was news to me. It might be news to... Read More

Eight Reasons Why You Must Add Audio to Your Website

NUMBER 1 : INTERNET USERS REMEMBER WHAT THEY HEAR Did... Read More

The Ten Commandments To Creating Amazing Audio Products

1.Thou shall create audio products as the fastest way to... Read More

DVD Audio: An Introduction

DVD Audio is a music format that is designed to... Read More

WAV; Useful Applications; Recording Your Tapes or L.P.s to CD

My first article about digital recording that I have had... Read More