Speaking Of Wealth with Jason Hartman
SOW 71 - BlogTalkRadio with CEO Alan Levy

In 2006, Alan Levy, BlogTalkRadio’s Co-founder and CEO, starting writing a blog to update his family and friends about the condition of his ailing father. It was then that he saw the power of the social web, but realized that there were no platforms, which enabled a live two-way conversation with an audience. Jason Hartman is joined by Alan Levy to talk about the progression from a simple blog to a live online format on which people could call in. Alan set out to create in Internet talk radio network that leveraged a device everyone has – a phone. Listen at:  www.SpeakingofWealth.com.

No stranger to voice-based communications, Alan has founded multiple telecommunications companies. Alan was President and COO of Destia Communications, helping build Destia into a global telecom enterprise with operations and customers in 10 countries and more than $350 million in annual revenue. Destia’s May 1999 IPO was shortly followed in December 1999 by the sale of the company to Viatel in a transaction valued in excess of $1 billion. Today, BlogTalkRadio, powered by Cinchcast, is the only platform that provides hosts the ability to interview multiple guests in different locations and take moderated questions from listeners tuning in live via landline, mobile or Skype. Alan explains how BlogTalkRadio works, the various platforms and the ad model available, and talks about the newest innovations available through the Cloud. He offers some great tips about standing out from the crowd.

Cinchcast is Alan’s newest endeavor in 2010. His online publishers wanted something they could use within their own environment. The Cinchcast platform provides them with the concept of their own radio network and allows a large company or organization to host such things as a large townhall meeting, conference calls and more because it is built on a conference bridge and phone integration, unlike platforms like GoToMeeting that have limited space and chat integration.

Alan wraps up by sharing his story of successes that ultimately led him to the creation of BlogTalkRadio and Cinchcast. The mission of his company is to provide an accessible platform that gives anyone the ability to express themselves and connect with an audience anytime, anywhere in the world.

Direct download: sow-71-AlanLevy.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 10:54am EDT

SOW 70 - Crucial Conversations with Kerry Patterson

Communication is an art and science. Some people are great communicators, while others struggle to talk to anyone. Jason Hartman invites Kerry Patterson, co-author of Crucial Conversations, to talk about some of the basics of interpersonal communication. While researching this subject, the problems were pretty obvious – power struggles, strong emotions and differing opinions. The solutions were less obvious. Kerry talks about listening and verbal skills, where often what happens is people avoid a crucial conversation or handle a conversation badly, suffering the consequences either way. The solutions begin with having an open mind and putting persuasion aside, and listen, even when others overreact or withdraw. Kerry discusses high-stakes confrontations and conversations in the business setting and in the family setting. He stresses it is very important not to tell yourself an ugly story about why someone did or didn’t do something that upset or disappointed you, and to realize you don’t know the facts. Actions themselves are neutral. Focus on the facts, not a conclusion. Please listen at:  www.SpeakingofWealth.com for more valuable information on effective communication.

Kerry Patterson is the four-time New York Times best-selling co-author of Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, Influencer, and Change Anything. For more than 25 years, he has served as an expert in organizational behavior, interpersonal communication and corporate training. Patterson is also the co-founder of VitalSmarts, an innovator in corporate training and organizational performance. VitalSmarts has consulted with more than 300 of the Fortune 500 companies, has been listed by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest-growing companies in America for eight consecutive years, and trained more than 800,000 people worldwide. More can be found at www.vitalsmarts.com.

Direct download: sow-70-KerryPatterson.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 12:34pm EDT

1