... or, as I like to call them, 'Tips in advance' are a part of my public speaking life. Does that mean I am an unethical person? ABSOLUTELY NOT! It means I am a realist. It means that when I am 30 minutes from the beginning of a presentation and I have been trying to get a projection screen for two hours, it might be time to grease a few palms. I just consider it an investment in my image. I am the one who is going to look bad if I am not prepared to begin on time. If it costs me five or ten or even twenty bucks to get some action, so what? I don't believe in penny pinching when you get in a pinch.

Am I happy about this? No, I am not happy, but I am always willing to invest in excellence. Also, I would rather lose a few bucks than get all worked up and upset before a public speaking engagement. In addition, any problems I am having are probably not the fault of the maintenance or set up person who gets the money. It makes me feel good to give them a little boost in their pay for that day.

So, have a few small bills handy before every presentation, just in case you need to get something done quick. One more thing ... This also works when you have too much baggage at the curb side check in. An extra bag costs 50 bucks at the airline ticket counter, so I give the skycap 20 and save myself 30. It doesn't work every time, but most of the time it does.