In this blog I continue my discussion about how to easily capture a casual discussion of friends and relatives using a handheld recorder.

A good way is if you place the recorder in the center of the table or area where the speakers are talking. This works well unless you’re trying to cover a large area. If it is a large room or there are other conflicting conversations or noise going on, there may still be some unclear words.

Another good way is if the speaker(s) holds the recorder to their mouth. These last two ways are probably going to be the more likely ways to record in a large gathering. Try as much as possible to have the speaker speak “to” the recorder, rather than have their voice turned away from the recorder.

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One of the easiest ways to capture your memoirs was related in my last blog, and that is recording family or friends as they are exchanging stories with each other. I always carry a hand held recorder with me, especially at family gatherings or reunions, in order to take advantage of these opportunities.

A caveat here. Of course you know it is illegal to record anyone unless they know and approve; however, I don’t think recording a general family/friend conversation would fall into that category as long as you don’t plan to use it for malicious purposes, and unless some in the group strenuously objects.

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We need to satisfy our curiosity. Aren’t you sometimes curious about what your mother or father were like when they were children? Have you asked one of their siblings?

I have an elderly aunt and during the last time that I saw her, I asked if she would talk to me about what my father was like when he was a young boy. She said she didn’t want to talk about those times. I didn’t want to upset her so didn’t insist, but I will forever regret not trying to at least get her to do it surreptitiously by asking her questions and recording it.

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For the past five years I have been talking about creating information products and how they can benefit your business. Nothing has ever been truer than in today’s market. We all really need information products.

When consumers go into the super market they read the labels before buying. They want information. When they purchase clothes, they read the labels. When they purchase a T V, a phone, a computer, anything, they expect to have information about it.

The same is true of your services. No matter what they are—selling insurance (what kind of insurance do you sell?), being a coach (what kind of coach are you and what specifically do you do?), providing bookkeeping services, virtual assistant, project manager, owning a restaurant—it do

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We all talk about it, we all fret about it and it catches all of us in its elusive thread at some time or other, some more than others. I’m afraid I’m one of those who gets caught in it more than others and before I know it I’ve over extended myself to the point of overwhelm.

So, what has been eating up my time for the past few months?

For one thing I had committed to doing teleseminars for my new membership site.  After starting them I soon realized that I needed more experience in the actual doing of teleseminars. I knew how, I knew what I was supposed to do, but I lacked the experience of actually having done it. Read more

On February 16th, 4:00 PM PST, Patsy Bellah will interview Connie Ragen Green as part of the Transcription Riches membership site.  This interview and the one on March 2 with Gail Rosenthal will be the last two that non members will be able to attend free.

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It is my absolute delight and pleasure to be able to make this announcement.

My new membership site is now open!

I say it’s a once in a lifetime announcement, because you only get to announce once in a lifetime a first-time event, and this is my first membership site.

You can check it out at www.transcriptionriches.com.

You will notice that there are many benefits to becoming a member, such as:

• Discounts - 20% less than non-member rate
• More Discounts (Patsy’s Unique Baker’s Dozen)
• Monthly interview series
• Access to the MP3 and PDF transcripts
• VIP treatment, and
• An environment of support and encouragement.

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Recently I was asked by one of my mentors and coach to express in a short paragraph (2 sentences or less) what keeps my target market awake at nights, what are their desires that they won’t even tell their closest friend or spouse. Is that a daunting assignment or what? It is to me.

Then tonight, when I couldn’t sleep, it came to me.

A little bit of explanation.

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I saw this in the Parade Magazine dated January 16, 2011, in the Ask Marilyn column by Marilyn vos Savant and thought it was interesting.

Ever wonder why the word playwright is spelled with a “w” when the word “copyright” is not?  I have, a lot of times.  Of course in my work,  I run across these two word a lot and remembering these meanings will  help remember how to spell them.

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I heard a statement the other day from a successful internet marketer, which is so true. It was made in a room full of attendees who were assembled to learn about Internet Marketing. “Everyone in this room should have a book. If they don’t have one, they should be creating one. If they have one they, should be creating more.” Read more