Tweak Your Biz » Marketing » Interview With Owen Fitzpatrick: Time Management Expert And Author

Interview With Owen Fitzpatrick: Time Management Expert And Author

by lornasixsmith on November 4th, 2011
30 Comments



Owen Fitzpatrick is a psychologist, psychotherapist and hypnotherapist.  He co-founded the Irish Institute of NLP with Brian Colbert in 2001 and as an international trainer of NLP, set up Owen Fitzpatrick International in 2010.

Author of the time management book ‘Not Enough Hours’, he presented the RTE television programme ‘Not Enough Hours’ in 2008 and 2009.  I met Owen in 2009 when I took part in the programme and what I liked most about his approach was his ability to talk common sense when teaching practical and simple skills.

Owen launched a new website in 2010 and has been using written blog posts, videos, facebook and twitter to promote his work internationally and within Ireland.  I recently caught up with him to ask him for this thoughts on the various social media platforms.

Owen, what do you think makes for a good blog post?

I enjoy business blogs that include a personal take on things by the writer yet make it relevant to the content of the blog post.  I actually think business people can often communicate their personalities more effectively in written posts than youtube videos through the use of good description and effective images. Sometimes people are concentrating too hard when being filmed and their character isn’t communicated effectively.

You have a number of video blogs on your website. Do you find them more effective than written posts in delivering a message?

It depends on the message/call to action.  More information can be delivered in a written post with the use of lists or bullet points and of course, interesting images can be used.  It is important to ensure videos are short as well as interesting so videos that are too lengthy limits the effectiveness too.  I think any business that can utilise both well and vary them accordingly should do well in communicating their message.  I use i-movie and find it very easy for editing.

You used you tube videos very well to promote the 4 day Charisma bootcamp course you were holding in Dublin last December.  Did you find them to be an effective marketing tool?

I found the videos to be very effective and will be using them again to promote our Charisma bootcamp course next April.  I was able to interview each of the speakers regarding their thoughts on how their skills could teach people to be more charismatic and it gave those considering attending a little taster too.  I was also interviewed in one video for my thoughts on why this course would teach so many valuable skills including how to communicate more effectively. I wanted it to be one of the best courses of all time and used the videos to transmit my passion and belief in this bootcamp.

Do you have any tips for anyone considering using video blogs on their website?

Yes, these are some tips I follow:

  • Use the same branding at the start of the video. 5-10 seconds is sufficient. The first one I used was way too long. The same with the ending – finish with a similar branding each time too.
  • Introduce yourself in the same way each time – have some continuity with your introductions.
  • Vary your facial expressions and pay attention to your intonation too.  Quite often, people are concentrating so much on remembering what they want to say that they find it difficult to come across naturally.
  • Don’t play low music in the background – it is distracting.
  • Be passionate about your subject.
  • Perfect a setting for your background and stick to it.

How have you grown the number of ‘likers’ on your Facebook page?

I teach courses all over the world and I mention my facebook page at some point during the course.  If a student of the course is on Facebook, they like the page and quite often, leave a comment relating to the course or to one of my books or CDs.  Therefore, it tends to work as an promoter for future courses too.

What about Twitter?

I’m not tweeting that much at the moment but that will change. Due to various priorities, I have found it hard to find the time this year but I’m in the process of changing the website and with that, changes will be implemented with the blog posts and other social media usage. There will be a lot more ‘personality’ from Owen Fitzpatrick going forward.

The next Charisma bootcamp by OFI will take place next April in Dublin.  If you need tips regarding time management, then I wholeheartedly recommend his book ‘Not Enough Hours’.



Category: Blogging, Blogs, interviews

Tags: , , ,

The Author:

Lorna co-owns Write on Track, offering social media consultancy and ghost blogging services. She is also a co-organiser of the Blog Awards Ireland and KLCK Bloggers Network. Her knowledge of online retail is also extensive from owning a home accessories online store for 5 years. http://www.writeontrack.ie

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  • http://www.tweakyourbiz.com Niall Devitt

    I think Owen’s advice about making sure you mention your social channels at talks or presentations you give is a really good tip. It’s interesting to note that people like his Facebook and comment, become part of his community and are the more likely to attend future events. All too often, people seem to forget that the real world and online should  integrate easily and work for each other. Nice interview, Lorna!

  • http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

    Owen uses the cross-sell technique well and never misses out on an opportunity to promote himself. Love the mix of videos and written posts – using the strengths of both as needed.

    Great interview Lorna

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  • http://mountainmovingmindset.com/blog/ Frederique Murphy

    Thanks Lorna! It is great to see one of my fav people being interviewed ;-) Owen and I have known each other for 9+ years, and it is great to see him on Bloggertone!

  • http://twitter.com/beatricewhelan Beatrice Whelan

    Great interview Lorna. I really like how Owen gets the connection between social media and the real world, by mentioning his Facebook page at his events – seems simple enough but so many fail to do this. Great tips re the video posts also.

  • http://www.garrendennylane.ie/blog Lorna

    I know what you mean Beatrice, many of us fail to ‘ask’ don’t we? I wonder why? Is it due to lack of confidence I wonder?

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  • http://www.smartsolutions.ie/blog/ Elaine Rogers

    Money and access to finances can cover up a lot! Organisations also seem to think at times, big money can replace innovation. Mediocracy is rife, CEOs need to look at breaking from the pack, and stop using buzzwords like Empowerment to represent what they don’t really believe in.

    I enjoyed your comment on empowerment – “They are given the authority to do what needs to be done to achieve a specific result.” It needs to stop there, so that autonomy can shine through!
    Interesting post, thank you Bob

  • http://www.theexecutivesuite.com/blog/ Warren Rutherford

    Bob – I’m one of those believers in leaders setting the dynamic for innovation and change through, as you indicate, embedding empowerment to employees and other leaders within the company. New ideas come from encouragement to take initiative – and prosper within a culture that can convert those ideas into profitable actions.  Great post. Thanks for the insights.

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    And thank you for your insight, Warren. 

  • http://www.bobherbold.com/ Bob

    Predicting the future of Google+ is a tough one, Connor. I did, however, find this recent Gigaom piece of interest: http://gigaom.com/2012/03/16/this-is-why-google-is-losing-the-future/

  • http://www.about.me/lewisevans777 Lewis Evans

    Great article, Bob. I think you make some very salient points. The first thing I ask myself about Google is ‘why do they exist’? The answer doesn’t seem to align with their publicly stated mission ‘to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful’, which I find to be somewhat arrogant and open to wide interpretation – much of which is very unhealthy. They are certainly not there to democratize information, and I can only see their shiny organization through a lens of deep cynicism given the algorithms they employ and the totally commercial attitude they have (as per the g+ mission re Facebook). Added to that, a friend of mine here in Vancouver was told by Larry Page recently that 99% of all websites make no difference at all. So where does that leave us in terms of empowerment and the authenticity of the company? I think ‘leadership’, in this case, is purely about control, competition and profits, with a spin on empowerment to make the employees feel good about what they are being encouraged to do.

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  • Flor McCarthy

    Thanks Helen, it’s great to be on board and to have received such a warm welcome.

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    Great first post Flor – it’s interesting to know the actual law regarding recording calls. Looking forward to your next posts :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/brianedaly Brian Daly

    I think that the only two points of relevance are the “reasonably forseeable” and “broadcast without consent”. What is important that while her death was not a reasonably forseeable outcome there were other outcomes that were perfectly predictable i.e. she would be humiliated as a professional and that she could face disciplinary action. There was no consent for the broadcast (which is an important part of these ‘gotcha’ calls). The Data Protection Act in this context is a bit clutching at straws. This was a business calling another business – I think you’d be stretching this one. However, the broadcast release if it had of been obtained would have negated this one. They could have put another spin on it – it was in the public interest that it was broadcast, lax patient privacy at the hospital.

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  • http://TheMarketingShop.ie/ Debbie McDonnell

    Well done everybody, great posts here and as always on the blog – looking forward to plenty more in 2013 :)

  • Norm

    Owen Fitzpatrick is an attention whore

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