Presentation Involves Your Very Vital Career Success

Presentation according to the management guru Riteway Strokon is everything. Your status and rise to fame in your organization depends to a great deal on the presentation of “your castle and domain” that is your office area and space.

Plan your future and work your plan. How can your office scream your power, prestige and success?

First of all no matter what get the office in the “Lucky Corner”. This is the corner diagonal to the door and facing the door. This has the most energy and it is said luck associated with it. Do your very best to get this vital location for your desk.

Next have a view of water within your preview. You can put a picture of a beach or ocean scene in front of you to stimulate wealth, opportunities to grow your career and advancement. Maybe even you can have a water fountain installed in your area.

Be sure to have an open space in front of your desk. It is best to keep your desk clear to keep your desktop clear and not staked with files or papers. If you have to have these stacks onto the side of the desk not in the middle. This shows that you are a person of action and consequence who takes care of things, that you are not a laggard.

In regarding the position of your desk see in your planning if you cannot have a solid wall at your back. This will give the appearance of support and stability. On the wall you can place testaments that scream your success and position. Gather your trophies so to speak - certificates, degrees, awards, customer’s letters etc. Remember if you place them on the wall behind you. Remember that at a distance no one will be able to read them. Riteway notes that at the worst you can always go to your local “Value Village “and purchase some odd plaques or trophies. Awards that are framed are best placed in a red or even gold frame. Remember less can be more so it may be wise to not overdo this trick of instant status. You can even pictures of ships. Ships in many cultures represent the arrival of new opportunities, luck and wealth. These nautical icons can be placed near the doorway to indicate that good luck is sailing in. Note though it is best not to have pictures and paintings of ships in rough seas, storms or being sunk in a naval battle. It is not a wise idea to have a picture or miniature model of the Titanic.

Lastly several point to ponder. You are what you present yourself as to others in many cases as you plan your career advancement up the corporate or organizational structure. Be concerned to wear the corporate colors – for example IBM men were known for their blue suits. Dress one up from your colleagues toward the next level. Not enough to antagonize yourself as an upstart in their eyes but closer enough to your superiors that they will notice it. Presentation is everything. Take care of the details and the details will take of you – shined shoes, neat office, pressed and neat clothes, clean and orderly office and the details will take care of you.

Lastly use the front door. Too many employees enter the building where they work through the rear door. This will give you the so called “rear treatment “. You should see yourself as a vital important person a credit and contributor to your organization. Always enter through the front door of the office. Enter and leave this way. You will double your career luck and rise to success.

Nonverbal Communication in Business

There are five key elements that can make or break your attempt at successful nonverbal communication in business:

• Eye contact

• Gestures

• Movement

• Posture, and

• Written communication

Let's examine each nonverbal element in turn to see how we can maximise your potential to communicate effectively...

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Eye contact

Good eye contact helps your audience develop trust in you, thereby helping you and your message appear credible. Poor eye contact does exactly the opposite.

So what IS 'good' eye contact?

People rely on visual clues to help them decide on whether to attend to a message or not. If they find that someone isn't 'looking' at them when they are being spoken to, they feel uneasy.

So it is a wise business communicator that makes a point of attempting to engage every member of the audience by looking at them.

Now, this is of course easy if the audience is just a handful of people, but in an auditorium it can be a much harder task. So balance your time between these three areas:

• slowly scanning the entire audience,

• focusing on particular areas of your audience (perhaps looking at the wall between two heads if you are still intimidated by public speaking), and

• looking at individual members of the audience for about five seconds per person.

Looking at individual members of a large group can be 'tricky' to get right at first.

Equally, it can be a fine balancing act if your audience comprises of just one or two members -- spend too much time looking them in the eyes and they will feel intimidated, stared at, 'hunted down'.

So here's a useful tip: break your eye-to-eye contact down to four or five second chunks.

That is, look at the other person in blocks that last four to five seconds, then look away. That way they won't feel intimidated.

Practice this timing yourself, away from others. Just look at a spot on the wall, count to five, then look away. With practice you will be able to develop a 'feel' for how long you have been looking into your audience member's eyes and intuitively know when to look away and focus on another person or object.

When focusing on individual members in a large meeting or auditorium, try and geographically spread your attention throughout the room. That is, don't just focus your personal gaze (as distinct from when you are scanning the room or looking at sections of the room) on selected individuals from just one part of the room. Unless you are specifically looking to interact with a particular person at that moment of your presentation, select your individual eye-contact audience members from the whole room.

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Gestures

Most of us, when talking with our friends, use our hands and face to help us describe an event or object - powerful nonverbal aids.

We wave our arms about, turn our hands this way and that, roll our eyes, raise our eyebrows, and smile or frown.

Yet many of us also, when presenting to others in a more formal setting, 'clam up'.

Our audience of friends is no different from our business audience — they all rely on our face and hands (and sometimes legs, feet and other parts of us!) to 'see' the bigger, fuller picture.

It is totally understandable that our nervousness can cause us to 'freeze up', but is is in our and our communication's best interests if we manage that nervousness, manage our fear of public speaking, and use our body to help emphasise our point.

I found that by joining a local Toastmasters International club I was rapidly able to learn how to 'free up my body' when presenting to others.

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Movement

Ever watch great presenters in action — men and women who are alone on the stage yet make us laugh, cry and be swept along by their words and enthusiasm?

Watch them carefully and you'll note that they don't stand rigidly in one spot. No, they bounce and run and stroll and glide all around the stage.

Why do they do that?

Because they know that we human beings, men in particular, are drawn to movement.

As part of man's genetic heritage we are programmed to pay attention to movement. We instantly notice it, whether we want to or not, assessing the movement for any hint of a threat to us.

This, of course, helps explain why many men are drawn to the TV and seem transfixed by it. It also helps explain why men in particular are almost 'glued' to the TV when there is any sport on. All that movement!

But to get back to the stage and you on it... ensure that any movement you make is meaningful and not just nervous fidgetting, like rocking back and forth on your heels or moving two steps forward and back, or side to side.

This is 'nervous movement' and your nervousness will transmit itself to your audience, significantly diluting the potency of your communication and message.

So move about the stage when you can — not just to keep the men in the audience happy, but to help emphasise your message!

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Posture

There are two kinds of 'posture' and it is the wise communicator that manages and utilizes both.

Posture 1

The first type of 'posture' is the one we think of intuitively-the straight back versues the slumped shoulders; the feet-apart confident stance verses the feet together, hand-wringing of the nervous; the head up and smiling versus the head down and frowing.

And every one of the positions we place the various elements of our body in tells a story—a powerful, nonverbal story.

For example, stand upright, shoulders straight, head up and eyes facing the front. Wear a big smile. Notice how you 'feel' emotionally.

Now-slump your shoulders, look at the floor and slightly shuffle your feet. Again, take a not of your emotional state.

Notice the difference?

Your audience surely will, and react to you and your message accordingly.

A strong, upright, positive body posture not only helps you breath easier (good for helping to calm nerves!) but also transmits a message of authority, confidence, trust and power.

If you find yourself challenged to maintain such a posture, practice in front of a mirror, or better yet join a speaking club like Toastmasters International.

Posture 2

The second type of 'posture' comes from your internal mental and emotional states.

You can have great body posture but without internal mental and emotional posture your words will sound hollow to your audience.

For example, the used car salesman at 'Dodgy Brothers Motors' might have great body posture and greet you with a firm handshake, a steady gaze and a friendly smile. But if in his heart he is seeing you as just another sucker then sooner or later his internal conflict between what he says and what he really thinks will cause him to 'trip up'.

His body will start betraying his real, underlying intentions and you'll start to feel uncomfortable around him, even if you can't figure out why.

But, if that same used car salesman had a genuine desire to help you find the right car for you, and he puts your needs before his own, then his words and actions will remain congruent (in harmony) with his underlying intentions and you will trust him, even though you might not be able to identify why.

I have seen some supposed 'self help' gurus who don't actually practice what they preach. Consequently their words ring hollow to me and their books, cds, dvds and training materials remain unpurchased.

I have met salesmen and women who don't actually make the money they claim to make in their 'fabulous business opportunity', and while their words are practiced and polished, and their body posture is 'perfect', their words ooze like honeyed poison frm their lips and I remain unconvinced.

This second type of 'posture' is fundamentally tied to truth and honesty. It is about 'walking the talk' and being who you say you are.

It's about not trying to sell something you don't believe in or use yourself. It's about not trying to pass yourself off as an expert when all you've ever done is read a book on the subject.

It's all about making sure that your words and your intentions are underpinned by truth and honesty. Because all of us, no matter how polished a presenter we might be, are at the mercy of our body and its ability to 'tell the truth' in spite of what our lips might utter. Nonverbal clues rule!

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Written communication

I could spend a lifetime writing about the art of written communication.

There is an art (and also a science) that can be learnt with diligence and practice. To write too formally; to write too informally; to write too briefly; to write too lengthily...

My first suggestion would be to avail yourself of one of the following three books, each of which is absolutely brilliant at giving you the skills and insights into effective business writing:

• The Business Style Handbook: An A-to-Z Guide for Writing on the Job with Tips from Communications Experts at the Fortune 500 by Helen Cunningham and Brenda Greene

• The Elements of Business Writing: A Guide to Writing Clear, Concise Letters, Memos, Reports, Proposals, and Other Business Documents by Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly

• Effective Business Writing: Strategies, Suggestions and Examples by Maryann V. Piotrowski

From persuasive memos to complaint letters, sales letters to executive summaries -- these exceedingly useful guides help you to write clearly and in an appropriate format, style and tone. Each book has numerous examples that show how to overcome writer's block, organize messages for maximum impact, achieve an easy-to-read style, find an efficient writing system and much more.

Communication Barriers and Simplifying the Communication Process

The communication process can be much more difficult than a person thinks. Unfortunately, many times a presenter does not realize that their message is being lost until it is too late and they have gone through an entire meeting/lecture talking away about something that their colleagues/audience thinks is absolutely meaningless. Here are some helpful questions to ask yourself before attempting to relay a message to a large audience.

Communication barriers may be categorized as follows: Assumptions about yourself — Do I really have something to offer? Is it safe for me to offer suggestions? Do I really want to share the information? Will others really understand? How will the communication affect my self-esteem? Attitudes about the message itself — Is the information valuable? Do I see the information correctly or understand it well enough to describe it to others? Is it organized? Am I comfortable with what I am saying? Can I maintain eye contact? Sensing the receiver’s reaction — Do I become aware of whether or not the receiver is actually understanding? Or, in other words, can I “sense” from certain cues or reactions by the receiver, whether or not we are communicating? Am I aware of the receiver’s needs? interests?

Communication can easily be simplified. All you have to do is know the major causes of communication failures and detect them as they occur. Typically, people involved in communication breakdowns are either (a) utterly unaware that the communication has failed and that misunderstanding has resulted; or (b) painfully aware of a communication blockage — or complete breakdown — and frustrated by not knowing the reasons why. In either case, people are powerless to handle or remedy the problem. Remember, the expert communicator not only learns to detect communication barriers but also to anticipate them and use an appropriate remedy to overcome them.

Powerpoint Background Slides Tips

There are various tools available in the computers, for your web designing and writing. One of them is the tool, Microsoft Powerpoint. This powerful tool is used to create professional looking presentations and slide shows from scratch or by using its easy wizard. By using the PowerPoint software, you can make any form of background you may need for your program. Using different values in the program, you can get animated backgrounds, music backgrounds and even Christmas and religious backgrounds.

The world of internet has made advertising so easy, that you can shop, buy and download perfect PowerPoint templates and PowerPoint background videos in a matter of minutes. Not only this, there are terrific, ready-made PowerPoint background slides be available where you can change your dull PowerPoint presentation into an aggressive, attention grabbing and energetic presentation in not time at all.

With the free PowerPoint templates available in the internet, you can try out your skills at the PowerPoint presentation background, without actually first buying it. You can download these Microsoft PowerPoint templates for free for your education and use. Remember, all the PowerPoint background slides have been pre-set by expert graphic designers. The design background, typeface and colors have all been expertly designed; all you have to do is insert the text, and you have it!

You can experiment in making animated backgrounds in the PowerPoint by setting different values in the program. The background animates when an absolute value has been specified for either the horizontal or the vertical directions. If at all both the directions are specified, the background is animated diagonally. By making changes in the PowerPoint values, you can form blue blocks, closed circuit, award night and many more other PowerPoint background presentations. These changes bring about moving characters on the computer screen.

If you need graphics for specific web pages, they too are available in abundance in the internet. You just have to download these special backgrounds, like Christmas, New Year and other festivities’ backgrounds from the internet for free. You then use these graphics in your web page as you desire. There is another free software available for download in the internet, the Movie Wizard, where you can spice up your slideshows with the addition of graphics and background music and animating photos with the help of their tutorials.

How to Convert PowerPoint to Flash Manually

Converting PowerPoint to Flash would be absolutely a good choice to distribute your bulky PowerPoint Presentation. You can do the whole PowerPoint-to-Flash conversion manually or by related softwares.

First, you'll need to prepare the PowerPoint document. Make sure you are not using any complicated gradients or animations. These will be interpreted poorly when they are brought into Flash. Also, make sure there are no objects that fall outside the confines of the slide area.

This will ensure that all the slides align correctly when they are imported to Flash. Now, save a copy of your presentation without any background images. You may want to also choose a contrasting background color to easily see the content of each slide. You all import the background images into Flash at a later time.

Second, choose File > Save As... from your PowerPoint document and save the presentation as a Windows Metafile (*.wmf). This will save your entire presentation as a sequence of files. WMF files keep all text.

Next, create a new Flash Document and resize the Stage to 720 x 540. Change the background color to black. Choose File > Import > Import to Stage... and import the first WMF file. When asked to import all of the images in the sequence, choose Yes. This will place each slide from your presentation onto a sequence of frames.

Then, create a new layer under the slides layer and import the images to use for your background. You'll probably need two images, one for title slides and one for the regular slides. Now it's time for some manual labor. You'll need to go through every frame of the movie and delete the solid background shape from your slides layer. Once this is complete, you should see the content of each slide with the correct background image behind it.

Finally, add a frame to the end of your movie. Place some static text on that frame that says something like "End of slideshow, click to exit."

Alright, now it's time to move on to some ActionScript. Create a new layer for your actions. There are a few statements you’ll need to include right away. First, you want this movie to play full screen so add an fscommand. fscomma("fullscreen","true");To make sure the Stage resizes correctly specify the scaleMode.

Stage.scaleMode = "exactFit";Finally, you don't want the movie to begin playing through all the slides right away before the user starts clicking, so add a stop function. stop();You'll need to include some functions that will be used frequently to navigate the presentation.

function gotoNextSlide():Void {

if (_currentframe <>

gotoAndStop(_currentframe + 1);

} else {

quit();

} }

function gotoPreviousSlide():Void {

gotoAndStop(_currentframe - 1); }

function gotoHome():Void {

gotoAndStop(1); }

function gotoEnd():Void {

if (_currentframe <>

gotoAndStop(_totalframes - 1);

} }

function quit():Void {

fscommand("quit"); }Next, we need to handle all the keyboard and mouse events so that the

user can navigate through the slides. We'll do this by creating a new listener object. var myListener:Object = new Object(); myListener.onKeyDown = myOnKeyDown; myListener.onKeyUp = myOnKeyUp; Key.addListener(myListener); myListener.onMouseUp = myOnMouseUp; Mouse.addListener(myListener);Here are the listener functions. function myOnKeyDown():Void {

if (Key.isDown(Key.DOWN) || Key.isDown(Key.PGDN)) {

gotoNextSlide();

} else if (Key.isDown(Key.UP) || Key.isDown(Key.PGUP)) {

gotoPreviousSlide();

} else if (Key.isDown(Key.END)) {

gotoEnd();

} else if (Key.isDown(Key.HOME)) {

gotoHome();

} }

function myOnKeyUp():Void {

if (Key.getCode() == 27) {

quit();

} }

function myOnMouseUp():Void {

gotoNextSlide(); }

If that's too complicate to you, you can try some PPT to SWF software, like SameShow PPT to SWF Converter, MelodyPPT, Arbicate etc, all of them can help you convert PowerPoint to Flash with cool effects.

How to Chair a Meeting

You don't have to be on a stage to be a public speaker. Your platform may be a meeting room. How you present yourself when chairing a meeting determines whether or not you are perceived as a leader. Here are some tips to keep in mind when it's your turn to take charge.

Know why you are holding the meeting. What outcomes are you trying to achieve? This will keep you focused and purposeful.

Clarify your role as chair. How do the participants perceive you? Did you call the meeting? Do participants report to you? If you're the boss, people may be scared to speak their minds .If you're not the boss, what do people expect from you as the chair?

Set a positive tone early in the meeting. Greet people before you sit down. Break the ice with some light humor to relax the group. People are often tentative and guarded during the first few minutes. Provide coffee if appropriate. People bond around food and drink.

Provide a written agenda on a handout or flip chart. The agenda keeps the meeting on track. Let the group know the time frame and guidelines for working together. "We have only forty minutes today. I will update you on the customer service situation, and then I'd like us to brainstorm some solutions to the challenges we face."

Start on time. Don't wait for stragglers. If you begin and end on time, you'll condition people to be prompt.

Create interest with an enticing title. Instead of a management topic about "Business Etiquette" title it "What's Rudeness Costing You?"

Appoint a person to take minutes so that you can later review discussions that took place and the decisions that were made.

Manage the group dynamics. Don't let one person dominate. Ask for other opinions. If some people are silent, draw them out by asking for their thoughts.

Handle conflicts impartially. Encourage cooperation by clarifying what people have said and then asking the participants to propose solutions. Heated arguments may require a timeout in which group members take a short break and return when they've cooled off.

Assign a timekeeper if time is a major constraint.

Give a short summary or recap before going on to the next area. Be sure people understand what the group has agreed to.

End with an action step...Meetings fail because people aren't held accountable. Summarize the action steps the group members are to take and attach a time frame to each action. The only way to get commitment is to assign a deadline.

By following these tips you’ll run more effective meetings and gain respect as a confident leader.

8 Ways to Improve Your Presentation Skills

1. Join Toastmasters. Toastmasters is a organization where you will get a chance to work on your impromptu speaking skills, leadership skills, evaluation skills as well as opportunities to practice specific skills in prepare presentations (at your own pace). Clubs typically meet weekly and you can find clubs that meet in the morning, evening, lunchtime to meet your schedule. I highly recommend this! Find a club and attend to learn much more.

2. Consider the Dale Carnegie Course. The Dale Carnegie Course is about much more than speaking, but you will speak in each of the 14 weekly sessions. This workshop is more expensive than Toastmasters but is an excellent program to help with presentation skills, confidence and more.

3. Find opportunities at work. You might have limited opportunities to speak at work, due to the nature of your job, but that doesn't need to keep you from letting people know you desire that chance. Take even opportunities to talk in small meetings as a chance to practice the skills we learned together too!

4. Find opportunities outside of work. Step up in your church or civic group to present some information or be involved in committees or teams that might provide you a chance to hone your skills.

5. Get feedback. Every time you speak ask someone to give you feedback. Ask a trusted friend or colleague to tell you what they saw, heard and observed. Ask one of them to provide you feedback after they are in your audience.

6. Video yourself. You saw the value and power of seeing yourself on tape. Use this tool yourself. Practice a presentation at home and let the camera run - then, watch it and think about what you might do differently to make your message even more powerful.

7. One thing at a time. Choose to work on just one thing at a time. For example, if you want to work on having a stronger WIIFM, make that your major goal for the talk. Pick one thing to especially, consciously work on each time you present. Doing this will help you improve quickly and consciously. Be sure to tell those you are asking for feedback from to look for these key focus areas too!

8. Go Karaoke! A colleague of mine, Jeffrey Gitomer suggests this as a great way to work on your presentation skills. He says that if you can use your skills to get a bunch of uninterested, rowdy (drunk!) people to pay attention to you, you have learned valuable skills that translate to presenting “non-singing” material. I think he is right.

A Powerful Presentation Technique-Story Telling

Appealing to emotions is the most powerful way to transfer learning in an information cluttered training or presentation. A compelling story woven with a lot of information in the telling with a conclusion that appeals to the emotion can permanently etch the learning in an otherwise unresponsive training or meeting fatigued audience.

Right from childhood the best learning we have had has taken place through grandma tales, or reading stories through books or stories narrated to us in schools and by friends. We remember them better than the thousands of lectures and classes we have attended.

So what are the elements of a powerful story and how does it work.

A story is woven around a situation

You need an interesting situation where the protagonist is up against seemingly insurmountable odds. The story should leave out mundane details of what our heroes dress or the chronology and focus solely on the situation he is confronted with, which throws his life out of balance. The focus should be on the emotional elements, the struggle and stratagem to overcome the adversity and how he wins in the end. Don’t we all like the prince to fight the dragon and carry away the princess and live happily ever afterwards.

The situation need not always be good against evil or win vs. lose. They could be funny, humorous, tragic, situational, or just a corporate incident. It only needs to be infused with the right emotion.

Establish the situation quickly

If it takes ages for you to come to the point, you have lost the audience. The situation must be established in the first minute. Remember you are not writing for a magazine or a blockbuster novel. You are narrating to a live audience already on the borderlines of boredom. If you do not kindle their interest immediately you would have pushed them over the edge with negative consequences.

Bring emotion into your own presentation

The story must be narrated with all emotion and drama. If you drone on in a flat monotone howsoever powerful the story might be the impact is lost. Bring variation with voice pitch, right pauses and modulation. The right pauses should make your audience hang on to every word with anticipation and excitement.

Be creative

Telling the right story to the right audience at the right moment is the key. Don’t tell a story just for variation or a little diversion. Plan your presentation and design the story creatively to drive home the message. This perhaps is the difference between an excellent trainer and an average one. The top trainers plan their stories and weave it perfectly into the presentation. The average trainers know a lot of stories and tell one whenever he feels the audience is bored without creating the desired impact. The story becomes more of a filler than a powerful tool.

The Closing

The closing is the key to create impact. If you go into lengthy explanations about the morale the impact may be lost. Leave it with a dramatic end leaving the audience to come to their own inferences. Right from a child of a few years humankind is bestowed with a brilliant and interpretative mind and they come to the right conclusions. The best way to close is with a bit of mystery or a one line explanation leaving the lessons to sink in.

Here’s an illustrative story with most of the elements described.

The Story of the Fierce Giant once upon a time in a land far away, there lived an enormous giant. He was at least ten feet tall, with a mop of red hair and a beard, and in his hand he carried a mighty axe.

Every year on the same day, at the same time, the giant would walk down from the mountains which were his home , to stand outside the castle walls, terrorizing the inhabitants.

‘Come send me your bravest man, and I will fight him,’ the giant would shout, towering over the wall and waving his axe menacingly. ‘Send me someone to fight ,or I will knock down your castle walls and kill everyone with my axe.’

And every year, the gate in the castle wall would open slowly and fearfully, and one poor, valiant soul would walk out to Face the foe and certain death.

‘Is this the best you can do?’ the giant would laugh mockingly. The poor wretch would stand, mesmerized by the enormity of the giant and the task in hand. Not one person had even managed to draw his sword, before the giant would crush him with his mighty fist, and chop them into tiny pieces with his axe.

But then one day, a young prince arrived in the town. ‘Why does everyone here look so frightened and sad?’ he asked a fellow traveler.

‘You haven't seen the giant yet,’ replied the traveler.

‘What giant?’ asked the young prince, intrigued.

The traveler told him the tale.

‘Every year, on this very day, the giant arrives and challenges our bravest to a duel. And every year, he slays them exactly where they stand. They don’t even move or draw their swords. It’s as though the giant hypnotizes them.’

‘We’ll see about that.’ Said the young prince

When the giant arrived later that day, he was waiting for him.

‘Come send me your bravest man, and I will fight him,’ the giant shouted.

‘I am here,’ said the young prince, throwing open the gate and striding out towards him.

For a moment they stood and faced each other. Although he was still a long way from him, the young prince was instantly struck by the sheer size and shocking appearance of his opponent.

But summoning up all his courage, he started to walk towards the giant, brandishing his sword, and never taking his eyes off that dreadful face with the red hair and the red beard.

Suddenly he realized that as he was walking, the giant-rather than appearing larger – actually began to shrink before his very eyes. He stopped and stared. The giant was only five feet tall.

He walked closer to him still then stopped and stared. Now the giant was only two feet tall. He continued walking until he was face to face with the giant, and each step he took , he saw the giant shrink. By now the giant was so small, that he looked up at the young prince . He was only 12 inches tall.

The young prince took his sword, and plunged it into the giant ‘s heart.

As the giant lay dying on the ground , the young prince bent down and whispered to him, ‘who are you ?’

With his dyeing breath , the giant replied, ‘My name is Fear.’

The aim of all presentation and training is to bring about change. There is no better method of creating at least the acceptance of the idea of change than a dramatic powerful story told well.

Choosing a Presentation Remote Control

If you deliver electronic presentations using PowerPoint or other programs, you can manually move forward to the next slide with the keyboard or the mouse. One way, however, to deliver more effective presentations that improve your connection to your audience is to add a remote control to your presentation tools. What features should you look for when selecting a remote control?

Remote Features

Many projectors come standard with a remote but features vary and may not always be easy to use. A better choice is to buy your own personal presentation remote control. When evaluating a remote, look for these features and decide what is important to you:

• Ergonomic and easily fits in your hand. Keep in mind that you might be using the remote for an hour or an entire day. Plus, a smaller remote will usually have fewer and more accessible buttons, fits in your pocket, and is great for travel.

• Simple to use. In most cases, a smaller, ergonomic remote is easy to use but test it before buying. One of my friends loves her small remote which is only about the size of a matchbook. The tradeoff is she needs to press 2 buttons together to make the screen go black, a feature that doesn’t always work. I was reminded of the importance of an easy to use remote recently when I watched an excellent presenter pull out a huge remote that looked a price scanner gun from Home Depot. As he fumbled with a large panel of buttons, the remote dropped to the floor and broke open with batteries flying across the stage.

• Transmit distance. Remotes operate with three different technologies: RF (wireless radio frequency), IR (infrared), and Bluetooth. A huge drawback with IR remotes is that you need to point the mouse directly at the receiver for it to work. Bluetooth remotes use the latest technology but currently have a maximum range of about 30' while many RF remotes have a range of 50 to 100 feet. With some remotes, you can have your back to the laptop and move to the middle of an audience. What do you need for your presentations?

• Built-in mouse. Some presenters will sacrifice a bit in size to get a built-in mouse, usually a small button like you see on some laptops. The Logitech Cordless Presenter, for example, combines a full-size mouse and remote with a 30' range and is priced under $200. Other remotes have a track ball or a touch pad. I prefer a separate wireless mouse that I use for portions of my presentations. I find a built-in mouse to be too awkward but it might be great for your purposes.

• Visible laser pointer. If you’d like a built-in laser pointer, make sure to test it for visibility and practice moving it slowly. Some of the pointers have such a small laser dot that it doesn’t show well on screen. Would an animation be a better way to highlight parts of a slide or a process?

When evaluating features, it is still not that common to find a wide range of remotes at your local computer store or office supply outlet, and so, your best option is to find someone who has a remote and try it out. My favorite is the RemotePoint Navigator from Interlink Electronics which is easy to use, fits comfortably in my hand, and gives me up to 50' of movement from my laptop. Another top model by the same company is the RemotePoint Presenter, with up to 100' of movement, a mouse button, and 32 MB of storage for your presentation; it is priced at about $150. The Phaser Mouse from IOGear is a budget-minded model for as little as $60.

There are many other models and brands to consider. Personally, I don’t like remotes loaded with tons of features that you might not need; these remotes are typically bigger or more complicated to use. Remember, you should be using a remote so that you don’t call attention to the technology and your audience can focus on your content.

Practicing with a Remote Control

After you buy a remote, practice with it before you use it. Don’t just try it at your desk, you need to also setup your laptop and remote and actually run through your presentation. The first time I did this, the screen kept going black or I would accidentally advance to the next slide. The problem wasn’t with the remote. The problem was that I was holding my presentation handout in the same hand and accidentally hitting a remote button through the handout. An easy adjustment but not obvious if my only rehearsal was in my office. I personally like to choreograph my slide actions into my presentation notes to avoiding looking back at the projection screen to check my location. Or, setup your laptop in the meeting room so you can glance at the screen and still keep the connection with your audience.

Practicing with your remote should be a built-in part of your presentation rehearsal to avoid distracting your audience and accomplishing the goal of communicating your message.

Bonus Tips: Always bring extra batteries; many speakers change out batteries for every presentation. To protect your investment, label the remote or put several business cards in the carrying case in the event that your remote is misplaced.

Wow! Is That ME? - Creating a Powerful One-Page Bio

First of all, what is a bio sheet and why do you need one? A bio sheet is a one page description of who you are--your background and achievements. Your bio is an important part of how you present yourself to potential clients. You may include it in your media kit, in proposals to clients, and anywhere you want to establish your credibility and expert reputation.

Here's where the ego boost comes in: Start by writing down all of your accomplishments. These may include:

* Education

* Experience

* Credentials

* Professional affiliations and memberships

* Leadership positions

* Relevant volunteer work

* Media appearances

* What/where you've published

* Speeches and presentations to professional groups, etc.

* Important clients

* A (brief) client testimonial

* Awards

* Relevant family or leisure activities (e.g., travel)

Now, weave these elements into a narrative, being certain to focus on the interests of your audience. Remember, the question on their minds is always, "What's in this for ME?" Include information that shows how your clients benefit from what you do.

What if you don't have any awards, or you haven't published anything? Don't worry about it. Focus on the positives you have. Likewise, if you are changing fields and don't have a lot of experience in your new field, look for transferable accomplishments from previous work, or through your life experience.

Once you've got all this written down on a single page, even you will be impressed at how good you are! Use your bio sheet every chance you get. I send it out in media kits, include it in proposals to potential clients and sponsors, give it to program chairs when I book a speaking engagement, send it with article proposals, use it on the back of handouts at seminars and speeches, etc.

Remember to keep your bio current—after all, it is a work in progress, to be continued!

Choosing the Right Work Shirts for Your Small Business

Company attire says a lot about your business philosophy to your customer. Company shirts project professionalism and advertising. Too loud of a shirt turns people off and certain colors tend to washout your message. A small business which has yellow as part of it’s company colors would be advised to use the bright yellow and not florescent yellow, which looks green at times. You should stay away from the florescent shirts if at all possible.

When choosing a brand of shirts it is often recommended to use only Fruit of the Loom and Beefy-T brands of polo shirts meet. Many companies who sell logo’ed sportsware and company shirts do offer lesser brands for reasons of price, but recommend the higher quality shirts. One less cost shirt is the Screen Star brand, which is very popular, but they fade after five to ten washings and fray easily.

Company shirts should be washed each day. It is recommend that they be washed separately from things like the work towels or rags .if possible. Work towels require bleach which inevitably discolors shirts leaving white marks Even powder bleach tends to destroy the bright colors in your shirts and diminish the logos on the pockets or rear of the shirts.

For women it is suggested that they also wear polo shirts. Being in the car wash business we noticed that if a woman employee was 5’-5” tall or less they especially needed to wear polos because when they lean against cars to reach the top, their shirt fronts will get wet and their bras will show through shirt material not as thick as a polo. This is completely tacky and I assure you it would not have added any business amongst our male customers. In the hot summers some of our female employees choose to wear halter tops. In this case they would always match our company colors. Under certain circumstances some uniform choices make sense.

If you have an outdoor type business all the managers and owners should wear polo shirts and the employees wear T-shirts or Polo shirts. Your decision should be based on durability, cost and estimated shrinkage or shirt loss. The front line employee should wear Fruit of the Loom or Beefy-T tee-shirts for durability. Tee-shirts should have a 10 inch logo on both front and back or a pocket logo on front and a larger logo on the rear.

What type of business do you run? Do you work outdoors? Indoors only; have your serious considered your choices and customers? Think about it.

Tough Talk: Bad News Delivered the Right Way

Communicating Bad News The Right Way

It’s the rare executive who actually enjoys speaking before groups of people, even under the best of circumstances. Public speaking routinely ranks highest on people’s list of fears. Add the pressure of having to deliver bad news to good people, and even the most confident executive can stumble.

Every employee has a horror story about a manager’s inability to relate bad news. One new manager tried to quell questions from anxious employees about their jobs by denying the obvious: he’d been hired to make changes. When that statement was met with skepticism, he explained, “What I meant was that I’m not going to make any changes that you don’t already know have to be made.” Not surprisingly, his words did little to stem fear, help employee morale, or change the speed with which resumes were readied, even among those spared the ax.

Another executive withheld information about necessary layoffs right up to and including the time those layoffs were being put into effect. As employees were summoned one by one into the executive’s office, word began to spread through the employee grapevine like wildfire. Rumors flew out of control. One fired employee began calling workers who were not present, with erroneous news they too were about to be fired. So badly had the executive handled the situation, security guards had to be called in to handle growing employee anger and frustration, right in the presence of visiting clients.

To be sure, these are extreme, real-life examples of bad news communicated badly. However, even the announcement of difficult changes can be handled well by executives, if those announcements are handled honestly, appropriately, and with open and clear communication.

It makes no sense for executives whose workplaces are filled with rumor to stay silent. Yet many executives do just that, fearing that anything they say will only add to the anxiety. The first rule of communicating about change in the workplace is the same rule used in crisis communications: tell what you know when you know it.

Even if what you do know, or are allowed to say is limited, you will do yourself and your employees a great deal of good by setting the stage for open communication early. This gives executives an opportunity to learn of employee concerns and to squelch unfounded rumors at the outset. Even more importantly, it allows executives to communicate an understanding of those concerns to employees.

That will go a long way in giving both employees who are impacted, and those who are not, more confidence that their interests are being taken into account.

Executives should also use care and attention with the words and tone they use, along with how those words are likely to be perceived. Executives uncomfortable with the emotions involved in delivering unpleasant news often choose to present a simple recitation of the facts, in a neutral tone. While it’s important to let employees know what is happening, and why, its equally important executives acknowledge the real pain those changes are causing. Don’t assume workers know how you feel. Workers need to hear executives empathize about the impact of difficult decisions, and acknowledge their worth and contributions.

Executives need to find as many ways as possible to help ease the blow of bad news for all employees, those who might be downsized or reassigned, as well as those left behind. Communicating about any and all options available for employees helps ease the feelings of helplessness and frustration, among those most impacted by change. For those left behind, honest communication about new job duties or increased responsibilities will go a long way toward rebuilding morale and confidence.

Bad news doesn’t have to be communicated badly. Honest, clear and powerful communication can help pave the way for a new beginning.

Tips to Temper Speaking Anxiety

People take it for granted that leaders have achieved some skill in public speaking. Yet anxiety persists because leaders face very challenging situations and have a great risk of embarrassment. Here are some tips for tempering those anxieties.

INTRODUCING A SPEAKER

When you introduce a speaker, answer three questions: 1) Why is this topic being addressed? 2) Why this speaker? And 3) Why now? For example, "Today the Federal Register calls for comments on proposed legislation to raise taxes on gasoline. Our guest speaker has worked in the industry for 10 years and is now legislative aide for Senator . . . ."

Most professional speakers will provide an introduction for you which will answer the second question. Simply lead into it with the answers to the other questions.

READING FROM A SCRIPT

Does reading a speech from a lectern without a TelePrompTer make you feel like you are bobbing for apples? You raise your head and quickly sweep the audience with your eyes and then plunge back into the script. You know that eye contact is essential, yet you cannot risk a misstatement.

To get rid of that feeling, have your speech typed only on the top half of the page and place the page as high up on the lectern as is comfortable. That way you need only raise your eyes and not your head to look at the audience. The distance between audience and script is shorter so there is also less risk of losing your place.

Type your speech large letters, double spaced. That way even in dim light you can easily read it. If time permits, read the speech aloud to yourself several times before you present it.

PRESENTING TO THE BOARD

Board presentations may be the most challenging public speaking you face. Usually the group is small, and you must be prepared to answer questions. You have certain advantages here: First, you have an opportunity to prepare. You may not be the expert, but you will probably know more about the topic than the audience does.

Second, you either know the members of the board or have an opportunity to learn about them in advance by reading biographies or profiles.

Third, you know the outcome you seek. It may be a favorable decision by the board or simply a better understanding of an issue.

To help focus your message, define its purpose in one sentence before beginning to develop it. As you develop the content, select key points leading to the outcome you want. Anticipate questions by putting yourself in your audience's position. Some questions can be answered in the presentation and, therefore, will not need to be asked.

Have supporting information at your fingertips to expand on a point if requested. This will raise your comfort level and enhance your credibility with the board. It is best to know the board's expectations before you finalize the presentation.

REHEARSING FOR SUCCESS

After the content and charts, if any, are to your satisfaction, rehearse your presentation a few times. Most charts will contain only key phrases and pictures or graphics, not complete sentences.

You may want to write a script to use during rehearsal but it is best not to read from a script during your presentation. Try mind-mapping, do an outline, and have only a few notes at hand to reassure yourself.

Schedule some quiet time prior to your presentation and mentally rehearse. If you are nervous, take a few deep breaths, visualize yourself at your best, then give it all you've got!

There is no need to fear public speaking. Anyone can hone their skills with a little practice and mental preparation. Understand your topic, learn all you can about your audience, decide what action you want your listeners to take, and motivate them to act!

Media Training Tips: Maximising Your Media Moment

Media training is a 'must do' professional development program for any serious leader or manager.

Media interview training provides you with the skills to effectively deal with the media.

Media relations training, with a specific focus on media presentation training for television can be seriously nerve wracking for first timers.

Here's why you should consider doing a media training course and some essential tips from our media skill training courses.

If you go to the archives of any commercial television station and pull out footage from a news bulletin from the 1960s and view that footage with a stopwatch, you will find the average length of the quote (known as a sound bite or news grab) from the person being interviewed for the story is around 60 seconds.

If you watch commercial television tonight with your stopwatch at the ready, and measure each sound bite or news grab, the average length will be seven seconds.

This is why its being called McNuggett News! Its quick, slick, fast and tasty, but not very satisfying.

There are three reasons for this shortening of length.

1. Increased competition for our ever diminishing attention spans,

2. Increased choice, noise and clutter in our lives, and

3. The merging of information and entertainment dressed up as news.

So how do you get your message across about a complex, detailed issue through the media in seven seconds?

Well, you need to work out your key message and deliver it flawlessly as a media friendly quotable quote.

Remember, you have only one chance to get it right. The professional TV news crews I work with are constantly telling me about people who ring them after the interview and say "can you come back, I forgot to say this and that?"

Of course, the media are so time poor and deadline driven they never come back.

So you only have one opportunity to maximise your media moment.

How do you do this, especially for TV? Here are my Top 10 Tips:

1. Dress Well.

In the powerful visual medium of television you will be judged by your appearance. Clothing patterns and colours will contribute to the impact of your on camera interview. Avoid clothes with lots of designs or patterns. A dark jacket (blue, black, charcoal or navy) with a white shirt/blouse always looks good on camera. Take your cue from what TV newsreaders are wearing. Heed my mother's advice: "it is better to pay the extra and buy one really good suit than have many of inferior quality."

2. Warm Up Your Voice.

Tiger Woods wouldn't go and play a championship round of golf without warming up. You, as a professional communicator and official spokesperson should never engage with the media without warming up your voice.

3. Speak With Increased Energy.

Speak at a higher volume, range, tone and pitch than you would normally. Imagine having a conversation with someone and speaking at a slightly more animated level than you would normally.

4. Anchor Your Feet and Slow Deliberate Movements.

The more you move around the more your body language will distract from your message. Doing interviews standing, even radio interviews, will change your whole physiology and give your more energy and authority. Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and firmly anchored to the ground. It is hard to sound credible standing on one foot.

At the book launch of Understanding Influence For Leaders At All Levels, I learnt from co-author Des Guilfoyle that slow, fluid and deliberate movements will give you more referent power, charisma and personal magnetism.

TIP: Watch your interviews with the sound off to get a better idea of what your body language is doing in the interview.

5. Keep Calm.

Assertive, aggressive, even angry reporters will fire off questions at you quickly, like bullets spitting from a machinegun. Their speech patterns will be intense and fast. Do not get drawn into mirroring and matching these patterns. In these situations, take a breath and speak more slowly than the interviewer.

6. Memorise Your Three Key Points.

You must be able to deliver these flawlessly without reading notes. Firstly, write them down. Writing things down helps fix them in the mind and seeing them written down also helps. Then compose a visual picture of the actual words. Visually place them in the top left part of your brain. When remembering these points, look to the top left hand part of the brain and they will come to you instantly like magic.

In technical terms, brain experts have shown the left-side of the prefrontal cortex (just behind the forehead) experiences increased blood flow as new information enters our episodic memory. In fact, the brain's thesaurus is dispersed in many separate parts of the left cerebral hemisphere (Source: The Odd Brain by Dr Stephen Juan, Harper Collins, 1998).

7. Never Say No Comment.

Journalists will believe 'where there is smoke there is fire'. Say no comment, but back this up with a valid reason.

8. Drink Plenty Of Water.

Keep hydrated and avoid caffeine and milk prior to an interview. Milk gums up your saliva glands leading to a dry mouth. This manifests itself in the common nervous habit of licking dry lips.

9. Get In The Moment.

Elite athletes talk about and practice getting in the zone to achieve peak performance. You need to do the same.

Try this: Relax, close your eyes and take three deep breaths, focussing on clearing your mind. Then visualise a moment in the past where you felt very motivated and very confident. Capture this moment in your mind and anchor those feelings. Place this mental picture inside your right hand and clench making a fist. Cover this fist with your left hand. Repeat this process until you can instantly put yourself into a state of peak performance.

10. Review, Evaluate and Improve.

After each media interview always review:

What worked well?

What could be improved?

What will I work on for next time?

Media Training 101: Mastering the Television Interview

As I travel around the world I always enjoy sampling the media in different countries.

Even if I don't speak Thai, Bahasa or Mandarin, watching local news services always provides a unique insight into local culture.

I was recently watching a story on a new biotech company on Channel News Asia in Singapore. The story had interviews with both the China-based CEO and biotech venture capitalists in Singapore.

One of the visual images that struck me was how professional, persuasive and powerful the Chinese CEO looked compared to the Singapore interviewees.

The simple difference was the Chinese CEO was wearing a dark suit jacket whereas the Singpore-based talent simply had on a tie and white shirt.

Attention to detail like this can make or break your image and ability to persuade others.

Here are the Top 10 Tips for TV Interviews:

1. Avoid the phrase "I think"

This phrase weakens the impact of your message and sound bite. It adds no value and should be avoided.

2. Always wear a dark jacket for business interviews

Always have on hand a dark jacket to wear for TV interviews. This will give your body shape conveying confidence, credibility and charisma.

3. Avoid white shirts without jackets

A white shirt without a jacket is going to make your head look like a pale, washed out balloon floating around the screen. Avoid this unless you have a great tan or dark complexion.

4. Lean slightly forward towards the camera

That great Western Australian-born TV communicator, artist and inventor of the wobbleboard, Rolf Harris was a master at creating intimacy with viewers by subtle changes to the angle of his head in relation to the TV camera.

Leaning forward slightly will give you more presence and intimacy, as well as making you look thinner.

5. Avoid looking directly at the camera

Having been a TV weather presenter, looking directly at a TV camera to deliver messages is a really challenging skill.

Avoid looking directly at the camera unless you're a seasoned pro.

6. Look at the interviewer

Look directly at the journalist to avoid 'wandering eyes' syndrome. Looking around furtively will make you appear shifty and untrustworthy.

7. Always control the background visuals

Control the background of your TV interview with the message you want to convey. Your logo flashed up behind you for 7 seconds can be worth upwards of $50,000 in free branding.

8. Work on your "quotable quote"

Your media message must be succinct, memorable and to the point.

9. Avoid milk, caffeine and alcohol

Milk will clog up your mouth and caffeine and alcohol will dull your senses and make you want to go to the toilet.

Stick to water and make sure you are fully hydrated.

10. Practice

Nothing is known to improve your skills more than rehearsing, practising and then reviewing your performance.