| |
| |
|
Presentation Information |
|
|
|
Secrets of Successful Presentations
Does the thought of speaking in front of others send you running in the opposite direction? Youâ??re not alone. Many people avoid public speaking at all costs â?" and there is a cost. Public speaking is one of the quickest, most efficient ways to market yourself, your message, business, or cause. Those who are willing to make presentations immediately stand out from the majority who are not. Whether itâ??s an audience of five people or 500, itâ??s worth it to invest in your skills. After coaching hundreds of clients in presentation skills, Iâ??m convinced that anyone can improve and gain confidence by following a few simple techniques: Know Your Audience. Most presentations fail because the speaker never took the time to find out anything about his audience. Knowing your audience means finding out as much information as possible in advance so that you can successfully match your message to their interests and needs. Helpful information includes: gender breakdown, average age, and their current or past experience with your topic. If itâ??s not possible to learn your audience in advance, then at the very least, arrive early and spend a few minutes meeting people. Or, begin your presentation by asking some general questions like, â??Who has experience withâ?¦?â?? This also helps to calms nerves as you are taking the focus off you, and putting it on your audience where it belongs. Forget Memorizing. One of the biggest fears Iâ??ve heard from my clients is that theyâ??ll freeze up and forget what comes next. That can happen if you try to memorize your entire speech. All it takes is forgetting one word to trip you up. Instead, only memorize the opening and closing. Looking directly at your audience when you start and finish makes a strong, positive impression. For the middle section, itâ??s fine to glance at note cards with bullet points, or refer to your PowerPoint presentation to jog your memory. Do not, however, write out your whole speech word for word! Youâ??ll be tempted to read it instead of connecting with your audience. Open with a Bang. Itâ??s important to grab attention immediately. A good opening sparks interests, sets expectations, previews whatâ??s to come, and offers benefits. There are several ways to start: ask a question, tell a story, humor (careful with this one unless youâ??re naturally funny), quotes, dramatic statistics, or music/video. Give your audience a reason to listen, and build your credibility as the best person to be speaking on this topic. Make it Memorable. Signposting is a way to help your audience follow and remember what youâ??re saying. Phrases that focus listening are: â??The point is this,â?? and â??The most important thing to remember is.â?? Another strategy is to number your points as in, â??Iâ??ll be offering three ideas, the first one isâ?¦â?? In Closing. Audiences are most likely to remember the last thing they hear. A strong closing should be memorized and review your main points. Motivate the audience to do something â?" take an action, ask a question, have an emotional response, or think differently. Make it clear what it is youâ??re asking them to do (and if you donâ??t know, re-think the purpose of your speech). Calming Nervousness. Most nerves are caused when the speaker focuses on himself instead of the audience. A speaker might think to himself, â??What if I say something stupid?â?? or â??I hope I donâ??t trip.â?? That kind of self-absorption puts up a wall between you and the audience. By shifting your focus to the audience, youâ??ll forget about yourself and start connecting with them. Second, some nervousness is a good thing! Itâ??s an indication that you care what your audience thinks and can serve as a strong motivator to do well. The goal is not to eliminate nerves, but to use that energy in a positive way. Susan Fee is a licensed counselor, communications expert, and author of Positive First Impressions: 83 Ways to Establish Confidence, Competence, and Trust (available through her Web site at http://www.susanfee.com). She specializes in coaching individuals in making successful presentations.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Six Marketing Tips for Trade Show Success A trade show is an ideal way of showcasing your products and services to a large number of prospects all at the one location and at the same time. Thoroughly planned marketing is the key to success at your next industry related exhibition. Choosing a Company Shirt vendor Where can you choose a company shirt vendor? There are many catalogs out their with more than competent companies selling logo'ed attire for small, medium and large businesses. Online there are many great companies too which have low costs for shirts and then put on your logo and send them to you. Planning a Group Meeting CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE FACILITATOR: As chairperson, focus on the meeting's goals and objectives throughout the meeting. Most everything you say should serve that purpose. Tough Talk: Bad News Delivered the Right Way Communicating Bad News The Right WayIt'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. After the Speech Usually the emphasis on making an effective speech is what you do in preparation before the presentation begins. But if you speak very much, what you do after the speech can help you become a more effective speaker. 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.. 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. Presentation Power Does Not Come From PowerPoint You speak before a group. You present your message. Don't Give Presentations Or Speeches - Give Leadership Talks Instead The CEO of a worldwide business asked me to help him develop a talk he planned to give to several hundred of his top executives. He said, 'I feel as if I'm Daniel going into the lion's den. Handling Questions with Authority At some point in your presentation you will be expected to answer questions from your audience. They might have some burning questions that need to be answered before they buy into your message. The Right Speaker Makes a BIG DIFFERENCE MORE and more corporations in Malaysia have awoken to the necessity of training and developing their people these days. Hence, many local speakers have emerged in recent years just as many foreign ones have already been flocking to Malaysia as far back as two decades ago. Networking: How to Network Within Your Organisation Although there are any number of different networking groups and events you can attend, some of the best networking can occur within your organisation. To build your profile and reputation internally and understand "who's who in the zoo" it is worth investing time to get to know the people around you. Presentation Pitfalls Series: Top 10 Content Mangement Mistakes Here, David Letterman style, are what I consider to be the Top 10 most common mistakes presenters make when organizing and preparing their content:10) Not setting the stage.An introduction should be more than just "Hello. 27 Tips For An Effective Presentation So you're not a professional speaker. That's no excuse for NOT giving a professional presentation. The End is the Beginning People remember best what you say last. In a presentation, what people take with them to put into action or to connect with what they already know depends to a large degree on how you end the presentations. The Relationship between Information Sender and Receiver: The Art of Communication For communication to take place, a message must be transmitted by a communicator and correctly received by a listener. If the message is not understood, there is no communication. Audience-Friendly Presentation Style Habits in Three Easy Steps You have presentation style habits that automatically appear when you are speaking in public. Where did these habits come from? Most likely you picked them up from watching other people give presentations, or they are carry-overs from your own conversational style. Building a Trade Show Display If you are taking your newest products to a trade show then you will need to come up with some ideas on how to build a trade show display in order to adequately market your products. You might seem at a loss and cannot think of anything, however building a trade show display is not so difficult if you sit down and think about it. Leaves Your Audience Hungry For More! -- Presentations That Get Results Regardless, if your goal is to make a sale or educate. You don't want to fall prey to the mistakes that many presenters make -- loading us down with piles and piles of information and communication hodgepodge. Painless Presentations Did the "Painless" part of the title get your attention?Speaking in front of a group ranks with death of a family member and loosing a job when it comes to the emotional toll it takes on some people.If you are one of those folks who look for any excuse not to give a presentation in a meeting, social club or your church take heart.
|
| Article List | Index | Site Map |
|
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved. |