Efficient Business Presentations That Work Magic!

Whether you're a salesperson or a corporate executive, business presentations to your target audiences are your stock in trade. An effective presentation can serve to communicate your message, enhance your credibility, and close the deal. On the other hand, a poor presentation can diminish even the most promising product or service.

When it comes to a business presentation, procrastination won't serve you well. Preparation is key to successful business presentations. Whether you're preparing for a managing change presentation or business presentations to sell your company's services, always have answers to these basic questions:

Who is your target audience? Gaining an understanding of the needs of your client - whether it's a Fortune 500 company or a mom-and-pop retailer - will allow you to tailor your business presentations to address their specific concerns.

What distinguishes you from your competition? Understanding your competition can give you an edge in your business presentations, since you can highlight the special features of your product or service.

What added value can you give your target audience? Whether you're giving a business presentation at a conference or in a boardroom, think about ways to add value to what you're offering. Value-added items could be a free workbook, an extended service warranty, or a designated support staff person for that account.

Once you know who your target audience is and what you need to present, it's time to determine the best way to communicate your message. You don't have to take a presentation design course to learn effective communication skills through the use of technology. There are many resources on the Internet that can help you design your business presentations to optimize their effectiveness.

Nick Paulus, an executive and business coach who offers online articles on effective business presentations, advises that you "abandon old-fashioned rinky-dink presentations that are a bore, weaken your message, and have proven counterproductive. Go for bright, imaginative and matter-of-fact presentations instead!"

Paulus recommends hard-hitting PowerPoint presentations and offers these tips:

* Create strong headlines on all of your slides

* Use a title page that excites your audience

* Avoid filling your slides with long text; instead, use striking graphic depictions that keep your audiences' interest

* Avoid boring bullet points by replacing them with symbols arranged in a non-linear fashion

* Build up your slide step by step, using "Appear."

Planning for and executing effective business presentations make both you and your company shine. Ask the right questions, and employ the proper technology and techniques to communicate your message while enticing your audience.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web.

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6 Steps to More Relaxed Public Speaking

If you search in Google for the term “public speaking tips” you get roughly 2.6 million responses. That seems like a lot, but when you have to be the one standing in front of the group there isn’t enough information in the world that could get you over that fear.

I have been a Public Speaker for years and one fact remains constant. You always put more pressure one yourself during preparation for your talk than anyone will subject you to during your presentation. Over the years I have developed some tips that may seem obvious, but once completed, will really put your mind at ease, trust me.

Step #1 KNOW OF WHAT YOU SPEAK!
Everyone listening to you will assume that you know more about your topic than anyone else in the room. This may or may not be true but you must KNOW YOUR TOPIC. Be prepared for any question someone might throw at you. And when you do get a tough question just remember this easy response. ‘That’s a Good Question’ followed by a moment of ‘deep thought.’ This gives you a few seconds to formulate your answer. It works. Just watch anyone being interviewed on TV!

Step #2 Whenever Possible - Get to Know your Audience
Greet attendees prior to your speech if possible. Familiarity promotes confidence. Besides, think of the benefit you provide the topic you are to speak on when you take the time to meet people before you go on.

Step #3 Work from a Podium
When delivering a speech you need an anchor. A place to call home while in front of your audience. Working from a Podium gives you this anchor. A place to collect your thoughts and store your notes. It is also a great way to keep you from pacing back and forth or swaying while talking.

Step #4 DO NOT Memorize your Speech
Know your speech almost by heart but please don’t memorize it!! Work from an outline that you can refer to so your entire message is covered. Trying to memorize every word of your speech just puts additional pressure on you. Also, if you get interrupted with a question or other disturbance you will have difficulty remembering where you left off!

Step #5 Don’t Hesitate to Repeat Yourself
When you find yourself with only a mouthful of uhs and ums because you lost your train of thought? Just stop yourself, repeat the sentence as if to add importance, and replace the uhs and ums with silence to allow your points to hit home.

Step #6 Be Animated
Animate your speech. Most people think that good communication is mouth-centric. Nothing could be farther from the truth! To be a powerful communicator, you have to use your entire body. Gestures and body language add energy and enthusiasm to your speech.

Do you realize that many people fear speaking in public more than they fear dying? Maybe because dying is abstract and appears far away while the podium is right in front of them. Either way, you really can come to grips with your fear. Maybe you won’t enjoy it, but you’ll be able to get through it easier. I can’t emphasize enough that half of your battle will be just knowing what you are going to say, and anticipating what others are going to ask. It can be easy!

These are tips can really help you take your next step in public speaking. Do you realize that people pass up promotions because they will be required to speak publicly?

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Body Language and Public Speaking

Experts in the field of communication suggest that just 7% of the meaning of what a person is saying comes from their words. If true, it is quite an incredible finding!

Their studies show that 38% of meaning is based on the tone of the voice. An amazing 55% of meaning comes from the body language of the person speaking. These findings come from research published in the late 1960’s.

Other studies confirm the above even though the percentages might be slightly different. Nevertheless, the bottom line is still the same. If you don’t know the basics of body language, you are missing a valuable tool for learning how to communicate better. We speak body language on a subliminal level, without actually realizing that we are communicating through body talk.

1. Face
The most expressive part of your body is your face. When you enter a room if you feel nervous, your expression might make you look aloof or unfriendly.
Smiling at the room is a sure-fire way to remove anyone’s doubts about your approachability. Smiling makes you look warm, open and confident.

2. Eyes
They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. They certainly give people clues about what we are feeling.
A direct gaze towards someone can show interest- direct staring on the other hand can mean an intense dislike. Very little eye contact can show that you are shy.

3. Hands
Have you ever watched someone’s hand gestures when they are talking? Open hand gestures tend to make a person appear open and honest. Bringing hands together to a point can accent the point you are making.
Wringing your hands or excessively moving your fingers and hands will give away nervousness. It can even make someone look dishonest- are they trying to hide something?

4. Posture
If you lean towards someone you are showing an interest in that person. If we are feeling low in confidence, we tend to slump our shoulders and look down.
Men and women use different body language. For instance, women will stand close to each other, hold eye contact with the person they are talking to and use gestures. Men make little effort to maintain eye contact and seldom rely on the use of gestures to communicate.

An effective speaker will know how to communicate better by observing the differences in their use of body language.

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Effectively Dealing with Questions from Your Audience

How you handle questions from an audience can often be the deciding factor as to how your presentation is received. If you're pitching for business, then it's absolutely vital to handle questions well.

1. Be prepared for questions - When you write your presentation, think about what you're likely to be asked and what your answer is going to be. Maybe you won't want to answer a particular question there and then, so think about what you'll say to satisfy the questioner.

2. Make it clear at the start - You may decide to take questions as you go or at the end of your presentation. Whatever you decide, make it clear at the start and don't change your mind. I would suggest questions at the end in a short presentation; if you take questions as you go, then your timing will get knocked out. And always remember, an audience won't forgive you for taking half an hour when you were only scheduled to speak for fifteen minutes.

3. Never finish with questions - Far better to ask for questions five or ten minutes before the end, deal with the questions and then summarize for a strong finish. Too many presentations finish on questions and the whole thing goes a bit flat - particularly if you don't get any.

4. Listen - When asked a question, listen and look like you’re listening. It may be something you've heard a million times before. Treat the questioner with respect and don't trivialize their point.

5. Thank the questioner - It's only polite, it shows respect and it gives you a bit more time to consider your answer.

6. Repeat the essence of the question - Some people may not have heard the question so your answer may not make any sense to them. It can also be irritating for them not to hear the question. Again, it gives you more time to think of the answer and it makes you look so clever and in control.

7. Answer to everyone - Don't fall into the trap of only answering the questioner. If they happen to be near the front then you could end up having a conversation with them and exclude everyone else.

8. Keep it simple - Many speakers, when it comes to questions, have become more relaxed and the fact that someone is interested enough to ask them a question, leads them to go on too long with the answer - DON'T.

9. Don't bluff or bluster - If you don't know the answer to a question, say so and find out. Suggest to the questioner that you'll 'phone them or come and see them with the answer. It can even be a good way to make further contact after the presentation.

As we all know, it's possible that you may not be asked any questions and you then have that awkward silence. People may be thinking about what you've just said and may need more time to ask. They may also be a bit shy and may take a few minutes to speak out. Why not have a question of your own prepared and say something like. "You may be asking yourself.........?" If you still fail to get any questions then go straight into your summary and closing statement.

Handling a question and answer session well, demonstrates your professionalism and reflects on your message.

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Public Speaking: The First 3 Minutes

This is it! You’ve landed your first Public Speaking engagement. You’ve have prepared and rehearsed. You are all ready to give your best presentation ever.

As you begin you have exactly 3 minutes of your presentation to grab the audience attention and build rapport to ensure they buy in to what you have to say.

In the first 3 minutes of your presentations, your audience is sizing you up. They are deciding whether they like you and whether are you worth listening to. If you lose your audience in the first 3 minutes you will be playing catch up for the rest of the presentation.

Why are the first 3 minutes of your public speaking engagement the most important period of your presentation? This is the time where the attention of the audience is naturally high and focused. This is when the audience decides to listen to you out or not. First Impression counts and you have only one chance at it.
In this crucial period you need to build rapport with your audience. Rapport is a prerequisite for effective communication. Before presenting any material you must build rapport with your audience.

When people are like each other, they like each other. When you have enough rapport with your audience, they will feel acknowledge and engage with you in your presentation.

You can build rapport with your audience by;

- Using the words they use. Use their Jargon’s and preferred terms.
- Use the same tonality and say it like they do
- Use the same gestures and postures.

People create bonds with each other by finding shared experiences. Tell a story to your audience which relays to them that you are exactly like them. Meet members of your audience before the presentation and build rapport with them individually.

Right from the start let your audiences define their own expectation and do your best to meet those expectations. Experiment with different types of openers to see which builds more rapport for you and with your audience. Be flexible, use different openers and evaluate your results. The openers which build more rapport with your audience will be the best ones. Examples of the types of openers that you can look into are:

Current Events, Humor, Pictorial, Anecdotal, Pertinent Quote, Real-World Situation, Rhetorical, Musical

If you have built enough rapport with your audience in the first 3 minutes of your presentation the rest of your presentation will move smoothly. You will have an engaging audience and you will be able to have fun with them and be yourself on stage.

Remember the first 3 minutes of your presentation is the most crucial of all. Start off your presentation with the right foot.

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Six Easy Presentation Secrets to Help Assure your Success

Successful presentation skills can make or break your career. Speaking in front of a group of people can be difficult but there are simple ways to help yourself build confidence and your career.

*Many people get very nervous during a presentation and can forget to breathe. While talking it is important to remember to take regular breaths. Before starting take a few deep breaths to help you to relax.

*When you start your speech find a focal point in the room. It may be something in the back of the room, a window, someone in the audience or even the podium. If you lose you place or find yourself stumbling a bit, pause and lock in on your focal point. This helps you collect your thoughts without going into a panic.

*Look people in the eye while speaking, if you can, but don’t stare! If this is difficult for you, one trick is to look at their forehead. From a distance the audience will never know the difference and the effect is still the same.

*Plan what you are going to say but do not memorize it. Try writing down keywords or key subjects on paper in outline form in case you need to look at it. This ensures you do not forget what you want to say and also allows opportunity to ad lib which always sounds more natural.

*I always like to start off a talk or presentation with some humor, sort of an ice breaker. I participated in a presentation years ago at Virginia Tech University. We were proposing to construct an addition to their football field. My job was to present the price. My opening comment was, ‘I won’t keep you in suspense. Let’s get the price out on the table right now!’ upon which I proceeded to pull the estimate out of my pocket and, upon examination, and while putting my glasses on, said, ‘Whoa, this price is SO LOW I have to get my glasses out to read it!’ It was not much of a joke however a couple of people did laugh and it gave me a huge confidence boost.

*Finally, I advise you to talk a bit slower than normal. Often times, because you are nervous, words tend to come out of your mouth entirely too fast.

I hope this article helps you to deliver a quality public speech.

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