Create a compelling presentation

 

Create a compelling presentation

When you plan your next presentation, structure a basic—but thorough—outline consisting of three parts: introduction, body and closing. 

Introduction:

• Open your speech with a hook to grab your audience’s attention. Tell a personal anecdote, recite a relevant quote or state a startling fact. Many presenters use humor, but approach that tactic with caution; jokes sometimes bomb.
   
• Motivate your audience to listen to you. Give the audience a reason to stay tuned in. Ask yourself: “Who is my audience?” and “Why is this information important to them?” Then tell your listeners why they will benefit from your speech.

Body:

• Establish the main message of your presentation. Write your key message in one sentence, using plain language. Let that sentence guide you as you prepare your remarks.
   
• List three—no more than five—points that support your message. Too many points and your audience will have difficulty remembering them all. Add statistics or anecdotes to illustrate and support each point, choosing memorable information that will allow the audience to absorb, understand and remember your message.
   
• Do not attempt to cover too much. Limit yourself to the content that you know best. Avoid making assertions that you cannot back up with up-to-the-date facts.

Conclusion:

• Aim for 10% to 15% of your total speaking time. For example, if you have 15 minutes, your conclusion should take about two minutes; if you speak for 40 minutes, devote about four minutes to wrapping it up.
   
• Announce that you are wrapping up your speech. Say “In conclusion, today we’ve talked about …” For this part of your talk, restate in crisp, concise fashion the key points you want your audience to remember.

—Adapted from No Sweat! Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking, WorkplaceTrainingCenter.com.

No Sweat! Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking

This multimedia product includes a 15-minute video that demonstrates techniques for reducing your public-speaking fear. It teaches you how to control your anxiety and overcome the top challenges you face when presenting to a group. Armed with this advice, you will become a polished and professional presenter, and that will increase your credibility exponentially.

Learning objectives:

• Recover when you go blank.
   
• Take precautions to reduce anxiety-induced sweating.
   
• Respond when audience members point out your mistakes.
   
• Slow down so people can understand you.
   
• And much more!

This product also includes a binder and a CD-ROM with the following materials:

Trainer’s Guide

• The Training Session Format prepares you for running a training session. It walks you through each step, from writing the meeting agenda to handing out Certificates of Completion.
   
• The Video Guide outlines the video and includes discussion points you can use to spark conversations among your trainees.
   
• The Group Exercise is a team-building activity that will energize your trainees and reinforce the lessons presented in the video.
   
• Customize and award a Certificate of Completion to everyone who completes your training session!

Viewer’s Guide

• The Video Guide outlines the video and provides extra tips trainees can put to use immediately. It’s a reference tool they can turn to again and again—long after the training session is over.
   
• The Practice Exercises encourage trainees to continue to develop their skills.
   
• The Assessment Quiz shows trainees their weakness so that they can focus on improving in those areas.

Customizable and Print-Ready Forms

• Assessment Quiz and answer key.
   
• Certificate of Completion.
   
• Viewer’s Guide.
   
• Trainer’s Guide.

Order now or preview the video!

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 Sponsored by

 

American Speaker 

Find all the advice you need to craft outstanding speeches and deliver top-notch presentations.

AmericanSpeaker.com puts these resources at your fingertips:

• Searchable databases. Use our extensive collection of Quotes, Humor and Days in History to find appropriate content to integrate into your own speeches.
   
• Searchable article library. Read current and past issues to find the best advice on public speaking and presentation skills. Also access sample speeches and special reports at any time. 
  
• Profiles of the top technology for making effective presentations.
   
• A place to exchange tips. Send us your best advice, and we’ll share it with all our readers!

AND you’ll receive loads of speech writing, presenting and speaking tips each month.

All that for the low price of $49 for a full year’s subscription.

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Speak slowly and smoothly for faster service

Speak slowly and smoothly for faster service 

by Betty Hintch, editor, First-Rate Customer Service Forum

Speaking clearly will improve your customer service. Customers judge you by your voice. That may be unfair, but it’s the truth. Make sure your speaking style is confident and professional by following these tips:

• Speak loudly enough for customers to hear you without straining. If customers often ask you to speak up or repeat yourself, turn up the volume.
   
• Monitor your diction. If you speak to customers all day long, your speech may grow sloppy. Be especially careful about words that end in “ing.” Say “I’m going to,” not “I’m goin” or “I’m gonna.”
   
• Pause between sentences. Count one or two beats to make sure the customer is still following what you’re saying. That’s especially important if you have to repeat the same information throughout the day, which can sound like rattling off a speech at customers rather than communicating with them.
   
• Unclog your speech by eliminating filler words such as “Well,” “You know,” “Like,” “Uh” and “Um.” They make you sound uncertain.
   
• Slow down. It’s likely that you will speak too quickly, rather than too slowly, especially when handling an angry customer. Keep a sign posted on your bulletin board or a sticky note on your computer screen that says “Slow down.” That way, when you become flustered, your note will remind you to take your time. Use the same moderate speaking pace when you leave voice-mail messages. Customers will tune you out if they can’t understand what you are saying.

Connect with your customers by viewing Communicating for Results: How to Be Clear, Concise & Credible. The video features tips on how to focus on your customers’ moods to promote positive interactions and solve problems quickly. 

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Last month’s poll

Personal relationships are the focus of our readers’ New Year’s resolutions. Reconciling problems in your personal life allows you to focus your attention on your work and professional development.

Learn to manage professional relationships with 21 Workplace Personalities: How to Say the Right Things at the Right Time. This tip book features techniques to find the right words to ease tension and produce the results you want at the office—and even in communications with family and friends.

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MAKE COMMUNICATION
A TOP PRIORITY FOR YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAMS!

Communicating With Customers 

The average organization loses up to 30% of its customers due to poor customer service. Don’t let this happen to you!

This best-selling video reveals how you can keep customers coming back by avoiding the eight most common mistakes made when serving customers. 

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Making Every Call Count:
Best Practices for Business Telephone Communications

No matter how telephone-savvy you and your employees are, your organization can benefit from a telephone skills audit.

This special report will help you assess the quality of your organization’s phone transactions. It outlines best practices and provides a guide to correcting and improving your company’s most critical communication link with the world. 

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 Click here to receive First-Rate Customer Service Forum once a month, delivered straight to your inbox!

3-D meetings—No funny glasses required

3-D meetings—No funny glasses required

This is a guest article by AmyK Hutchens

You and your team are facing an extraordinary opportunity—one that could dramatically improve the course of business in the years ahead. There are, however, decisions to make, plans to create and, of course, actions to take. How do you ensure that the first of these—decisions—will lead to the success you foresee? Make it a 3-D experience for everyone involved.

Unlike the Euclidean version that may come to mind, this 3-D experience is defined by three essential elements: Discuss, Debate and Decide. Each element forms the foundation for execution success and goal achievement. Neglecting even one will compromise your opportunity for success.

1. Discuss: The most valuable discussions are those of dialogue as opposed to dissertation, and the most productive dialogues occur in two steps.

First, state the opportunity in clear, unbiased terms. With a mindset of respect and equality (organizational hierarchy has no place here), encourage free-thinking and sharing from the team members about how best to maximize this opportunity—if it should even be pursued. Provoke constructive controversy and resist any propensity for judgmental commentary. Seek to stretch perspective beyond the status quo and mitigate potentially limiting beliefs. Doing this step first will engender thoughtful regard and trust among the team members and open the door to creativity and innovation.

Second, add structure to the dialogue. Take a closer look at each of the contributions to the discussion so far and apply objective questions to all of them. What are the potential consequences, intended and otherwise? Who will be involved and feel the effects, for better or worse? What’s the value of the “extraordinary” opportunity to all those involved? Think of this step as a culling process, where the most valid contributions are identified and clarified for subsequent debate.

2. Debate: Having shared an intellectually curious, thoughtful discussion, it’s time to take sides. Debate is essentially a well-reasoned, respectful, even passionate argument. Debate the proposed positions and discussion points from each plausible perspective. The goal is discovery. Through deep inquiry, clear and thorough presentation, and thoughtful rebuttal, answers to questions that otherwise would not likely come to mind are brought to light. Perhaps even more revealing is the discovery of questions behind the questions—the things you were unaware you didn’t know. Debate where and how a proposed course of action might fail, how it might succeed, is it even feasible, and so on. And, above all else, listen with the same intensity others reserve for speaking. It will pay dividends even beyond the decision you choose.

3. Decide: Finally, after all the discussion and enlightened debate, it’s time to choose. This does not mean defeat nor acquiescence for anyone. For even those who “lost” the debate will ultimately win with a great decision made. It means to commit—completely and clear-mindedly for everyone. This is not a place for compliance. Commitment necessitates regard for the process you’ve completed and respect for the people with whom you’ve processed. What does this look like down the road? Unity of command—when in the moment the decision that was made is challenged by circumstances or individuals, you stand by the decision you made as a team and present it as your own, without caveat or condition.

How will you know your decision was the “right” decision and even a great decision? Fair question—perhaps not the best question, however. The more compelling question is “How will you lead in the wake of the decision you made?” Great leaders do far more than make great decisions. They deal with consequences, they focus, they listen, they navigate the unpredictable course of life, and in so doing they inspire those they lead to make their own great decisions.

About the author: Having worked with 30,000+ executives in eight countries, AmyK Hutchens serves as an intelligence activist and business strategist to leaders around the globe. She is a former executive vice president of operations for a leading sales and marketing firm, director of education for Europe and Australia for a billion-dollar consumer products company, and chosen member of National Geographic’s Education Advisory Board. To learn more about AmyK International’s ground-breaking Leadership Links program please visit www.amyk.com. Follow AmyK on Twitter @AmyKinc.

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Our Readers Tell Us! Track email work Last month we asked for your best practices for handling email. Reader Devang Shah, who receives about 175 emails a day, shared his approach. If an email requires time to follow up, Shah says, “I send a reply stating I am looking into it will and will get back by certain time.” Then he adds the email to a calendar reminder or creates an Outlook task for the response. That allows him to continue to focus on priority items without forgetting about the email. He also can easily create a report of his activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Inspired Leadership

The brand new Inspired Leadership: Propel Your Employees to New Heightsprovides you with advice for more effectively leading your team or organization. Learn the keys to becoming a respected and trusted leader, to building employee loyalty, and to driving creativity at every level in your organization. 

This multimedia toolkit includes:

• The 17-minute videoBottom-Up Innovation: Unleash the Creative Intelligence of Everyone in Your Organization, with a companion Trainer’s Guide and Viewer’s Guide. 
   
• The 60-minute audio conference presentationNo Leader Does It Alone: Empower Your Team to Succeed!
   
• A 65-page workbook stuffed full of best practices, guides, tips, quizzes and more.
   
• A CD with dozens of customizable, print-ready forms.

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Click here to receive The Organized Executive’s Piority One  twice each month!

Mistakes can be a good thing

Mistakes can be a good thing

“When someone makes a mistake, it is a great learning experience.”
— Meryl Runion

If you overreact to every little mistake, you will discourage your people from taking risks. If they don’t take risks, creativity will stall. Prove to your staff that you are accepting of errors—within reason—and then show them how they can learn from every mistake. When someone errs at work, follow this process:

• Maintain your cool. If you start yelling or throwing out insults, your employee will become defensive or tune you out. Stay calm and remain respectful. If you are truly outraged, take some time to calm down before you address the problem. 
   
• Point out the error to the employee. Do it as soon as you are aware of the problem. Don’t put it off; it’s better to discuss the issue when the actions that led to the mistake are still fresh in the employee’s mind. 
   
• Offer the person a chance to give his or her viewpoint. The person may not have had the correct information or might offer some other justifiable reason. Don’t immediately assume that carelessness or spitefulness is to blame. 
   
• Together discuss how to correct the mistake. You may need to show the employee how to do something correctly, or the two of you may need to come up with a damage-control plan. Don’t just tell the person what to do. Involve him or her in coming up with a solution and implementing it. That is critical to making it a learning opportunity and not a reprimand. 
   
• Clarify your expectations. Before you leave, confirm that the person understands what needs to happen next time. Just avoid the “this better not happen again” shtick that many bosses employ.
   
• Sum up what you learned. Simply ask the employee “So what did we learn from this?” Then you might say “I learned that you are committed to your job because of how determined you were to find a solution to that problem.” 
   
• Thank the employee. Don’t end the discussion without first telling the person that you are grateful that he or she remained professional and solution-focused during the meeting, rather than offering excuses or pointing fingers. 

What else can you do to spur creativity and inspire your staff? Find out how in the brand-new training kit Inspired Leadership: Propel Your Employees to New Heights. Gain advice for more effectively leading your team or organization. Learn the keys to becoming a respected and trusted leader, to building employee loyalty, and to driving creativity at every level in your organization.

New to leadership or know someone who is? Follow the Bud to Boss Blog or subscribe to the Bud to Boss Take 5 e-letter for management and leadership advice written specifically for first-time supervisor.

You can clear your email

You can clear your email

Maybe you have been out of the office for a week or you’re so swamped with work that you allowed messages to pile up. In any case you will feel—and be—more confident and in control when you can see the bottom of your email inbox on one screen.

Follow these steps:

• Start with a clean slate. For extreme cases, when the number of messages exceeds 500, move every message older than this week to a new folder. Then deal with the recent messages and new messages as they come in. Commit time on your calendar to using the steps below so you will clear the message backlog that you moved. 
   
• Develop a system. Decide which messages you must keep and which you can delete. Check your organization’s policies on record keeping for guidance. Create folders not only in your email program but also in your document files. Just because information originates as email doesn’t mean you must keep it that way. You can convert an email message to a task, an appointment or a document.
   
• Sort and deal. Start by looking at your messages by date received. Go to the oldest and see what you can delete or move there. Next sort them by sender. Often the most recent message will eliminate the need for older messages. (Note: Learn how to use the Conversations feature, with the free Outlook 2010 Tip Sheet available at OrganizedExecutive.com.)
    
• Apply rules. Creating rules to automatically filter messages is a great tool, and you can apply a rule to the messages in your inbox as soon as you create it. So if you notice that you have a number of messages that meet the same criteria, such as e-letters that you can move to a “To Read” folder, set up that rule and apply it now.
    
• Reply to minimize. As you work through the messages, analyze the patterns so you can head off email overload in the future. Ask people to remove you from distribution lists. Tell people when they don’t need to email you or should contact someone else. Train your staff to use common subject lines so that everyone can apply email rules to their messages.
   
• Be ruthless. Often email builds up because we delay making a decision. Force yourself to act on email, and delete often. If you can’t shake the fear that you just might need a message, move it to a “Kill after hold” folder that you clean monthly.

Now savor the feeling of a clear inbox, and don’t allow bad habits to fill it again.

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The Complete Time Management Toolkit

This product is designed specifically with the busy manager in mind. Not only will you learn how to manage your own time, but this product also provides you with all the resources necessary to train your staff to be more efficient.

And you know that in this do-more-with-less business enviornment, time management skills are critical.

The Complete Time Management Toolkit teaches you and your staff how to improve your productivity and efficiency and do more in less time—all in an easy-to-understand, step-by-step process. You’ll learn to overcome typical time traps and wasters and find the best practices to follow.

But best of all, it provides you with a detailed process and all the handouts you need to conduct a successful, thourough and memorable training session. This budget-friendly product is designed to save you the time of developing your own training session—and it teaches you and your employees how to manage your time more effectively.

This toolkit includes:

• The 21-minute video Conquer the Chaos: The Best Ideas in Time Management. 
   
• The 60-minute tip-filled audio program Overworked and Overwhelmed at Work: Tips for Calming the Chaos at Work.
   
• A 34-page workbook stuffed full of best practices, guides, tips, quizzes and more.
   
• A CD with dozens of customizable, print-ready forms.

Read more or order!

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Click here to receive The Organized Executive’s Piority One  twice each month!

How to write business reports

How to write business reports

This is a guest article by management consultant Norman Wei

There are two main reasons you write a business report or memo: You are either asking someone to do something or you are seeking permission to do something.

The readers of your report may be your employees, your bosses, your customers or your government. These key elements will help you get your message across:

• Be concise. Say what you want to say and no more. Focus on one or two main issues at a time.
   
• Tell them why. “I am asking all of you to do this because …” When people understand your reason behind what you are asking, they may buy into your idea and claim ownership. Once they have ownership, they will be much more willing to help you implement your idea. No parents ever call their own babies ugly. 
   
• Write short sentences in short paragraphs. Keep your paragraphs to no more than five or six lines. No one wants to read a 10-page memo. That’s why one-page memos and executive summaries are so common. If you can’t squeeze all your ideas in one page, distill them in an executive summary. If you are discussing a complicated program, you will, of course, need to attach the details in a separate report.
   
  Use one-sentence paragraphs to emphasis key points.
   
• Keep the tone informal and style conversational. Think of your business report as a conversation with your readers. 
   
  Instead of writing the following to your line supervisors: 

“Please inform all employees that in accordance with Corporate Policy 3.4.9 (b) and OSHA Standard 1910, all employees must wear safety glasses while on the job at all times.”

Try this:

“Please remind your staff members that they need to wear safety glasses for their own protection when they are on the job. We don’t want them to get hurt.” 

If someone wants to read your Corporate Policy 3.4.9 (b) and the OSHA standard, you can give that person a copy.
 
Do not use a lot of jargon unless you know all your readers are familiar with it. The most successful managers are always the ones who can translate technical (legal, engineering or financial) terms into plain English for senior management and the public. Your business memo should not read like a Ph.D. thesis.

• Be wary of PowerPoint slides. Many senior managers use PowerPoint slides to communicate complicated business proposals or ideas at meetings. The slides take the place of a written report. That is a very dangerous business practice, because it often leads to serious miscommunication.
   
  Here is an example: An executive makes a slide presentation on some complicated business proposal to the board of directors. Even though each of his slides is jammed with terse bullet points, he is able to convey his thoughts and the nuances of his proposal to the board members in person. Questions are asked and answered.
   
  The board approves the proposal. The problem comes when the manager passes those slides down to his managers to implement the program. No one knows what those bullet points mean, since none of his managers attended the board meeting. The bullet points in the slide report lead to misinterpretation. 
   
  Always back up your slide presentation/report with an actual report written in complete sentences.

About the author: Norman Wei is an author, public speaker and management consultant. He is well-known for conducting two-day seminars for corporations without using a single bullet point. Wei writes the Excellence in Presentations blog at http://nobullets.wordpress.com. He is available for speaking engagements and in-house seminars. His email address is norman@normanwei.com.

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The Ultimate Communicator Training Camp

This two-day workshop will take you through a carefully designed process centered specifically on the goals you want to achieve through powerful communication!

In February, we’ll bring that training to you at these locations:

• Feb. 6-7: Orlando, FL.
   
• Feb. 8-9: Dallas, TX.
   
• Feb. 14-15: Charlotte, NC.
   
• Feb. 16-17: Atlanta, GA.
   
• Feb. 21-22: Birmingham, AL.
   
• Feb. 28-29: Miami, FL.

Register today!

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C³: Clear Concise Communication

This toolkit will provide you with the communication strategy that will allow your team to thrive. You and your employees can work together to reach—and even exceed—your goals. You will learn how to communicate in a direct manner—across all channels—so that you get the results you want while avoiding the communication pitfalls that can wreak havoc in the workplace.

You will learn how to:

• Communicate effectively in any situation.
   
• Improve employee performance.
   
• Provide instructions that produce correct results.
   
• Gain buy-in from others.
   
• Identify barriers that interrupt communication flow. 
   
• Improve listening skills. 
   
• And much more!

Learn more and order!

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Click here to receive the Communication Briefings E-Letter each month.

 

Write first drafts with ease

Write first drafts with ease

By Betty Hintch, editor of American Speaker 

Don’t agonize over writing your speech. Prevent writer’s block and procrastination with these steps:

• Commit to a deadline. Motivate yourself to complete your first draft by setting a deadline and sticking to it. Expect to write your rough copy in a few hours. Tip: Create an outline before you start writing.   
   
• Choose a medium. It’s easier to edit your draft if you type it into a word processing program. However, if you compose better material by hand writing the text, start a new page for each main idea or section. That way, you can switch the order or add new material without having to rewrite the document.
   
• Allow for imperfections. If full sentences aren’t flowing smoothly, jot down your ideas in bullet format. Don’t take time to find precise words. Record ideas that come to mind, knowing you’ll be able to edit the text later.
   
• Write out of order. When a section is difficult to compose, move on to the next one. You can go back to challenging sections after you’ve completed the easy ones. Tip: Write the introduction last. That way, you won’t waste time tweaking ideas that never make it into your presentation.
   
• Note slide placement. Highlight areas that will be the subject of a slide. When it’s time to create your PowerPoint presentation, you’ll have a rough outline to work from.

Your first draft should never be your final draft, so don’t worry about perfection. Just start writing.

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Sponsored by
American Speaker 

The American Speaker Blog is here to help you—all of you, whether you’ve never set foot on a stage or you’re a professional orator—ease that anxiety and grow into the most effective, compelling and persuasive public speaker you can be! Subscribe today!

American Speaker is an easy-to-use electronic resource that gives you everything you need for preparing a top-notch speech. Monthly tips and articles, along with a robust searchable database, will give you all the techniques you’ll need for a successful presentation. Subscribe today for only $49, and you’ll be on your way to delivering powerful speeches!

Every Person’s Guide to Public Speaking guides you through each step in the process, from creating the perfect presentation to overcoming challenges that might throw you off your game. Commit to learning and implementing the training and you will build your confidence and become an impressive speaker. Learn more!

The American Speaker Training Camp teaches you the essential public speaking skills to expand your persuasive power and personal presence. Check out these upcoming workshops:

• Feb. 28-29: Miami, FL. 
   
• Apr. 10-11: Washington, DC.  
   
• Aug. 13-14: Los Angeles, CA.  
   
• Sept. 10-11: Boston, MA.

Register today!

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