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Present With Pizzaz

Those who want to establish themselves as experts in their field are encouraged to find speaking and teaching opportunities. Getting out in front of an audience is a time-tested way to demonstrate one’s mastery of the required skills and it is an excellent way to promote your enterprise and drum up business. Useful presentation techniques will make you feel more confident about your ability to communicate effectively.

Keep it simple and tell a story

The best speakers know that the more complex the topic, the more important it becomes to make that topic easy for an audience to understand. Distill a complicated message into fewer words. Include a personal anecdote or story that illustrates a key point you are trying to make. Stories and anecdotes make your presentation more compelling by placing the message into a context that is relevant to the listeners and helps them to make sense of the subject.

You are the star

You are the speaker and the stage belongs to you. Do not allow slides to upstage your talk. How do you do that? By not posting your entire talk onto slides and using them as a crutch. Avoid presenting an avalanche of text-heavy slides that you read from. Instead, speak to and connect with those who come out to hear you.

On your slides include important charts and graphs, key statistics, major talking points and relevant visuals that support and advance your message. Practice your presentation often and get to know your material, so that you are not overly dependent on slides.

Engage and involve your audience

Most of all, give the right talk. Know what the audience expects you to address. The person who schedules your talk can help you choose a topic and give you the heads-up re: big questions that audience members may want answered. To keep your audience engaged, pose a question or two at some point in your presentation. Also, be willing to answer questions as you go along and make your presentation more of a conversation with the audience.

We deliver

While good content is essential, that alone will not win over an audience. Body language and delivery also matter. Audiences size up and judge a speaker within the first three minutes of a presentation. Be sure to project confidence, expertise, good humor and approachability. Smile, make eye contact and use a pleasant, yet authoritative, tone of voice. Show appropriate enthusiasm and passion for your subject matter. Let the audience know that you like being up there speaking.

How to get to Carnegie Hall

Practice your talk and practice some more. It takes a lot of work to make a presentation look effortless. Skilled presenters give the impression that their clever ad libs and convincing responses to questions are all ex tempore, but nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact is, successful presentations are built on lots of preparation and rehearsal time. Wordsmith what may sound too complex or unclear. Carefully curate the text and images that will appear on your slides, so that they smoothly integrate with the talk. Anticipate questions that may be posed and formulate good answers. Read your talk out loud and record your voice, to make sure that you pace your delivery appropriately.

An effective presentation should inform, educate and entertain. Make that happen when you simplify your message and de-clutter your slides; interact with the audience by asking and answering questions throughout your talk; and practice a lot, so that you will be relaxed and confident as you present. Hit your mark and the audience will regard you as an expert. Mission accomplished.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

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Are You Satisfied With Your Present Job In Sales?

It is important for you to appreciate that you are not merely involved in sales. Selling is your career. You’re a professional.

There is a vast difference, that you must never lose sight of.

The dictionary describes a professional as someone “engaged in a specific activity as one’s main paid occupation”. It also describes a profession as ” a vocation or calling that involves some branch of advanced learning”.

It is clear that both these definitions are appropriate descriptions of the work in which you are involved and distinguishes you as a professional..

Everyone is involved in selling:

When you come to think about it, everyone is involved in selling in some way or another. Selling is persuasion and negotiation.

Think of a small child and parents in a department store. The child sees a
tempting toy; gains attention by dragging the parents towards the item; then begs the parents to buy the highly desired item.

In return the child promises to reward the parents in a variety of ways.

The promises are tempting: Never to nag again; permanent good behavior; eating vegetables and other appealing forms of behavior.

The child is an excellent natural negotiator and the parents, sold on the idea, agree to keep their side of the bargain!

Or consider the politician, who attempts to persuade constituents to vote for him, promising in return increased benefits. The preacher promises spiritual satisfaction for adherence to a certain moral and ethical code.

Everyone in every calling offers something in return for something else.

There is hardly an aspect of life that does not contain the same elements. The difference between your occupation and that of a doctor, lawyer, dentist, accountant, teacher – to use just a few examples – is the nature of the service being offered.

Never forget you are a professional.

Your occupation is your main source of income. As a professional your occupation required some form of advanced learning. The fact that some professions involve a greater length of time in the learning process is irrelevant.

Like everything in life, your success in your chosen profession depends on your skills.

Of course you already possess certain skills. But like all professionals, you are very much aware how important it is for you to improve your skills.

Selling, as you well know, is a skill. It is a skill that can be improved with training.

The importance of a positive attitude.

Many people involved in sales unfortunately have a negative attitude unworthy of their profession. They feel that in some ways it is not as prestigious as other more glamorous or charismatic professions.

To some extent this has been due to an unfortunate stereotype that has been perpetuated in literature, the cinema and T.V.

The Salesman is often portrayed as an overbearing, or cunning,devious person who will use any means to trick unwary customers to buy a product of dubious quality.

Sometimes the Salesman is depicted as a struggling, loser who drifts from one job to another.

Consider the type of person many people have been conditioned to think of as the “typical” car salesman. This unfortunate stereotype persists.
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Some professional sales people come to accept this completely fallacious, demeaning view of themselves as accurate!

Often there is a tendency to belittle oneself and not attach sufficient importance to the very important role played in our economic system.

As any economist will tell you, nothing could be further from the truth. The salesperson is an absolutely essential cog in the wheel of our democratic, free enterprise system and our capitalist economy.

Without this vital link between the producer and the final customer commerce would grind to a halt.

Compare your career with those of others.

Have you ever stopped to compare your vocation with that of someone involved in what might be considered a more glamorous profession?

A close examination of many occupations will reveal that in many cases the work is tedious, dull, boring and monotonous in the extreme.

I mean no disrespect to the important work carried out by people involved in other professions, but can you imagine yourself having to cope day after day with the physically demanding profession of dentistry for example?

Can you visualize yourself continually examining the teeth of patients, day after day, hour after hour?

I had an interesting experience a short while ago. It re-enforces the idea that not all professions are as attractive and as charismatic as they may seem on the surface.

The son of a friend of mine is an airline pilot with an international airline.

Can you think of an occupation that presents as much glamour and prestige in the eyes of the public?

But in a recent discussion with him I was very surprised indeed to discover that he found his career monotonous and boring. He seriously considered changing his career, even though it would mean a considerable drop in salary.

The rewards of a selling career.

As you will appreciate, everything depends on your attitude to your work. Selling, as a profession can be exciting, stimulating, satisfying and immensely rewarding financially.

Every day presents new challenges. There are no limits to the goals you can set yourself.

You can look forward to each day with eager anticipation. Unlike many other profession it is never boring.

And, as has been pointed out, it is important to continually improve your skills and levels of expertise. The rewards you receive will be commensurate with your effort.

Devote yourself to becoming proficient in every aspect of your profession.
Improve your product knowledge so that you are regarded as an expert in the particular field in which you specialize. There is no end to the possibilities and the challenges.

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21st Birthday Presents on a Budget

Anyone’s twenty first birth day is a big deal. This particular event is also known as the “key to the door” or the age when one becomes a full pledged adult. This particular event is considered a milestone and this is the day when you will be able to drive large passenger vehicles, HGVs, legally adopt a child, and if you are particularly ambitious, be a Member of the Parliament, local councillor or maybe, a mayor.

Needless to say, reaching the 21 threshold simply represents absolute freedom and endless opportunities, therefore, 21st birthdays should always be celebrated appropriately. Since it is a special occasion, it also warrants that birthday presents be special as well. Now, this can be something very tricky. For a gift to be considered special and valued, it should be something that is appropriate to the recipient. This may sound really hard especially if you are working on a tight budget.

Don’t fret. I have a couple of suggestions that will help you choose the perfect 21st birthday present for your budget. Remember, your budget should not hinder you from giving out quality gifts.

1. Photo frames. This may sound as very ordinary gifts but they can be perfects gifts too, that can be surely treasured for a lifetime. For instance, you can opt for personalized picture frames and have the words, “happy 21st birthday” inscribed on it. Then since it’s your friends 21st birthday, you will be free to choose any picture that you want displayed. Try to choose pictures that triggers a very special memory to the birthday person. This will surely create a present that will be cherished and remembered for years to come. The best thing about it is that your gift will always be displayed for everyone to see.

2. Personalizes stuffs. Personalized things are always meaningful gifts. Whether you want to commemorate birthdays, weddings or any special occasions, these are always the best ways to go. Nowadays, you can have anything engraved from stainless steel flasks, cufflinks, money boxes, and even London Underground maps. If your friend loves football, why not buy a new football and have the rest of your friends sign it with permanent markers? Everyone can state a message and have it wrapped in a clear plastic and given out as a gift.

3. A book. There is a book entitled The Little Book of Turning 21 that contains words of wisdom from prominent people like Albert Einstein and George Harrison. This little book is jam packed with tips and quotes that covers almost every possible situation that any 21-year olds can possibly experience. This book is available for a very low price of less than five dollars.

What you should remember about giving gifts for 21st birthdays is that your gift should be something quirky and memorable. Try to spell out a little of your personality as well while taking into consideration your friend’s passion, likes and dislikes.

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