Painless Presentations

Writen by John Robertson

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. You can learn to present with confidence and style. All it takes is following a few simple steps BEFORE you get up to speak.

The first decision you need to make is determine what kind of presentation you are giving. Generally presentations will fall into one of six different forms.

1. Providing information

2. Teaching a skill

3. Reporting specific progress

4. Selling a product, a service or an idea

5. Agreeing on a decision

6. Solving a problem

After you accurately determine the form of presentation you plan to make, the next step is building an outline. Things to consider when building you outline include an

• Incorporate a Strong Opening statement,

• What information does your audience need to hear?

• Be sure you clarify and industry jargon on acronyms.

• Clearly tell the participants exactly what's in if for them.

• What are the benefits?

• And a strong close.

When you have developed your outline it is time to "fill in the blanks". The detail of your notes will vary depending on factors such as your familiarity with the subject, the number of details that need to be given and the level and amount of technical information you will be sharing.

When the outline and notes are developed it's time for Practice, Practice and then some more PRACTICE.

It takes about six times going through the presentation before a facilitator is comfortable with the material. Don't skimp on time here, it will show up later.

During and after your presentation, be prepared for questions. A few tips to help here include planning for questions. Plan by answering as many questions as you can during your talk. If you get a question you don't know the answer too, don't fake it. Tell the group that you will get the information back to them as soon as you can.

Be sure to answer the question briefly, yet completely. Do not go over your entire presentation; simply answer what was ask.

Don't be afraid to ask for clarification if you don't understand the questions.

If you wold like to learn more on Painless Presentations email info@TrainingConnections.ORG. We offer a one-day or two-day class for your organization.

(C) 2003

About The Author

John Robertson is a Professional Trainer with over 20 years experience in Mid to Sr. Level Management in several Fortune 500 companies. His real world experience will bring credibility to your meetings. TrainingConnections.ORG focuses on three major categories of Employee Performance Improvement; Leadership, Management and Sales Training. Contact us today for more information or check our web site.

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Exhibits

Writen by Kristy Annely

Do you wonder what enthralls an audience in a trade show? It's not the huge crowd of people around or the excitement in the air – it is the powerful display of products with all their sleek placements, banners, and graphics. Exhibits, a shortened form for exhibition, seek to highlight the qualities of new products or services before a focused audience.

Exhibitions can be of different types. They can be art exhibitions, computer expositions, film exhibitions or industrial exhibitions. Exhibitions are powerful events that provide an opportunity to witness the best a company or service provider has to offer. Exhibitions are also known as 'expos' in modern parlance.

Exhibits are powerful marketing agents that seek to bridge the gap between the buyer and the seller. In art exhibits, for instance, artists display a wide array of their work before a focused audience. The audience in turn generates interest by word of mouth, and consequently leads to sales of the artist's work.

Exhibits are also displayed through specialized 'exhibit booths' in trade fairs, book fairs or industrial fairs. These exhibit booths seek to bring about a direct impact on the sales curve. Exhibit displays serve as a window to the external buyers, and enable them to analyze and compare it with other products before reaching a buying decision.

Modern exhibits can come in several forms. Apart from the physical exhibits, individuals, companies and service providers today use online exhibits to garner popularity and wider acceptance. Online exhibits have several advantages over physical exhibits. Online exhibits can be made in the form of sleek websites and information portals at the fraction of the cost incurred in creating and displaying physical exhibits. However, in spite of such easy global reach and acceptance, physical exhibits in exhibitions and trade fairs still remain a better choice. After all, it's all too difficult to get a focused audience.

Exhibits provides detailed information on Exhibits, Trade Show Exhibits, Exhibit Displays, Exhibit Booths and more. Exhibits is affiliated with Trade Show Exhibit Display Booths.

Its All About Presentation Lessons From Japan

Writen by Dana Bristol-Smith

After my recent trip to Japan, some of the more striking things to me (beyond the cherry blossom trees) about the Japanese culture are their etiquette, respect, and overall visual presentation. I've always been an admirer of Japanese art– from calligraphy and brush painting to Ikebana, a style of floral arrangement.

In Japan, there is a sense of simplicity and beauty that is expressed visually. This beauty and simplicity also follows through in the politeness and graciousness of the people. There is an overall helpfulness to strangers and foreigners. As a tourist, if you stand around looking confused (maybe holding a map), in a short while someone will come up to you and ask you if you need help.

I suggest that as presenters we take a few lessons from Japanese culture. Here are eight ideas to consider:

1. Politeness – Use business and professional etiquette. Thank people for giving you their time and attention by attending your presentation or meeting.

2. Simplicity – Be clear and concise. Have a clear objective for your presentation or meeting. Stay on topic throughout your presentation. Don't give people too much information. In Ikebana, floral arrangements are usually constructed with 3 main elements. Likewise, in your presentation – 3 main points or topics work well. Too much information leads to information overload, glazed over eyes and sometimes even snoring.

3. Respect - If you are giving presentations outside of your home country, take the time to learn some of the cultural norms and a few words and phrases. At the least, you won't do anything considered offensive and ideally, you will show respect to your audiences.

4. Be a gracious host – Arrive early so that you can welcome people to your presentation or meeting and introduce yourself (if you don't know people). If people do not know each other, facilitate introductions. Create a warm and welcoming atmosphere and make sure that the room is set up comfortably.

5. Quality – Japanese cars, trains, subways, electronics, and even toilets employ efficiency and features that American companies haven't yet manufactured. The bullet train has been in operation since 1964 and carries millions of people on time each day, at peak times every 10 minutes, and it has never had a fatal accident. Quality includes paying attention to the details – no matter how small. We've all heard the phrase that God or the devil is in the details. Either way you look at it, the details are important.

Here are some presentation details to consider.

• Is your presentation of professional quality?
• Do you come across as a professional?
• Are you articulate and credible?
• Are your written materials grammatically accurate and typo free?

Suggestions to help improve the quality of your presentations.

• Have your presentation materials proofread by someone else. It is nearly impossible to accurately proofread your own documents. Your brain knows what you intended to write and will see that instead of what is actually on the page. Spell check is not enough.

• Pay special attention to your appearance and grooming. For important presentations be at least one step up of business attire than your audience. 1st impressions are important and tend to stick.

6. Beauty – How many PowerPoint presentations have you seen that are beautiful? I imagine, not many. Be different than everyone else - use photographs and illustrations where you can. Don't use just text on your slides. Choose colors that are pleasing to the eye – be creative and have fun bringing a presentation to life with beautiful images.

7. Storytelling – History is passed down through the generations by stories in Japan as it is in many cultures. People remember stories better than facts as stories engage the senses and emotions. Use stories to illustrate your important points. Use stories to connect with your audience and be memorable.

8. Celebration– One of the truly fascinating things about Japanese culture is that people do not usually express emotions outwardly during the work day. However, the evening time is a different story! After working a long day – it's typical to see a group of office workers out in the bars and restaurants having a really good time. They are often loud, rowdy, and completely different than their daytime demeanor. I think that both the camaraderie and the celebration are important to keep people motivated and engaged.

I hope that you find these presentation ideas helpful and if you have a chance, you can spend some time in Japan. It is a beautiful country – with courteous and kind people who enjoy hosting guests.

If you'd like to see what Japan looks like in the cherry blossom season, here is a link to some of my trip pictures that you can view as a slideshow: http://homepage.mac.com/gklamt99/Japantour/PhotoAlbum16.html

Dana Bristol-Smith is the founder of Speak for Success, an organization that works with companies that want their people to communicate with confidence and credibility. You can reach Dana at: dana@speakforsuccess.net or by phone at 760-726-5272. To sign up for the free monthly Speak for Success Ezine please visit: http://www.speakforsuccess.net/subscribe.htm