Effective Public Speaking In Business Presentations

Writen by Doug Staneart

Right or wrong, people form a perception about how competent you are by how you present yourself when you stand and speak. They also form perceptions about the company you represent based on your performance. In fact, public speaking is an easy way to set yourself apart from your competition, because when you stand up and say what you want to say, they way that you want to say it, you are doing what 95% of the people in the audience wish they could do. A person who is confident in front of a group gives off an air of competence, whereas a person who fumbles might leave a negative impression.

When I was in college, I had an internship with a major oil company, and at the end of the summer, I had to present a summary of my internship to a group of department managers and vice-presidents. I was the youngest person in the room, just 20. Many of the other interns were graduate students who were much more comfortable in front of a group. When I spoke, I could feel the sweat beads on my forehead, and I could see my hands shaking. The butterflies in my stomach were uncontrollable. After the presentation, I asked myself, "If I were the decision-maker in that room, and I only had one permanent position to offer, would I choose me?" I had to answer "no." Over the next few years, I trained with some of the most successful public speaking coaches in the country. Since then, I have spoken before thousands of people, and coached hundreds of managers, executives, and other leaders on how to present more effectively to groups. Below are some of the key public speaking tips that I have found that really work.

1) Realize 90% of nervousness doesn't even show. The audience usually can't see the butterflies, or shaky hands, or sweaty palms. The problem occurs when we start thinking about these symptoms rather than focusing on the audience and our topic. By human nature, most people are focused on themselves not on you. Focus on them and two things will happen: 1) they will like you more, and 2) much of the nervousness that you feel will go away.

2) Add some enthusiasm to your talk. Your audience will never be more excited about your talk than you are, so give them some energy, and they will give it back to you. Walk about a half step faster. Smile. Let your gestures and voice emphasis come naturally. Don't over do it, but give more energy than what you normally would.

3) Limit your talk to a few key points. Narrow down your topic to either one key point for a short talk, or thee key point for a longer talk (a talk longer than 30-minutes.) Ask yourself, "If my audience only remembered one thing from my talk, what would be most important thing for them to remember?" The reason this is so important is that the human mind likes to think of only one thing at a time. For instance, think of the Statue of Liberty. What do you see? You probably see a picture in your mind of the statue. Now think of a pink elephant. Again, you probably see a picture in your mind, but the important question is…where did the statue go? Your mind can only truly focus on one thing at a time. As you add additional points, each previous point will become diluted. The more points your presentation has, the less focus the audience will have on each individual point.

4) Tell stories. Don't tell little white lies, but do tell anecdotes and personal experiences. Stories build rapport with your audience, and they give you more credibility. Your audience will remember your stories a lot longer than they will remember your talking points. I heard Les Brown, a famous motivational speaker, years ago, and he told a story about how a man in his hometown went around the town square holding two baby dolls and squawking like a chicken. Kids in town made fun of him, but Les found out that this man's house had caught on fire, and his two baby girls died in the blaze. The man attempted to go in and save them many times, but the heat was too great. When his brother-in-law showed up, he verbally assaulted the man calling him a chicken for not going in to save his girls. Ever since then, the man has not spoken a word -- instead he just clucks like a chicken. I heard this story years ago, and I can't remember the specific point Les Brown was making on stage. I do remember the "chicken-man," though, and I frequently think about how I should get all the facts before passing judgment on people. Les Brown's stories have longevity, and your stories will have that type of impact as well.

5) When in doubt, speak from the heart. Let your audience see the real you, and you will have a great speaking performance.

Doug Staneart is President of The Leader's Institute, http://www.fearlessandpersuasivespeaking.com, leadership and public speaking training. He can be reached by e-mail at doug@fearlessandpersuasivespeaking.com or toll-free at 1-800-872-7830 x-100.

Vacheron Constantin A Genius In Watchmaking

Writen by Nick Lagonsky

For many centuries Switzerland was the house of genius watch manufacturers that created timepieces of various forms, shapes, designs and complications. These complicated timepieces have written many pages of the watchmaking history and today the story of Swiss watches continues.

Some of the world's famous brands create watches that represent a fusion of work of art and technical innovation. Collectors all over the globe strive to bring a piece of history into their homes. Today the Swiss watchmaking business exports more than a half of the world's mechanical watches and continues to expand in all of the five continents.

The oldest among them all is Vacheron Constantin. A brand that has its roots in the middle of the 18th century created some of the most complicated, and by the way some of the most expensive, timepieces in the world. The designers from Vacheron Constantin every year launch their creations that have hundreds of parts placed inside a small case of a watch.

One can find a lot of marvelous timepiece in the brand's collections with many amazing innovations like: minute repeater, power reserve indicator, perpetual calendar, and many more. The creations of Vacheron Constantin are made of silver, gold or platinum and its movements are covered with sapphire crystals so the wearer could enjoy the work of the mechanical self-winding movement.

Some of the most amazing watches with timeless design are called skeletons because they all have a see-through case covered with sapphire crystal. It allows seeing the mechanism of the watch working on the inside. Take for instance the Malte Tourbillon Skeleton.

The watch has an astonishing design. Its case is made of pink gold or platinum has like all the models entitled "skeleton" the case is transparent. The timepiece has a Vacheron Constantin Caliber 1790 12x12 ½'''mechanical winding movement. Malte Tourbillon Skeleton is able to display hours, minutes, small seconds, and date and power reserve. The frequency of the watch is 18800 A/H with a 45 hours power reserve. The watch is also 30 meters water resistant.

Another masterpiece of the famous Vacheron Constantin that needs a special attention is called Mens Vacheron Constantin Skeleton Minute Repeater. It represents a limited edition having a case made of 18 carat rose gold, brown leather strap and of course the mechanical movement which can be seen through thanks to the transparence of the case.

The watch is a marvelous metal creation because on demand the wearer can make the small hammers inside the watch to strike a pair of gongs and chime the hours and minutes.

And finally a beautiful timepiece that should be taken into consideration and highly appreciated is the Vacheron Constantin Tourbillion watch made of 18carat rose gold case. The timepiece represents a limited edition; it has a leather brown strap, a tourbillon movement which can be also seen through and an indicator of the power reserve.

The model is considered one of the men's most crafty creations. The regulated organs of the timepiece's movement are situated in a carriage that rotates on itself with a perfect regularity, thus eliminating the effect of the earth's attraction that can have an impact on the watch's accuracy.

Vacheron Constantin designs watches for people that are passionate about precision and unique timeless design, but at the same time have several hundred thousands of dollars on their account.

An expert in the sphere of hi-tech and unusual watches. The smartest watch in the world, The Earth in your watch, Wrist watch remote control, etc.

Lamp Sockets Why Are They Going Bad So Often In My Overhead Projector

Writen by Mark Boehm

Over the past 25 years I have had the unique opportunity to talk directly with many of the professionals and instructors who use Overhead Projectors as an integral part of their profession. The stories they have shared with me have given me direct insight to some of the most common problems experienced by owners of today's and yesterday's Overhead Projectors.

This is the second article in a series of articles that will be written from a professional Electronics Technician's point of view in regards to some of today's most common Overhead Projector problems.

A question that I am asked quite frequently is; "Why do I seem to be endlessly replacing the lamp socket in my Overhead Projector?"

This is by far one of the most common problems among all of the users of Overhead Projectors today. The cause of this problem is very simple in fact and could be avoided very easily. What happens in most cases is that the projection lamp is not being fully seated into the lamp socket. Because this is an electrical connection, the pins on the projection lamp must be completely seated into the lamp socket. If the projection lamp is only partially seated into the socket the arching between the lamp socket contacts and the projection lamp pins will take place.

The cause of this arching causes the contacts of the lamp socket to burn and score. Over a very short period of time this arching causes irreparable damage to the lamp socket in which the only choice is to replace it. In some severe cases I have seen the contacts in the lamp socket and the pins of the projection lamp electrically welded together due to this arching.

The best way to prevent this from happening in your Overhead Projector is to make sure that the Projection Lamp is fully seated into the lamp socket when replacing the projection lamp. It may feel like you are pressing on the projection lamp to hard, but unless you feel a slight click when seating the projection lamp into the lamp socket, you most likely have not seated the projection lamp properly.

If you have a basic knowledge of Electronics or basic wiring the lamp socket is something that most end users can replace themselves, otherwise this problem should be handled by a professional service technician.

Mark Boehm is the president of M-B Electronics. He has over 25 years of experience in the Audio Visual and Electronics Industry. You can contact M-B Electronics at 800-872-9456 or at etbinc@comcast.net.

More info: http://www.mbelectronics.com/view.aspx?id=237&name=Replacement