Presentation Skills – The tips and tricks

In persuit to develop my presentation skills I have decided to give my brain good two weeks to learn this trick of the trade. So I shall be searching the net for quality information on presentation skills to compile this pack for anyone willing to become a good presentet plus I shall be incorporating my learning from a recent course at Learning Tree International.

Well here is something very interesting I found on http://www.presentation-pointers.com and I think its worth looking at.

The “3-1-2″ method

It is a refinement of the “Tell’em” method. All presentations should have three parts–a beginning, a middle, and an end. Most people start drafting their presentation by writing in the order in which they will deliver the presentation–(1) the introduction, (2) the body, and (3) the conclusion. This “1-2-3″ method is intimidating, like standing at the bottom of a steep hill and envisioning the long climb to the top. Just thinking about the task can cause procrastination. When finally initiated, the “1-2-3″ system can lead to false starts because it lacks focus.

The “3-1-2″ method, in contrast, is less intimidating and results in a focused presentation with thematic unity, so necessary in an oral presentation. Start your draft with the “bottom line” conclusion (#3), then develop an opening (#1) that grabs the attention of the audience, spells out the benefits they will achieve by listening to you, and tells them what you are going to address. By starting with your conclusion, you now have a destination–you know where you are heading with your presentation. With the beginning and ending on paper, your task of enumerating supporting data and arguments (#2) will be much easier. It will be like standing on top of the hill and contemplating your descent to the bottom–not as intimidating as the “1-2-3″ method from the bottom of the hill.

Here is where a lawyer’s education and experience can be very beneficial in the boardroom. The “3-1-2″ system derives from a concept with which lawyers are very familiar–the “Doctrine of Recency and Primacy.” As trail lawyers know so well, juries–and probably senior corporate officers–tend to pay more attention to what they hear at the beginning and the end of presentations, with much less comprehension during the middle. Thus the importance attached by lawyers to their opening statement–their version of ” Tell’em what your are going to tell’em” and their final summation to the jury–the “Tell’em what you told’em/ Placing the focal point of the presentation at the end and the beginning of the presentation increases the likelihood the audience will listen, retain, and act upon this message which is supported by the elaboration of the supporting evidence in “2.”

Prepare your draft

Some people are more comfortable drafting the text of their presentation in full. This allows for a more complete exposition of the data. But it also means that you may use language and syntax more appropriate for the written rather than the spoken presentation, which can be confusing to the ears of the audience. A “main point” outline is an alternative that will allow you to move more directly to “spoken,” more conversational, language.

As you prepare your draft, use the active voice and concrete, not abstract, language. Use declarative, but not compound, sentences. Give specific examples, and do not be afraid to tug at the heart strings of your audience. Your message, and the words that convey it, must be grasped by these listeners when you say them. They cannot do an “instant replay.” Know the audience members needs and concerns, and frame your “case” in such a way that your presentation solves these needs/concerns. Make it easier for audience members to remember what you want them to remember with stories and anecdotes that emphasize your main points. These illustrations can be the glue that makes the main points “stick” in the minds of your listeners.

Confidence building – the real thing

After completing the draft–verbatim or outline–reduce your presentation to 3×5 cards with large-lettered “memory joggers”. Then practice by yourself in front of a mirror, with tape recorder, or better yet with a video camera. Listen for your pace, your inflection, your enthusiasm, and if you are using “uh,” “er,” “you know,” or other fillers that render the otherwise intelligent person appear illiterate. See how much better you would sound if you replaced these sounds with pauses. If videotaping, watch your body language, facial expression, and gestures.

See where visuals can be inserted. These visuals should be thought of as exclamation points or highlighted sections of your presentation. Make them simple and interesting–be careful of organization charts and “laundry lists.” Use large lettering (better to have large letters written with a magic marker than small letters from a computer.) Use only the top two-thirds of the transparencies (so people in the rear can read without being required to stand) and use telegraphic language, limiting letters to minimum necessary. Use color if you can.

For overhead transparencies, use the “revelation technique” when you have a “bullet outline.” Tape strips of cardboard along the side of the vu-graph, keeping points on the visual covered until you discuss them. This will keep your audience focused on the point you are emphasizing, rather than reading point four while you are still talking about point one. Check the alignment of your vu-graph on the projector so that it appears straight on the screen. This may require you to place an “L-shaped” tape guide on the glass. Then orient your overheads in relation to this newly-created frame, and you will not have to check that the visual is “squared away” on the screen. Some audience members could be annoyed and distracted by visuals that appear crooked on the screen. The above advice can, of course, also be applied when using a computer-driven presentations program such as PowerPoint.

Read the rest of the article here…

Videos Library – Presentation Skills

Killer Presentation Skills from YouTube

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Relaxation Techniques To Control Stress

Article taken from: www.fitness-equipment-solutions.com

These three useful physical relaxation techniques can help you reduce muscle tension and manage the effects of the fight-or-flight response on your body. This is particularly important if you need to think clearly and perform precisely when you are under pressure.

The techniques we will look at are Deep Breathing, Progressive Muscular Relaxation and “The Relaxation Response”.

Deep Breathing
Deep breathing is a simple, but very effective, method of relaxation. It is a core component of everything from the “take ten deep breaths” approach to calming someone down, right through to yoga relaxation and Zen meditation. It works well in conjunction with other relaxation techniques such as Progressive Muscular Relaxation, relaxation imagery and meditation to reduce stress.

To use the technique, take a number of deep breaths and relax your body further with each breath. That’s all there is to it!

Progressive Muscular Relaxation
Progressive Muscular Relaxation is useful for relaxing your body when your muscles are tense.

The idea behind PMR is that you tense up a group of muscles so that they are as tightly contracted as possible. Hold them in a state of extreme tension for a few seconds. Then, relax the muscles normally. Then, consciously relax the muscles even further so that you are as relaxed as possible.

By tensing your muscles first, you will find that you are able to relax your muscles more than would be the case if you tried to relax your muscles directly.

Experiment with PMR by forming a fist, and clenching your hand as tight as you can for a few seconds. Relax your hand to its previous tension, and then consciously relax it again so that it is as loose as possible. You should feel deep relaxation in your hand muscles.

The Relaxation Response
‘The Relaxation Response’ is the name of a book published by Dr Herbert Benson of Harvard University in 1968. In a series of experiments into various popular meditation techniques, Dr Benson established that these techniques had a very real effect on reducing stress and controlling the fight-or-flight response. Direct effects included deep relaxation, slowed heartbeat and breathing, reduced oxygen consumption and increased skin resistance.

This is something that you can do for yourself by following these steps:

• Sit quietly and comfortably.
• Close your eyes.
• Start by relaxing the muscles of your feet and work up your body relaxing muscles.
• Focus your attention on your breathing.
• Breathe in deeply and then let your breath out. Count your breaths, and say the number of the breath as you let it out (this gives you something to do with your mind, helping you to avoid distraction).
• Do this for ten or twenty minutes.

How do you keep up with your goals?

I have tried lots of different approaches. I would love to have everything in a digital world but it never seems to work. If I keep my tasks in an application, Outlook, Project, PlanPlus, an Excel spreadsheet or a Google doc they get lost behind the other windows on the screen.

The one solution I always come back to is the whiteboard.
Every morning I write out all the tasks I need to complete that day on the whiteboard. It is then my mission to cross those tasks off and clear the whiteboard. Some days I get all the tasks done early and I will add some more to the whiteboard. On other days I don’t finish them all and they roll over to the next day.
The whiteboard is always there, staring at me, telling me what must get done. It helps me stay focused on the jobs for the day.

Another way is to keep up with my tasks is list my action points on the spot in one booklet and then keep it with me all the time to keep up with my priorities. Then once a task is completed I just cross it out. But then like in my case I have my personal life to do list and then office work. More over the office work is also divided into three major and different areas of work.

I tried using Outlook to-do list and am still trying to use it after realising that you can actually import all your conversations and calendar invites in your to-do list and then start updating it as things progress. I find it useful but once I am out of office like at the weekend I forget. I am going to try sync it with my mobile but am not sure how effective would that be.

Another approach I took a few months back was creating an excel sheet and actually having one sheet per project it went well for few weeks but then a few days I was out side the office and couldn’t access the damn thing and was stuck with my memory and it was painful as I had to deliver outside the office and had all my sources in my beautiful and colourful excel file. After that experience I thought I shall not use excel though the idea of using Google docs was there but I was again dragged to good old notebook. But the problem with notebook is that once you are on next pages things from previous pages if pending are not carried forward and there is a huge chance to miss them.

Mind mapping and mind maps technique I have heard is quite good but how to effectively use it is still not clear. Can you share your experience how you keep up with the time management side of your jobs and how you keep up with your goals,tasks and projects? Thanks

What do you use and how do you make sure you stay focused, keep priorities and acheive your goals? Share please…

Adding Google Gadgets to your Sharepoint site

“How do to get users to buy in to SharePoint and start using it?”

Getting users to switch to using any new application can be tough. To get your user’s to visit your portal, there has to be content there that the user needs or wants. I recommend starting with content that everyone in the organization can use. Begin migrating the functional areas that all employees interact with, for example Human Resources and Company Wide Calendars.

This type of content engages the user and will keep them coming to the site as you continue to add more business related content. One quick and easy way to add user catching content is to use Google Gadgets. Not only can Google Gadgets can help you attract users to your site, they can also keep users from navigating away from the intranet into the World Wide Web.

Google has hundreds of gadgets that you can be added to any web page. Many of these can be integrated into SharePoint using the Content Editor Web Part or the XML Web Part. Many of the Gadgets can allow users to access information from the web without leaving the comfort of your intranet page.

The example below shows how to use the Content Editor Web Part to add a weather gadget to a page.

1. Browse and find a Google Gadget for your page. Enter the settings for the Gadget. Click the Get the Code button. Copy the code in the box

   

2. Add a Content Editor Web Part to your homepage and modify the web part.
3. Click on the Source Editor and paste the code from the Google Gadget into the box.
4. Save the Changes to the web part. When you reload the page the weather gadget will appear on your page.

Google Gadgets can be an easy way to add external content to your SharePoint site. Be wary and selective when choosing your Gadgets. Not all Google Gadgets are appropriate for use on company portals and using too many gadgets can clutter and make your site less user friendly. Remember the goal is to add content that the users want or need. Some of the Google Gadgets that I think could be useful in a SharePoint environment are the weather gadget, the Count Down gadget (This could be used to countdown to a company event or deadline.), and Google Mini Web gadget.

Happy Gadgeting!