Three Steps to Good Presentation Skills and Public Speaking

Good presentation skills and public speaking begin with preparation. Like any other written or visual communication the key here is to prepare, prepare, prepare.

There are a lot of good books available. It is a good idea to join a public speaking practice group like the International Toastmasters for example. Doing it is the best way to learn.

Here are three keys to preparing your presentations and public speeches which I find have worked best for me.

1. Identify and organize what you will be presenting on a sheet of paper.

2. Break it down into 3 major headings with 3 sub-headings under each.

3. Write the content of your sub-headings then edit to fit on 3×5 or 4×6 cards as needed.

1. Identify and organize what you are presenting on a sheet of paper:

Identify your topic and give it a name, a title, ex.: Four Steps to Good Presentation Skills and public Speaking.

Identify the time frame you will have for your presentation or speech — let’s use 45 minutes for easy sub-dividing.

2. Break it down into 3 major headings with 3 sub-headings under each:

Your 45 minutes will give you 15 minutes for each of your 3 major topic headings.

So under each of the 3 major headings and 3 sub-headings write what you want to tell your audience to fit within the 15 minutes for each major headings.

For example, your three major headings will be sub-titles and will only take a few seconds to mention as you move to your sub-headings content.

Then your 3 sub-headings will have the actual content that you want to deliver to your audience. Time these to be about 4-5 minutes each (3 x 5=15 minutes).

3. Write the content of your sub-headings, then edit to fit on 3×5 or 4×6 cards as needed:

Once you have this organized, re-write them on your cards. You might have 1 card per 3 sub-headings if you only use key words that you will elaborate verbally.

Or you might need 3 cards, 1 for each sub-headings, if you write more information to guide your verbal delivery. Do what works best for you.

Personally, I usually write everything down that I will be saying, and highlight the key points I want to make sure not to miss, with a yellow highlighter; then I just glance at the overall content as I move from one sub-headings to the next. So I end up with 1 card for each of my 3 sub-headings.

Do not read from your card. Highlight the important words that will trigger your memory to speak to your audience.

Then practice your delivery beforehand as many times as you need to, timing the whole to fit within your 45 minutes (or whatever the case may be). If you are going to use transparencies or power-point, make sure to use them in your practice run also. You might need to trade a couple of minutes of your verbal content for the handling of the equipment.

When you do the real thing, simply follow your cards, moving each one to the back as you deliver your material. Don’t focus only on the cards, use the cards to keep you on track. Look at your audience, scanning through every one from left to right, front to back. Don’t stare in one area longer than in another, unless you are answering a specific person’s question.

There are many good books on presentations, with samples. A good one is Leading Workshops, Seminars, and Training Sessions; by Helen Angus, Self-Counsel Press, which includes models of room arrangements and other technical information on equipment, etc.

Often our competition can be a good source of the latest examples of what’s in at the time. Check out what the top companies are doing, and better it! For example financial institutions who give free seminars on their service offerings are a good place to get ideas on presentation skills, while getting some education on financial investment!

Give free seminars to friends, co-workers and family members to sharpen your presentation skills and public speaking. Tape yourself and listen or watch yourself back, making notes of habits you might want to omit or change, etc.

Always be prepared, you never know when you might be asked to do a presentation at work, at church or in a community group!/dmh

Debt Negotiation Firms – What Consumers Need to Know About Debt Settlement

Many US citizens are facing debts these days. People are looking to find the best way to get rid of their debts. The best way is the one by which you can overcome the debt without any burden on your finance, legally and ethically. The person already so much stressed out by debt burden would certainly don’t like to involve himself in complicated solutions.

The most advised way to get rid of your debt is to take help from the debt negotiations firms. These firms comprises of highly skilled individuals who are loaded with all the tools needed for successful debt negotiations. They are very well aware of how the relief programs work, what are limitations of lenders on most issues and what will be the best way to convince your creditor to benefit you as much as possible. Debt negotiation is a legal way of getting your debt reduced to an amount you can afford to pay. It is a technical procedure where, apart from convincing the creditor, you have to follow certain rules and regulation and avoid any violation of terms. The negotiation firms are experienced and take care of all such formalities.

After acquiring all the information about your current financial standing they start the process of debt negotiation. Negotiations are actually about convincing the creditor to grant you debt reduction. The reduction in debt is completely dependent on how your financial condition is portrayed before the creditor. The lender will grant you reduction only when he is completely sure of your poor financial condition. The debt negotiation firms know the techniques to make the creditor agree on terms advantageous to you. Better negotiations can reduce your debt up to 60%.

The remaining debt is easily payable with the help of a debt settlement company. You are just required to make a monthly deposit of your choice in a separate debt settlement account. As soon as enough money is deposited the negotiation firm starts negotiating with the creditor. When an agreement is finalized, the money is transferred to the creditor’s account. This makes you free of debt very easy and very fast.

Understanding the Importance of Your 60 Second Presentation

I am often asked the question; “How important is a good 60 second presentation?” People sometimes gasp at my answer. They look at me as if I am a little crazy because my answer is simple and very straightforward. The value of a good 60-second presentation is only as high as the importance you place on it. However this does not show you’re the importance of this marketing tool.

I go on to say that, if people place little value on creating a good introduction for themselves, they will usually wing their 60-second presentations. By always winging their presentations, they lose their perspective. They will never know the value of a good 60-second presentation, and they will not reap the rewards associated with delivering them. The way I see it, three things create value in your 60-second presentations. Your efforts, (time spent on it), the feedback you receive from your trusted peers and the measured results.

To start with, good presentations are created, (i.e. thought out and written down), practiced and then refined. It does not matter if you are great at winging it, you will always present better if you have a focused clear message that is tested and practiced. A little hard work on your part will add value to your message by clarifying and focusing it.

Another way is to ask for feedback. Ask someone you trust to summarize what you said. This person should be skilled at doing 60 second commercials, (at least better than you do). Ask them for constructive criticism. If they can’t tell you what you said in two or three sentences you know message is not clear and it’s defiantly not focused.

The best way to see the value of a good 60-second presentation is to track the results. What should you track you ask? Well here is what I track; I always track the name of 60-second presentations, (yes you should give your 60 second commercials names), I always track the venue I attend, the venues date, the people I talk to, whether a person showed interest in my product/service and who I closed business with. Tracking your results is the only objective way of knowing whether your efforts are bearing fruit. What’s amazing about this is that most people never track their results.

Take the time to write out and practice your 60-second presentations. Ask trusted associates for feedback and finally track your results. Doing these three things will get you more referrals and make you more money. The value of a good 60-second presentation will become clear as fine crystal once you see the money coming in.

That’s my opinion, whats yours.