If you are planning to cinch that elusive project for quite some time now, then you might want to consider using WPF charts the next time you are assigned to present to a prospective client. WPF chart tools provide several business scenarios which you can use not only to impress the client, but also to make your ideas come across. The platform provides several real-time features that you might want to check out and this article can help you have a brief overview of the platform and why using it can be to your advantage.

Key Features of WPF Charts

If you happen to be more comfortable with the traditional bars/lines or point charts, the platform takes the traditional up a different level. Real time charting and analysis of data or information are made easier with traditional charts available for those who want a more laid back look. For advanced users, they can present the data using 2D charts and 3D charts without compromising data.

In terms of chart types, a presenter has a wide array of chart types that they can use with their project. Aside from bar charts, one also has the option to use line, candlestick and mountain charts in their presentation. Customizations are also available in some WPF platforms allowing one to modify the theme to meet the expectations of the end user.

The platform is also engineered to meet the requirements of users whatever their skill level or.NET platform they may be using. An example would be binding of documents or data from various.NET providers. WPF can bind the data into one project, thus making it easier for various users to work on it without worrying about compatibility issues among software or platform used.

Another issue that seems to crop up during presentation is the inability to update information to reflect real time changes without affecting the whole presentation. With WPF chart controls, presenters can easily download large data files and process these without distressing about changing labels or other problems as the newest data can be immediately uploaded to the chart without affecting the whole presentation. This prevents time waste and improves productivity.

At the end of the day, the best feature that one can maximize with this platform is its intelligent dashboard, which allows the user to have a clean interface while being provided with the necessary tools. Users would find most WPF chart platforms with integrated multi-dimension analysis which makes it easier for one to perform calculations, summaries and other data information that are crucial to make the presentation a success.

Whether you agree or disagree with the viewpoint of former Vice-President Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” presentation and movie, as a presenter there are some key lessons you should take away from a presentation that has become more popular than almost any other presentation in recent memory, even winning an Academy Award.

Lesson 1: Visuals Rule

One thing you will notice as you watch Al Gore’s presentation is that most of his slides have no text on them, they are visuals. There is a mix of photographs, diagrams, data graphs and added video clips in the movie. When he does use a slide with text on it, there is very little text compared to the typical text overloaded corporate presentation slide. And many of his visuals, especially the graphs, use motion to make the point clear. What does this mean for you as a corporate presenter? Since so many people have seen Mr. Gore’s presentation, either live, on Oprah or in the movie, your audience will now expect you to use visuals instead of endless bullet point slides. The expectations of your audience have risen and your mostly text based slides with outdated clip art won’t cut it any more. You will need to start thinking visually and learn how to prepare and deliver visuals that engage the audience.

Lesson 2: The Number of Slides Doesn’t Matter

After watching the presentation, few people would be able to tell that there are 266 slides in the presentation. They would also say that they didn’t feel like Mr. Gore was rushing through slides. So the old lesson of one slide every one to two minutes has been thrown out the window. The new rule is to use visuals for however long you need in order to make your point. That may be as little as a few seconds and as much as a few minutes, or anywhere in between. One outstanding sales presentation used 155 slides in 35 minutes – an unheard of number in that time frame for most corporate presenters. The reason it was effective is that almost every slide was a visual, used for sometimes a fraction of a second as a product feature was built in a series of photographs.

Lesson 3: Focus on the Audience, Not Yourself

As he explains in the movie, Al Gore has spent considerable time addressing the objections the audience may have to his message. As he encounters another one in an audience, he goes back and works the answer into his new talk. He has recognized the value of focusing on what the audience needs to hear instead of what he wants to say. Too many corporate presenters think only about what they want to say and lose the audience along the way. Mr. Gore has a clear goal with his presentation – individual action to change the climate change problems. And with calculated precision he steps the audience through the arguments that lead them to the conclusion he wants them to make. Presenters should spend more time analyzing their audience and determining what the audience needs to hear in order for them to understand and act upon the message of the presentation.

Lesson 4: Direct the Audience to Your Point

When you watch Mr. Gore present in the movie, he has a small screen close by that he will use to point to a part of the image to focus the audience’s attention on the key point of the visual. He also sometimes walks over to the large screen and motions towards a part of the visual. In both cases he is demonstrating that a visual by itself is not sufficient to make your point. You must direct the attention of the audience to the specific part of the visual that illustrates the point you are making. You can do it physically like Mr. Gore does, but a sometimes even more effective technique is to build callout boxes or arrows on the slide that have the same effect of directing attention to a certain spot. A common technique used by many presenters is to use a laser pointer. This is a bad idea. It is almost impossible for many people to see the small red dot on a large screen and when they do find it, you won’t be able to keep it steady and it will be annoyingly jiggling around while you speak. Build callouts on visuals to emphasize the points for your audience.

Lesson 5: Use a Remote

You will notice that during his presentation, Mr. Gore never touches his computer. Even when he appeared on Oprah, you never saw the computer. He uses a remote control to advance his slides. This allows him to get closer and connect with his audience, an important component of getting audience members to understand and commit to acting on your message. Too many corporate presenters are glued to their laptop to change slides, are stuck behind a podium that separates them from their audience or they use slides that don’t build the points or visuals, leaving the audience guessing at what is being talked about now. If you are serious about delivering outstanding presentations, don’t be cheap. Get your own remote and learn how to use it. For a small investment of under $200, you can reap the rewards of better connection with your audience.

Lesson 6: Reading Someone Else’s Deck Doesn’t Cut It

To spread the message of the presentation and movie, a related organization is training others to present it. This is similar to a Marketing department who creates a presentation for the sales force around the country or across different regions. But the approach to spreading the message is very different. Most corporations simply e-mail the presentation out with perhaps some notes and ask the staff to start using it. And most of the time the presentation is simply read off the slides because the presenter isn’t invested in the presentation. But not with the “An Inconvenient Truth” presentation. They run a two full day event. It starts with Al Gore doing the presentation, so everyone sees how he does it and catches the fire from the person for whom this burns brightest. Then they explain the background for each slide so everyone understands and buys into the information. Then they help each person put their own emotion into the presentation so that when it is delivered, it is done with passion. Now each person in the group is equipped to go out and present the message with personal understanding and passion – a winning combination. How many organizations could be more successful if they used this model for distributing important presentations?

When a presentation is so powerful that it appears on the Oprah Winfrey show, in theatres, is turned into a best selling DVD and wins an Oscar, presenters should sit up and pay attention to why it works. If you learn the six lessons discussed above, you will be able to better engage audiences and help them understand and act on the important messages you share.

You can find promotions for free Disney World tickets either online or just by driving up and down International Drive in Orlando. The problem is those free tickets come with strings attached. You have to go to a timeshare presentation. That’s a precious few hours away from your vacation.

Disney tickets aren’t cheap so you might decide that a few hours listening to a timeshare salesperson is worth the time spent. But if you crunch the numbers you will usually find that it isn’t. The most common types of Disney tickets that you can get from a timeshare promotion are called “Touch of Magic” tickets. These are special promotional tickets that include two single day admissions to any one of the Walt Disney World theme parks. So you can spend the day at Epcot or Magic Kingdom or one of the other two parks, but you cannot hop between parks.

Because Touch of Magic tickets are special promotional admissions media, they cannot be upgraded to multi-day tickets. Now if you are only looking to spend a day at one of the parks, this isn’t a problem. It only becomes a disadvantage if you are planning several days at the parks.

The reason why is that admission to Disney World gets cheaper as you add more days. Going to WDW for four days is only $8 more than going for three days. Want to spend five days in the parks? That costs $11 more than going for three days. So if you go to Disney World for three days that will cost you almost $75.00 per day. Go for five days and your price drops to less than $50 per day.

Now I’m assuming you don’t live in Orlando and so you just can’t run off to Disney World whenever you feel like it. So if you are in Orlando for a week long vacation, you will probably spend four to five days at the parks. Once you use up the free ticket the timeshare company gave you, you still need to buy passes for the rest of your trip.

Since you’ve already had one day at the park, you decide to buy a three day ticket. Your total savings from using that free ticket in this case is $8.00, or $11.00 if you go with a four day ticket. To save that $11 you probably need to spend two to three hours resisting being cajoled into buying a timeshare.

So ask yourself, what’s your time worth? Would you rather spend the extra few bucks and get to the park early to ride Space Mountain, or would you rather spend your entire morning with someone who is trying to get you to buy something you don’t actually want?

One of the innovative contributions of Carl von Clausewitz to the theory of the military organization is the introduction of the term Friction, a phenomenon which is without doubt much observed in the execution of corporate and marketing plans.

“Friction”, he writes, “is the only concept that more or less corresponds to the factors that distinguish real war from war on paper. The conduct of war resembles the workings of an intricate machine with tremendous friction, so that combinations which are easily planned on paper can be executed only with great effort. Action in war is like movement in a resistant element.”

In one form or another friction is always present. Friction manifests itself in unexpected events and in factors that are difficult to control but that can delay the progress and realization of every military or business plan. Besides normal wear and tear, friction is made-up of factors like sudden rains changing the condition of the roads over which to advance, spare parts not arriving in time, misunderstood orders, messages not arriving in time (or not at all), a sudden outbreak of influenza, etc. Friction is inevitable and appears in every organization. While formulating a plan – strategic or tactical – a manager must always be prepared for friction and should always take this phenomenon into account.

Especially when changes in the organization are implemented all kind of problems pop up – friction- this is inevitable. Experienced commanders and senior managers often have a good sense of friction; they instinctively spot the time and place where delays (i.e. friction) might occur and how they could be avoided. Therefore a requirement of every Corporate Plan or Effective Presentation is always to include a margin of error, a reserve for inevitable and unpredictable friction.

Case I:

Arnhem 1944

The attempted allied conquest of the bridge at Arnhem in the Netherlands by airborne troops in 1944 was a bold plan, with many weaknesses, not only strategically but also by applying a too tight margin of error. There was hardly any room for “friction”. The time given for the advancing British divisions to reach their objectives was by far too little. Just three days!

The planning staff did not take into account the low capacity of the narrow Dutch roads, mostly built on dykes lying in the middle of swampy meadows. The roads were soon overcrowded with the long British mechanized columns and even the weakened German troops could easily block the British columns in their march from the South to the North, from Eindhoven to the bridges at Nijmegen and Arnhem. One shot up tank would easily interrupt the advance of a column as the dykes were too narrow to go around the destroyed vehicle. That was one reason why the march to Arnhem lasted eleven days instead of three!

Meanwhile, the German troops, scattered over the whole of Holland, could soon be concentrated at the right place under the command of a few experienced officers.

And at the Arnhem Bridge, the only lightly armed brave ‘Airbornes’ could not hold out eleven days against the fiercely attacking, heavily armed Germans.

Another example of unexpected friction was that from the first day of the landings no communication was possible, neither with headquarters nor between the troops, due to the supply of the wrong transmitting crystals and thus direction and coordination of the airborne army was lost. For instance the second wave of paratroopers landed on territory that was (again) in German hands.

The use of the wrong transmitting crystals created a serious communication problem. It was a critical success factor that led the operation into disaster.

Case II:

Jobbers – living from friction

Building oil-exploration rigs at sea is a very complex and precise undertaking. All kinds of parts have to be transported by ship and helicopter to the construction site. All parts needed have been planned beforehand and have to be delivered complete and exactly in time to be fitted on the rig. A delay in the agreed delivery time of the rig is heavily punished and hence will cost a lot of money.

But all kinds of mishaps can delay the delivery time. For instance in every oil rig nearly a hundred hydraulic pumps are mounted. But it often happens that pumps arrive broken, have been damaged during transport or have fallen into the sea. Notwithstanding the spare pumps that experienced construction managers always plan as a margin of error, new ones may still be needed. Ordering new pumps takes much time because the production capacity of manufacturers will have been taken up by other orders and it takes time to switch from one batch to another. In such cases the oil rig construction company seeks help from specialized ‘jobbers’, small specialized firms equipped with specialized machines like computer driven lathes, precision drills, laser cutting machines and so on.

They work by the piece and can build made-to-order all kinds of parts. They can make the few pumps needed quickly or recondition faulty ones. To fulfil such an emergency order they often work day and night. Of course building the few pumps needed is quite expensive, but not completing the oil rig in time is much more expensive. Some ‘Jobbers’ are specialized to fulfil the demands of the oil exploration industry and choose a location near their clients, like oil exploration centres in Northern Scotland and around the Gulf of Mexico. In this case ‘friction’ is the source of income for these firms.

When a speaker fizzles with the following types of sentences, the messages in your presentation are replaced with an unforgivable feeling of disappointment. How do these sentences make you feel?

• ‘Well, that’s about it really… ‘
• ‘There’s more stuff in the notes if you want to read up later… ‘
• ‘I think I’m probably out of time, so I’d better stop… ‘

Endings require attention and it is up to you to wrap your message in a memorable way. You want to go for applause. This is important for a couple of reasons. First, you have worked hard to write, rehearse and deliver this presentation. You deserve some reward. Second, and this is vital, applause makes the audience feel better. They are sharing with their fellow delegates in a positive feeling, brought about by what you have just told them.

Optimism is the key.

Even if the content has been doom and gloom, you have to leave your audience believing things will be better tomorrow and the future is filled with exciting opportunities. Often, it is in the face of adversity that great orators emerge. I think this is related to their ability to make the audience believe things can only get better.

Leave yourself a minute right at the end to deliver your well-written, carefully rehearsed, tightly packaged finale. Build towards it and at the appropriate moment, stop, and applause will follow.

Good lead ins to your last few sentences go something like this:

• ‘I’ve talked about some serious issues today. We have, without doubt, some exceptionally difficult challenges to meet, but I’d ask you to remember one thing… ‘
• ‘Out of everything I’ve said today, there is one issue that stands out for me as more important than anything, and that is… ‘

Choose the single, most important point from your presentation to finish. A good strong ending keeps you in control, and it will help to make you look assertive and confident, plus the applause resulting from a strong ending generates a positive feeling throughout the room.

From a structural point of view, plan the last five minutes of the presentation. Summarize and then move into managing expectation, like this:

1. Manage expectations: ‘This has been a complex issue and I’m happy to take some questions in our run-up to the coffee break at 11 o’clock, but before that I want to finish by reiterating one important point… ‘
2. Passionate ending-call to action, rallying cry, or plea for support.
3. Say ‘Thank You!’ and shut up.
4. Applause.
5. Question and answer session.
6. Round off the question and answer session with a final rallying cry.
7. Next step (in this case, coffee).

Speak from the heart and your audience is bound to warm to you as a person. It’s the look in your eye as much as the tone in your voice that carries your passion. If you really mean what you are saying, you don’t need to worry about how the ending will come across. Your natural feelings will carry you through.

Any good sales presentation will elicit challenges from prospects and customers. It simply means that these potential or current buyers are interested–their nibbles at your statements are love-bites, evidence of their interest. Let’s look at how you can maximize this potential for sales and reduce the perceived areas of conflict.

First, you should have seen this coming. Don’t be like a deer in the headlights. Prepare yourself by knowing the political and organizational climate, how much to share, who will be in the room, and how they like to receive information. Know your audience’s need and expectations, otherwise you’ll be flying blind.

If you understand your industry and its clients in this way, you should be able to deal with resistance and even hostility with confidence. Here are seven specific tips for overcoming this type of medium-to-stiff resistance:

1. Understand the type of resistance you’re facing. The more information you have at your fingertips to counter the resistance, the more accurate you’ll be in the action you take. Is the resistance institutional? Fact-driven or cultural? Is it a flaw in your logic or an ego-trip for the questioner? In other words, you should be alert to what’s coming your way and respond honestly. Look below the surface; look for subtext – the real action beyond the scene. Does the audience need an emotion validated? If they do, show them you understand.

2. Listen for emotions. Even in an emotional storm, there may be subtle differences as to what you are hearing and what you can respond to. Emotions, not your message, may be making your audience hostile toward you. You may represent a point of view or a “difficult” company to them. You therefore provide a convenient target for the audience to attempt to redress a recent problem or vent after decades of resentment and anger. You don’t have to change your message; instead, deal with the audience’s emotional response.

3. Recast erroneous assumptions. The more serious the assumption, the faster it must be countered. You may even (politely) interrupt the erroneous statement. Why? Because the more time that goes by before the error is countered or corrected, it starts to set like cement.

4. Welcome unclear or fuzzy arguments. If an argument is unclear or fuzzy enough, it’s a gift to you. You can go anywhere you want with it. It’s your golden opportunity to express your critical messages all over again in a different way.

5. Go low-key and conversational. The more someone rants and raves at you, the quieter you should become. Why? Because everyone else in the room will quickly realize that the person ranting is out of line. They will see the contrast immediately between the raving person and the considerate, soft-spoken, and reasonable person (you).

6. Be aware of your tone. Watch how you are stating your messages. The best arguments in the world will fail if they sound defensive or angry. Audiences will remember a presentation’s tone far longer than they will recall the facts and statistics.

7. Disagree neutrally. There will be many opportunities for you to demonstrate your rapier wit when you are faced with skepticism and hostility. Resist every one of them, for the reasons given above.

In summary, think in terms of shaping the issue. In other words, frame your message in ways that work to your advantage. No one ever said you have to accept a characterization of you, your company, or a topic in ways that put you at a disadvantage. Sales is no different from other areas of life in this regard: you should always play from a position of strength rather than weakness.

What do the words public speaking bring to mind? Large halls and after-dinner ramblings? Executive seminars where you listen to a speaker expert in some key area of business? Politicians at election time? Presenters using complex PowerPoint slides?

These answers are all correct, but big events and big names are just the tip of the public – speaking iceberg. Public speaking embraces not only the formal settings for speeches but also myriad events in any businessperson’s day.

Public speaking affects every aspect of communication. It refers to your ability to get ideas across and to inform and persuade your audience. Even though most people admit to disliking it, everyone has to rely on his or her speaking abilities in meetings, on the phone, when asking for a raise, or when explaining procedures to a new employee.

There are two varieties of business communication: written and spoken. And while many professionals, managers, and executives complain about the number of memos and e-mails they have to write, they communicate verbally much more often.

Powerful speaking is not a new phenomenon. I searched for a book to see how public speaking has started.In his 1880 book, History of England: Volume I, Thomas M. wrote about William Pitt the Younger, who became Prime Minister of England at the age of 24.

Parliamentary government is government by speaking. In such a government, the power of speaking is the most highly prized of all the qualities which a politician can possess; and that power may exist, in the highest degree, without judgment, without fortitude…without any skill in diplomacy or in the administration of war.

That is why Pitt, who was lauded for his remarkable talent for making speeches, was a successful politician despite his lack of experience and political savvy. There is just so much spotlight to go around, and it’s a given that speakers occupy it regularly.

Presenting in public is advertising with subtlety: You are displaying your abilities without touting them. In other words this mean: Sell yourself on a high scale, offering value to others.

And now, I want you to remember the benefits:

- courage

- value

- long-term relationships

- self- confidence

- experience

All things mentioned above, are real and extremely useful in many occasions when speaking in public, so that’s why you should use every speaking opportunity possible. When someone needs a speaker, volunteer! If someone else is speaking, volunteer to introduce them! Get yourself in front of other people as often as you can.

The more you do, the more you will be perceived as the confident, take-charge kind of person you truly are.

You engage your audience by drawing them in, by being interesting, by never being boring. You inspire your audience to take action by reaching their emotions-to get them to see things and feel things.

People never take actions for intellectual reasons, there is always an emotional benefit or fear that spurs them on. As a speaker you want to stimulate people to think and to be open enough to consider your ideas.

Confidence and speaking ability go hand in hand. The more speaking you do, the more confident you become-not only of your ability to present but also of your overall corporate skills. When you overcome your fears more easily, you have the ability to truly persuade superiors, peers, or customers.

So read on, and start to look at your workday differently – not as a series of random conversations but as myriad chances to polish your skills as a powerful public speaker

With fear behind you, you will be free to reap the benefits enjoyed by commanding speakers.

Fear may not be welcome, but it is normal. Every successful speaker has his or her own tricks to psych out fear. Winston Churchill liked to imagine that each member of the audience was naked. Franklin Roosevelt pretended that the members all had holes in their socks.Carol Burnett thinks of them sitting on the commode.

The point is, even though your mind seems to work overtime before a speech, filling you with dread, you can counter with tricks of the imagination that make you feel confident and in control.

Fear has its good side:

The perception of public speaking as difficult and demanding adds to a confident speaker’s power, because people are perceived as more knowledgeable and confident simply because of their ability to conquer the dreaded task of public speaking.

That confidence comes from within; once you believe you have the ability to be a confident speaker, it’s a lot easier to be just that.

The best way to bolster your confidence before a speech or presentation is to think positively, start with a good attitude. Saturate your mind with positive thoughts. Repeat to yourself any positive catch phrase that appeals:

I am poised, prepared, persuasive, positive, and powerful. I also feel composed, confident, convincing, commanding, and compelling.

So; How do you prepare? The traditional answer-taking notes and memorizing them-is just a small part of it. Real preparation means digging something out of yourself; it means gathering and arranging your thoughts, nurturing your ideas, and finding a unique way to express them.

A speech needs time to grow; don’t try to manufacture one in a hurry. Select your topic as soon as you can but don’t rush to write down your speech. Start a speech file as soon as you know you will be speaking and put everything that comes to mind in this file: thoughts, quotations, and topics.

Let the thinking process go on for a long time-at least two or three weeks-depending on your subject and the length of the speech. Sleep on it; dream about it. Let your ideas sink into your subconscious.

Then bring your evolving speech out of hiding. Make it a topic of conversation at the dinner table. Ask yourself questions about your topic. Write down your thoughts and the examples that come to you. Once you have the pot cooking, keep stirring it and adding new ideas and illustrations. Examples will pop into your head at random times-jot down as many of these inspirations as you can.

That’s it from this part. Soon I’ll write the 3rd part wich will be the last part from this subject.I hope you’ve learned something from this, and thank you for your time reading this article.

One of the key principle of the Toyota Production System and Lean manufacturing is “genchi-genbutsu,” or “go, see, and confirm.” Here is a description and example of “genchi genbutsu” from Implementing Lean Software Development From Concept to Cash by Mary & Tom Poppendieck:

“Consider the Sienna. The first version of the Toyota minivan didn’t sell particularly well. When Chief Engineer Yuji Yokoya set out to improve the vehicle, he knew he needed more than focus groups and voice-of-the-customer data. So he followed Toyota tradition of genchi-genbutsu, or “go, see, and confirm.” He drove a minivan-usually a Sienna-for 85,000 km (53,000 miles) through every state in the United States, every province in Canada, and every estado in Mexico.

He usually traveled with a key member of the design team, including John Jula, a good-sized engineer who would redesign the seats. As he traveled, Yokoya came to understand what Sienna customers would value: more space, comfortable front seats for parents, a back designed for kids, and family pricing. The resulting 2004 Sienna more than doubled the minivan’s sales and raised the Sienna to the top of a crowded pack.” (Chapter 3, Implementing Lean Software Development From Concept to Cash by Mary and Tom Poppendieck)

How does the concept of “genchi genbutsu” apply to presentations?

Essentially, it means you should understand your topic from the audience’s point of view. How do they view it? What do they need to know about it?

If you don’t know, then try to speak to a representative sample of the audience and understand the issue as they see it. Before you can change their mind about a topic or improve their understanding of it, it helps to know where they are starting from.

If you are speaking to a new audience, perhaps a different division of your company or a new client, it can help to physically visit their location before you speak or at least arrive there early, so you can walk around, observe the culture and listen to the jargon.

Also get comfortable with your physical environment. Sit in the audience’s seats – literally – and see what the front of the room, your slides or the stage look like.

And if you’re a paid professional speaker, genchi genbutsu means that you don’t just show up, speak and then leave – you actually spend time at the conference or company meeting people and understanding their needs. And you do more to customize your speech to your audience than just occasionally inserting the name of the client.

Applying genchi genbutsu to your presentation will ultimately result in a presentation that is more tailored to your audience and resonates with them. And you will come across as a sincere and well-informed professional rather than as a pompous “talking head.”

In today’s economy, many organizations are cutting back on presentation skills training. Is this smart? Or is this foolish and shortsighted? Find out here.

As the economy continues to bump along, more and more organizations are getting jittery. Some are cutting back on what is considered ‘soft skills.’ Others are hanging tight, refusing to cut back on skill development. Of these, many are blending training approaches to include online self-study classes, webinars and virtual coaching.

I’ve seen this myself and many of my clients are observing the same thing. If you are caught in budget cuts and need to define the best way to train new and experienced staff, use these 5 tips to find your best solution.

1. Challenge Norms

In the past, your company may have had a long training program to introduce new sales staff to products, services and the skills of selling. No doubt this worked well to build a solid foundation.

But in this era of ‘do more with less’ your 3+ week training program is under attack. Instead of fighting to maintain the past, challenge the norms. Look for ways to reduce training time without sacrificing quality.

If you can’t see the way through, ask a professional presentation skills training consultant. With an objective eye, your guide can help you select the ‘must have’ skills from the ‘nice to have’ ones. Plus, you may be pleasantly surprised at what can be accomplished online and in blended solutions.

2. Take The Long View

If you are stuck in a meeting room with finance folks who want to slice up your training budget, insist on the long view. Slashing all training is bad for business.

New and experienced professionals need to know new skills to retain existing customers and grow the business. Eliminating training is an extremely shortsighted and ultimately will kill your business.

3. Measure ROI

While you may whole-heartedly agree with the message of the previous tip, you must prove it. Provide evidence to the folks from finance.

Show a clear link to training-from communication skills, increase in sales, decrease in turnover, and increase in performance. Step up to the challenge to ‘prove’ the value of training.

Instead of viewing finance as a pain, turn this around. Find ways to document the financial value of training to the organization. This is where you’ll build strong alliances-and increase the strength of your organization.

4. Create Blends

Whether you are just starting out or have been in business for decades, create blends of training. Provide critical skills in person, with experienced training professionals. Guarantee top results with clear objectives, agendas and highly interactive training sessions.

Provide reinforcement, practice and situational assessment virtually. This can help reduce the amount of travel and time out of the office. The best blends use interaction, visuals, and easy-access to appeal to participants. Look for online training programs that are easy to use and accessible anytime, anywhere.

5. Buy vs. Build

With all the terrific online and blended solutions available, it is more affordable to buy solutions rather than build them in-house.

Many organizations in the past have spent huge amounts of time and money building training solutions that already existed on the market. This is not smart or fiscally responsible.

If you are looking for a custom built solution, consider what already built training program can be adapted easily to fit the bill. You’ll gain huge rewards and save tons of headaches.

Is presentation skills training on the chopping block? If so, step up and recommend alternative solutions. Your company, your future and your bottom line depend on it.

If you are new to public speaking it is a good idea for you to attend some professional public speaking presentations or demonstrations so that you can experience what is involved. By watching other speakers in action, you will start to get some idea of what it takes to present a good speech in public.

Watching other people speaking also helps to take some of the fear out of speaking in public. If you study their actions, movements and the way they operate, you will pick up tips that may help you get started, and make you feel more comfortable about yourself.

Once you are ready to do some public speaking yourself, it is a good idea to join a group or become a member of a club. Not only will you get the benefit of watching others speaking, but you will also get the opportunity to practice yourself.

Remember that a successful public speaking presentation does not happen by accident. To be successful you need to:

o Prepare thoroughly.
o Practice frequently.
o Present thoughtfully.

Preparation

Being thoroughly prepared is the first secret to successful public speaking. Choose a topic and prepare the outline of your speech. Make sure it is a topic that is relevant to the audience you will be addressing as well as appropriate for the occasion. Remember that people in an audience are there to listen to you. Whether your speech is informative, persuasive or entertaining, they hope to get something from you.

Another thing to remember is that the better you know your subject, the easier talking about it will be. Research the topic thoroughly, even if it is something close to your heart. Then make notes with key words that will help you remember your line of thought. Generally it is best not to work from a speech that has been written out because reading is less spontaneous (as is reciting a speech learned off-by-heart) and because you have to concentrate on the written word, it makes it more difficult to connect with the audience.

Practice

Practice makes perfect irrespective of what it is you are doing. For example, actors practice, sportsmen and women practice — and good public speakers and presenters practice too. But with public speaking, it is not so much about getting the words right. It is more about getting used to the process and feeling at ease with yourself. Having said that, it never hurts to practice an introduction word-for-word to make sure you get off on the right foot. It is a bit like a kick start that helps to get one going, and seems to help overcome stage fright.

Presentation

If you have prepared thoroughly and practiced frequently, you will be alright. Relax. Breathe deeply. Even professionals who have spoken in public hundreds of times get nervous. Once you get into your presentation it will seem to dissolve.

Think about what you are saying. Speak slowly and make eye contact with your audience. Remember to breathe.

If you leave something out that you wanted to say, leave it. If you get the opportunity to add it in later, do so. But do not interrupt your thought processes to backtrack. If it is something important that your audience wanted to know, they can ask you later.