- Complaints handling: some tips for complaints handlers
- February Already! What is your Reality?
- New dimensions on New Year Resolutions for 2012
- Presentation skills: help for first time presenters
- Dental Complaints:Fitness to Practise changes coming
- Coaching Focus: Individual & Team Success. A Virtuous Cycle
- Presentation skills: Opening with impact – as easy as ABCD
- It’s a dog’s life, so get a fresh perspective
- Why more complaints can be good news
- Improving internal communication
Archive for the ‘Presentation Skills’ Category
Presentation skills: help for first time presenters
October 26th, 2011 | Author: Alison Miles-Jenkins
This guest blog from Lois Grant one of our team is designed to help develop the presentation skills of those new to making presentations.
To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail
That old adage is very true when it comes to presenting, and to prepare effectively, you need to ask yourself a lot of questions.
Most people start their planning with “What shall I include?” and then have trouble either fitting it all in or knowing what to edit out. It is crucial to first ask yourself: “WHY am I giving this presentation? What is my aim/goal/purpose? Is it to sell a product, introduce a change, influence opinion or provide information? And, if so why? If you are not sure, clarify with the person who invited you. In fact, question if you should be doing this at all?!
Your next question should be “WHO am I delivering this presentation to?”
The quickest way to turn a business audience off is to deliver your presentation to suit you; conversely, the quickest way to turn them on is to deliver it to suit them!
Get inside the mind of your audience. Find out how many people are attending, their level, background and experience, what they expect, want and need from you, their age etc. The approach and content of your presentation will vary depending on who you are talking to.
Analysing your audience will give you your ‘start position’. Your next step is to establish your ‘finish position’. What do you want your audience to do as a result of your presentation? It is then about guiding them from ‘Start’ to ‘Finish’?
The next step is to consider WHAT to include in your presentation. Let the ideas flow and note down (or perhaps mind-map) all the ‘possible’ content. You will probably have far more information than you can possibly incorporate in the time allowed, so next steps are to prioritise by identifying the items that:
- Must be included (key topics)
- Should be included (key information to include under each topic)
- Could (information to include time-permitting)
All the time you are doing this, stay focused on your finish position!
You then need to consider WHERE you will be delivering your presentation, how you will lay out the room and what equipment is available.
And WHEN will you be delivering your presentation? If you have a choice, go for mid-morning when people tend to be at their most alert. Mid-afternoon can also work well.
Also ask yourself HOW you are going to deliver it? How will you keep your audience engaged? Rather than just talking, can you get the audience involved in any way? When will you invite questions – throughout or at the end? Are you going to give handouts? What props and visuals will you use?
What next:
- Use this simple ‘Why, Who, What, Where, When and How’ approach to preparing your next presentation and notice how much more confident and organised you feel.
- Join me next month for some tips on how to arrange your presentation content into a natural flow.
Hope you enjoyed this blog designed to help those new to presenting who wish to develop their presentation skills.
Lois Grant
Training To Achieve
Presentation skills: Opening with impact – as easy as ABCD
September 19th, 2011 | Author: Alison Miles-Jenkins
This week’s guest blog is designed to help improve your presentation skills and is brought to you by Lois Grant, one of our team.
“It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
Opening sentence of George Orwell’s novel ‘1984’
Did that grab your attention? Are you intrigued? Perhaps it even makes you want to read the book? Opening a presentation with impact is critical as we are wired to remember what we see and hear first and last. When you are presenting, if you want to stand out from the rest, you need to do something a little different. And that is as easy as ABCD…………
A = Attention
My attention is drifting, make me sit up and listen
Start with one of the following: a question, a bold claim, some news, a quote, a brief personal story, some music, a striking fact or statistic, do something dramatic, get them to do something etc. Choose something that will get your audience thinking “This looks worth staying for.”
Example:
“In a major survey carried out in the USA into people’s biggest fears, 41% of the 3000 respondents said that public speaking was their No 1 fear, even ahead of financial ruin and death.”
B = Benefits
So what? Why am I here and what am I going to get out of it?
What will the audience gain from listening to you? What will they be able to see, hear, try out etc? Will they be able to get involved? What will they be able to do as a result of your presentation?
Example:
“If you are someone who shares those feelings, don’t despair because by the end of today, you will be equipped with some new knowledge and skills which will give you more confidence when structuring and delivering any kind of presentation……………………”
C = Credentials
Why should I listen to you?
What gives you the right to be speaking to this audience? What are your background/experience/qualifications?
Example:
“My name is Lois Grant and as a trainer I have given numerous presentations so not only do I appreciate how it feels to stand up in front of a lot of people and attempt to maintain their interest but I also hope that I can pass on the benefit of my experience to you…………”
D = Direction
What will we be doing?
How will you approach this – in what order and how long will the presentation take? People like to know what to expect. Give an outline of what you plan to achieve.
Example:
“Today you will have the opportunity to design and deliver a presentation to the rest of the group. Please feel free to ask questions as we go and I will also allow time at the end of the day……..”
What next:
• Use the ABCD Opener for your next presentation and notice the difference it makes – to how you feel and to the response you get from your audience.
• Join me next month for some more presentation skills tips, this time on structuring the main body of your presentation.
Lois Grant
Smarter resolutions
January 1st, 2011 | Author: Alison Miles-Jenkins
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Alison BA FCIPD, Consultant, Trainer, Speaker, Coach Managing Director Training To Achieve (UK) Ltd Turning professionals into more successful people managers and business owners since 1990 |
Look back and celebrateI don’t know about you, but at Training To Achieve we didn’t just do the welcoming in of the new Year. We celebrated 2010. We didn’t see the year as deserving to be shrugged off or discarded. It was a time to look back and celebrate our achievements. As learning and development experts we know how important it is for people to be motivated, to feel comfortable in their own skin, with a balanced understanding of strengths and development areas. This will help them to flourish and to achieve. We understand how powerful it is for people to acknowledge and be proud of past achievements. This provides a strong platform for taking on further challenges, to go beyond the comfort zone, take risks, learn new things and become even more successful. When I think back to the year that’s just gone, I get a great source of pleasure and pride when I think about how our company has helped our clients and their employees to achieve, especially during such challenging times. |
Ask the Editor Have a question about a development or training issue? Email us your questions and we’ll answer them in the next issue.
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Here’s my top ten – in no particular order:
What were your highs? |
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As we close our first newsletter for 2011, all that remains is to wish you well for the coming year and hope you achieve everything you set out to achieve. And don’t forget to get in touch to ensure you meet your training needs and guarantee that you keep your New Year’s resolution! We look forward to hearing from you. Alison Miles-Jenkins Managing Director Training To Achieve (UK) Ltd 0845 165 6269 |
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SMARTER Resolutions
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Posted in Brown Bag Lunch, Customer service, Leadership development, Learn over lunch course, Motivation, Newsletter, People Management, Performance Management, Personal Effectiveness, Presentation Skills, Time Management, Training | 
Tags: Alison Miles-Jenkins, Coaching and mentoring training, Customer service, Management Development, Management training, Motivation, newsletter, Training To Achieve | 
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Personal effectiveness healthchecks
September 17th, 2010 | Author: Alison Miles-Jenkins
Personal Effectiveness Health Checks
I’m sure you take your health seriously. Regular health checks are important to make sure you’re fit and healthy. They also help to highlight potential problems before they arise. But it’s not just your health and wellbeing you should monitor regularly. You should also review your business skills. How good are your communication skills? As part of our range of complimentary services to celebrate our 20th Anniversary, we are offering you or your organisation free Personal Effectiveness Health Checks in one of the following areas:
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Alison BA FCIPD, Consultant, Trainer, Speaker, Coach Managing Director Training To Achieve (UK) Ltd The UK leader in developing achievers since 1990 |
Do you write right?
Make sure your writing skills are up to scratch – send us an example of your corporate letters or emails and we’ll critique it. You’ll receive a report on your layout, punctuation style, presentation and grammar and a few suggestions on how to improve – for free. It is with great pleasure that I present to you…Presenting may not be your favourite job, but it is an essential part of business. How you go about your presentation will determine whether it is a success or not. To boost your presentation performance, send us a presentation on PowerPoint and we’ll critique it. Our feedback will offer tips to improve the overall effectiveness of your message – for free. Are you ready to interview?Conducting an interview to find the candidate who is right for the job can be daunting. To make sure you’re not committing any interview cardinal sins, email us for a checklist. Then, as part of our Personal Effectiveness Health Checks, contact us for advice on how to avoid three of your guilty sins – for free. |
Ask the Editor Have a question about a development or training issue? Email us your questions and we’ll answer them in the next issue. Favourite Quotes “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit” Aristotle “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Confucius “The secret to happiness is not in doing what one likes to do but in liking what one has to do.” Anonymous “Along with success comes a reputation for wisdom.” Euripedes |
Tips for AchieversThree things to stop doing to boost your personal effectiveness:
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Would you like a daily tip? Just send us an email and we’ll send you a fresh tip every day. |
Make sure you’re in tip-top healthWriting, presenting and interviewing are all important skills to master. With our help you can become a black belt in all three disciplines and boost your effectiveness. Email us today and take the first step towards greater personal effectiveness. Kind regards Alison Miles-Jenkins Managing Director Training To Achieve ( UK) Ltd 0845 165 6269 |
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Dear Reader
First impressions count, and often the first contact people have with you is a written communication.