Presentation Skills – Beat the Fear and Enjoy Presenting!

Presentation skills aren’t something that you’re born with. They are something that you can learn. After all, Barak Obama wasn’t born making speeches and Churchill started life with a voice impediment. Presenting can be something you enjoy! And, as we all know, if you enjoy something it usually makes you better at it. So rather than a vicious circle of nerves, fear and failure; by following a few simple techniques you can create a brilliant, friendly circle of fun,excellence and success. Presentation skills are simply the tools you need to enjoy yourself. you can learn a great deal by working with a trainer, but here are a few presentation skills tips to deal with some common concerns and get you feeling confident.

1. Own the space – when a superstar enters, they own the room.If you arrive early get into the presentation room before your audience. Walk from front to back,walk round the edges. Have a look at the stage from the audience point of view. Make it yours. If you’re late and the crowd are waiting, do the same thing but with your eyes. Scan the presentation room; take in the details before you begin. Even if you feel nervous,you’ll start to make the space your own.

2. Don’t hold your breath – simple as that really. When you are anxious,your breathing becomes shallower; this affects your voice and drains the confidence from your presenting. Place your hand on your tummy button and breathe down deep. If it’s mid presentation, take a drink, give the audience a question to discuss, and send your breath down low. Steady your ship.

3. Relax your feet – another rapid fire remedy. The panic is rising, your voice is shaking and your hands are trembling. Stand still and relax your feet. Let go a little. Your feet are your foundation, let them take the weight. Trust us; it’ll make you feel better in a moment of panic.

4. Softly, softly – no one likes being glared at. So win you audience by making soft, gentle eye contact with them all. Think scan the room, not stare them down. You’ll make new friends that way.

5. You’re never alone- presenting is a two way communication. You don’t need to feel alone up there. Ask the audience a question to kick off, make it conversational, allow them to contribute and be happy not to know every answer.

By using a few of these tips your presentations will be on a surer footing, and you will be on the path to developing excellent presentation skills.

The Power of the Present Moment

How valuable is this very moment to you? Do you realize that this moment represents all of the possibilities that exist right now in the present and all of the possibilities and potential of the future?

How valuable is your time? Do you spend it wisely? Do you focus your time on the most important tasks and value-added activities? Or do you fritter your time away, aimlessly going from task to task, or activity to activity, accomplishing very little?

Have you ever determined how much your time is worth on an hourly basis? Try it. You may be surprised at the amount of time you waste doing things that someone else could do better – leaving you to concentrate on the things that you do best.

A time/value analysis definitely gives you a better appreciation for what it costs you to spend your time on low value activities. Conducting a time/value analysis is easy – just take the total amount of money that you earn during an average eight hour day and divide the total by eight. For example, if your time is valued at $100 per hour, why would you waste your time doing things that you can pay someone $8 per hour to do for you?

Think about this – everything that you will ever accomplish is determined by what you do in this present moment.

The idea behind the power of the present moment is that everything that you aspire to be, have, or do is based upon your actions right now, in this present moment.

Do you want to be a millionaire? What are you doing to make it a reality? Are you studying millionaires? Are you starting and running business enterprises? Are you investing? Are you creating valuable products or providing needed services? These are just a few ways that people are becoming millionaires today.

Are you using this present moment to achieve the outcomes that you desire?

What do you have to do differently in the next five minutes that will bring you the results that you want in the future?

  • Create a goal
  • Make a call
  • Follow-up on a request
  • Take action
  • Stop procrastinating
  • Write a letter
  • Make an appointment
  • Get organized
  • Save money
  • The present moment is powerful because if you think about time on its most basic level, you realize that every thing that is and everything that will be, is or will be created in the present moment.

    Everything you see is a result of someone taking a specific action resulting in something growing, something expanding, and something evolving.

    Every high achiever has mastered the present moment to organize their actions in such a way that great wealth and abundance manifested in their lives.

    How can you use this present moment to improve your life; to live your dreams; to walk into your limitless potential?

    The power of the present moment is the greatest asset you possess because it is the only asset that you can use to obtain any other type of asset including money, contacts, resources, etc.

    How you use your time is a major factor in what you accomplish in this lifetime. You can be, have, or do anything as long as you use your time wisely.

    So, what are you DOING with this PRESENT MOMENT?

    The power of the present moment affects your entire life. For example:

    Family Life

  • What if you can hug kids and you don’t?
  • What if you can spend time with your family and you don’t?
  • Love Life

  • What if you can say I love you to your spouse and you don’t?
  • What if you can ask a member of the opposite sex out for a date and you don’t?
  • Business Life

  • What if you can position your business for future success and you don’t?
  • Spiritual Life

  • What if you can develop your spiritual life and you don’t?
  • Health/Physical Life

  • What if you can workout on a weekly basis and you don’t?
  • What if you can eat right and you don’t?
  • Finally – what if you can learn from the lessons of your life and you don’t?

    This article is not meant to condemn you or to make you feel bad about actions that you did not take in the past. The purpose of this article is to help you understand that in every moment you have an opportunity to do something different. In every moment you have an opportunity to start over.

    You can start accomplishing your goals. You can start becoming a better person. You can start taking action on becoming the person you were meant to be. You can do this and much more… but, will you?

    Action: Decide what you want out of life and use the present moment to start moving towards your desires.

    Remember once you lose this moment you can never get it back – use each moment wisely.

    Negotiation – Getting the Best Deal

    The ability to negotiate strongly will determine your success when dealing with others. Today, every price, every condition, every offer is negotiable. Neil Rackham, who wrote Spin Selling 30 years ago says that back then sales involved around 40% negotiation. Today, he estimates it is 90%. When considering a new job, your ability to negotiate will determine the remuneration you receive much more than your qualifications. It is estimated that in the average recruitment interview only five minutes is spent discussing (let alone negotiating) remuneration; yet that discussion could add $5,000 to your salary. Where else could you earn $5,000 for five minutes work? And, of course, you are not just negotiating salary, but also conditions. In these days of more flexible working arrangements and time-poor lifestyles, the conditions you negotiate can impact massively on your quality of life.

    Win-Win Improves your Network

    Negotiating great deals not only gives you a better outcome, but creates the maximum value for the other party as well. So, as well as rewarding you financially, it also improves your relationships and strengthens your network. Ron Shapiro, lawyer and agent for some of America’s highest-paid sports stars says, “The best way to improve your situation is to improve your network; and the best way to improve your network is to create win-win deals.”

    Bargaining

    Your ability to bargain strongly will be determined by your research. Use whatever independent authorities you can to give your offer more credibility in the eyes of the other party. Put your offer on the table and sell it – articulating all the benefits for the other side. But, don’t jump in too early. Latest research has shown the later an offer is put forward, the better the final deal is. While it is essential that the other side believes that you have come ready to put an attractive offer on the table; it is important not to do it too soon. The later a first offer is made in the negotiation, the more likely it is that the negotiation will result in a more creative, higher value deal. This is because the second you start bargaining in a negotiation, you stop sharing information, and it is in this sharing of information that each side can identify where they can offer value to the other side.

    Perception

    In negotiation, perception is reality. Clever negotiators work hard to see the negotiation from the other side’s perspective. They recognise that they need to aim for the highest perceived value to the other side. For example, you may take the reliability of your supply as a given as you have never failed to deliver. But for a customer who has been disadvantaged by lack of supply in the past, reliability of supply has very high perceived value. The other side’s priorities are often driven by their past experience. If their past supplier was unreliable, your ability to provide a reliable service will have very high value to them. Smart negotiators ask, “What did you dislike most about your previous arrangement?” then show how it will never happen with them  

    Never Give without Getting

    A basic principle of negotiating is never give anything without getting something in return. Even if what they are asking for costs you nothing – get something back. Remember, it’s all about perceived value. If you give freely, they won’t value it – and are likely to ask for more.

    Deal-Making

    Good negotiators work hard to create the best deal for the situation – taking the relationship into account. They recognise that in some one-off negotiations where there is no on-going relationship, it is enough to just get the contract signed. But, most importantly, they know that most negotiations are not the end of the relationship – but the start of it. Latest research has shown that up to 70% of negotiated deals fail in their implementation. Smart negotiators never lose sight of this question – what is the point of the negotiation? Surely, it is not just to do a deal, but to implement an agreement that is mutually beneficial for all concerned. Negotiation is a life skill. If you are observant, every day you will see examples of clever win-win outcomes. Learn from these and it will improve every aspect of your life.