Ten Tips To Presenting For a Webinar

If you have been invited to speak on a webinar or a teleclass as a guest speaker, you’ll want to make a good impression so attendees will be eager to check out what else you have to offer. Here are ten tips that you should be aware of so you are well prepared and present the best possible content that you can.

Test the webinar platform with the organizers well ahead of the scheduled webinar. If there is a problem, you will have ample time to make any needed adjustments. Testing helps to minimize the potential for problems. Make sure you have an emergency phone contact in case you have trouble logging in to the webinar.
Make sure you have adequate technology to provide the content. A decent quality microphone is essential – a second microphone is ideal, just in case something happens to the first one. Some microphones have a background noise reduction feature, which can be helpful. A reliable internet connection is essential. There is nothing more embarrassing than having to reconnect in the middle of your presentation – and worse, what happens if you CAN’T reconnect? If you have to log in from another location to get a better connection, then do that instead of trusting your iffy connection.
Reduce or eliminate the background noise! If you have a door to your office, close it. If there is outside noise, close your window. If there are other people or pets nearby, make sure they are well occupied so they can stay quiet while you are speaking. If you have a squeaking chair, fix it or use a different one. Test your microphone to see what it picks up, and then try to remove any offending noise.
Once you have your content written and the PowerPoint presentation (or whatever it is you are using), write the FULL SCRIPT for what you want to say. This will help you to minimize the number of ‘umms’ and ‘ahhs’ that crop up so easily in our conversations.
Practice the script! Make sure that your timing is within the guidelines for the webinar. If you know the script well, you can pop back into it easily if you get sidelined by a question or comment. If you can, record your practice session(s) so you can hear whether there are quirks you would rather not have on the real life session!
Show up early on the webinar if possible. If the previous speaker finishes early, you’ll be there to fill in any gaps. It may allow for an extra chance to promote your own business.
Have your presentation carefully checked for typos and content. Make sure that everything is spelled right, that bullet points follow the same style throughout, and that the text is large enough to easily see on screen. Check for correct grammar too. If you are not great at proofing, ask someone else to do it for you.
Do whatever you can to ensure that your voice sounds cheerful and alert and happy while you are speaking. Make sure you are rested, fed, watered, and otherwise cared for, so your voice sounds good.
Market yourself carefully during your webinar. While you have a captive audience, it’s doubtful that they have taken this time to listen to a commercial. Make sure you have good content to offer to them, give them value whether they buy anything from you or not.
Remember to give your audience several ways to contact you afterwards. Do give them some incentives to visit your website or blog, or email you with questions. If you are able to get the email addresses of the attendees, you can follow up with a summary of your content, and make the most of another opportunity to market to them.

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When Is the Best Time to Present the 30-60-90-Day Plan?

The best time to present your 30/60/90-day plan is in your first face-to-face interview. In this difficult economy, many well-qualified people are applying for jobs, creating some stiff competition for you, so you’re going to want to come out of the gate strong. Don’t bother trying to bring it up during your phone interview-I don’t think you can present it well over the phone. I do think that you can email it to the hiring manager if you are trying to get the hiring manager’s attention and you’ve exhausted your other methods.

So, the optimum time to present your 30/60/90 is during your interview, when the hiring manager asks you something like:

“What will you do during X amount of time?”

“How do you think you will tackle this problem?”

“How do you think you will be strategic in this job?”

“Why do you think you’re a good fit for this job?”

“How can you overcome this challenge?”

“What will you do to educate yourself on this particular problem?”

“How will you attack this particular problem?”

“How will you decide which accounts to go see first?” (if you’re in sales)

“How will you decide which problems to prioritize?” (if you’re in a management or operations role)

“How will you work to make sure you provide the creative pieces that will make you successful in this role?” (if you’re in a creative position)

Basically, you’re presenting the plan when the hiring manager gives you an opportunity to talk about how you’ll go about this job-because the 30/60/90-day plan is a forward-looking document that outlines what you will do in the first 90 days after you’re hired. Why is this so great? Because it allows you to highlight your experience and understanding of the job in a much greater way than you will be able to by just answering interview questions. It helps the hiring manager to “see” you in the job by giving him a clear picture of what life will look like after you’re hired. It works for experienced candidates, it works for rookies, and it will work for you.

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Personalized Beach Towels – The Perfect Wedding Present

Still trying to find the perfect wedding present for that friend who has everything? I totally understand. My solution in this case is to buy them personalized beach towels.

These are a great wedding present. You can get them with the couple’s new monogram or with their full names on them. This way they will always know which towel is theirs! I know I have mixed up my beach towel with others at the beach and it is always a hassle. You do not want to mix your towels up with strangers, not only is that gross, but they could get awfully mad at you.

You will be able to choose from lots of different options to make the beach towels as personalized as possible. For example, you will be able to not only choose the color of the towel, but the color of the writing on it as well. Additionally, you can choose the font, size, and spacing of the letters. Some sites even will have a generator which lets you see what your towel will look like before you buy it for the couple. This is an awesome and unique present which will welcome them into matrimony.

Getting a couple a present which helps them define themselves as a newly married couple will be appreciated immensely. Too often are people given un-thoughtful gifts like vacuums and pots and pans. Don’t look forgetful and come with a gift card. A personalized beach towel is definitely your best bet on this one!

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What Keeps Us From Being Present?

My arrival at our agreed venue was at 7:30 in the morning after an overnight bus trip. Every time I make the trip using the overnight bus, I promise myself that I will never do it again. Of course, those groups of thoughts do not know the other group who monitor the mundane affairs of the world like budget, expenses, etc. Upon arriving, after greeting my fellow day-trippers and a brief breakfast, we set out on our excursion.

When I first heard it, (still somewhat travel worn) it sounded like a piece of glib sophistry. ‘What keeps us from being present is….nothing!’. I enjoy offering ideas and concepts as well as receiving and discussing them with like-minded souls, but this idea seemed to only go so far. At a certain point, there must also occur the effort of being the words. The more we spoke about it, the more I kept hearing it, the more it irritated. Yes, theoretically, it is true, but it seemed to lack the relativity of what it takes to get to the state of presence. And yet…

The less I indulged in the discomfort of the previous night’s journey and made efforts to be present, the more the words ‘rolled around’, till eventually, it was clear, that indeed, absolutely nothing stops me from being present, right now or at any time.

Observing more objectively my attitudes and beliefs about what prevents me from introducing and prolonging presence, my thoughts were led to examining imagination and identification. Imagination is…well, just that: imagination. Uncontrolled mind activity Peter Ouspensky’s astute description a shadow, a mockery of reality. Identification: the abdication of my Self for anyone or anything, i.e. sacrificing something for nothing. That fatal ‘nothing’ had appeared again.

The deeper the realization penetrated, that truly nothing prevents me from being present, so the question of what helps, began formulating. One answer came back like a reflection in a polished mirror: listening to my friends, who want nothing more for me than that which they already enjoy: divine wordless presence.

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The Best Man Speech – 3 Important Things to Never Do When Presenting the Best Man Speech

Exactly what do I put in a fabulous best man speech? What if not anyone laughs at my jokes? Can I discuss that party in Las Vegas that no one else is aware about? Let’s suppose I make a fool of myself when in front of all those people?

These are all thought processes that went through my mind after I was sought after to be the best man at my brother’s wedding ceremony. Being the best man wasn’t a lot of work, but the need to give the best man speech when in front of all those guests is what kept me up through the night.

When the big event neared, it absolutely was easy to postpone. “It is going to come to me,” I assumed. The days and months passed, and the bachelor party was over and well, lo and behold, the best man speech never ever seemed to “appear to me” as I’d predicted.

The day of the actual marriage ceremony arrived and I had not carried out one tiny bit of groundwork for the best man speech. I didn’t actually quite realize when I was supposed to present my best man speech, and also I was not particularly sure of the actual etiquette involved. Consequently, that day, I frantically wrote down a small number of humorous items on a napkin, figuring I could possibly “wing” the rest of the speech.

Being comfortable that I could quite possibly ad lib the majority of the presentation based on the napkin information, we made it through the wedding ceremony and went to the wedding reception.

To be able to calm my nervous feelings, I chugged a number of beers thinking that that this may aid my big performance in front of each and every one of those attendees. One beer led to an additional, and before you knew it, I appeared to be a bit more than buzzed.

Still uncertain of when I had been believed to stand up and speak, the father of the new bride tapped me on the shoulder letting me know that it was most likely about the proper time to present the best man speech.

“Holy crap!” is pretty much what ran through my head. It’s time already (as if I failed to have a ton of time to start preparing!)?

I ceremonially rung the cup and established that I wanted everyone’s attention. Talk about a race of uneasiness. Pretty much all eyes in the room were upon me, wanting me to generate a landmark best man speech!

Well, needless to say, I was so unprepared and scared, that I think that most of what came out of my lips was the bride and grooms name and how happy I was for them. Also, I managed to speak about the evening in Las Vegas, and no one was amused with that little adventure.

If it had been even memorable at all, it was mainly because of how dull, bad and predictable it ended up being. I merely wish I had a second opportunity to get it right. However those second chances do not come about very frequently.

So, from my personal experience, I can inform you that three things which a best man SHOULD NOT DO for a best man speech are:

1. Not even prepare yourself

2. Drink a lot prior to presenting the speech, and

3. Discuss any kind of stories that should not be discussed

Take it from me, be ready – it’s still humiliating to this day to even see someone from the wedding ceremony, and it might have been totally averted.

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Public Speaking Anxiety – 7 Ways to Organize Your Presentation Content?

Delivering a speech or address confidently is quite easy provided your preparation has been done thoroughly. A presentation requires the presenter to be fully aware of the content to be presented and to answer as many questions in the presentation as possible.

  1. Write your content in bite sized pieces. Write in modules which allow you to miss some out during your address if you are short of time or you do not wish to deliver parts of the address for other reasons.
  2. Write cue cards. Large cards are best joined at one corner with a large ring or even string. Write in large letters that are easy to read without needing to stare. Headlines with a few sub points work well. Too much detail will confuse and make the presentation stunted. As the cards are finished with fold them over. Cards wont flip back over as a book might. They are also fairly discrete.
  3. Jokes can help a presentation. Bad jokes will not help or badly delivered jokes. If you are not good at jokes don’t do any. Often during the presentation things go wrong which will bring a few laughs.
  4. You must know your subject matter. Write out everything you intend to cover, modify it and write it again. Ensure everything flows from one module to the next. Work out where you need to refer back to an earlier part of the presentation then rewrite that part. The more time you spend at this stage the better your presentation will be. Once you have the whole presentation planned the cue cards can be written. Cue cards are there to remind you of the running order with pointers within the presentation.
  5. Technical information is best delivered with the aid of props. Most areas of a presentation can be covered by use of the cue cards. Technical issues need to be accurate; these are best done with a projector, flip chart or even handouts. Tables, calculations etc. are difficult to display by voice alone.
  6. Try to think of as many questions that could be asked about the subject. Include as many answers as you can into your presentation. This will reduce the number of questions asked. Your audience will feel they have learned something fully.
  7. Decide in advance the format your time will take. Will you take questions at all? If you do will you take them during your address or at the end? This is your address you make the decisions according to your preferences. Remain in control of your time and you will present a confident dynamic presentation.

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Presentation Anxiety: 5 Public Speaking Techniques That Can Help

You’re not alone if you experience the jitters when speaking in public. I can relate to the sweaty palms, shaking knees, tight and dry voice that can plague a public speaker. As a timid child, speaking up in class was akin to standing on a tiny platform about to perform a high dive. (I care not for heights and I’ve never learned to dive!)

I’m a different person today, not only has speaking been a part of my career for decades, I now work with entrepreneurs who want to market their services through speaking. Many of these successful entrepreneurs fear speaking as much as I did when I was young.

Here are a few techniques you might try to ease your anxiety:

1. When faced with a challenge (public speaking) that causes our body to retreat to flight mode our right brain starts firing rapidly. This means our logical left brain shuts down a bit and fails to provide the commonsense needed to get the job done. In order to create a balance between our left and right brain hemispheres I suggest my students perform brain train exercises before speaking. Here’s one you can try:

Place your arms out in front of you parallel to the ground with your hands clasped but index fingers forming a steeple. Think Charlie’s Angels. With your eyes focused on your pointed index fingers, slowly form a lazy eight figure with your arms. Allow your eyes to follow the movement as your arms move from side to side. After a bit, either dizziness will replace your fears or more likely you’ll find yourself feeling calmer. The movement allows you to engage your left brain and get the logic flowing again. Try it before any nerve-inducing situation.

2. Rehearse your talk. Okay, you knew that was coming but you’ll be amazed at how people fail to practice sufficiently. Seriously, you must put the time in to construct and speak your talk out loud. It might take 30 minutes a day for a week for a short talk and as much as 10 weeks for a major presentation to learn your speech so you own it. Practice, practice and practice-out loud.

3. Write out your speech. If you’re a nervous speaker (and this also goes for those of you that think you can wing it) take the time to write out your talk entirely. Then read it out loud. Then edit. Then read it out loud. Then edit. Then read it out loud. Then… Got it? Great speeches are well crafted. They needn’t be long… just edited to within an inch of their life! Enlist a trusted listener to give you honest feedback or get coaching. This practice is to understand how others will hear your talk.

4. Breathe from your belly. Nerves cause us to raise our shoulders and restrict our diaphragm from doing its job properly. My own experience has shown how a normal sounding voice can become pinched and irritating to others when under stress. You might not hear it yourself until someone points it out. So practice some yoga belly breaths, drop your shoulders and speak with conviction from your gut. Record your speech twice, the first timer while holding your shoulders up and breathing from your upper chest and a second time while relaxed and breathing with your belly.

5. Jumping jacks. Or the equivalent. These work to both shake off the jitters and at the same time focus the energy so you don’t appear like Casper the Unfriendly Ghost on the platform. People will listen to just about anything except a boring speaking. Amp up your energy by exercising before you takes the stage. Nervous speakers can also appear unattached to their bodies. Their feet are moving in one direction, while their head is turned in another direction. It’s not pretty and it confuses the audience. Use those jumping jacks to expel excess energy and anchor yourself by standing firmly on two feet once on stage.

Speaking is a learned skill. Some may excel more than others but anyone who is determined to change their life and/or business through speaking can learn how to speak effectively. Try it.

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Buying Christmas Presents For Men – The Eternal Conundrum

Men are notoriously hard to buy presents for, no matter how creative you are in everyday life. It is all too easy to draw a blank when thinking about what your husband, brother, granddad or uncle might like for Christmas. Conventional ‘masculine gifts’ proliferate from September onwards in many shops, promoting aftershave, novelty gifts and power tools as ‘must have’ items. The card section is little better, assuming that your man likes rude jokes and is obsessed with cars – or possibly trains. Such marketing is meant to shape interest as well as satisfy it.

Women find themselves bombarded with chocolate, underwear and perfume, but at least these are all fairly useful, whereas a novelty corkscrew is likely to be quickly relegated to a kitchen drawer, never to been seen again. Most people are aware of the subtlety of advertising and expectations, but it is surprising how invidious they can be; before you know it, you are walking out of a DIY store with a gift-wrapped electric screwdriver. After all, with Christmas looming you rationalise that you might not get another chance to buy something suitable.

Some businesses realise that women – or other men – need help and are retailing more unusual items such as adventure days out or quality reproductions of intriguing old maps. However, these are for the specialist because not every man wishes to go bungee jumping, no matter what he might say to his friends, and only certain men go weak at the knees at the mention of cartography. But most men like clothes and they are always useful.

An obsession with clothes is often quite unfairly attributed to women, but most modern men will admit to taking a keen interest in what they wear. After all, people judge us on our sartorial arrangements and first impressions are important – whether those first impressions are to impress a boss or a prospective girlfriend. Buying clothes or clothing accessories can let your man know that you have taken the trouble to observe what he likes and have discovered his correct size. It might also amuse him to imagine you flicking through rows of men’s clothing. After all, he has probably been taken on enough female shopping trips to think that some kind of payback is in order.

Mens clothing gifts [http://www.topman.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=17551&storeId=12555&categoryId=64649&langId=-1&top=Y] also have the advantage of being as expensive or as cheap as you choose. For your uncle, a great slim-line tie in a reserved shade of blue might be fitting; for your husband, a trendy biker jacket might be the perfect – and unexpected – present. Instead of politely thanking you for a digital radio, which isn’t made by the ‘right’ company, he is faced with a great coat that he can wear for New Year’s parties.

But what If you do get it wrong? Well most shops offer exchanges or refunds if that daring gift idea is not quite the thing, thus eliminating any risk. Just remember to keep the receipt!

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VideoSecu PC Mac to TV Presentation Converter Review

VideoSecu PC Mac to TV Presentation Converter is a device that conveniently allows you to use your television as a computer monitor. This allows you to use your television in exactly the same way you would a computer screen- you can use the internet, play games, write and read word documents, and so on.

The image quality that appears on your television screen usually depends on what kind of electronic equipment you have. Sometimes, the image may be too unclear to read small text, but for the most part you shouldn’t have any difficulties. Likewise, the device allows you to adjust the image quality quickly and efficiently, so it’s just a matter of tweaking a bit here and there.

The biggest benefit of this device is that it allows you to view videos from your computer on your television screen. If you download videos onto your PC or laptop, and you would rather watch it on a bigger screen and while relaxing on your couch, this is the product you have been waiting for.

This is also good for owners of internet cafes, video game stores, or groups that are hosting video game tournaments, and the like. You will be able to show video game matches as they unfold on television screens. Make that a large HD flat screen television and you will attract viewers like a flame attracts moths.

If you are looking for a product that does what it’s supposed to do properly- allowing you use your television as a computer screen- then the VideoSecu PC Mac to TV Presentation Converter is right for you.

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Presentation Skill and the CEO – What the Chief Explanations Officer Has to Get Right

Senior executives and CEO’s in particular, often assume they will be judged solely by what they do. What they say, and especially, how they say it, is presumed to carry less weight. That’s an assumption that’s as widespread as it is inaccurate.

Whether dealing with internal or external audiences, facts simply don’t speak for themselves. Positions, values, ideas and yes, even facts, need to be put into context. They need to be given a voice so they can be clearly understood. There is simply no substitute for the kind of powerful, in person, human communication that can ease concerns, prod action, and gain buy in among your target audiences.

That’s where powerful communication skills make all the difference. Memo’s, emails, web sites and advertising all have a role, but there are times when only personal communication with key stakeholders will do. These important players for every business need and want to hear directly from those in charge. Seeing and listening to a senior leader explain positions, policies or change allows these stakeholders to make judgments for themselves and can be key to persuading even skeptical audiences. It also serves as a powerful statement about the confidence of the speaker and the strength of the speaker’s conviction.

That’s why communication skill, and presentation skills in particular, are vital for top executives to master. Powerful speaking skills are the surest way for a CEO to embrace the role of Chief Explanations Officer and to gain buy in or good will, to build or regain trust.

While it’s easy enough to cite examples of highly successful leaders who’ve achieved success without strong speaking abilities, (Bill Gates, or in the public arena, George Bush come to mind), such a lack is always an obstacle to success, and often, an insurmountable one.

How then does a top executive best demonstrate powerful communication skills and how do you obtain them? Here are a few tips used by some of the best:
1) Take your communication seriously.

Make communicating at your best a top priority. That means resisting the temptation to view presentations, remarks and speeches as something “other” than getting things done. Deciding to set aside adequate time for preparation and practice will pay off many times over in instilling confidence in others in your leadership abilities. Remember these forums are an opportunity for those who don’t interact with you daily to hear and see your skills displayed. Time and effort spent on your communication skills is one of the most worthwhile investments you can make.

2.) Take your communication personally.

Don’t confuse presentations and speeches with academic exercises. These opportunities are never solely about “educating” an audience on an objective set of facts. These appearances are opportunities to persuade your audience about the perspective on those facts, and the action or conclusion you’re leading to. Even if your audience doesn’t wholly agree with the case you’re making, these appearances are your opportunity to assure them you are the right person to be making the case. Don’t seek to be dispassionate. Allow your audiences to see the conviction with which you hold your ideas.

3.) Do get help.

Whether through an outside coach or a trusted colleague or mentor, get some constructive feedback on your performance. Remember that successful communication is in large part dependent on what’s received, not only what was intended. You need objective help in evaluating whether you’re connecting with your audience effectively, and in what areas you can strengthen your performance. If possible, record your performances and replay them. Try to see your performance from your audience’s perspective.

4.) Know thyself.

Powerful communicators are adept at developing their own, unique style, rather than trying to emulate someone else. To do that, you’ll need to identify what your strengths are. Are you a natural story-teller? Are you someone who can easily get others to understand difficult or complex issues? Seek to play to your strengths by building the presentation, materials and format to your greatest advantage. For instance, if you are someone who relates well to audiences generally, don’t burden yourself with too much data and materials that might interfere with understanding, or compete with you for the audience’s attention.

5.) Think about how you’d like to be regarded.

Your reputation as a leader is in your hands, and in many ways, that reputation for every leader rests on his or her communication skills. However unfair it seems, you will not be seen as a strong leader if you display weak communication skills. Work on developing the kind of communication style that reflects the leadership style you want to project. If you are a consensus builder for instance, display that trait through interactive presentations or speeches. A leader with an in-depth history and knowledge can effectively share that confidence through anecdotes and personal experiences, more effectively than flow-charts and graphs could ever do alone.

Whatever your title, understand the vital importance communication skills play when others evaluate the strength of your executive presence.

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