21 Secrets to Powerful Presentations

It’s often said that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Well, it turns out you can’t always judge a book by its title, either.

At first, I dismissed James Humes’ Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln, assuming it would be full of historical platitudes and anecdotal stories rather than actionable advice. Instead, I discovered a terrific reference tool for novice and seasoned presenters alike – including me.

Each of the 21 chapters in this surprisingly quick read offers solid advice for enhancing your presentation skills, using examples from some of history’s most powerfully memorable speakers. Author Humes knows his stuff – this author, professor and speechwriter for five American presidents is a noted authority on the speaking habits of Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Ronald Reagan, and others.

Focusing on what the author calls “21 Power Secrets”, Humes provides the tools to electrify discussions and persuade and capture any audience’s attention. Three of his secrets – Power Pause, Power Point, and Power Reading – are techniques that I’ve found over the course of my 25-year coaching career to be consistently challenging for even the most experienced presenter, yet critical to every high-stakes presentation.

Here are some of the author’s tips to integrate into your own preparation:

Power Pause
Most speakers begin by offering thanks and appreciation for the opportunity to speak. Don’t! Before saying a word, take the time to look directly into the eyes of your listeners. Greet them with a warm smile, then slowly deliver your opening sentence – knowing that every moment you wait strengthens the impact of your opening words. This power pause draws the undivided attention of your audience and leaves them better prepared to listen to your message.

Power Point
No, we’re not talking about slides! Hume’s power point is the bottom line key message you want to leave with your audience. If you want to be heard, understood and achieve results, you must first “stop, think and plan” your power point. As Humes suggests, determine what you want your audience to do and craft your presentation accordingly.

Power Reading
It’s one of the cardinal rules of effective speaking…never let words come out of your mouth while your eyes are looking down. Looking down disconnects you from the audience and means you are speaking at them, not to them. Mastering the skill of power reading means looking down to see the text, looking up – all the way up – and pausing, then conversationalizing the phrase you’ve just recorded in your mind. Although this technique may feel awkward at first, with practice it will become second nature.

Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln supported many of the proven tools in my coaching arsenal, and gave me some new tips for reinforcing them in the minds of my clients. Try some of James Humes’ 21 secrets and forge more powerful connections with your next audience!

Negotiation Tips to Increase Your Salary

So, you have been working for the same company or organization for some time. You have not received a raise and you know you are worth more than what you make. What should you do? You may want to think about some negotiation tips that you can implement to help you out.

Negotiation tactics can be very helpful if you are using them appropriately. In fact, your employer probably uses negotiation tricks from time to time when they are doing business. The more you use them the better you will become. If you want a higher pay then you can always start with this negotiation tip.

Try to let your employer know that you are looking at other job offers. You should never reveal any salary information when you do this. You should also avoid this bargaining trick if you do not have any other jobs in the wing. But, if you do have some other offers you may want to discuss this with your employer. Let him or her know that you would like to stay where you are but you would like some incentives to make that decision.

Always do your research before you try to employ any negotiation tactics. It is very important to be able to go to your employer with facts. If you are underpaid then you can discuss this. Keep in mind that you need to have facts from your area and you should have facts that are reputable. This is often very easy to find if you spend a little bit of time on the internet.

Another negotiation trick that you can try would be related to other compensation packages that your current employer may be able to offer you. If you are not confident that your employer is able to give you a raise in your salary then you should identify a few other bonuses or compensation methods that would make your stay more comfortable.

You have to know how to negotiate if you want any efforts on your part to be successful. Never try to sound condescending or as if you do not need your job. Simply state the facts and know how to play the game. You have to remember that, most likely, the reason your boss is in his or her position is because they have some questionable negotiation tricks up their sleeve. Therefore, you have to know what you are doing if you want to be successful.

In the end, you should never be afraid to ask for what you want. Just make sure that you are stating it appropriately with the facts to back yourself up. Always stop and listen to what your employer is saying to you. You may learn something that will help you improve your negotiation tactics if you stop talking and listen.

Good luck!

Martin Collins

Utilizing Business Electronic Whiteboards To Enhance Business Presentations

Using electronic whiteboards has been shown to bring a number of benefits. One benefit is that using the board increases your productivity. If you are in a conference or in a meeting, you are able to easily engage with your clients or other participants and as a result your meeting becomes very productive.

For example, if there are some audio files in your phone or computer that you would like to present to your clients, you don’t have to worry of whether they will be audible.

This is because the whiteboard comes with stereo speakers which are audible enough; therefore, all you need to do is to connect your phone or computer to the board and all the participants will hear what is in the audio file.

Another benefit of the board is that it’s user-friendly. Since it runs off of the computer, you can easily operate it as long as you have basic computer skills. Modern whiteboards come with the touch technology which further makes them more user-friendly.

The boards also allow you to easily share and plan your work. This is because you are able to easily create and save your files and as a result you stay organized.

For you to continue enjoying the above benefits, you need to know how to take care of the whiteboards. One of the best ways of taking care of the boards is by ensuring that they remain clean. Here you should regularly spray window cleaner on a paper and wipe down the board’s surface.

Before you clean the whiteboard, you should ensure that you shut down the computer.

To clean the pen and eraser trays, you should dampen a cotton swab and clean the sensor and all corners of the tray. To dry the tray you should use a soft cloth.

If you find permanent markers on the board, you should use a dry-eraser marker and trace over the mark. While the ink is still wet, you should wipe it with a soft cloth. If traces of the permanent ink are left, you should spray the area with glass or whiteboard cleaner and wipe the board clean.

When removing the permanent marker ink, you should use high-odor dry eraser markers. This is because these markers contain the right solvents that easily remove the ink.