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Within BNI (Business Networking International) Indigo Chapter every week a member has to give a ten minute presentation about their business. This article is written with 9 years experience of these presentations, though the fundamentals work for business, education, sales and commercial presentations. BNI Indigo members get training on how to make effective sales presentations which is all part of the BNI Indigo ethos of ‘givers gain’.

Presentations are an umbrella term for importing information from one or more people to one or more people. In essence it is that simple. What differentiates a presentation from a conversation is the lack of a two way interaction. For some people this is what makes presentations difficult.

Preparation is the key to a successful presentation. That is taken as read and the point will not be labored here. However with the advent of computers and projection screen technology most people use some sort of aid when presenting which rather than augmenting the presentation, it acts as a barrier between speaker/s and audience.

What we tell people at BNI Indigo is it is YOU doing the presentation and not the computer.

The 5 best tips we have come up to help the BNI Indigo members put their point across are:

1. Non Verbal Communication

If you have ever been to someone’s house when the TV is on you’ll notice everyone will be watching the TV. Even if they hate what is on, they’ll sit there and watch it.

Great! You think. Everyone will be looking at my presentation! This is a double edged sword, yes people will be looking at the screen but they will not be looking at you. Much of our ability to communicate with people comes not from what we say, but our body language and eye contact. This is something you lose when using a large screen and a computer presentation.

If you have been to any weddings, think how bad the Best Man’s speech would have been using a presentation instead of him standing up and talking to the audience. Sure he was probably a bit nervous, but he shared that with you giving some connection between the person and what was being said.

2. Slides as Notes

If you have prepared correctly you should not be using slides as notes. Notes should be kept on index cards and only you should be seeing them. Slides should be used to show key points of information from your own notes.

Information which might not be easy to express verbally will need to be shown on the slide (such as a photo, diagram or chart).

Simply put “What you are saying should explain what is on the screen, what is on the screen should not say what is in your notes.”

3. Multi-tasking

They say that men cannot multi-task. Well unfortunately neither can women when it comes to reading and listening.

Because your audience is naturally drawn to the screen they will be trying to read what you have put up there while trying to listen to what you are saying. This is impossible to do as by definition they will not be concentrating on one or the 100 percent. You might as well have left out half of the information of each, at least that way you would be controlling the bits they were taking in.

Remember to talk about a subject and illustrate it on the presentation, not copy it verbatim or have different information on there.

4. Not Enough Time

Remember that people have a limited concentration span. It is physiological. They only have a finite amount of chemicals in the neurons and they will not fire for ever. A good rule of thumb is 40 minutes. Anything much over this people will get restless, need a drink, want to use the toilet or will simply stop listening.

In essence, keeping it short and to the point is probably one of the hardest skills in presenting. It is also one which most people ignore.

5. Too Much Information

There are two points of contention when writing or presenting. Not enough information and too much information.

If you have ever written an essay for college you will have encountered this issue. At first you think you will not be able to get close to the word limit. After five hours in the library you realize you could write double the word limit.

Distil what you need to say into key points for your notes. Illustrate the points with diagrams. It is possible you can give these diagrams out after the presentation (so people do not need to draw them). The danger of giving them out during the presentation is people will read ahead and will not be listening to what you are saying.

Conclusion

BNI Indigo’s take home message for effective presentations are to engage your audience with a significant amount of information, in a reasonable time frame using simple notes which are augmented by the presentations slides. End the presentation by reviewing key points and having a question and answer session. Sometimes the question and answer sessions give pointers of what to include or remove in the next presentation.

When you have finished the presentation do not be afraid to ask the audience (on a one to one basis) what they thought of it. This feedback makes the audience feel that what they think is important and means you can engage them on personal level. It also allows you to reiterate any “take home” messages (e.g. sales messages).

BNI Indigo is the North West’s Premier BNI Chapter and provides Training for all its’ members on many aspects of business networking. Get in touch now to find out how we could help you. www.Bniindigo.com

If you are looking for a way to get ahead in your business life, business communication training is a sure fire way of doing it. There is most certainly a lot that goes into becoming a successful business person, but good communication is at the heart of it all. Without good communication skills, a business person has little chance of getting ahead in today’s market place. The good news is that even those who lack good business communication can be trained so that they are effective and proficient communicators.

Business communication training will help you develop relationships. And as most successful business people understand, relationships are the key that unlocks the door to success. Nearly all business transactions are built on relationships. And without good communication, it is impossible to build these relationships. By undergoing business communication training, you can help to build lasting relationships that will lead to unforeseeable successes.

Business communication training not only teaches you how to communicate, but when to communicate. Sometimes in the business world you must use discretion, and learning when to hold your tongue can help you in as many ways as learning when to speak. Also, by learning good business communication you can make sure your words count, as you will learn to wield influence with your words.

Nearly every leader in this world has sound communication skills. If you want to be a leader in your business arena, developing your communication abilities is a must. Training will assist you in understanding how to speak and act like a leader among men.

Finally, business communication training will teach you how to craft the written word. Much of business is transacted via email and letter, so a good business communicator must understand writing as well as speaking. By working on this portion of your communication skills, you can develop the whole package.

For more about developing effective communication skills visit www.presentationstoryboarding.com/landingpage4.

crystalconsults.com twitter.com/CrystalConsults Affirmations are good, yet you still need to act on your own behalf to move you forward. You may be busy, but are you getting anything done? Do one specific thing, the one true thing. Do today’s work today! … Crystal Jonas Consults CrystalConsults emotional intelligence affirmations are good moving forward in business communication skills

Brody Video Blog Series 01 – 6 October 2009 Read full blog here: www.brodypro.com Give people conclusions they can walk out the door with, not a lot of details. This is what Jack Welch used to say, when he headed up General Electric. This is also what I say when I coach people about presentation skills. You cant be too specific when sharing information. Most decision makers dont have a lot of time to wade through data. They are paying others to get the data, and just want to be told your …

In the age to steaming gadgets that govern your business it gets necessary to use the right way to communicate in business, that is, proper business communication. Today we send fewer letters than we used to do earlier but the speed and low cost of email has pushed the letter to extinction.

A primary role of emails, memos, letters, reports and proposals is to maintain good, relevant and timely follow of information within an organization and with its external publics. It plays a key role in business communication.

Any business writer can write emails, memos, letters and letters that communicate clearly and have impact. But that is not the actual business communication that prevails in the business world. Business people do not pay heed to the ethics of business communication. They write emails as thoughts occur to them and send emails without revising the words into coherent messages. As a result, business writing has come to excuse writing that is fragmented, incomplete, and full of careless language errors.

Here are certain tips to improve business communication:

1.Plan and organize:

One should have clear objectives while writing an email or a business letter. It should include everything that you are intended to write to give information to the reader in order to attain your objectives of proper and clear business communication.

2.Build the business communication infrastructure:

In business communication through emails, letters and memos write thanks, commendation and genuine statements of good that will build teams and partnership with clients. Use the tone and level of formality that fits the objectives and the reader, and convey your thoughts straight and firmly.

3.Prepare the reader for proper business communication:

Write the email or letter subject lines using words that alert the reader to contents, required action or critical information in the email. In the introduction explain everything readers need to know to understand fully why they are receiving the document. Describe all actions the reader is expected to perform, actions you will perform and any critical information that reader is expected to know. Summarize conclusions at the beginning. Write clear statements of contents at the end o introduction so that readers know what to expect and prepare them for reading, which will transform it from just communication to business communication.

Not only emails and letters but meetings also play a vital role in business communication. In any organization, meetings are a vital part of the organization of work and the flow of information. They act as a mechanism for gathering together resources from many sources and pooling then towards a common objective. They are disliked and mocked because they are usually futile, boring, time-wasting, dull, and inconvenient with nothing for most people to do except doodle while some opinionated has-been extols the virtues of his/her last great (misunderstood) idea.

Your challenge is to break this mould and to make your meetings effective. As with every other managed activity, meetings should be planned beforehand, monitored during for effectiveness, and reviewed afterwards for improving their management. A meeting is the ultimate form of business communication. One can organize the information and structure of the meeting to support the effective communication of the participants.

Thus proper business communication whether through writing or verbal ie through meetings can do wonders to the business. All that is needed is a skillfull, flawless and

effective way of business communication.

Forget GQ! These days it’s your CQ that matters…your Communication Quotient. Degrees and awards are fine, your bilingualism and knowledge of the latest programming languages are nice, but how good a communicator are you? In English? With co-workers and customers?

Every job description emphasizes it: must have excellent communication skills. In performance reviews many get marked down for it. And as entrepreneurs who wear many hats, speaking with many voices is also a requisite skill. So how is your communication quotient?

Communication takes many forms. Think for a moment about a typical workday. You must communicate with customers, clients, co-workers (both superiors and subordinates), vendors, and even city, state and federal bureaucrats. Perhaps you even have interns or volunteers to communicate with. On occasion you’re also speaking with the media, members of your association or even competitors. How well are you communicating with each?

Each form of communication draws on different skills, each requires different approaches and sometimes even a different lexicon. The checklist below has broken out many of these types of communication into categories. Place a plus, minus or equal sign next to each line to rate whether you see yourself as already strong (+), average (=) or weak (-) in each area.

Can You Interact Successfully with Strangers?

- Make Small Talk?

- Ask them About Themselves?

- Tell Them About Yourself?

- Introduce Two Strangers to Each Other

- Discuss Current Events with Confidence

Networking and the ability to work a room are invaluable skills for a small business owner. Knowing how to introduce yourself to others through your elevator speech can also open many doors of opportunity. As you meet strangers are you exuding confidence? (To read more about elevator speeches: http://www.expressionsofexcellence.com/articles.html#elevatorspeech.)

Being able to mingle and mix, compliment strangers and inquire of their line of work is an effective way to expand your sphere of influence and prospect for new business. You can even qualify prospects deftly while schmoozing.

How Effective Are Your Communication Skills?

- Can You Give A Prepared Speech?

- Can You Speak Extemporaneously?

- Can You Make A Sales Presentation?

- Can You Interview Someone Else? Be Interviewed?

Some basic communication tenets to keep in mind in public speaking situations:

1. Speak clearly and audibly at all times.

2. Don’t rush your presentation. Pare its content down if you have too much to cover in the time given.

3. Enunciate effectively. For many, English is a second language. Focus on the consonants of each word.

4. Employ vocal variety to keep people paying attention. Avoid sing-songy patterns of speech.

5. Learn all about interview dynamics

How Versatile A Communicator Are You?

- Can You Make A Cold Call?

- Can You Train Others?

- Can You Conduct A Meeting As Its Leader?

- Can You Constructively Critique Another’s Performance?

I help small business owners take the chill out of cold calls. Once you understand the rules of the game, develop your script, learn to bypass gatekeepers and handle objections adeptly you will find cold calling to be better than going to the dentist.

(For more information on cold calling instruction: http://www.ExpressionsofExcellence.com/cold_calling.html)

• Sometimes the true test of your understanding something is the challenge of training others. How well can you communicate your knowledge to others? Do they “get” it? Are you sure? Training requires its own approach.

• Taking the lead in conducting meetings and discussions can be a delight once you understand how best to apply your leadership. You don’t have to master Robert’s Rules of Order to be able to fairly and ably conduct meetings.

• Constructively critique another’s performance can be one of the hardest things to do. Learn to separate performance from person, to get specific and also offer remedies or corrective plans, as well as benchmarks for success.

• Employ active listening techniques to insure you are hearing the other party and they are feeling heard as well. Many professional and interpersonal difficulties arise from a feeling of not being heard. Learn ways of insuring that you are hearing correctly and similarly being heard.

When The Going Gets Tough…

- Can You Handle Constructive Criticism?

- Can You Assert Yourself When Necessary & Speak Up?

- Can You Negotiate Effectively?

- Can You Co-exist With Diverse Personality Styles?

See Hecklers, Hardliners, and Heavy Questions for tips on this difficult area of communications.

Many of us shy away from speaking up and speaking our for fear of negative feedback or political ramifications. In our quest to be liked or avoid “making waves” we bite our tongue and look the other way instead of righting wrongs and correcting improprieties. Yet there are times when speaking up and speaking out is the right thing to do. Learn to speak your mind when it’s time, professionally and with precision, to get the results you desire.

Negotiating effectively can involve different types of communication skills. You may actually want to induce silence, or to repeat yourself, reiterating your stance or stipulations, for effect. Listening skills and creative problem solving skills are also involved. Learn to speak the language of win-win and be able to reiterate your adversary’s perspective so as to build consensus.

There is no right way to speak. Each of us speaks in our own communication style. Some of us use long sentences and many words, others are short winded and direct. Learn recognize how best you communicate and how to best communicate with others.

How Effectively Can You Communicate in “One-on-One” Situations

- Can You Instill Trust in Others? Engender their Support?

- Can You Diffuse Verbal Criticism and Maintain Control?

Learn coaching and training techniques for speaking one-on-one with co-workers, subordinates and superiors. Learn to communicate with others so as to build trust and confidence in others.

Where Do You Go From Here?

We’re all developing our Communication Quotient on the job. Learn to recognize how different forms of communication require different skills. Make a point of analyzing your style and the results it engenders. Where can you improve? Can classes, practice or coaching help? Become a student of improved communication. As for feedback. Study those whose communication style you respond to. Seek to raise your own CQ!

A big part of success in any arena of your life involves getting your ideas across to others.  Developing presentation skills can be extremely important when it comes to doing this effectively.  All too many people believe that they can merely wing it when it comes to presenting information.  And sadly, many of these people fail to get ahead in life and then wonder what it is that they are missing.  The truth is that they may have great ideas and highly important information, but no ability to effectively convey these ideas and information to those who need it.  By simply improving your presentation skills, you can perhaps get just the edge you need to reach whatever goals you are seeking in life.

Presentation skills can help you achieve success in nearly all facets of your life.  Perhaps the most obvious reason for working on your ability to convey information effectively is to get ahead in your business life.  Nearly every business transaction rests on the simple act of presenting information and persuading another party that the information presented will benefit them in a significant way.  The manner in which this information is presented often means the difference between making a deal or not.  By developing your presentation skills you can improve your ability to persuade others to join you in business.

Even if you are not in business for yourself, presentation skills can help you make advancements in your career.  Take something as simple as asking your boss for a raise, for instance.  If you go into your bosses’ office with no ability to express why you deserve a raise, you will be unlikely to receive the advancement you are seeking.  If, on the other hand, you possess the ability to effectively articulate your reasoning, your boss will be much more likely to concede to your desires.

This is just one area in which presentation skills can lead to success.  For more information on how to develop your presentation skills visit http://www.presentationstoryboarding.com/l3.

A human being starts learning this art right from the time in his/her mother’s womb. The constant kicks, coos and cries of the baby communicates the specific needs of the child. As the person grows old, various different forms of communication start gaining ground in his/her life. He/She starts learning to communicate effectively with other individuals and eventually this skill becomes a major determining factor of the course that the individuals’ life takes.

The common understanding about communication is that it is referred to as the proficiency level of an individual with regard to his/her verbal and written abilities in a particular language that facilitates easy interaction with other individuals with similar aptitude. This aspect of the persons’ abilities is paid a lot of attention by the employers all over the world as nobody would want to employ an individual who cannot express his thoughts in words and actions. Nowadays, many corporate houses conduct intensive communication skills building workshops in their organizations to enhance their human resource value. No organization worth the abilities of its leaders can tolerate a business environment wherein the employees’ lack of communication skills results in depleting goodwill levels of both the clients and the shareholders. Many training academies specializing in imparting communication skills for a handsome fee have also sprung up over a period of time.

As it is with every field, there are some purists in the corporate sector also who are of the view that an individuals communication skills cannot be said to be directly proportional to the success he/she has had in his/her career. However, the importance of communication skills cannot be simply overlooked in a business organization. No organization would want loosing significant business because of lack of communication with the prospective clients. To elaborate further on the importance of communication skills in a business environment, please refer the following benefits that can be had if communication skills of employees are used to organizations’ advantage:

Good communication skills facilitate easy and effective flow of information in an organization. It being a two-way process, if given enough importance results in overall development of the organization. If a leader is incapable of communicating with his/her subordinates, he/she will never be able to encourage or motivate them to meet the organizational objectives. In such case the overall productivity of the organization will also start declining.

The leaders’ communication skills also hold the organization in good stead when such leaders have to represent their organization on public platforms. If lacking in good communication skills, a leader can significantly damage the company’s public relation efforts. Good communicational skills also come handy while trying to develop good rapport with peers via emails, over the phone or public gatherings.

Effective communication skills also play a significant role in the development of confidence levels and self-esteem in the individuals. Hence, with all the points discussed above, it can be safely concluded that the level of communication skills of a person is directly proportional to his/her success in any endeavor.

People skills equal success skills
Does your team have strong technical skills but lack the “people skills” necessary for success? To maximize their effectiveness, your staff will need both technical skills as well as skills to help them in their interpersonal relationships.

Read more on The Houma Courier

Otherwise, in case you are just an office employee who assumes responsibility of all inward and outward communications, you need to be equipped with sharp communication skills in order to discharge you job successfully. The business environment is so immense and dynamic that any laxity by you will consequentially push the clients to seek out other business firms.
Business communications are not exclusively restricted to utilizing office support systems like computers, telephones, fax machines, and such others. It also includes interacting with business partners and clients personally. Business communication skills therefore, should encompass expertise in both forms of communications – oral and written.
If you do not have proficiency in business communication abilities, there is no cause for concern, as there are scores of sources for refining these skills. These include books, leaflets, and even individual courses. So, you can select the best option that suits your needs in order to sharpen your business communication abilities.
A great deal of business communications takes place in the written form. There you need to be adept at writing reports, preparing proposals, wrapping up the staff study assigned to you, besides drafting a business letter addressed to a businessperson of another business establishment. Now, what needs to be borne in mind when composing a business communiqu