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How do you give an Effective Presentation? What makes the difference between an average presentation and an effective presentation? This is Part 2 of 5 focusing on The Speaker.

There are five main components of an effective business presentation. The acronym OSRAM should help you to remember them and help you to light up your audience. The five components are:

• The Objective
• The Speaker
• The Room
• The Audience
• The Message

You should consider each of these components in turn to maximise the effectiveness of your presentation. Neglecting any individual component can ruin an otherwise successful presentation. Put them together correctly and you will turn on a light in people’s heads; brighten up their lives; get your audience to see and understand things, about which they were previously in the dark.

This series of articles looks at each of these components in turn and discover what needs to be done to ensure the success of that component.

The Speaker

That’s you! Like it or not if you are giving a presentation you will be judged. Knowing that you are being judged is often a major factor in why people are nervous about giving a presentation. It is a perfectly normal reaction. My advice is to recognize that you are nervous, tell yourself that it is okay to be nervous and that it is perfectly normal to be nervous before a presentation and then try to put it to one side and get on with the presentation.

The biggest factor in your success as a speaker is your confidence. If you are confident you will come across far better than if you are timid and nervous. One technique to improve your self-confidence before a presentation, is to say aloud the following statements, preferably before anyone else arrives in the room:

‘I am poised, prepared, persuasive, positive and powerful.’

‘I feel composed, confident convincing, commanding and compelling.’

Write these two phrases on your first Cue Card. Say them aloud to convince yourself that they are true and you are more likely to give a confident, effective presentation.

Confidence is all a matter of self-belief. You need to believe in yourself and you will be more confident, and come across as confident. Do not over do it though. Do not talk down to your audience they will never forgive you!

Eleanor Roosevelt said, ‘No one can make you feel inferior unless you agree with it’.

As perception is far more important than reality, looking confident can mask an awful lot of nerves that are bubbling up under the surface. The aim is to look like a swan gracefully gliding across the top of the water, keeping the feet, which are paddling like mad, hidden from view. Like the majestic swan, how you look and how you dress are very important in instilling that confidence in yourself and in your audience.

Look out of place because of the way you are dressed and it will affect how well your message is taken. Although many businesses have a dress down policy these days, if you are presenting to a business audience it is usually advisably for a man to wear a suit and tie and a lady to wear a suit or similar business attire. Shoes should also be polished, as it is surprising what assumptions are still made about a person in business, based on the state of their footwear.

When you are addressing a group of factory workers who are all dressed in overalls and you want to influence their behavior, then a more casual appearance may be beneficial. You may want to appear less like one of the managers and more like one of the team. Every situation is different but there is never an excuse for not worrying about it.

By wearing clothes that make you feel good, it will help to boost your confidence. Looking good is just part of it you also need to sound good. This means three things:

1. Speaking loudly enough so that people can hear what you are saying.
2. Speaking clearly enough so people can understand the words that you are saying
3. Omitting unnecessary words, grunts and groans.

When you are projecting your voice, you use your diaphragm. This is completely different from shouting, which is achieved through muscles in your neck. It should not hurt to project your voice unlike it does if you shout too much.

Finally, the most comforting thought to have before a presentation is that your audience want you to succeed. From the very outset, they are on your side. It is very rare to have an audience who does not want you to succeed, after all why would they be there. Why would they want you to waste their time listening to someone who is a poor presenter or who does not have anything worth listening to. So go give it, with enthusiasm, emotion and energy.

One party was in the majority, which meant they had control of the house. The other party performed a drastic act to challenge the power of the majority party. Thus began the challenge to power in the negotiation.

Power in a negotiation is the degree that one negotiator has it and the opposing negotiator agrees with him. It’s perceptional. It’s also the degree one negotiator will go to expose and use her power to advance her position. Since power ebbs and flows in a negotiation, some negotiators have it, don’t use it, and they lose it.

The following will allow you to identify when you’re in a power position in a negotiation and how to offset the opposing negotiator’s power.

Mental perspective of power:

Since power is perceptional it can be difficult to identify. If one negotiator is better at bluffing per what he’ll accept or reject, he can convey power while in reality, he’s in a much less powerful position than his exploits might indicate. To understand that negotiator’s potential power moves, understand the mindset he possesses and to what degree he’s willing to act powerful. Thus, knowing his mindset will give you insight into the amount of push-back you have to apply before he’ll back down. Having such insight and testing him will also give you insight into how he might perceive the power you wheel.

Timing your use of power:

When assessing when to use power, consider where you are in the negotiation. If you’re in the beginning, you might be more cautious about making a power move than if you were near the end and had to advance your position quickly. On the other hand, based on your strategy, you might make a power move early to set the tone and send a signal of the type of negotiation style you were going to engage in.

Thus, the timing of when you’ll display power and to what degree you’ll do so depends on what has occurred prior to your implementation of a power play, where you expect to be after you make it, and what emotional state you’ll leave the other negotiator in.

Per making a power move more powerful, if appropriate, don’t give any warning or advance notice prior to implementing it. The more of a surprise (I didn’t see that coming) you make such a move the greater will be its impact. After you execute a power move, measure its effectiveness to determine the degree you have more or less power.

Observe body language:

By observing the body language of the opposing negotiator when you make a power move, you’ll gain insight into his mindset, how impactful your power play was and how he might attempt to recover.

If you observe him taking deep breaths (that took the air out of me), rubbing his eye(s) (I didn’t see that coming), scratching at his forehead (I’ve got to think about this), leaning away from you/the table (I need to get away from this), all such gestures will telegraph the impact that your power display had on him. You’ll also be able to note the ups and downs of his mood.

As you can see, there are many aspects to consider when determining how, when, and why to use and display power in a negotiation. The better you become at detecting when you versus the other negotiator is in a power position, even if it’s when either of you are bluffing, the greater insight you’ll have per when to use power and to what degree to apply it. Such insight will lead you to more successful negotiation outcomes… and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

Invited to a christening? If you’re determined to give the most meaningful christening presents, there are some important things you need to know before you begin. Just follow these five tips for giving christening presents.

1. A important factor when you start to shop for christening presents is making sure that you put some thought into it. The reason why this is important is because many people just buy some sort of silver item and think it’s ok. If you don’t put some thought into it, then you run the risk of giving yet another silver rattle or comb, and they will not get much use because everyone gave it!

2. Another important consideration for finding unique christening presents is to think about your relationship to the family and child. It’s critical that you don’t just give a Holy Bible because this is a common gift, and only the godparents should do that. If you make sure that you don’t give a gift the child can’t use, then you’ll be fine.

3. You don’t have to spend lots of money in order to give good christening presents. Even what you spend at a restaurant would make a fine gift. All you need to do is shop around, and make sure that you give something useful.

4. Instead of complicating yourself by looking for a perfectly fitting piece of clothing or hat, try it this way: give something the child cannot outgrow! In fact, if you give something that will be more useful down the road – maybe like a pocketknife – then you will find that your gift keeps on giving!

5. Have you considered giving an investment? It’s not as difficult or expensive as you might think. Anything will help. What you need to do is talk to a financial advisor, and within an hour you can have one of the most useful christening presents for boys or girls setup.

So if you really want to give good christening presents, follow these tips to ensure success.