Professional communication

Presentation slots are 30 minutes in length, which should include time for Q&A at the end. Company presentations are organized into tracks, making it convenient and efficient for investors and potential corporate partners to attend the presentations and meet with the companies they are most interested in.

There are two important factors to consider before preparing a presentation. First, and foremost is what do we want to accomplish with this presentation? It should be much more than just imparting lots of information. What action or actions do we want our audience to take? And second, what topic developed in what manner will spur them to take that action or actions?

Be passionate about your topic! Most intelligent people can pull together an informative presentation by reading and researching, but if you are not truly excited and turned on about the topic you are going to present, you will not make a lasting impression on audience members or move them to take any action. If, however, you speak about a topic that excites you, a topic that you know and live, you will excite those hearing you.

Pick a topic that will make a difference. Even if you are passionate about your topic, you must make sure that those to whom you will be speaking will find it worthwhile and a topic of interest. In other words, find the right audience for your topic.

Develop your mission. Once you have picked the topic you plan to present, you will have a good deal of work to do to develop that topic into a powerful presentation. The first step is to develop your mission. Every topic is loaded with information, but if you don't have a plan for the overall mission of your presentation, you will just add to the information overload most people are experiencing today. Take out a blank sheet of paper and write in one clear, concise sentence the mission (that is, purpose or objective) of your presentation.

Pick your theme. Now that you have decided what you are going to speak about (your topic) and how you want the audience to benefit from your presentation (your mission), you will work on your presentation's theme, which can also be stated in one concise statement. A theme, often a statement of the three most important points to be covered, keeps the presentation "on track".

Develop the topic. The difficult, but most important, part of the development has been accomplished. By this time, I have my outline of the three points I want to make from my theme. There are many different ways to gather and organize the material. The main tip to keep in mind is that any material that doesn't fit the mission and theme should be saved for a future presentation.

Test your topic. Try out your presentation on several of these occasions to find out how well received it is and if it makes a difference.

Presentations skills and public speaking skills are very useful in many aspects of work and life. Effective presentations and public speaking skills are important in business, sales and selling, training, teaching, lecturing and generally entertaining an audience. Developing the confidence and capability to give good presentations, and to stand up in front of an audience and speak well, are also extremely helpful competencies for self-development too. Presentations and public speaking skills are not limited to certain special people - anyone can give a good presentation, or perform public speaking to a professional and impressive standard. Like most things, it simply takes a little preparation and practice.

The formats and purposes of presentations can be very different, for example: oral (spoken), multimedia (using various media - visuals, audio, etc), power point presentations, short impromptu presentations, long planned presentations, educational or training sessions, lectures, and simply giving a talk on a subject to a group on a voluntary basis for pleasure. Even speeches at weddings and eulogies at funerals are types of presentations.

Aside from presentations techniques, confidence, experience - and preparation - are big factors. The most important rule for effective presentations and public speaking: Prepare, which means plan it, and practice it.

Preparation and knowledge are the pre-requisites for a successful presentation, but confidence and control are just as important.

Good presenting is about entertaining as well as conveying information. As well, people retain more if they are enjoying themselves and feeling relaxed. So whatever your subject and audience, try to find ways to make the content and delivery enjoyable.

Try to build your own credibility in your introduction, and create a safe comfortable environment for your audience.

Try to start on time even if some of the audience is late. Waiting too long undermines your confidence, and the audience's respect for you.

Using a variety of media and movement will maintain maximum interest.

Create analogies and themes, and use props to illustrate and reinforce them.

Here are examples of fun, humor, interest, participation and diversion that you can use to bring your presentation to life, and keep your audience attentive and enjoying themselves:

- Stories

- Questions and hands-up feedback

- Pictures, cartoons and video-clips

- Diagrams

- Sound-clips

- Straw polls

- Inviting a volunteer to take the stage with you (for a carefully planned reason)

- Audience participation exercises

- Asking the audience to do something physical (clapping, deep breathing, blinking, finger-snapping, shouting, and other more inventive ideas)

- Asking the audience to engage with each other (for example introductions to person in next chair)

- Funny quotations

- Inspirational quotations

- Acronyms

- Props

- Examples and case-study references

- Analogies and fables

- Prizes, awards and recognizing people/achievements

- Book recommendations

- Fascinating facts (research is easy these days about virtually any subject)

- Statistics

- Games and exercises

- Quirky ideas

Creating and giving presentations - step by step summary

1. Define purpose

2. Gather content and presentation ideas

3. Structure the subject matter

4. Develop how to present it

5. Prepare presentation

6. Practice

7. Plan, experience, control the environment

8. 'Dress rehearsal' if warranted

Methods to prepare before giving a presentation

Customize Your Outline:

Getting organized seems like a logical first step when preparing for any speech or presentation. However, how you go about outlining your presentation will make all the difference in the world with regards to the final result. While PowerPoint and other software programs may make the process easier, don't rely solely upon them to lay out your groundwork. Instead, take the old-fashioned approach - believe it or not, you'll want to use note cards to prepare your outline, with a beginning (intro to your topic) a middle (or body - going into more detail) and an end (summarizing key concepts). Once you've created a draft, you can then update your notes to PowerPoint, bulleting key ideas. When you've completed your presentation, reiterate crucial points with examples.

Use Visual Aids - Sparingly

Everyone knows the value of an image - it's human nature to gravitate towards pictures, photos or anything with color or visual appeal. On the other hand, bombard a viewer with too many images, graphics or charts, and you can quickly lose their interest and dilute your point in the process. Instead, choose a few concise clips that will reinforce your message and maintain the interest of your audience. Placement is also important, too - opt for a few targeted images in the beginning, middle and end of your presentation, alternating with bullet points.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

After you've gotten your written materials & props ready, read it aloud to a willing audience - friends, family, spouse, etc. - to develop confidence and receive valuable feedback.

Just Breathe

The simple act of breathing properly, whether giving an interoffice speech or a seminar presentation, can re-center your thoughts and give you a better sense of clarity and focus.

Presenting Skills

A good presenter should be

- An excellent communicator with a clear speaking voice

- Extremely well informed about current events in the area you are covering

- Able to read items at sight, using Autocue

- Able to communicate with a live audience if need be

- Able to work as part of a team, constantly acting on instructions from producers

- Able to take constructive criticism from your agent, directors or producers without sulking, moping, throwing hussy fits or dissolving into a crying wreck!

- Able to deal constructively with rejection - the industry competition is fierce!

- Capable of writing their own scripts if necessary

- Capable of staying calm under pressure and be able to react positively in a crisis

- Be able to use technical equipment if you work in radio

- Be accurate and organized

A good presenter should have

- A gregarious personality and a confident manner

- Fantastic improvisation skills

- An understanding of the production process

- An awareness of media law

PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

The qualities that good communicators have

Stay objective. Listen and show real concern for others. Keep an open mind about any problem that may arise and be a source for solving, not blaming. Also keep a pleasant attitude and don't fall into being negative.

Keep yourself open to being communicated with and make sure that people don't just dread talking to you about something.

- Positive body language or "Kinesics"

All our bodily movements, gestures, postures etc., are guided by our feelings and thought processes. Just as language uses sets of symbols to convey meaning, our body, consciously as well as unconsciously, conveys messages, attitudes, moods etc. Expressions and emotions can infact be communicated much better by bodily movements than by words. Thus, maintaining a positive body language on part of the communicator plays an important role in the communication process.

- Eye contact

Eye contact is of paramount importance in face-to-face communication. A good speaker always keeps his listeners engrossed in his talk by maintaining proper eye contact with them. Thus, eye contact while communicating helps us observe the reaction of the target audience and helps us judge as to how much they appear to be interested in our talk.

- Clarity in speech and proper word stress

Clarity in speech is one quality that a good speaker must possess. A person may be extremely knowledgeable about the content he wants to communicate and may be very expressive by his actions, but if his communication lacks clarity, he can never be outlined as a good speaker. Along with the ability to convey clearly, one should also lay proper emphasis on proper words during his/her communication as lack of emphasis can fail to persuade the listeners.

- "Paralanguage" or vocal characteristics

Our voice is a highly versatile instrument. Through it we can convey enthusiasm, confidence, anxiety, urgency and a host of other emotions. Paralanguage refers to a wide range of vocal characteristics which help to express and reflect the speaker's attitude.

- Knowledge about the content to be communicated and ability to back up one's communication

Along with knowing the depth of what to communicate, a good speaker should also be able to back up his talks with proper evidences so that his communication has a widespread effect. He should posses enough information so as to clear any doubts arising in the minds of his listeners.

Good communication is a gift you give others. Communicating effectively requires technical proficiency, but all the technical skills in the world will not help you communicate effectively if you are not interested in other people and in the world