Whither the economy

So where are we headed for the near future? Do we invest or hunker down and draw in our spending?

Perhaps the greatest danger from a business point of view is that of talking ourselves into a recession, with the simple result that fear of the future creates a future to be afraid of.

I am no economist but from previous experience things that seem too good to be true usually are. It’s fascinating to think that approaching bankers to get a loan to invest in a get rich quick scheme will result in a simple no, unless of course you are also a banker being offered the scheme by another banker in which case allowances have been made.

Everyone predicts a rough ride but as ever niche market exploiters can survive and in a competitive market it will be more important than ever to stand out from the crowd.

If I might be so bold, presentation skills, added to professional ability, can differentiate between a competent professional and a positive asset.

Develop your skills a little at a time with skillpresentations lunch sized modules.

skillpresentations.com

MG

Getting the point of powerpoint

Powerpoint is a fantastic tool for presentation as are the alternatives which are available via Lotus, open source etc.

Using these tools well creates impact, impresses main points and makes audiences take note. And yet…

And yet time and again these powerful tools are utilised as note paper, sharing the speaker’s notes with the audience, turning brains to mush and switching people off. The truth is that most audiences don’t want to see your notes, nor do they care what kind of bullet points you use and frankly most would rather send a lowly assistant than attend a bullet point fest themselves.

The value of these tools is missed entirely. Dare to press B, send the screen blank, talk to the people, interact with them. Don’t give them a print out of your bullet points, they will not look at them ever again and if they do they will be meaningless: unless of course you use them in a meaningful way, to create an impact, to underline and reinforce.

Visual aids should be used sparingly. Less really is more.

MG

http://skillpresentations.com

You're quite right, but...

Many thanks to Simon Raybould for his comment to my post on interview skills.
He is of course quite right. Presentation skills lend a strategic edge in addition to the tactical advantage they present to the user.

Understanding the processes of communication cannot be anything other than advantageous in any forum, the opportunities they impart in an interview situation can be immense.

Understanding the aims of communication and the means of delivery places an interviewee in a great position to discern the real concerns and goals of the interviewer. If the interview is a negotiation, and after all business is negotiation, then questions, statements, silences and pauses, patterns in speech, gestures and facial expression are the tools of the trade.

Knowing how to use this skill-set places you in a powerful position when it comes to assessing its use by others. Good research, tactical deployment of presentation skills and a keen eye and ear should yield good results.

You are quite right Simon.

MG skillpresentations.com

Marketing dilemmas revisited

So we launch a new approach to pricing our product making modules available as individual items. This makes it possible to access modest amounts of information at impressively modest prices.

The modules are short enough to be covered over a lunchtime, why not treat yourself to a leg up the career ladder along with your tuna sandwich? Actually, if anyone can help me combine Internet sandwich delivery with online training systems we could be on to a winner.

Learn and lunch, could this be the way forward?

The simple fact is that with uncertainty in the market place this is a great time to give yourself a competitive advantage in the job market. Nothing marks out a potential leader as presentation skills do, so we thought we’d make it easy to acquire these key skills.

MG

skillpresentations.com