Preparing a Great Presentation

Would you like to look like a professional speaker? Calm, in control, poised and confident?

The one sure way is to prepare. Prepare so thoroughly that nothing can throw you off balance

For a start, know your topic. If you are certain you know it inside out, fine. If not research it. Search the internet, ask local experts, spend time in the library. Make sure you’ve covered your topic thoroughly because lack of knowledge will show. You need to be so immersed in the topic that you are only telling your audience about 10% of what you know.

Often this research causes you to narrow your topic and this can be a good thing. Presenting a wider topic can leave you with some areas you’re not quite certain about. Better to have in depth knowledge about a narrow area than be vague and waffling about a larger topic.

How do you narrow a topic? You could narrow it by time – recent developments in…, or by geography – in this city or this country. you could take one part of it, for instance instead of ‘global warming’ you could take vehicle emissions, or, even narrower, truck emissions. You could talk about your personal experience of it, or the way one individual dealt with the issue.

As you write your speech – and, yes, you should write it out ahead of time – focus on explaining a few facts well. Don’t try to immerse your poor listeners with all the information you can find. Select the important, basic material and arrange the material in logical fashion. Then find ways to illustrate your points with stories or anecdotes so your listeners understand the meaning and see the information in context.

The next step is to work on a dynamite opening and conclusion. These are hugely important. The opening is what will (or will not) pull your audience into the speech and get them focused on you and listening to what you have to say.

The conclusion pulls the whole presentation together and wraps it into a neat package. You can remind people of what you have said, you can link back to your opening. your words here need to be strong. your voice should be strong too.

As you rehearse – in front of friends or a mirror – practice your opening and closing more than any other part. Prepare to leave your audience with strong words strongly spoken, with your voice gaining power towards the end of your final sentence.

Prepare to leave a strong impression.

Job Interview Tip: How to Present a 30/60/90-Day Plan

I’ve been a recruiter and career coach for over 10 years now, and I have always recommended that my candidates use a 30/60/90-day plan in their job interviews, because I used it when I was an employee in the job search. I saw phenomenal results from using it, and my candidates do, too.

Why? A 30/60/90-day plan is an outline for what you’ll do as a new employee in the first 3 months. It shows that you understand the job, can do the job, and will do the job. It’s an “above and beyond” step that impresses hiring managers and alleviates any doubts they may have about your fit for the job. It facilitates the interview conversation, and makes you a stronger candidate.

But the other day, a candidate came back to me and said that he created the plan, but the hiring manager didn’t want to see it. He tried to bring it out and present it, but the interview, which hadn’t been going all that well so far, went from bad to worse. The candidate’s question was, of course, “What should I have done?”

It’s very rare for a hiring manager to not want to see a candidate’s 90-day plan, but when they don’t, it’s typically because they’ve already decided that it’s glaringly obvious to them that you’re not who they want to hire. There’s usually some issue there (which could be anything from experience to education to personality) that you’re just not going to be able to overcome.

In other cases, it’s simply a matter of how you’ve presented the plan. You don’t just come out of the blue in the job interview and say, “I have a 30/60/90-day plan I’d like to show you.” You have to time it right.

For your best time to present your plan, you’re waiting for the trigger point-that question that they ask that is something like,

“How would you do X?”
“What would you do in the first few months on the job?”
“How would you approach this problem?”
“How would you segment your market/customers?”
“What tasks would you tackle first?”

Any question along those lines works. That’s when you say something like, “I’m so glad you asked. Let me show you some of the notes I’ve taken on how I would approach this. They might not be perfect, but if we can talk about this together, you’re going to have a much better picture of my understanding of the job and I’m going to end up with a better understanding of the job, which is a win-win for both of us. Because if I understand the job, and you understand who I am, then we can make a better decision about whether or not to move forward with this.” Most managers will respond to that attitude and explanation very positively.

So, if a manager is not receptive to your 30/60/90-day plan, it’s either because (1) you’re absolutely not a good fit for the job; or (2) you’re just not introducing it at the right time. Keep that in mind when you go into your next interview, and I wish you the best of luck.

MyVideoTalk Presentation – Quick Tips and A Reverse Lead Generation Strategy

MyVideoTalk is a twenty first century application that has stirred up a lot of excitement. With the help of these software programs, several people have easily accomplished their tedious task of organizing meetings across the world, creating presentations, sharing videos, downloading and emailing footage or, sending video emails to their customers, etc. Furthermore, MyVideoTalk is an increasingly popular MLM network that offers a competitive business opportunity. Many people attempt to concentrate on the actual MyVideoTalk presentation in order to see results.

Exposure is the first step for your MyVideoTalk presentation. You have to expose your products in front of targeted customers. Attract them towards you and increase their curiosity. Make your prospects familiar with the applications and then schedule an appointment.

There are many different methods for showcasing your MyVideoTalk presentation. You just have to select a type that is suitable for your prospects. Promote the well-liked applications of the package in front of the corporate professionals. Some popular features are:

  • Live My Video Talk
  • Online prerecorded broadcast
  • One on One MyVideoTalk presentation
  • MyVideo Webmail.

Where most MyVideoTalk Sales Reps can fall short

Promoting your MyVideoTalk presentation upfront works a little, however it takes away from the value that YOU bring to the table. You need to position yourself as a leader and give people value upfront and then expose them to your MyVideoTalk presentation. This may seem backwards from what your upline is teaching you, however I’d look at the results of what you’re currently doing and ask yourself two questions:

1. Am I doing everything my upline says and seeing little to no results?

2. Can my Team (downline) duplicate my success?

If the answer is No to any of those questions, then it’s time you learn the truth about marketing these types of businesses online. Put yourself in the forefront, attract leads to YOU, expose them to your MyVideoTalk presentation on the back end, and watch your business grow. If you want to know the ins and outs of this, then check out the resource box below.