Tips to Nail Your Presentation!

No matter your position within a company at some point you will be expected to give a presentation whether it be to a large audience or a small group.  It can be nerve wrecking to try and win over the audience with your message.  Don’t get too worked up here are some tips from some of the pros on giving a killer presentation:

Show some energy — No great presentation can be delivered like a conversation. You’re not lecturing to a college class, you’re not at a cocktail party and you’re not chatting with a small group in a board meeting. You’re on stage! People are sitting in their chairs for too long — most of them squirming. Many of them have their iPhones and laptops ready to command their attention the moment that you start sucking. You’re on stage — act like it! Get out of your comfort zone. You need to be an order of magnitude more perky than you would feel comfortable with in a normal conversation.

Tell a story — Every great presentation tells a story. Stories have starts, middles and ends. They are human and touch emotions. The bring your product to life. They are not buzzwords or bullet points. Why do people think that buzzwords are going to interest audiences?

Learn how to structure — Telling a story is one thing. But make sure that you’re structured in the way you communicate. You need to break down your message into key components. It is generally best if you have a “theme” or “thesis” which if the main point you want to get across. You then need sub-themes or “supporting evidence” to reinforce your key theme. These are weaved through your story.

KISS — (keep it simple, stupid) The goal of the presentation is just to give the audience a basic sense of what you do and why it matters. Don’t confuse this with a tour-de-force education on the finer details of how your company operations. They simply need to know: who has a problem? how are you solving this problem? why does this matter? how big of a problem is it — really?

 Make it visual — Bullet point were the worst thing ever created for group presentations. Nobody wants to read your text on a big screen. If you’re going to do that why not just print out your presentation and leave it on my seat. Far more expedient. Your presentation should have almost no bullet points. The way to capture an audience’s attention is visually. Pictures set the image, your voice tells what would have been in the bullet points.

Eye Contact – Match eye contact with everyone in the room. I’ve also heard from salespeople that you shouldn’t focus all your attention on the decision maker since secretaries and assistants in the room may hold persuasive sway over their boss.

Come Early, Really Early – Don’t fumble with powerpoint or hooking up a projector when people are waiting for you to speak. Come early, scope out the room, run through your slideshow and make sure there won’t be any glitches. Preparation can do a lot to remove your speaking anxiety.

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Working with Different Personality Types.

Managers have the difficult task of overseeing diverse teams in the workplace, and finding ways for them to be as productive, creative and efficient as possible. While this may seem like an impossible task, especially as organizations cut back on resources and spending in an effort to survive the recession, it is not impossible to create harmony in a diverse environment. The key is understanding these different office personality types, and how to motivate them and keep them happily working together.

New Year’s Resolutions to Put Your Professional Career in Focus!

Yep it’s that time of year again, it’s time to reflect on the last year and start thinking of your resolutions for the new year! While the most popular resolutions include losing a few pounds, quitting a bad habit, or making an effort to spend more time with family, it is also important to consider goals that develop and prepare us for the challenges we face in leadership roles at work, as this is the place we spend the majority of our time. Creating easy-to-implement resolutions can help you become a better leader and advance at work, while also improving your quality of life. For 2017 we propose resolutions that keep your followers in mind, as the team behind the leader is a necessary component of success.

Set goals. At the beginning of the New Year gather your workforce and decide on what goals you would like to achieve for your organization. Fewer, higher impact goals are better than sheer volume of goals. Inspire and motivate your team to do their individual part to contribute to the organization’s overall success. Leadership comes down to how we positively influence people on their life journey. When people are inspired and motivated to achieve a result that seems beyond their grasp, the likelihood of achieving that goal is much greater.

Improve communication. A well informed team works more efficiently. Communication is more than just talking; actions speak loudly, so improve upon both verbal and nonverbal communication. Set up a time once a week where your employees can come together to discuss what they are working on, how goals are being met, and what can be done in the weeks ahead. By letting everyone know how they fit into the big picture, they can understand the impact that their job has on the organization. Keep your team constantly updated and encourage an open door policy.

Innovate. Be a more effective innovator by championing change. Enable innovation at the point of behavior so that the employee’s objective is not always to just maintain the status quo. Problem solving by further fostering diversity and inclusion moves the organization towards achieving its goals, and your motivated and engaged employees are helping to get it there. Taking note of new efficiencies and wins will help create a habit pattern of successful action, but be sure to also make note of the things that weren’t a success. With change comes failure; let your employees know that getting knocked down is inevitable but learning from these blows will create greater knowledge and resiliency.

Create a healthy ethos and culture. An average person spends 30% of their life at work so it would only make sense to create a culture where people don’t fret returning to everyday. Your employees will thrive in an environment where they have a sense of belonging. When employees are engaged and celebrated for their work and accomplishments they will take pride and ownership for not only their work but the organization as well. The underlying sentiment of ownership of the organization will make employees want to maintain what they have built as it deeply a part of them.

Make time to celebrate. It’s a fresh new year with new opportunities to let your hard work and determination shine. While determination, hard work, competency, and drive are all important factors in success, taking time to celebrate a job well done is just as vital to maintaining a high-performing team. A little celebration here and there can do wonders for employee morale and engagement.

While resolutions aren’t meant to be conquered in a day we encourage you to practice continuous improvement through small steps. Or as the great basketball coach John Wooden said, “When you do little things each day, eventually big things occur.”

What are the qualities that make you a leader?

Being the leader of any organization today can be a daunting task.What goes into the making of a great leader — one who gets results, commands respect and eventually leaves the position with a positive reputation?

By definition leadership is…

An effective leader is a person who does the following:

1. Creates an inspiring vision of the future.
2. Motivates and inspires people to engage with that vision.
3. Manages delivery of the vision.
4. Coaches and builds a team, so that it is more effective at achieving the vision.

Leadership brings together the skills needed to do these things. We’ll look at each element in more detail.

Here are some of the most common traits in the characteristic of leadership: 

• Empathy: Creating a legitimate rapport with your staff makes it less likely that personal issues and resentment can creep in and derail the group. When your team knows that you are empathetic to their concerns, they will be more likely to work with you and share in your vision, rather than foster negative feelings.
• Consistency: Being a consistent leader will gain you respect and credibility, which is essential to getting buy-in from the group. By setting an example of fairness and credibility, the team will want to act the same way.
• Honesty: Another characteristic of leadership that lends itself to credibility. Those who are honest, especially about concerns, make it far more likely that obstacles will be addressed rather than avoided. Honesty also allows for better assessment and growth.
• Direction: Having the vision to break out of the norm and aim for great things –then the wherewithal to set the steps necessary to get there– is an essential characteristic of good leadership. By seeing what can be and managing the goals on how to get there, a good leader can create impressive change.
• Communication: Effective communication helps keep he team working on the right projects with the right attitude. If you communicate effectively about expectations, issues and advice, your staff will be more likely to react and meet your goals.
• Flexibility: Not every problem demands the same solution. By being flexible to new ideas and open-minded enough to consider them, you increase the likelihood that you will find the best possible answer. You will set a good example for your team and reward good ideas.
• Conviction: A strong vision and the willingness to see it through is one of the most important characterizes of leadership. The leader who believes in the mission and works toward it will be an inspiration and a resource to their followers.

Of course, there are several other theories about leadership and leadership styles where different skills come into play. But no matter what your approach, if you display the previous traits you will be well equipped to lead a team successfully.

Are You As Productive As You Can Be?

Productivity is critical to your success at work. Business owners, managers and executives all want to get the most from their employees. If you’re not performing as efficiently or effectively as others, your long-term job prospects could be in trouble.

If you’re recognizing yourself here, if you’re not accomplishing enough throughout the day, consider how you allocate your time. To get more done at work (and have more time to spend doing what you love), according to entrepreneur.com, consider these seven simple tips to increase productivity:

1. Set your schedule for the next day the night before you leave the office.

Prioritize which tasks need to be completed. Even if you are interrupted by unexpected assignments or emergencies, you’ll know exactly what needs to be done when you return to your desk. Not only will a schedule help keep you organized and focused, you’ll get the satisfaction of crossing items off your “to do” list once you complete them.

2. Take a five-to-10 minute break whenever you feel mentally fatigued.

Take a short walk down the hall to the water cooler, or even across the street for a cup of coffee. Brief interludes from work can actually increase your productivity by getting your blood flowing and allowing you to return to your work with fresh eyes.

3. Reduce your multi-tasking.

Although multi-tasking is currently in vogue, trying to accomplish more than one task at a time can actually be more harmful than helpful. Studies have shown that people who try to do two or more activities at once end up becoming distracted, and the quality of their work suffers. Focus on one task at a time, complete it properly and move on to the next project.

4. Eliminate potential distractions.

Although interruptions during the workday are inevitable, minimize them to the extent possible. If you have an office with a door, keep it closed. When a co-worker is looking to shoot the breeze, let him or her know that you’re trying to finish a project, but would be happy to chat later. (Just be sure not to brush off any of your superiors.)

5. Impose deadlines on yourself, and stick to them.

As you would with a financial budget, budget your time to help you meet deadlines faster. Some people who thrive under deadlines even deliberately shorten their workday by 15 minutes to ensure optimum efficiency.

6. Avoid large, heavy lunches that will leave you feeling fatigued.

Instead, snack on foods high in protein, fiber and antioxidants throughout the day. Granola and berries will keep you full and focused. Sugary foods and energy drinks keep you going only for a short time, and the inevitable “crash” may turn you into a zombie and ruin your ability to work for the rest of the day.

7. Keep your workspace clean and clear of clutter.

As the old saying goes, “A cluttered desk is a symptom of a cluttered mind.” The time you spend looking for misplaced papers each day is extra time you could be using to complete your work. Likewise, there are apps to assist you in categorizing and electronically organizing your email inbox. Imagine the time you could save by no longer searching for hard-to-find emails!

Although your productivity at work may not be reaching its full potential, there are a number of ways you can improve your performance. By getting organized, prioritizing, and delegating tasks, you can help to get your important assignments completed well and on time. Minimizing distractions at work is extremely important, as human beings are inherently unskilled at multitasking. Finally, because it’s very difficult to leave one’s home life completely at home and because issues at home often result in decreased productivity at work, you should do everything in your power to reduce stress and unhappiness at home. You and your company will both be much happier as a result.