Getting Your 'Why Us' Story Straight If you did something 400 times, you would think you would be able to get it right at least once. Not always, as we learned after being called in to help a well-known company draft its corporate value proposition—after it had already attempted 400 versions unsuccessfully. True story. Outside of delivering consistent financial results, creating an effective and high impact “Why Us” value proposition maybe the biggest challenge facing an organization. That 30-second blurb that explains to a prospect or customer who you are, what you do and how you are different. Companies are engaging customers every day, and pitching their wares to new prospects just as often. Ownership. Given this situation, how to do you make it right? Ownership. 3. Operational excellence. 4. 5. Lastly, be disciplined. Scott Gillum is president of gyro, Washington, D.C. He blogs regularly at www.B2Bknowledgesharing.com
5 Must-Have Tools To Make Email Less Painful If you've ever longed for an automatic and low-effort solution to improve your daily email experience, you finally have plenty of great options. February 18, 2013 Who doesn't wish they received less email? It's a common problem that lacked an easy, automated solution ... until now. The problem with many "solutions" out there is that they often take more discipline than any of us have time to implement. Label or categorize your email? Deal with everything once so you can achieve "Inbox Zero" nirvana? If you have ever longed for an automatic and low-effort solution to make your daily email experience better and faster, though, the good news is you finally have plenty of great options. Considering that little disclaimer, here are my picks for the five tools you needto try right now to optimize your email experience. 1. If you want a site that makes an instant impact on your inbox without you needing to do anything, Sanebox has one of the best solutions available. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Khan Academy Ingenuity marketing and communications, home page strategic marketing, advertising, online media, marketing campaign, marketing strategy, online marketing services, internet marketing solution, internet marketing plan, product marketing, email advertising Are Your Presentations Powerful Or Pathetic? Over the past month, I attended three conferences. Each one brought together some of the greatest minds in B2B sales and marketing. Sadly, some of their presentations distracted us from their important messages. A chronic case of PPD (Pathetic Presentation Disorder) surreptitiously sabotaged their agenda. PPD symptoms abound at technical and B2B conferences. Jerry, I feel your pain when I am sitting in the audience! Lisa interviews Guy Kawasaki on the keys to enchanting presentations - 4 1/2 minutes Here are four time-tested tips--some borrowed from Guy and Jerry-- to help you recover from PPD: 1. 2. 3. 4. In a world filled with competing media platforms and over-stimulated professionals, it's time for everyone to take elegant, simple presentation design seriously. Lisa Nirell is the Chief Energy Officer of EnergizeGrowth®. Copyright 2011, Lisa Nirell. [Image: Flickr user koke]
Developing a Speech Outline Your outline is, in many ways, the birth of your speech. Outlines are vital for two reasons: they allow you to test your ideas, and they provide a guide from which your finished speech will take shape. Most speakers go through several drafts before finally settling on a final outline. The first one or two outlines you will develop are often referred to as "rough drafts," while your finished version is often called a "speaking outline." Let us imagine that your central idea is the following: "Fully understanding your medical insurance coverage is essential to your continued health and happiness." The first unit supporting the central idea "Fully understanding your medical insurance is essential to your continued health and happiness," might look like this: In this outline, "The cost of medical care is skyrocketing," is your first main point. The key is knowing exactly the central idea you wish to convey and the main points that will best support your argument.
How To Draft an Effective Outline for Public Speaking Public speaking is not for the faint of heart. It’s absolutely terrifying to stand up there on the podium while the audience stares laser-like at you, so really the least that you can do is make sure you dress the part of a public speaker. When you’ve got this part down, your next challenge is once you open your mouth to speak that you have something relevant to share. This is where an effective outline comes in really handy. Here’s how to draft an effective outline for your public speaking event: Always put your audience needs first. To make sure you can be better at your craft, be in attendance at other public speaking engagements and learn how other pros are doing it.
Body Language Mistakes: 5 Ways to Destroy Your Own Message « Back to Blog Posts What's your most important tool of influence in speeches and presentations? Let's dispense with some usual suspects that aren't even in the running: Your content. PowerPoint. You'll "get warmer" if you think in terms of you rather than anything external--for you yourself are the premier influencer in your presentations by far. How to Enrich Your Presentations You've probably guessed by now that all of those items in the last paragraph constitute body language. Yes, content matters. Body language, then, is a powerful communication tool. 1. Here's why this matters: No matter how fulsome an introduction you may have received, your audience isn't really there for you until you're standing in front of them, ready to start. Nervousness makes many a presenter begin speaking before they've arrived at the place they'll be speaking from, or starting before everyone is ready. 2. Nothing is as common or as undermining in terms of stance as the fig leaf position. 3. 4. 5.
Improve Your Presentations – Teeny, Tiny Touches For Great Big Walloping Improvements | DouglasKruger Small improvements make a big difference to the total professionalism of your presentation. Think of these teeny, tiny touches as your chance to go from Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia, to Pierce Brosnan in James Bond. By now you know the top five golden rules for effective presenting. 1. Got ‘em? 1. Next time you’re in a boardroom scenario, watch and see how often this happens: A speaker is called to the front of the room to present. You can do better, and it’s simple. 2. Strong speakers develop one clear point. 3. It’s one of the most common errors in corporate presenting. 4. Some favourites include: ‘Like’, ‘Um’, ‘Ahhh, ‘Actually’, ‘In fact’, and ‘you know’. 5. End with a thought-provoking quote. A conclusion is a structured and strategic part of the whole, to be created with thought and delivered with panache. Sometimes, a smattering of polish is all it takes to set the professional apart from the fumbler. See Douglas Kruger in action and read about his speech topics.
10 Sexy Presentation Slides, Tips on How You Can Design Awesome Pre... The 10 Biggest Public Speaking Errors (and How to Avoid Them) « Back to Blog Posts The 10 Biggest Public Speaking Errors (and How to Avoid Them) In the 24 years since Roger Ailes published his book You Are the Message, the components of effective communication haven't changed. Technology has advanced, but the principles of great public speaking are the same. Perhaps the best book ever written on speech performance, Ailes' work is insistent that you as speaker are the major factor in whether you are trusted, believed, and followed. (To learn how you can succeed as a speaker or presenter, download my free cheat sheet, "4 Characteristics of an Influential Speaker.") In his opening chapter, "The First Seven Seconds" ("Research shows that we start to make up our minds about other people within seven seconds of first meeting them"), Ailes states what he believes are the ten most common problems in communications. Delivering More than Information That's because inexperienced or unwise presenters prepare to deliver information. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
How Good Are Your Presentation Skills? - Communication Skills Training from MindTools Understanding Your Impact Good presentations come with practice. © iStockphoto/MistikaS How do you feel when you have to make a presentation? Are you well prepared and relaxed, confident that your performance will have the desired impact on your audience? Or is the thought of standing on a podium, holding a microphone, enough to give you stage fright? Enjoy it or not, presenting – in some form – is usually a part of business. Many believe that good presenters are born, not made. From sales pitches to training lectures, good presentation and public speaking skills are key to many influential roles in today's business world. So do you have the skills you need to do a good job? How Good Are Your Presentation Skills? Instructions For each statement, click the button in the column that best describes you. Your last quiz results are shown. You last completed this quiz on , at . Questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 still need to be answered! Becoming a Better Presenter Key Points
Transform your business with a simple change | Entrepreneur When business owners try to strengthen their companies, they usually focus on big fixes: acquisitions, expansions, world-class products and bold new markets. Yet some of the best fixes are on the softer side: reinventing the way you manage your company. Imagine if your business truly became world-class at customer service, or training sales staff. Or if you actually learned to delegate. Anyone can copy your products or your latest marketing campaign. Case in point: At a conference a few weeks ago, I was surprised to hear a speaker urge entrepreneurs to build their businesses by creating more effective meetings. Have an objective for every meeting — a really clear outcome. Paula Harrington is senior manager with Deloitte Consulting in Toronto, specializing in talent development. “These days, with our crazy busy multitasking, there’s nothing more valuable than time,” Harrington says. Sadly, Harrington thinks meetings are getting worse, not better. (She’s also a fan of stand-up meetings.