business presentations

A large proportion of the presentation skills masterclasses we carry out in-company tend to be for individuals within a team.  These individuals want to give their presentation skills a serious overhaul to bring them to the next level.  Or in some instances, individuals on the team are giving their own presentation at a conference, all hands, quarterly business review or other internal or external event and want to be at their absolute best.
However, more and more, we find clients approaching us to work with teams of people who would not ordinarily present.
Why so?
Well, the main reason is that quite often clients, or prospective clients, want to see more than a salesperson.  They want to see the people who they will deal with, day to day and week to week, in the course of transacting their business.  Whether that is an outsourced IT team, auditors or a creative team.
Presenting as a group raises certain issues that you need to address so that your team comes across as a cohesive T...

Do you or your sales team give great presentations but fall at the Q+A session?
Many years ago, when I was consulting for a major telecoms company, I was asked to sit in on a sales pitch being delivered by a global vendor of computer software.  It was a household name back then and still is now.  I mean, this was a BIG multinational.  The 2 sales people arrived late, yes late!
However, they delivered a very professional company presentation.  They had beautiful slides and it was obvious that they were well rehearsed and well prepared.
Well prepared … until it came to the questions and answers session.
Within less than 1 minute it became embarrassingly apparent to everyone in the room that they only knew the content on the slides!  It was embarrassing for them and to be honest, for all of us in that room.  They left shortly afterwards with their beautiful slides and their tails between their legs.
Nobody wants that to happen to them or their sales teams.  It is not surprising t...

Did you know that a fear of public speaking cuts wages by 10%?  We believe that statistic alone should bump you into action! However, one of the things that could be holding you back is confidence when presenting… or lack of.
Ask anyone how they feel just before they are due to give a presentation and we guarantee the answer will be NERVOUS! So, how do you cope with it? How do you reduce the nerves whilst appearing confident?
To begin with, there is a misconception about nerves.  The “nerves” you feel is actually adrenalin and is a good thing.  It shows you are excited and is completely normal.  The adrenalin running through you, before or during a presentation, is your body’s way of getting ready for the big event.  Believe it or not, stress and excitement are, at the basic level, neurologically the same.  So, change your language and tell yourself you are excited.
When you tell yourself that you are excited and passionate, rather than nervous, it changes your demeanour...

Sharon works with us on the admin end of our business.  She is a font of efficiency and knowledge on all things relating to running your business.  On top of that, she is a whizz on all the Microsoft Office products, in particular PowerPoint.  Below she shares some of her tips on making your PowerPoint presentations look more professional.

I often help my coaches with their PowerPoint presentations ready for their training workshops or networking meetings/pitches.  I usually help with setting up their master slide templates and checking for spelling, inconsistency etc.  Below are some of my top tips to think about next time you’re setting up your own slides…
1. Be Consistent
Consistency is key to helping your presentation look professional.  Make sure the same fonts are used throughout – if you use one font for the header and a different one for the main body text then make sure this is the same on every slide. One quick way of doing this is to set up your Master Slide ...

When you stand up and speak in a presentation, listeners will form an opinion of you, your product or service and your organisation, based on how you are coming across.  Come across as dull and boring – then that is the impression you leave them with of your organisation.  On the other hand, come across as engaging and they will be more likely to seek you out.
Below are our top 10 tips, which recently appeared in the Sunday Business Post, that can help you to be a more engaging presenter in your next business presentation.
1. What about “them”?  The most important element in any presentation is “them”, your audience.  Before you put pen to paper or finger to keyboard you need to find out all you can about them and what they want to get from your presentation.   The better you understand them, their attitude and their world, the better chance you have of engaging with them.
2. Begin with the end in mind.   What is the purpose of the presentation?  This should be cryst...

According to a survey conducted in 2015 by Dave Paradi of Think Outside The Slide, the top 3 things that annoy audiences most about PowerPoint presentations are:
1.  Speaker reads the slides
2.  Full sentences instead of bullet points
3.  Text too small
If you look at these 3 reasons they all point to the same issue – lack of preparation by the speaker!
If the speaker knew their topic they would show a few key words on each slide, could therefore increase font size and would not need to read from the slides.
Remember that slides are not there to replace you!
Don’t let your PowerPoint take centre stage – your slides are used as a visual aid to enhance your message / presentation not actually be your presentation.
Garr Reynolds in his book Zen Presentations recommends using 7 words per slide, not per line, per slide!  That might sound a bit extreme but it is definitely worth thinking about …..
Bonus Tip: 36.9% of people surveyed above also found that visua...

“How long does it take to create a first impression?”
Two minutes? Twenty seconds? Two seconds?  Some psychologists* would suggest that the length is as short as one tenth of a second.  Therefore, before you have opened your mouth the audience are beginning to form an impression.
So whether you are delivering a high impact business presentation, delivering a presentation at a conference or even a sales presentation, here are a few simple tips to ensure that when you are presenting, you create a fantastic first impression. 
1.  Dress for the occasion
Bearing in mind that the first impression has already begun before you even open your mouth, what you wear really does count.
Two words can address the whole issue of dress code – dress appropriately.  By researching your audience you should have a good idea of what “appropriate” is for the occasion.  Business casual will usually suffice for those in the IT industry, while in the legal world a full suit and tie...