How an Effective Presentation Can Boost Your Business?

In recent years technology has made tremendous advancements. These advancements have reshaped the organisations by creating their business functions integrated and streamlined. Beyond the standard office computers and smart devices, organisations are now implementing new software’s and latest technology equipment’s to run their operations smoothly. One such technological advancement is Slide presentation software PowerPoint is one of the widely used Slide Presentation Software. It is a powerful tool to make your presentation more attractive and engaging. If you want visual effect, collaboration tools, easy access, then PowerPoint will be the perfect option.

Nowadays in every field, there is huge competition. Business and professional firms use the presentation as a tool to educate, train, motivate the internal and external audience. At any point in time, you may require to give a presentation. The presentation is an essential part of branding because the presentation is the primary source which companies use for communication with clients, general public etc. The presentation demonstrates the company profile, and it’s the only tool which makes sure that all your representatives are turning into sales. A well-designed presentation shows presenters professionalism and also builds organisations corporate image.

Presenters are mainly of two types. Firstly, the great ones, who with their commanding charisma, speaking skills and great presentation styles can grasp the audience attention and secondly the Mediocre one who only focuses on the content of the presentation. They come up with great with great content and speak amazingly but fails in their presentation skills. Many times, lacks in gaining audience attention.

You may have complex data for presentation, a great content will be a scrap if not delivered in an entertaining way. Templates contains layout, colour, fonts, effects. powerpoint template helps to convey the information in an attractive way, grabbing the audience attention throughout the topic.

Benefits of an Effective Presentation:

• Face to Face Interaction: A presentation enables to meet your customers and prospects. Face to face interactions strengthens the relation and bond with the customers. An effective presentation can improve sales. According to a recent survey conducted, face to face meetings is fifteen times better than other marketing activities.
• Engagement: Presentation is the easiest way to engage with the audience. Attractive slides, astonishing layouts can hold the audience attention easily. Bullet points and summary texts help the audience to focus on the main subjects.
• Flexibility: Flexibility is the vital feature of the presentation. It helps in saving the time of professionals. PowerPoint presentations allow the user to quickly change the content and change the designs based on the audience.

• Adds professionalism: Presentation can decide the success of any business meetings. The presenter should convey the information most attractively and entertainingly. Adding attractive templates can ensure maximum engagement of audience over the topic.

• Storage: After the presentation, the slides can be quickly distributed among the members for further reference. It can easily be saved on the computers which minimise the chance of loss or misplacement.

• Presentation Important for Business Growth: Having a superior product can never result in success. Advertisement of the product is also mandatory. The product demonstration should be attractive, clear to the audience. The presentation should be eye-catching and should create a lasting impression on the audience. Adding an attractive slide, Infographics icons can ease the work of the presenter.

• Adds Creativity: Nobody like a wall of text, the presentation should look interesting and conveying. The audience can easily remember visual information. Adding images to illustrate point will surely make your presentation engaging. PowerPoint allows the user to add creative clipart’s, attractive fonts to the presentation.

How to Communicate and Negotiate in Life to Better Effect

We all use negotiation constantly in our communications. Starting as children we quickly learn that if we promise to be good we gain some advantage or positive result. That understanding is often quickly transferred to our other relationships, where we learn the value of trading. We give something the other person wants in return for some benefit to ourselves.

Children quickly learn to be quiet in return for sweets. That is the fundamental tenet behind every negotiation, a win/win situation for all concerned. The fact that the child may manipulate the situation when they want more sweets may have to dealt with by using penalty clauses and riders as time goes on. The negotiator too has to learn how to trade.

As an adult the art of skillful negotiation is in learning to trade something that we are not too concerned about losing. The skill is in treating it as if it is really important, as if it really matters to us. We create in the other person a sense that are we are making a huge contribution to the negotiation process by allowing a particular concession to be made.

When the other person feels that they are gaining an advantage they are more likely to relax their guard and become more flexible. When they feel that they are gaining ground they will often decide that it is reasonable to make some concessions to the negotiations. They are more likely to feel the need to reciprocate, as a gesture of good faith on their part.

A good negotiator treats the other person with respect. Good manners are a large part of being good at the job. A person who is calm, poised and polite will appear to be in control, measured and clear as to what they are doing. They will instill in the other person a sense of confidence.

Meeting someone halfway is a good negotiation technique. In daily life, we will all have had times when we have been in a group or with a friend and have had to decide where to go for a social evening. Negotiation can be required in these situations. We may decide to take it in turns as to where to go, or decide to go somewhere completely different as an alternative option. The skill is in being respectful and flexible, is in appreciating that each point of view has its own validity and importance.

In acrimonious couples counselling I sometimes say to my clients ‘you may win the argument, but lose the relationship’. Being pedantic and inflexible may ensure that you get what you want as an outcome in the short term, but in the longer term it may be a massive price to pay. Appreciating that each person has reasons for their opinions, feels justified in holding the view that they have, can bring some sense of perspective to the counselling process.

Effective communications are about trying to clearly understand what each person is saying, what they are hoping to achieve and how the different sides of the discussion can find resolution and compromise. Negotiation is a valuable process to apply. By trading, giving ground and feeling to gain some positive results or compromise each side can feel that they are successfully making headway and achieving a better relationship into the bargain.

Cross Cultural Presentations

The international flavour of many people’s jobs naturally means that there is greater interaction between people from different cultures. Within the business environment, understanding and coping with intercultural differences between people is critical to ensuring that interpersonal communication is successful.

Intercultural awareness is necessary for two reasons. Firstly, it minimises the possibility of misunderstandings and/or the causing of offense through intercultural mishaps. Secondly, it is a means to maximising the potential of business relationships through the utilization of intercultural differences productively.

One area within the business environment in which intercultural awareness is a necessity is in the business presentation. Directors, managers, salespeople, consultants and business personnel are regularly required to deliver presentations. However, when one is asked to give a presentation to an audience from a different culture there are intercultural factors that can hinder the success of a presentation.

By way of illustrating some of the intercultural differences in presentations, these tips to effective cross cultural presentations are offered:

Language:

The language you use in a cross cultural presentation is important. Although the majority of the language that is used in a cross cultural presentation will be understood by an English speaking foreign audience, a speaker must be careful when it comes to slang, idioms or phrases.

If an Englishman were to talk of being “knocked for six” or “bowled over” he may very well be met with puzzled expressions. More subtly, when an American talks of a ‘billion’ he means a thousand million, whereas in the UK this would mean a million million. Try and keep language simple.

Body Language:

Pay attention to your body language in a cross cultural presentation. Some cultures are quite animated and will appreciate hand gestures and the expression of emotion through the body. Others expect speakers to remain calm and would find such behaviour over the top. Similarly pay attention to the use of gestures. The thumbs up may mean ‘good’ in the USA but it means something very different in Iran. Eye contact can also be a major intercultural difference. Some cultures consider strong eye contact a sign of sincerity, others find it overbearing and an invasion of privacy. Do your cross cultural homework before a presentation.

Time:

Be aware of different approaches to time across cultures. Some cultures prefer a structured, timetabled approach to conducting business affairs, others are more casual. In countries where a start time is considered a guide rather than a definite, allow time for networking or engage in some chit chat until others arrive. Oppositely, if you arrive late to a meeting in a punctual culture, expect some negative feedback. Always show the appropriate stiffness or flexibility depending on the culture.

Emotions:

Some cross cultural presentations may be in front of a small number of people and deal with sensitive issues in a pressured environment. In such intercultural situations one should always keep their emotions in check. In some cultures a certain amount of cross examination or scrutiny may occur. If this happens bear in mind the positive intentions behind such actions, i.e. the questions are only being posed to establish facts, not to undermine you. Never lose patience, show frustration or display anger. To do so will lead to a loss of credibility.

Style of Presentation:

Different cultures learn and take in information in varying ways. One should always try and tailor their presentation style to meet the needs of the target culture. Some cultures, such as Europeans, prefer information to be presented in detail and in a way that sets down foundations that act as the support to a final argument or point. In such a presentation the speaker should gradually lead the audience, using a logical succession of points, to a conclusion. On the other hand, some cultures, like the US, prefer a much faster paced presentation that is bottom-line orientated, meaning the presenter speaks from a point rather towards a point.

Use of Technology:

Power Point is not the default method of giving a presentation across the world. Some countries many not even have the technical capabilities to accommodate this so one would need to adapt to the resources at hand, whether it be an Over Head Projector or blackboard. Some cultures do not even like a visual element to presentations and find much more worth in words and personality.

Content:

In a cross cultural presentation, ensure you tailor the content of a presentation to the audience. Different cultures expect different things from a business presentation. Long term orientated cultures may be excited about future projections and figures, but others would rather learn more about the presenter’s credentials, accomplishments and experience. A presenter needs to ask whether the target culture will appreciate factual, statistical information presented visually, or a more personal oratory approach.

Audience Participation:

Audiences react in different ways across cultures. Some are very engaging and are willing to participate in exercises and Q&A sessions, others are the opposite. Audiences also show respect in many ways. A Japanese audience may close their eyes while listening; a US one may clap when a good point is made and a Saudi one may do nothing at all.

Although the number of areas where one could point to intercultural differences in presentations is vast, for the sake of brevity the above mentioned areas have been highlighted as a way of drawing attention to some of the major ones. It is hoped these can then act as a foundation to improving ones insight into the way intercultural differences manifest in the business environment.