Presentations

Ace Your Interview: Tell a Great Story

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campfire story shutterstock_211091626If I had to pick just one thing you can do to improve your chances of getting an offer, I would say tell a great story in the interview; share a relevant example from your experience. Go beyond just saying that you are good at what you do. Go beyond telling them “I did this which resulted in that.” Help them to picture your value by painting that picture with words; share the full, interesting story in detail.

Hiring managers who know how to interview will ask you for these examples and have lots of followup questions. Those who are More

Your 20 Second Pitch: Don’t Cold-Call Without It!

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Whether you’re in sales, business development or a job search, effectively cold-calling “strangers” to get the meetings you seek is a crucial skill. For jobseekers, this is called accessing the “hidden” job market, where you’re developing new long-term relationships that can lead to opportunities.

When you cold-call, you have only roughly 20 seconds to gain their interest. At that point you need to give them an out or you risk making a bad impression; they may be about to run off to a meeting and keeping them on the phone would be a no-no. So if you haven’t interested them enough by then, you’re done. That’s why you need a 20 second pitch.More

Surprise! Start Your Presentation Off with a Bang

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GossipBring the element of surprise into your presentation to make it memorable and powerful. Humans evolved to remember the unusual and the shocking; use this knowledge to your benefit!

For example, I coached one client to begin his presentation (to an executive audience at a Fortune 500 company) with a slide that had one single large number on it. Then he said:

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Giving a Presentation? How to Address their #1 Question

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Raised hands in presentation
They all have the same question

I once went to a seminar where the presenter was sharing some leadership development ideas with the audience. At the end of the presentation, we were all left with the same question— What do we do with this information? In fact, someone asked this very question (“what is our next step…”), and the presenter’s response was “That’s a good question, I’m not sure.” BIG mistake, and it was the key reason his presentation was a fail.

The number one question any audience member has is “how does this help me?” For your presentation to have any chance of achieving greatness (or even goodness), you must answer this question.More

3 Tips for Delivering a Powerful Presentation

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How you present yourself or your work can determine a potential promotion, sale, or job offer. These three simple ideas, from my new book, Peak Presentations, can go a long way towards helping you achieve the outcomes you want.

PowerPoint Slides: Don’t Compete!
When using PowerPoint slides to support a presentation, make sure the slide content doesn’t compete with what you are saying. More

Presentations: 6 Ways to Hook Your Audience

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When you are giving a presentation, look to actively engage your audience right from the start. Don’t assume they are paying attention; they may be thinking about their last meeting or the next one! So go beyond the dry and conventional; Capture their imagination, make them part of the show. Use any of these six approaches to hook your audience, so you can then reel them in with a memorable, powerful presentation.More

Cold Calling Giving You Cold Feet? Try These 9 Tips

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cold feet warm socks shutterstock_248949232Many clients tell me that they really dislike the process of calling people they don’t know to get meetings, interviews, or new business opportunities. By following these tips on how to present yourself on the call and adopt the right mindset, you’ll get better results, and feel better too!

Presenting Yourself – Rehearse your “20-second pitch.”
How do you get them to stay on the phone, or want to speak with you? The key is your  20-second pitch. When someone takes your call, theyMore

The Single Best Presentation Tip: Tell a Great Story

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Whether your goal is to sell, inform, or land a job offer, telling engaging, relevant stories can turn even a so-so presentation into a great one. Illustrating your points with the right stories will have a far stronger impact than many other things you can do, including slide design, body language, eye contact, and so forth.More