Gain An Unfair Advantage In Your Whiteboard Presentation By Milly Sonneman

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
You?ve seen the whiteboard advantage?complex problems are made simple. Difficult decisions are made easier. Boring presentations are transformed. Get 6 easy and quick tips to gain this almost unfair advantage.

Want to attract business and engage new clients in a whole new way?

Most people are nervous about drawing in front of peers or high-profile clients. We don?t want to look foolish. We don?t want to embarrass ourselves. And we definitely don?t want to blow the opportunity.

So instead of taking a calculated risk, building our skills, and practicing to perfection, we make the seemingly logical choice. We avoid ever picking up a marker. We steer clear of whiteboards. And we pray that this trend will go away soon.

But, since you?re reading this article, you have already identified yourself as a winner. You are ready to put in the time and learn the skills that give you a competitive advantage. I?m talking about: whiteboard interactive presenting.

Make it easy for your clients to choose you: go to the whiteboard. But don?t do what everyone else is doing. Be better. Be professional. Here are 5 tips that if used correctly give you an almost unfair advantage.

Tip 1. Know Before You Go
Plan your whiteboard presentation?before you?re standing in front of a group. Just like building a house, use a blueprint. For whiteboard presenting, use a presentation storyboard. Know specifically what you will show?and when you will show it. This helps you relax. And it is a recipe for success, especially in front of an important client.

Tip 2. Explain What You Draw
Just about any complex problem, project or process can be made clearer with a picture. But don?t leave the interpretation up to chance. While you?re immersed in your content and presentation topic, remember that this is the first time your audience is seeing it. Explain the significance of what you are sketching. Explain the ?obvious.?

Tip 3. Escape Chicken Scratch
Far too many presenters believe that any old writing on the whiteboard is better than nothing. Well, it isn?t true. Your illegible writing will destroy credibility as fast as showing up in gym shorts.

If your lettering is awful and people routinely tell you, "I can?t read a word you write," pay attention. Most people hate to give such candid feedback. Your busy client may not tell you to your face. They?ll just decide to take their business elsewhere.

Tip 4. Free Up Your Inner Artist
Not everyone is born with artistic talent. Not everyone has the natural gene of cartooning or caricature. But that?s still no excuse for stick figures and funky drawings.

While this may have worked 10 years ago, or even a couple years ago, times have changed. If you think that apologies and crude drawings help your cause, think again.

Fortunately, you don?t really need tons of drawings and sketches to make an impact. A few well-crafted images will help you make your point. When you learn these, you?ll quickly impress clients with your ?artistic skill.?

Tip 5. Understand Visual Frameworks
A whiteboard is NOT a giant piece of paper. It is not best used for scrawl, lists and a few random words sprinkled here and there. Visual frameworks are an essential piece of successful presenting.

Once you learn the power of displaying conversation, you?ll unlock rich conversations, intense collaboration, and rapid decision-making. Without this knowledge, you?ll just use the board for gathering and pushing information?without full authority.

The best news? There is a simple set of principles, rules and tools for how to open up conversations, command attention and win results.

Using these rules you?ll know how build rapport, streamline decisions and close more deals. Are you ready to give powerful whiteboard presentations and gain the ?unfair? advantage?

View the original article here

Are You Using The Power Of Visual Maps? By Milly Sonneman

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Any problem or issue can be made clearer with a picture. But if you aren?t feeling creative or visually fluent, it helps to know how to be effective. Find out the 6 secrets for visual impact right now.

One of the most familiar pictures is an outline, such as a map of the United States. By adopting these solid principles of effective map-making; your business presentations can be dramatically more powerful.

Check out the use of an interactive map to present a 3-panel view of the economy where you live.

NPR is using this interactive map to show foreclosure rates, unemployment rates as well as household income by county.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111494514

What?s particularly interesting in this visual display? You can instantly see which areas are most affected by the recession. Equally, where there is less fallout.

Notice how information is available for the three maps in colors, numbers, a short verbal explanation, and an audio description. If you want to use visual displays to explain your information, use these tips. Keep the best practices shown by NPR, alive and well in your presentations.

Tip 1: Provide A Clear Title
In this presentation, the title reads: Interactive Map: The Economy Where You Live.

This title of your presentation provides an overview to the entire topic, and to all three maps. This creates consistency, and a feeling of safety. You always know that you are looking at maps that relate to this overarching concept.

Tip 2. Structure Sub Headings
The subheadings are clearly listed: foreclosure rates, unemployment rates, and median household income.

The overview is structured in easy to understand words, all shown in equal size and similar typeface. (If only business presentations used these conventions!)

Tip 3. Provide A Key Code
Explain your code in colors, key words and numbers if appropriate. In this article, all three were used. This is used consistently in all three maps.

Tip 4. Use An Easily Recognized Structure
In this case, the map was of the United States. Just about everyone would recognize the outline of the USA.

Tip 5. Provide Options
Viewers can choose to read, listen to audios, and click through to visual displays. Some of the displays offer further details to visual depictions.

Tip 6. Focus On A Hot Topic
While you may be presenting entirely different data, focus on how to capture attention. Most audiences have one thing on their minds. "What?s going on that I should know about?"

In training circles, this is usually referred to as a "WIIFM." This acronym stands for "What?s In It For Me?" and is an easy way to remember that people are curious, hungry and thirsty for information that is focused on them?not on you.

Everyone wants information that could help them understand about economic conditions. Use this understanding to adapt your presentation to match your audiences? interests. The critical point is that your title, map and presentation must speak directly to your audience.

When you communicate in a language everyone understands, show information visually and make complex concepts easy to ?get? you are on the right track.

While you may not have a devoted staff to do your research, you can use each of these tips. When you do, expect people to get involved. These principles are quick and easy fixes that have the power to transform your business presentations.

View the original article here

The Key To Successful Whiteboard Presentations By Milly Sonneman

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Simply grabbing a marker and running up to the whiteboard isn?t going to produce fantastic results. Here are 5 little-known pro tips to boost your skills in whiteboard presenting.

If you want to give successful whiteboard presentations, you must learn how to plan, prepare and perform. In short, you must make it easy for your audience to understand what you have to offer.

A good whiteboard presentation is built with the audience in mind. As in other types of presenting, relying on one generic presentation is a risky approach. When it comes to presenting, a ?one size fits all? is not only dangerous, it is a surefire way to kill your success.

Make it easy for people to see what you mean. Show them the distinct advantage of going with your company, your recommendations and your solutions. Whether you are presenting to external clients, your boss, or an internal team, make whiteboard interaction part of your success strategy.

Tip 1. Adapt For Every Audience
Plan your whiteboard presentation?for each audience. Do not rely on a generic plan. Avoid doing ?what you?ve always done.?

Naturally, to adapt correctly to every audience, you must do your homework. Research trends, news and emerging issues. Find out what problems and situations are top of mind. Then, adapt your whiteboard presentation to match these needs.

Tip 2. Prepare Your Plan
As in every successful project, planning is critical. Plan your whiteboard presentation with care and attention to detail. Decide which parts of your presentation are best done at the whiteboard. Choose what to show, when to show it, and how to engage your audience.

Tip 3. Go Visual
Just about any complex problem, project or process can be made clearer with a picture. But don?t worry if you don?t know what to draw. If you feel uncertain or uncomfortable with visual thinking, ask for help.

Visual learning experts are available to help you simplify complex data into easy-to-understand diagrams. In addition, experts will show you the quick and easy ways to show these diagrams, even if you swear you can?t draw.

Tip 4. Rehearse In A Safe Environment
Many professionals find that rehearsals and practice sessions are critical for success. One of the favorite ways to rehearse is to create what many people term, ?a safe environment.?

A few examples:
? Practice in front of your kids
? Whiteboard with a presentation coach
? Sketch your ideas in a journal, then on the whiteboard

By structuring your practice sessions, you will gain confidence and boost results for your big day.

Tip 5. Timing Works Wonders
While it?s easy to get excited about interactive presenting at a whiteboard, it?s important to pay attention to the clock. Ask a friend or colleague to time your practice session. If no one is available, set a digital timer.

Experiment with making ?on-the-spot? choices in case your time slot is cut short. Once you know what to shorten, you can expect to feel more relaxed should this occur when you?re in front of an audience.

Giving successful whiteboard presentations enables you to take advantage of new opportunities. The next time your client says, "show me what you mean!" you will know exactly what to do.

View the original article here

Exceptional Presentation Skills: Turning Up The Heat By Milly Sonneman

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Do you wish you had exceptional presentation skills? Are you are fed up with not getting noticed, not getting ahead, and being a wallflower? If so, it?s time to take a step forward.

Giving phenomenal presentations is a lot simpler than it looks. Imagine you are cooking a wonderful meal. You?ve made it before. You feel confident. You?ve been to the farmers market or farm stand. You know for a fact: all the fresh ingredients will transform into a delicious outcome. Your friends and family will be blown away.

Presenting is a lot like cooking. When you first start out?it seems overwhelming. But with a great teacher, a proven recipe and plenty of practice, you quickly build new skills.

Strangely, many people believe that presenting is not a ?learnable? skill. This may stem from the belief that some people are talented communicators?while others are hopelessly fearful. This is just false belief.

And as you may already know FEAR is also an acronym for: false evidence appearing real. Fear keeps many people at the sidelines. It holds back their careers. It stifles their ability to share ideas.

But if you?ve been feeling afraid, you don?t have to stay in that state of mind. Now, it?s much easier than ever before to discover new presentation skills. Just like learning to cook?once you learn how to give presentations, you?ll feel an inner sense of confidence and certainty. You?ll have a gut feeling that guides you.

In many situations where previously you trembled or felt reluctant to speak, you?ll step up to the front of the room. Imagine what this will do for your career. When you are up at the front, speaking with poise and elegance, people listen. They see you as the expert. They want to know your opinion. 5 minutes in front of the right audience can do more for you than a year at your desk.

Think of presenting in 5 phases. At each phase there are specific resources, skills and tools that make you successful.

1. Preparation
Great presentations (like great meals) require fresh ingredients and careful preparation.

2. Structure Your Story
Stories are highly memorable. Weave your data, facts and research into a story that everyone understands.

3. Deliver With Impact
The best preparation and story come to life with passionate delivery. Voice, body language, audience interaction all come into play here.

4. Connect Visually
People learn and remember information visually. Use pictures, whiteboard sketches, props and visual maps to simplify your story.

5. Handle Questions and Answers
Think fast and think on your feet. Handling questions under fire is the mark of a professional and confident presenter.

If you?re looking to improve your presentation skills, keep this in mind. You can learn new skills. Skills, unlike abilities or natural talents, can be learned. You don?t have to be born with a talent gene, or a gift for charismatic presenting. Presenting skillfully in front of any audience is a specific set of skills?which you can learn.

Plus, it?s easier today than ever before to learn these skills. You don?t have to wait for your boss to approve a class or seminar. You don?t have to hold off. You can take charge of your learning?and of your future.

Take a creative and disciplined approach to build your business communication skills. Once you learn the step-by-step approach, you won?t have to reinvent the wheel each time you give a speech, talk or briefing. You?ll know exactly what steps to take, how much time to allow, and how to present concisely and persuasively.

Isn?t it time you stepped to the front and turned up the heat? Isn?t it time you took your presentation skills to the next level?

View the original article here