It’s true –the most common and terrifying fear in the world involves public speaking. In fact, many professional speakers still experience pre-stage jitters. From sales and marketing professionals to pharmaceutical reps, and from corporate trainers to corporate execs, no matter what kind of presentation you’re making (or what size the gathering), you may feel at least a bit anxious before speaking before a group.
For many professionals, public speaking is a necessary evil. But when you invest some time into calming those pre-performance jitters, the rewards can be huge. Smooth and effective public presentations can mean more sales, higher volumes, better retention, more effective training, and more professional opportunities for you.
In part 1 of this three-part series, we’ll offer some guidance for minimizing (or even eliminating) a fear of public speaking.
You might have heard the old suggestion to just “imagine the audience in their underwear.” In most cases, this is largely ineffective and, at best, provides a massive distraction from what should be your primary focus: the effective delivery of your message.
Truthfully, proper preparation begins long before you don the mic. Try these at-home exercises for preventing stage fright.
As cliché as it sounds, practice is the best prevention for stage fright. Keep in mind, when practicing your speech, your focus should be on the content itself. Be wary of memorizing a speech word-for-word, as you are likely to forget all or part of it and feel stumped (in which case, your worst fear of public speaking would actually come true!)
It’s better to practice the delivery of your key points, rather than memorizing words verbatim. In the next segment, we’ll get into specific techniques for practicing your speech, with an emphasis on eliminating distractions and keeping the focus where it belongs: on the content itself.
March 5th, 2010
If you’re a sales or marketing professional, you may already understand the importance of using multiple modes of delivery to get your message across. But are you truly using every means necessary to close the sale? In this post, we’ll look at the top 10 uses for an affordable projector rental as a powerful tool in sales and marketing.
1. Sales Meetings
Using a projector rental says “I am a professional. Our business is successful and we take these presentations seriously. I care about you as a potential client.”
2. Sales Training
It’s no secret – the best sales people often receive the finest training and guidance. Elevate the level of your sales training with visual support by using a powerful, professional LCD projector.
3. Educational Purposes
Pharmaceutical reps aren’t the only members of the sales profession who provide helpful (and sometimes mandatory) educational opportunities to clients and vendors. A rental projector makes it faster and easier to deliver professional grade training and education, at a reasonable cost.
4. Nailing the Takeaway
Odds are, you’ve got visual learners in your audience. Drive those key points home with clear, vibrant visual aids.
5. Adding movie or video
If a picture is worth 1,000 words, video must be worth many time more. Adding video can really spice up a presentation where still images would simply fall short.
6. Explaining technical data
Delivering highly complex or technical data? Count on an LCD projector to make things clear to see and easy to understand.
7. Closing more sales
From network marketing to pharmaceutical sales, a rental projector can make or break a sale. Let’s face it — you need that visual element to complement your verbal presentation.
8. Exhibit statistics in a bright, vivid, easy to understand format
Patient study results, sales tracking, bottom lines, trends and other forms of statistical data become simple to see and easy to gauge with the use of colored charts.
9. As a thank you gift or incentive
Why not gift a weekend projector rental as a way of saying “Thanks for your business.”
10. R & R
You work hard, and you deserve a break, too. Imagine relaxing and unwinding by watching your favorite sporting event or classic movies on an in-home DVD projector. Did you know we rent projectors for personal use, too?
No matter what the reason, sales and marketing professionals from countless industries rely on the versatility and visual impact of an LCD rental projector. Click here to reserve your projector rental today from Projector123.com.
March 3rd, 2010
If you’re responsible for leading a church or religious community, you may be gearing up for one of the year’s most celebratory seasons: Easter. Easter is the season of the year for all Christian faiths, and Projector123.com is proud to announce special AV support for all pastors, ministers and religious professionals.
This Easter, why not enhance your worship services with an affordable, easy to use LCD projector rental from Projector123.com? Take a look at some of the ideas you could incorporate to make this year’s spring time celebration even more special:
1 – Display beautiful, inspirational images throughout Easter service
2 – Project the Stations of the Cross during your Good Friday meditation service
3 – Share season-appropriate movies such as “In the Blink of an Eye,” “No Greater Love,” or “Jesus of Nazareth.”
4 – Create and display a slide show or photo montage to include members of the congregation, special events, etc.
With projector rentals starting at just $99 per weekend, Projector123.com is the affordable choice for religious professionals who are in search of exciting, captivating ways to expand the congregation and make more of an impact for special chuch services and celebrations.
This year, Easter falls on April 4, so there’s plenty of time to plan a spiritual celebration that’s truly worthy of a King. Plus, renting a projector from Projector123.com is as easy as 1-2-3. Just click here to get started, select your projector, let us know where and when to deliver it, and you’ll be on your way in no time. We can deliver directly to your church or place of worship, so there’s no need for heavy lugging. What’s more, setup is a snap with our quickstart guide, and if you require any additional support, you can call our customer service specialists for 24/7 assistance.
Click here to order your rental projector for Easter services today.
March 1st, 2010
Please enjoy this excellent speaking article by Karen Susman. And when you’re ready to order your rental projector, contact us here at Projector123.com.
Twenty-Three Ways to Connect With Your Audience
(Use Only If You Want Your Audience to Listen and Take Action)
By Karen Susman©
If you want to get your message across to your audience members, you have to connect with them. Here are twenty-two ways to connect before, during and after your presentation.
Connect Before:
| 1. |
Do your homework on your audience. Plan your presentation from their perspective. |
| 2. |
Arrive early to check out the physical and emotional atmosphere. |
| 3. |
Visit with audience members before your presentation. You’ll learn what’s going on and you’ll gather allies. |
| 4. |
Listen to and observe events and speakers that come before you. If you’re scheduled to speak at 8: 15 PM and the meeting starts at 7 PM, arrive at 6:30 PM. (Earlier if you have to test audio/visual equipment.) Adapt your remarks to what you hear, see and feel. |
| 5. |
Refer by name to the speaker before you. Ask permission of an audience member to use his name in reference to your topic. For instance, “As Jim in engineering told me… |
Connect During:
| 6. |
Use your body. Pause before you begin. Walk toward the audience. If you can’t walk toward the audience, lean in. Use eye contact. Move meaningfully with each point you make. |
| 7. |
Energize. The larger the audience and the room, the more energetic you have to be. Animate your face, too. |
| 8. |
Flex your voice range, volume and speed to emphasize and invigorate your remarks. |
| 9. |
Gesture. The bigger the group and room, the bigger the gesture. |
| 10. |
Be prepared to be spontaneous. |
| 11. |
Reveal your personality. |
| 12. |
Don’t read your remarks. Don’t read from slides. |
| 13. |
Enliven your remarks with stories, quotations, examples, analogies, metaphors and unusual visuals. |
| 14. |
Don’t overuse PowerPoint. Less is more. |
| 15. |
Use pictures in your visuals. Put people, faces, animals, your family, etc. in the pictures. This gives your audience an emotional zap that lodges your points in their brains. |
Connect After:
| 16. |
Stick around. The good questions come up during breaks and after your bow. |
| 17. |
Be available. If you’re rushing or packing up your equipment, anyone who wants to speak with you will feel disregarded. Listen to people. If you have to vacate the stage quickly to make room for the next speaker, tell fans you’ll meet with them in hall or at the reception. |
| 18. |
Place yourself by the exit doors at the end of your presentation so you can visit, smile, shake hands and make eye contact. |
| 19. |
Offer to send bonus information via mail or e-mail to audience members. Ask them to specify the requested information on the back of their business cards. |
| 20. |
Follow through by promptly sending out requested material. |
| 21. |
Request the mailing list or cards of attendees. Send them a reminder note within two weeks of your presentation. |
| 22. |
Offer to sign them up for your e-newsletter or an e-mail follow up. |
| 23. |
Write an article for the audience’s newsletter. |
Take advantage of the time before, during and after your presentation to make a connection. You’ll boost your message’s effectiveness and longevity. You’ll be remembered. And, if you are interested in selling products, services or yourself to your audience, you’ll maximize your success.
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You are welcome to reprint this article as long as the copyright and contact information are included. Contact Karen Susman at 1-888-678-8818 www.karensusman.com karen@karensusman.com
Preparing for an important presentation of your own? Click here to rent a professional grade rental projector at a price you can afford.
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