Research repeatedly has shown that image, not content, is king in presentations. Clip art and bad animation are guaranteed to project the wrong image whether you are presenting your findings to a supervisor or pitching that new account.
Large corporation employees or small company owners can unleash the power of good presentations to kick-start their careers and boost their acquisition of new business, or ignore the basics of presentation and spiral down into oblivion.

Let’s learn a few key elements of good presentation by watching three different presenters from three companies.

The first presenter, Phil Aslide, uses his slides to display every word he intends to say to his audience. In fact, the slides often have many more words than he intends to say. Sometimes it is hard for him to even read the words on the screen, but he knows what they mean, so that’s OK. Right?

Do you know Phil or someone like him?

And maybe you know someone like the second presenter, Annie Mate. Every item on the slide is animated whether it is discussed or not. Each bullet and piece of clipart flies, swirls or spins onto the screen accompanied by screeching tire sounds from the laptop speakers. Annie feels that this displays her commanding knowledge of PowerPoint’s many rich features. Sounds reasonable… if you’re Annie.

The third presenter, Tim Topnotch, has a different approach than Phil or Annie. Before he creates any slides, he assesses the needs of his audience. Then he organizes his content into a succinct outline of his speaking points. From there, he creates slides that support those points. His slides use a clean, simple design that is easily understood by the audience. He animates only the items that need animation to make a point.

All things being equal, which person would you choose? Who made the best impression? Which person will you remember as knowledgeable and buttoned up? We’ve all seen these presenter types. After all, presenting to an audience can be unnerving. It helps us personally to put more words on the slide as a guide.

Unfortunately, many of us have a dash of Phil and a sprinkle of Annie in our presentations. If you’re a small business, your presentation is, in many cases, your only image-generating medium beyond your web site. You don’t do glitzy ad campaigns to promote your company, so a bad presentation ruins your attempts at creating a positive image.

Phil and Annie should have followed these 4 rules of thumb when they developed their presentations:

1. Understand your audience – Learn as much as you can about your audience before presenting to them. What is their general function within the company? What goals do they need to fulfill by hiring you or your company? What is it about your product or service that will appeal to them?
2. Outline your thoughts – Pulling together a swirl of information into a concise presentation is not an easy job. It is important that you outline key areas you need to discuss, and if at all possible, arrange that outline around the key needs of your audience.
3. Use a consistent visual template – Your image is paramount to making the sale. A well-done visual template can give you the professional look you need. PowerPoint offers many canned templates, but your competitor may be using the same template… talk about audience confusion!
4. Slides support your speech; the speech doesn’t support your slides – Slides are meant to be visual aids that help the audience more clearly understand your point. By all means, do not put every word of your speech on your slides. This distracts your audience and generally creates unreadable slides. Slides should create a meaningful picture of your key points. When possible, use simple charts, succinct bullet points or pointed images to support your talking points.

So, unleash the power of good presentation skills and reach your career or business goals.

If you are deeply in debt and want to come out of that fast, a professional debt negotiation could be the answer to your problems. It is important to learn how a professional debt negotiation can help customers. Debt advice is needed by many in the present scenario of economical crisis faced by all. It is only when people face economic hardships that they think of ways to better their situation through negotiation. Getting out of dues could be a ready answer for solving your financial problems but that could be done better with professional negotiation. Debt settlement can be best seen in the case of debt negotiation through the elimination of bad credit.

If you are in need of getting out of the trauma of falling in bad credit, there are a number of ways you can adopt to get out of that. Settlement and bankruptcy are some of the methods. These methods are in direct contrast to each other. Bankruptcy is no real solution to your economic conditions. Rather, it jeopardizes your plans of money making in future as it does not enable you to take loans. On the other hand, the debt settlement provides you with suitable solutions. Thus, settlement brings you the most interesting solution to your monetary issues.

Professional debt negotiation is the right method to get a person out of liability. Debt negotiation is a process where the customer can obtain a reduction in the debts through the professionals. The system is totally dependent on the fact that the negotiation program is a legitimate one as well as accurate. A legitimate company provides a suitable solution thereby helping you to clear off your dues as early as possible.

If your financial problem is approached very carefully, then you need not worry. You can eliminate your dues to a certain extent. If you go though a settlement company you can enjoy the results of debt settlement through that.

“Negotiator Beware of The Hidden Danger In Free Value”

As a negotiator, what do you consider when you hear free? Do you think about the hidden danger that may lurk in something that’s free? Sure, there could be value in the offer, but you should also beware of the hidden danger in anything that’s free.

When you hear the word free, your brain goes into a sense of euphoria. The endorphins begin to flow at the thought of receiving something for nothing. In such a mindset, you can become susceptible to lowering your guard. Doing that can leave you vulnerable to unsuspecting ploys. That can occur even when you’ve planned how you’ll address such offers. When you find yourself in such quandaries, consider the following.

What’s the offer attempting to achieve:

People are motivated by their aspirations. Thus, during a negotiation when offers are extended, a goal is at the purpose of that offer. If you’re aware of that intent, you’ll be in a better position to assess its potential value. Offers are not equal. Don’t let one that appears to be free become too costly for you to accept. Examine it thoroughly.

What’s to be gained:

Sometimes, acquiring a concession in a negotiation can add value to your overall goals. If the concession appears not to contain a cost, its allure may become bewitching. Be cautious when such appears to be the case. Good negotiators accumulate chits that they can use at other points in the negotiation. Thus, while you’re receiving what appears to be free, what you’re really receiving could be an IOU.

The timing of the offer:

The timing of an offer can obscure hidden dangers. If the intent is to obtain a greater concession, a negotiator may seek smaller ones to build towards the larger one. Thus, in some cases, positioning may be the goal. That means, offering something for free may be the setup or cover up for something to come.

Always be aware of where a concession or request may lead. Since negotiations are the accumulations of gains and concessions, you don’t want to make a concession thinking that it will lead to more gains. Or, acquire gains that are too costly, compared to the concessions you make to acquire them.

What do you have to concede:

In every negotiation, good negotiators have red herrings to use as chits or diversions. They can serve as bartering pieces that don’t contain a burdensome cost to you, or as distracters from the real intent of your offer. In a best-case scenario, a red herring should be perceived as something of value that you possess that can be dangled as a sought-after desire that the other negotiator wants. The more he’d like to possess it, the greater its perceived value will be. Thus, if it doesn’t cost you anything to relinquish, you can heighten its appeal by feigning great concern to part with it. The point is, don’t weaken red herrings by relinquishing them too easily. Doing so will weaken your negotiation position.

There’s a cost associated with everything we acquire, even if it’s just the time that we invest. Because time itself has a cost. If you keep in mind that nothing’s free, you’ll maintain a more prepared mind to assess the hidden cost and hidden dangers that may be concealed in free offers. Doing so will make you a better negotiator… and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!