Making an impact with your CV cover Letter is easier to master than you might think! Especially if you think of it as preparing for a presentation.

This is what you need to think about:

o What you need to do to achieve the objective of an interview;

o Preparation – Preparation as always is everything;

o How to be sure of communicating the information they need, rather than what you want;

o Understanding your readers and their requirements;

o Using illustrative facts to add spice and flavour to your CV cover letter.

Every cover letter should have a beginning, a middle and an end. Put it another way – there needs to be an opening or introduction, the main body of your proposition, and a summary.

Effective presentations are all about making an impact, so the introductory part of your CV cover Letter is where you make your impact and demand the reader’s attention. If you are in a fearful state of mind because you urgently need a new job, you should take time out to remind yourself of past successes. The more positive your frame of mind when you write, the more impact it will have.

Write your CV cover letter in an easy but not too informal style. Don’t revert to slang, jargon or even worse texting language. Choose active words and always frame your statements positively. Avoid ‘intensifiers’ like “very” and “superb”. Remove ‘kind of’ and ‘sort of’ as this identifies imprecise thinking.

Your Opening Paragraph:

State that you are both interested in the job and confident that you have the skills and experience that they are looking for. Tell them where they will find the evidence of that (your enclosed CV).

Middle Paragraph:

Pick the top 5 essential requirements from the advertisement of briefing paper and answer them carefully using bullet points.

Final Paragraph:

Confirm that you have complied with their instructions – “As requested my salary is £x… ” and close positively – “I look forward to meeting you at interview… “

Every individual cover letter should aim to show how you can help the employer, not about why you need the job. The employer has advertised a job vacancy because they need that position filled and they need the best candidate to fill it.
You simply need to convince them that you are that person.

If you approach writing your CV cover letter as carefully as you would approach a presentation, you won’t go far wrong.

Even if your English is very good, you are likely to have some English language concerns. Fortunately, with some simple tips & techniques, anyone can improve their business presentation in English. Below are some tips that will help you succeed:

1. Tell people what you are going to speak about

   This means people will know what to expect and will retain information better because they will be actively waiting for it.

   Try:

   ‘Today’s presentation is in 3 parts. Firstly I’m going to talk about, secondly I’m going to talk about and finally…….’

2. Keep your sentences shorter and slow down

   When giving lots of information, it is better speak more slowly than you usually do. Use shorter and less complex sentences so the information is easier to say. Short sentences are also easier for the audience to remember. Silence is also very effective. When we are nervous we tend to speak too much. Pause between points to let the audience digest information. By using regular pauses you will also appear more relaxed, confident and in control since you will not be nervously talking all the time.

3. Summarise regularly

   When you summarise, you give the audience another chance to understand the information before moving on and it is a great way to link between your last point and your next point. Use language like this:

   ‘So far we have seen that…’

   ‘So, to summarise, last year we…’

   ‘It is clear from what I’ve said so far that…’

   ‘As we have seen…’

   Then:

   Next, we’re going to focus on…

   Moving on, we will see…

   Now, let’s move on to…

4. Use great words and phrases that will make your English sound natural and professional

   Introduction:

   ‘On behalf of Webstar, I’d like to welcome you to today…’

   ‘Good morning everyone. I’m Howard Brent and today’s presentation is about…’

   For charts and figures, consider the present perfect tense which we use to describe how things have changed until the present time:

   ‘Sales have grown by 10% since 1995′

   ‘There has been no change in temperature for 5 years.

   Conclusion.

   ‘To conclude’

   ‘It’s clear that…’

   ‘To finish, it’s apparent that…’

   ‘If no-one has any further questions, that concludes my presentation. Thank you for listening.’

5. Practice with a native English teacher

   This is very valuable because a teacher can give you help with the tips here – but also your intonation, pronunciation and language. Think about how much more confident you will be if you have worked on your presentation with a personal tutor first. Ensure your English teacher has some business training or experience so they are not just helping you with your English but understand the key elements of a business presentation and can guide you with your style and content and structure. This way you will know you have a great presentation and will excel in front of an audience.

   A good presentation in English is easy to achieve with a bit of preparation and practice. Good luck!

So, one day your boss comes to you and gives you a glowing review on your new idea. But there is only one catch, you have to present it to the board or the group at the convention. The fear and panic starts to grip you and the speech is still three weeks away. Don’t worry. I will give you some tips on how to over come that.

I too, hated to speak in public, but after doing some improvisation classes and stand-up over several years I learned to relax. Unlike these, most of you will have a guideline of topics to discuss and will not have to make things up on the spot.

YOU ARE THE MAN (or WOMAN)
Remember that the boss or someone loved your idea or proposal enough to ask you to speak. They WANT to hear what you have to say. So take comfort in that fact first.

BEATS or THE OUTLINE
Just like you did when presenting the information or sales pitch, outline the information. Like in sketch writing, you put down the beats of a scene. These are the bullet points and the go to spot if you lose your place. That’s what most comedians do. The joke or idea of the joke(set-up) is what launches them into the comedy bit. The rest is from memory on the topic.

The same goes true for any speech. The most boring of all speeches are ones that are rehearsed to death. After the first few minutes most people in the room start to think about dinner, if the hotel has pay per view movies, or any number of things OTHER than the information you are trying to provide.

You know this stuff!

MAKING IT INTERESTING
The first words from your mouth after the clapping (there’s always clapping after an introduction) should be “Thank you.”

I know you have heard it a thousand times — Start with a joke.
Well, that is true but it doesn’t mean any old joke. Never, never start your presentation with anything along the lines of two “whatevers” walk into a bar or “knock, knock”. What most people mean by a joke is an anecdote about you, the job, or the place you are speaking.
For example: If the location is less than be desired, comment on how cheap the company is. “Wow, the Days Inn off the expressway, I guess the homeless shelter was booked.”

The reason for any joke or witty comment is to connect with the audience immediately. The things you are thinking, or were thinking when you were them, are also running through their minds now. Use that knowledge to come up with an amusing connection.

If you want a sure fire opener, here you go:
“Thank you, thank you very much. I know we all want to get back to (work, the pool, the open bar, whatever) so I’ll make this brief. Smart Technology and it’s Future [replace with your topic] (then pause for effect.). Thank you, good night.”

Witty topics that might help:
-The length of your speech: “Hope everyone has plenty of food and drinks in front of them before I begin”
-The company or organization: All the employees have similar complaints about the company (be careful of joking yourself out of a job) These are the same type jokes as “What’s with airline food?”
-Your speech giving ability: “The last time I was in front of an audience I was an oak tree and six. So, this should go well.”

You just released the tension in the room with a laugh and hopefully the tension in you. Now get on with it. Be informative with some energy. The crowd feeds off the energy you exude. Think about the difference between a golf announcer and a hockey announcer. They both are presenting a sporting event but their tone and energy matches the play. Yours should match the presentation. Don’t go all crazy if you are introducing a line of caskets. But be enthusiastic about what you are presenting and the crowd will be too.

QUESTIONS
During your presentation the use of questions can help keep you moving. Not from the audience so much, more from what the audience might ask. Almost like autopilot, we can expound upon a topic with enthusiasm and unwavering communication when we know the answer all too well.

KEEP IT SHORT
The best thing to do when preparing is to practice the presentation a few times. Don’t over rehearse. You want to seem very natural in your delivery. Time it as you run over it. There is a happy median between too short and too long. If it feels way too long and you are even boring yourself, cut it back. Just hit the interesting and important information. This also leaves them wanting more.

CONCLUSION
Wrap it up with a small summary (bullet points). Then close with another little witty remark like:”I hope you all enjoyed your nap.”

I hope this helped and gave you an idea of how to over come some of the issues most people face when they have to speak in public. Remember to have fun as much as you can. If you want additional help please feel free to contact me and we can work something out.