Most people are troubled when they have to perform in front of a large audience. This is nothing to be ashamed of – it’s normal to have stage fright. This is something you need to work on and you’ll get addicted to the feeling you get on stage in time. But before you get there, you need to do your homework and learn about performing.
Related: First Impressions: You’ve Got 30 Seconds To Make The Right One
There are three equally important goals that your presentation needs to cover. First, a presentation should be all about new information that you want to share. Second, you need to find a way to share that information the right way, in order to increase the demand for your product. And third, your product must stand out when compared to the competition. If you follow the steps below, you’ll make a successful presentation.
1. Make a positive first impression
This is one of the few rare occasions where you don’t have time to correct the wrong first impression – you’ll have to try to do it right the first time. The key is in honesty. People won’t give you any feedback if you don’t give them a reason. Make sure that everything you say during a presentation is a reflection of your thoughts. It’s really easy for the audience to know when you’re being insincere. You need to be polite and simile genuinely. Also, a touch of classy humor won’t do you any harm.
2. Talk about legitimate information during your presentation
It’s really easy to check any unknown information today. So, if you make your audience think that you’re bending the truth to your advantage, they’ll just unlock their smartphones. Try not to give them a reason to doubt you, because you won’t be taken seriously. You could damage a whole promotional project with just one wrong sentence.
3. Connect with their life experience
If you want your audience to really pay attention to what you’re saying, you need to get inside their heads. Try to give a global example that can make most of them identify with it. It’s recommendable to do this somewhere in the beginning of the presentation and then just try to maintain their attention.
4. Interact with your audience using different methods
It’s not simple to have everyone interested, especially if you want to give a longer presentation. Make your audience feel that they’re involved. Ask them questions from time to time, even rhetorical ones will do the job – you just need to make them concentrate to what you’re trying to tell them. You should ask for feedback, but don’t push it because they may find you needy, and that won’t be good for your integrity.
5. Don’t keep it just verbal - visualization attracts attention
While you’re writing your speech, think about the moment when you’re going to interpret it to an audience. It’s desirable not to use any notes, so that you can make as much eye contact as possible. This way, you’ll make them feel important. Also, don’t try to use to much fancy words because they may consider you arrogant. Regarding your presentation, try to use visual tools. But, if you decide to make a PowerPoint presentation, try to avoid words. Keep your focus on pictures and videos so that the major part of your audience’s attention on you.
6. Make a back-up plan
Not everything will go according to the plan. Consider yourself a showman while you’re on the stage – you have to improvise. You should always expect tech problems. If that happens, you need to find a different way to keep everyone interested. Go with a learning game that’s connected to your topic – this way your audience will be entertained and you can be sure they’ll remember you later.
7. Reward your audience
Think of an award system that you could use during your presentation. For example, you could give them a quiz and reward those people who give a correct answer to your question with a promotional product, something like a key ring with your logo on it. Your promotion can only get positive reactions to gifts – everyone loves free things.
If you manage to cover all this, you did a flawless job. It may take some time to plan it, but practice makes perfect. All you need to do later is sit back and wait for results.
This post was originally published at an earlier date. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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