Powerful Presentation Skills Indepth.

What's your greatest fear?

For most people any form of public speaking really is a fearful, nail biting experience and that fear has a name: glossophobia. It's a big name for a big fear - it's the UK's number one phobia! So if you don't relish the thought of leaping to your feet to speak to an audience take comfort in the fact that you are not alone.

In today's business world the ability to present effectively is an essential skill. You understand that - whilst on the one hand - great speakers are highly revered and respected - on the other - a poor presenter can be viewed as an utter plonker thus losing all respect and not a little credibility.

But what many people don't realise is that presenting is a skill rather than a gift and that means even a total novice, once they understand the "tricks of the trade," can develop the skill.

On your Powerful Presentations course you'll learn from your two course leaders how to speak with confidence and you'll be following in the footsteps of 1,643 presenters they have already trained. You'll discover valuable new tricks and proven techniques that guarantee you'll deliver memorable, attention grabbing presentations. We work hard to ensure that you'll really enjoy the experience so that on leaving the course you'll be looking forward to the next presentation you have to deliver. Really!

So how can you achieve that in just two days?

The most effective way to improve a skill is to practise. That's why the Powerful Presentations course has been developed to give you the opportunity to deliver two presentations and to get honest, one to one coaching and written feedback

To make the most of your time on the course you'll need to do some planning and preparation beforehand. Sorry about that. But don't worry; a few weeks before you will receive all you need to know in "The Guide to Powerful Presentations"®. Following the step-by-step instructions contained in "The Guide" you'll put together two 20-minute presentations ready for delivering on the course. That means over the two-day event you can concentrate on developing the skills and learning how to speak with confidence.

In case you're wondering, the course starts at 9:00am and finishes at 5:00pm each day. So what will you find in "The Guide" to help you?

Where to start
You will discover how to start the whole process of planning your presentations. If you are dreading something it can be tempting to put it out of your mind and try to blag your way through on the day. However, a well-prepared presentation is much more likely to be interesting and successful. "The Guide" describes a methodology that will ensure that you deliver the right message in the right way.

You'll also learn how to avoid those aspects of presenting that can cause the biggest, most embarrassing disasters.

Writing the presentation
With the planning done, "The Guide" now takes you through a foolproof structure that works time and time again and truly speeds up the whole process of writing a presentation.

With two presentations planned and prepared beforehand, on the course we can demonstrate the key techniques and share with you key speakers' secrets, and you can concentrate on practising the skills.

On the course

The course is a finely honed, carefully balanced event with input from not one, but two professional speakers and the opportunity for you to practise your skills by delivering your two presentations to your fellow delegates. You'll be one of only eight delegates so you'll receive a great deal of personal attention and coaching.

On both mornings of the course you will learn the "tricks of the trade" and in the afternoon have the opportunity to put them into practise.

Here's what you'll cover:

Making it memorable
If your audience immediately forgets you and your presentation then it has all been a complete and utter waste of time. But you know that's usually just what happens. An audience starts forgetting what you told them within minutes and after just 24 hours remembers only 20% of what they heard. The scoundrels.

You will find out how to make your presentation one that is remembered … not just for minutes or hours but for months, possibly even years, and all without having to make a complete twit of yourself.

Talking of memory (yes we were) we'll help you create and use prompts to ensure that you remember all that you want to say during your presentation.

Avoiding "death by bullet point" or "PowerPoint poisoning"
PowerPoint is one of the key tools used by many presenters to hypnotise their audience and send them to sleep. Bullet points fly in to totally inappropriate sound effects and the screen is soon full with great blocks of text which they insist on reading out word for word whilst treating everyone to a view of the back of their head. They haven't grasped the fact that Visual Aids are supposed to be VISUAL (the clue's in the name) and that they're to aid the audience's understanding.

You will leave us able to confidently design visual aids that do just that and able to effectively use flip charts, overhead projectors and PowerPoint. You'll learn some sneaky presenter's tips that will amaze your audiences!

Tense? Nervous? Presentation?
When we ask our delegates how they feel about presenting 91.75% say, "bloody nervous." Feeling fully prepared is very reassuring and goes a long way to reducing nerves, however, on the day of your presentation, your nerves are likely to be at their peak. When you feel nervous, your body releases stress hormones, including adrenaline that prepares you for quick reactions and a "fight or flight" response - useful when under attack - not so helpful for public speaking. While a little bit of adrenaline can give your performance added sparkle, too much and you are likely to panic, freeze or spill your drink down your front. To help chill out you'll learn some great relaxation tips.

Personal Impact
When you sign a letter the tool you use is a pen. When you present you use your voice and indeed the rest of your body. Using the full range of your voice, gaining variety of pitch, tone and pace is just one way of commanding your audience's attention. We'll show you how to move, use gesture (appropriate gestures) and how to keep your audience on the edge of their seat and wanting to hear more from you.

Managing the audience
The most important people to consider are those in your audience. You will leave with strategies for dealing with any issues that might arise and also for handling the question and answer session of your presentation in a professional manner. We'll also show you some moves you can use in the most extreme of situations.

Practice. Practice. Practice.
In the afternoon of each day you'll have about an hour to revisit and put the final polish on your presentation. You'll then deliver your presentation to your fellow delegates. You will be video recorded and after the applause has died away you will go to a private room with one of the two trainers to view the video, discuss the presentation and receive a personal coaching session focussed on your key strengths and areas for attention.

We always run with two trainers so, whilst you are enjoying your coaching, the next speaker will be under way. During the afternoon you will also get to see your fellow delegates' presentations - in itself a great learning experience.

Not surprisingly on the second day you'll see great improvements in the quality of presentations and this is a great source of reassurance in the tools and techniques.

When we ask our delegates what they want from us, 93.65% say, "Confidence". And most leave the Powerful Presentations course feeling much more confident about presenting.

Not goodbye, but au revoir

You will leave your course with "The Guide to Powerful Presentations"® to use when you plan and put together all your future presentations.

But the support continues well after the course has finished. You'll receive the offer of future support by e-mail, phone or internet so if you need help putting together an important presentation such as a conference address or sales pitch you can tap into our knowledge and expertise.

But we're confident that on leaving the course you will have the knowledge to enable you to give effective business presentations and to speak with confidence. We promise that if you follow the valuable new tricks you have discovered and put into practise the proven techniques you have learned you'll be able to deliver memorable attention grabbing presentations.