We all know that body language is important in business. But how important?
And does is really make a big difference when selling something complex like an investment in a hedge fund, private equity or venture capital?
And can you really improve how you are precieved just by changing some superficial behaviours?
The answer is definitely yes.
Professor Amy Cuddy of Harvard Business School has been studying the importance of body language and power poses on decision making.
In this 10 minute video she reviews some research into power poses and give some quick tips on how to be more successful in interviews and when pitching for investment.
In particular, note the importance of
1) Preparing in advance
2) Being enthusiastic, and not awkward
3) Using expansive body language, (without being dominant)
Call us to discuss how we can help …
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Filed under: Featured, General Presentations, Hedge Funds / Private Equity, HR, Learning and Development, Pitching Success
Are there some underlying ideas that distinguish a great presentation?
Are there things that you can learn to improve your presentations?
We have found that drawing upon research into cognitive psychology and by studying great design we can help our clients create better and more effective presentations.
Even investor pitches and annual results presentations are improved by applying some simple rules.
If you are interested in some of what inspires us, these two presentations, and one video, will give you some useful tips on how to create and deliver more effective presentations.
Brain Rules for Presenters
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Chris Atherton at TCUK09
View more presentations from Chris Atherton
…
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Filed under: Featured, General Presentations, Hedge Funds / Private Equity, Investor Presentations
In just a hour you can be cured of your ums and errs – permanently.
But why is this important? Someone who has not addressed this is limiting their career success.
If you have these verbal tics you are seen as less certain, less impressive and less competent.
And we can do this work with you over Skype.
If you want help with this, contact us at Benjamin Ball Associates on 0845 676 9766 or info@benjaminball.com.
…
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Filed under: General Presentations, HR, Learning and Development
I urge you to review this quick guide to what makes a good presentation.
Death by PowerPoint
View more presentations from Alexei Kapterev
…
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Filed under: General Presentations
We have just published new case studies highlighting some of the recent work we have done.
Blue Sky – preparing the ceo and team for important new business pitches
Olswang – building business development skills in this distinctive international law firm
Impetus – Clarifying messages and Building fundraising skills
…
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Filed under: Featured, General Presentations, Pitching Success
When you give a conference talk (or any other bit of public speaking) you want to sound impressive.
But, too many people fall into this trap: The way we speak and the way we write are very different. What looks good when written is unlikely to sound good when spoken.
So, if you prepare by writing a script, do it differently. The rule of thumb is “Speak then Write”. Say your words out loud and then capture …
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Filed under: General Presentations
There is one simple mistake repeated by too many conference speakers, especially in the financial world. We want to make sure you do not fall into the same trap.
To accompany your conference talk you may want to use visual aids. What some people do is re-use their PowerPoint slides which have worked well in their pitch books.
This is a huge mistake.
It’s the equivalent of making a movie by filming pages from a book.
IMPROVE YOUR VISUAL AIDS
If you …
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Filed under: General Presentations, HR, Learning and Development
Imagine I came to ask you for some help.
What would you think if I did not look you in the eye?
Or if I avoided your gaze?
Or if I looked down every time I said something?
What impression do you get?
We like people who can make eye contact (remember the last time you were flirting with someone?).
We trust people who can ”look you in the eye”.
We want to see people “eye-to-eye”.
When presenting or speaking in public you …
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Filed under: Featured, General Presentations, Pitching Success
If you want really effective presentations, you need to re-think how you prepare them. If you, like most people, switch to PowerPoint as soon as you hear the word ‘presentation’, then we have something to show you.
We suggest you completely re-engineer how you approach your presentations. Forget PowerPoint.
The best presentations start with a lot of thinking and a blank sheet of paper. Before you write anything, you need to:
Work out exactly who your audience is …
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Filed under: Featured, General Presentations, HR, Learning and Development
While we all want to be liked, did you realise how important being liked is for winning new business?
The Importance of Being Liked
Professor Amy Cuddy, of Harvard Business School was featured in a Harvard Magazine article. She concludes that 80% of our evaluation of people is based on both warmth AND competence. Many professionals mistakenly focus just on demonstrating competence – but this is not enough and you will lose business. Part of our pitch …
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Filed under: Featured, General Presentations, HR, Learning and Development, Investor Presentations, Pitching Success
How do you know if your next conference talk or presentation is going to impress?
To check if you are ready, use this free 10 point check list.
You can test if your talk has covered the essential planning steps needed for a great talk, and you can test if you are ready to give it. You can also use it to test your colleagues’ talks.
We can’t guarantee that using this check list will give you an …
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Filed under: Featured, General Presentations
If you are also a keen follower of TED talks then you might be interested in how they help their speakers perform so well.
Of course, part of the magic is picking the right people to talk. But even then, as any conference goer can tell you, even good speakers can have an off day – or they might not prepare enough for that particular event.
Second, there is competition. With the bar set so high, and …
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Filed under: General Presentations
Just got this email, following a CEO workshop the other day. It makes it all worthwhile to work with great people like this.
Subject: thanks soooo much
HI Ben
Just a quick note to say everyone has been talking about how unbelievably wonderful you were at our workshop on Wednesday! Notes have been coming in from the CEOs as to how useful they found your advice, and I know everyone appreciated the handout at the end.
Thank you, thank you! Brilliant, as always!
xx
Amy
…
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Filed under: Featured, General Presentations, Investor Presentations, Pitching Success
Over the years of coaching senior people with their presentations to staff, to clients, to conferences and to shareholders, we have seen the same mistakes being made again and again. (By the way, when I talk about PowerPoint here, I mean any similar software programme)
These are the mistakes that others make:
Planning with PowerPoint – When people hear the word ‘Presentation’ they often rush for their PC. Instead, they should sit and think for a bit and start planning on a blank sheet of paper.
Not being clear on what you want to say – A good presentation has a clear purpose. Make sure you can articulate your purpose clearly.
Thinking that “the Presentation” is a set of slides – As we always remind people, YOU are the presentation. …
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Filed under: Featured, General Presentations, HR, Learning and Development
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