Entries tagged with "content" | Benjamin Ball Associates

Benjamin Ball Associates – Presentation Training Experts » Entries tagged with "content"

Essential Tip for Better Conference Talks November 17th, 2011 | Add a Comment

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

How to Create a Great Investor Presentation June 6th, 2011 | Add a Comment

With an investor pitch, the right preparation is critical. A set of carefully developed stages to get the pitch and the team ready will make your life easier and will make it more likely that the right impression is made. In one page we have summarised one practical and simple approach you can use in preparing for a pitch. This process will also have the benefit of saving you time. 1. Do not even think …
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Filed under: Featured, Investor Presentations

Top Tips: Preparing for a Presentation May 26th, 2011 | Add a Comment

If you have a presentation coming up, here is a step-by-step guide to make your life easier. This summarises many of the points that arise when we work with our clients to develop confident and effective presentations. You will save yourself a huge amount of time by following this planning process: Do NOT open PowerPoint Be clear on who your audience is and what you want to achieve. For example, you might be addressing just 10 people in an audience of 1000; or you might want everyone in the room to change their behaviour slightly. The more tightly you define your objective, the greater your chance of success. The better you understand your audience, their fears, concerns and desires, the more focused you will be. Have a single message that summarises your talk – boil …
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Filed under: Featured, General Presentations, HR, Learning and Development

The Problem with PowerPoint presentations September 13th, 2010 | Add a Comment

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

Pitching for new business – where to start? May 26th, 2010 | Add a Comment

We spend a lot of time helping clients pitch for new business. This can be business from new clients or from existing clients. Interestingly, many people make the same basic mistake when pitching. The maddening thing is, this mistake is obvious. What is this obvious pitching mistake and why do people make it? The big mistake is talking about yourself too much. For example, if I have invited you to pitch for a bit of business, the last thing I want to hear are your other big clients and the awards you have won. I want to hear about me, my problem and what you are going to do to fix it. Yet, we see this pitch-winning mistake over and over. Our theory is that poor pitch presentations happen because people are …
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Filed under: Pitching Success

A new ebook on pricing February 3rd, 2010 | Add a Comment

This new book is not only beautiful to look at, it has some useful insights into pricing. Have a look at Fixed to Flexible by Todd Sattersten. In particular he gives some examples from the book publishing industry which seems to be learning from what their colleagues in the movie business have been doing for a long time – differential pricing based on time and format. Ben …
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Filed under: Uncategorized

How NOT to Prepare a Presentation February 2nd, 2010 | Add a Comment

This what most people do to prepare presentations: Switch on their computer Open up PowerPoint Search out other presentations given recently Start making changes to PowerPoint slides Print out the first batch of slides Scribble all over them Re-edit these slides Keep on at the slides until late at night Work at it over the weekend Give it to a colleague to look at Incorporate those comments Work until late at night again Rehearse in the taxi on the way to the meeting Start with “Hello, my name is John Smith and I am here today to talk about…..” This process is akin to making a movie by going out with a camera hoping to find interesting things to film. It is why so many presentations are deathly boring. Get in touch to learn a much better way of preparing a compelling persuasive presentation …
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Filed under: Featured, General Presentations

The hard bit is making your presentation easy January 3rd, 2010 | Add a Comment

Making your presentation simple We all get tied up in the detail. We can’t see the wood for the trees. Your job as a presenter is to make it easy for the audience. Keep working at your talk, your presention - the single big idea, until it is clear, simple and concise. Only when you can write the big idea of your talk in one sentence are you ready to start preparing the rest of it. The good news is people remember very little about any talk – typically they recall 3-4 ideas, not more. Therefore, don’t try and introduce too many concepts – make it simple and make it clear. When we train people at Benjamin Ball Associates for effective presentations, we often use the 30 second summary test The 30 second summary test You will …
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Filed under: Featured, General Presentations, Investor Presentations

Facts are forgotten, stories get repeated December 31st, 2009 | Add a Comment

We all love stories, we tend to dislike lists of facts. Whatever your presentation subject, turn it into a story. Stories are powerful because the human mind works through stories, and enables us to relate things together. Try structuring the driest facts you know into a story and you will see how they can come alive and become memorable. One exercise Benjamin Ball Associates regularly uses in presentation training is to collect a list of ten or so random items (eg Chocolate, a bus, 52%, The Pope, etc ) and then challenge my client to put them together into a story. Usually the story can be remembered with surprising accuracy, no matter how bizarre. …
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Filed under: General Presentations, Investor Presentations

The “So What ?” Test December 30th, 2009 | Add a Comment

When putting your talk or presentation together, and deciding what to include and what to leave out, always use the “So What?” test. For everything you plan to say, ask yourself “So What?” ie why is this included in the presentation. If you don’t have a compelling answer, then leave it out. Don’t be afraid of having too short a talk. Most audiences would prefer a shorter rather than a longer presentation. …
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Filed under: General Presentations

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