Sunday 3 February 2008

Communication BLUNDERS could cost millions£££££

Today's comment is based on listing to presentations recently that were littered with Ahms, Ahms and other inappropriate revelations.

Situation 1
A few weeks ago, I was part of an audience where one of the main Speakers used the first minute of his presentation to comment on the time limitation he faced, so he did not begin to deliver his message until after a minute of excuses.

TIP: Remember, when you have the floor, always give your audience the reason for your presentation and share the content, NOT the excuses for why you’ll be unable to ‘tell it all’.

Situation 2
Listening to a speaker who delivers a laboured speech, made up of rambling sentences, littered with Ahms and spoken in a rather quiet voice. Are these signs of nervousness or poor planning and preparation?

TIP: Be upbeat and energised in your delivery not laboured. If at a loss for words, use the pause to take a deep breath and give your audience time to catch up with you. Try to do this at the end of the sentence, rather than having a series of incomplete sentences.

Situation 3
Another Speaker I saw used power point slides that had up to 17 lines of text on slides. This was in addition to two graphic images and the header and footer. Very cluttered!

TIP: Power point slides should not be used to share your notes with your audience. They should be used to add emphasis, provide clarity and support your spoken message.

Can you recall similar communication blunders? Then share these and your suggestions for improvement.

Best,
Veronica

www.executive-solutions.co.uk