Tag: tips

 
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Public Speaking Dilemma: What To Do When You Don't Have Enough Time

Do you have a standard hour-length presentation, but your host can only spare a half hour? Are you in the middle of a presentation when you realize that, due to a late start or abundant questions, you are running out of time?

No matter what your topic, always be flexible and ready to cut short your session (or ready to lengthen, as the case may be). Here are some ways to make sure your presentation always fits the time slot.

<b>Pointer #1: Use a timed outline</b>

When you create your presentation outline, include time estimates next to each section (I like to add mine in red to make them easier to spot on the page).

A brief, one-page bulleted outline (or two pages double-sided) will be easier to time than a long, rambling novel written in paragraphs.

Practice your presentation and jot down time estimates as you go (two minutes for opening, five minutes for section I, seven minutes for section II, etc.) When you get to the end, add up all the time and determine whether you should add to or subtract from any sections to make it all fit into the allotted time slot.

If you have to edit severely to fit into a different time frame and your presentation will be adversely affected, you might want to develop separate self-contained presentations for short, medium and long time slots.

(If you are a PowerPoint user, see the book “Beyond Bullet Points” for instruction on creating a PowerPoint that serves different timing needs.)

<b>Pointer #2: Shift information depending on its priority</b>

If you notice that you are running out of time while in the middle of a presentation, you may have to shift some of your content around. If you have important points at the end of the presentation, now is the time to bring them forward. As soon as you notice the time crunch, start changing the order of your sections.

When creating and practicing your presentation, it’s always a good idea to think ahead about how you would handle this situation. The layout of your bulleted outline should make it easy to see which sections to leave out, move up or move down.

If you have to leave out something that you feel is important, gather business cards from the audience and offer to e-mail them additional content.

<b>Pointer #3: Supplement with handouts</b>

There’s usually some information that we want to share, but that we don’t necessarily want to include in our live presentation. You might have some relevant articles to supplement your workshop, or you might have charts and graphs that you didn’t have time for or the technology to project.

Use handouts wisely. If the material does not need to be reviewed during your presentation, then leave handouts at the back of the room for the audience to pick up on the way out. If you choose to put them on seats before you begin, be aware that your audience may spend half the time reading and not listening to you.

Your handouts should always include your contact information and a link to your website, if you have one. Make sure all resources and references are clear and easy to read; use graphics if appropriate and leave a lot of white space on the page. Don’t overload handouts with text; make them concise and relevant to your presentation. Otherwise, they will end up in the recycling bin!

Follow these suggestions, and you will always be prepared, no matter how much (or little) time you have.

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The Deepest Secrets To E-books

The deepest Secrets behind e-books finally revealed. If you want to know how they make it, you’ll definitely need to know what they’re doing.

So what is ebook really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about ebook–info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you.

Ebooks are part of the new frontier of cyberspace. They are an entirely new medium for sharing marketing information, ideas, techniques, and expert knowledge.

Each day the number of people accessing the Internet grows, causing the exposure of your ebook to increase incrementally. It’s obvious why electronic self-publishing has become so popular so quickly.

The publishing industry, I hope, does not intend to forever banish the printed word to the dustbin of history. Books in print have their own special qualities and merits, and the world would be diminished by their disappearance.

Having said that, let’s look at what makes ebooks so important and so unique. Ebooks have certain abilities and qualities that other mediums do not possess.

For example, ebooks are fairly easy to produce, and their production cost is inexpensive. Just think about it: you don’t need a publisher, an agent, a printing press, offset film, ink, paper, or even a distributor. You just need a great concept, the ability to write it or to hire a writer, and the right software.

Additionally, ebooks are easily and rapidly distributed online. They are also easily updated; they do not require a second print run. All you need is to go into your original creation and modify the text or graphics. Because of this flexibility, ebooks can change and grow as fast as you can type.

Ebooks are also immediately obtainable. You don’t have to go to a bookstore or search through endless titles at an online bookstore. All you have to do is download it from a website, and presto! It’s on your computer, ready to be read.

Ebooks are interactive. This is one of the most unique and specific qualities that ebooks offer. You can add surveys that need to be filled out, order forms for customers to purchase your products or goods, sound and video that draw your reader into the virtual world of your ebook, even direct links to relevant sites that will expand your ebook outward.

The potential is virtually limitless.

Ebooks have a particular kind of permanence that other mediums do not possess. Television shows and radio shows air once, and then may rerun a few times. Ebooks remain on your computer for as long as your choose, and they can be read and reread whenever you choose to. They can even be printed out and stored on the
shelves of your traditional home library.

Another wonderful quality is that ebooks have no barriers in terms of publishing. You don’t need to go
through the endless process of submitting your manuscript over and over again, and then once you land an agent, having the agent submit your manuscript over and over again. Nor do you have to shell out thousands of dollars for printing a self-published book.

All ebooks require is a writer and appropriate software. Figure out your market, write your book, post it on
your website, and with the right business savvy, your audience will come to you.

The best time to learn about ebook is before you’re in the thick of things. Wise readers will keep reading to earn some valuable ebook experience while it’s still free.

Finally, you have creative control over your ebook. You don?t have to compromise with an editor or the publishing trends of the time. You don’t have to haggle with a designer or wait for copyedited galleys to arrive by snail mail. You are in complete control of the design and the text.

How to Use ebooks for Marketing and Promotion:

There are innumerable ways to use ebooks to promote your business and drive quality traffic to your website. Once posted on your site, you can turn them into a daily course, which brings your customer back to read the next chapter.

You can use them as a free gift for making a purchase or for filling out a survey. Put your ebook on a disc, and you will have an innovative brochure. Blow your competition away by inserting the disc into your sales packages.

The most effective marketing products are those that are unique. Copyright your ebook, and immediately, you
have a powerful tool that you, and you alone, can offer to the public. People will have to visit your site to acquire your ebook, which increases the flow of quality traffic and the potential of sales and affiliate contacts.

Make sure that you keep your ebook current. Update it frequently as the market and trends change. Add new advice and techniques to show your prospects how your goods or services can enrich their lives. By constantly keeping abreast of new trends and techniques, you can continue to see profits from your ebook for years after your original creation.

Another phenomenal advantage of ebooks is that you can test their marketing potential without putting out hardly any cash at all. You can even produce an ebook one copy at a time, each time you receive an order, eliminating the need for storage and inventory. By this method, you can gauge the saleablity of your ebook, and make adjustments as necessary until the orders start pouring in.

Ebooks allow you to learn about your market and customer habits and motivation over a period of time, without risking your precious financial resources. They also provide you with an invaluable way to gather marketing information, which you can use in many different facets of your business.

Use your ebook to discover what the specific goals and problems are in your specific industry. Then figure out how to solve these problems, and publish an ebook with this invaluable information. This will increase the value of your business, upgrade your reputation, and get you known as an expert in your field.

You can extend the value of single ebook by breaking the book down into chapters for a serial course, into special reports available on your website, or into audio or visual tapes. Ebooks can be broken down into several different promotional materials by excepting some of the articles and using them to promote your
product.

You can include a catalog in your ebook to promote all the products or services you sell. You can include a thank-you note for reading your book and an invitation to download a trial version of your product. Or you can include a form for your audience to contact you for further information or with questions, thereby building your business relationships and your mailing list.

Using ebooks in this manner helps to cut the cost of individually producing separate promotional materials. You can use a single ebook to entice new prospects and to sell new products to your current customers.

No other medium has this kind of flexibility and ability for expansion. Think of your ebook like a spider spinning a beautiful and intricate web. Now go and create that web, and see how many customers and prospects you can catch!

The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you’ll be glad you took the time to learn more about ebook.

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