Want to Have a Great Presentation? Tell a Story!

In the business world, so many of us are required to give presentations and engage our audiences. There is usually a lot of information to present, and we are left wondering how we can connect with our audience and leave a lasting impression. How do we make our presentations memorable? After all, there is nothing more boring than someone showing us charts and spitting out numbers and percentages.

While there are obviously important facts that are mandatory, remember that a presentation is really a way to “talk” to your audience and let them become a part of your message. What better way to do that than to tell a story?

So, how do you do create a story that makes your audience truly interested in what you have to say and want to hear more?

Your story must be relevant and fit your audience.
Telling just any story won’t make a great presentation. You need to make sure that your story is relevant to your topic and fits your audience. You want to the audience to respond with an “oh!” or “ahhh”, or be surprised in a way that really gets their attention.

Your story must have a point.
You want to build the story right into our presentation framework so that it is something they can relate to and makes practical sense. The point of the story must be clear. Rather than just spitting out numbers and charts, make it realistic and fun. The story puts everything together so that all of those numbers and all of the information make sense.

Make your audience laugh.
If your story is funny, that’s even better. Sometimes, you might want to relate something that actually happened to you that was funny and relevant to your project. Let them see the human side of you. This keeps the audience engaged and interested.

Always tell a story about a person and an experience they had.
Your story can be a success story, a failure, a humorous story, or something personal. You may even want your story to have a lesson for others to learn. If your story doesn’t have a personal message, then it won’t hit home with your audience. They should reflect on how the story affected someone and how it relates to the topic.

It’s not enough just to present information in a presentation, as it tends to make it dry and dull. Spicing it up with a story or two that are relevant to your topic, teaching a lesson and saying something funny all help to engage your audience and keep them asking for more. Your presentation is a way to deliver a message in the most interesting way possible so that your audience walks away with a smile on their face, actually remembering what you said and the important information and practical ways to apply it.

Polite Business Negotiations

Business negotiations are a fact of life for most professionals. But there’s a world of difference between smart negotiation tactics and manipulative ploys.

Many people mistakenly put too much energy into manipulating others to get what they want instead of strategizing to conduct a mutually respectful negotiation. We’ve all seen these manipulative ploys – behaviors designed to throw the other negotiator off-guard so he inadvertently agrees to things while emotionally unnerved. These include maneuvers such as deferring decisions to a higher authority to buy time, asking for more at the end of the negotiation, artificially raising one’s voice to challenge a stated price, or pitting offers against those of fictitious competitors.

The ethical negotiator resists these shortcuts, and instead uses a professional and methodical approach. Here are nine tips to help you succeed as a savvy, ethical negotiator:

o Plan your strategy. Know ahead of time what you want, what you think you’ll get, and what your “walk away” position is. During the planning phase, set your aspirations as high as possible and find out as much as you can about the other negotiator. Ask yourself, “What will they likely open with or ask for during the meeting?”

o List your “bargaining currencies.” Compile a list of items you may use to bargain with during the negotiation in order to move the discussion in a favorable direction. Currencies can include the timing of a final transaction, the support and service required, or the number of units you will take. The longer your list, the stronger your starting position.

o Research the other negotiator. Find out as much as possible about the other party beforehand. Is he/she a forceful negotiator? Does he/she have time constraints on the project? Is his/her company solidly in place or is it one that is still building a reputation? If you know the other negotiator’s style you will be able to modify how you typically communicate in a way that flexes more in the other person’s direction, thus improving rapport.

o Create a positive climate. Your goal when face-to-face with your negotiator is to be conversational, relational, and energetic. Body language should communicate receptivity and a willingness to listen to the other person’s point of view.

o Bring an agenda both parties can use. This action will subtly give you control over the meeting. Get agreement from your fellow negotiator. Saying something like, “Does this include everything we need to discuss?” will ensure that you are both at the same starting point. If the other negotiator challenges the content of the agenda, this will be the first part f the negotiation you must tackle.

o Neutrally obtain information. Ask open-ended questions to gain as much information as possible during the negotiation. At this stage, remain as nonjudgmental as possible. For example, acknowledge everything but agree to little. During this phase focus on uncovering the importance of various factors to your opponent. If you know what the other person values and in what order, you will be a better negotiator.

o State positions. You and your fellow negotiator must state your respective positions, which often means talking price. Always get the other person to talk dollars first, because it generally gives you a stronger position. Remember, unless both of you clearly know the other’s starting position, subsequent negotiation will be fruitless.

o Bargain methodically. Remember that giving and getting concessions is part of the process. For every concession you give, make sure you receive one in return. Because most concessions occur at the end of a negotiation, retain as many of them as long as possible so you can trade at the very end.

o Agree in writing. You should write a contract as soon as possible outlining agreements. If the final legal document will take some time, at least get a co-signed letter of agreement while you await detailed paperwork.

Exporting an OpenOffice Impress Presentation

You are able to export the OpenOffice Impress presentation into the different file formats that include HTML, PDF and also Flash. The process will take a few seconds in order to complete and will also produce the professional looking presentation in the file format that you need. Here is more information for you.

For the first step that you should do is that you have to open the OpenOffice Impress presentation that you want to export to another application. In doing this, you need to make sure that the presentation will be finished before you are exporting it. The changes may not be made to an exported file.

For the second step, you should select the “File” menu and then choose the “Export” to open the the “Export” dialog box. It is where you need to choose the file and then select how you need to export the Impress presentation.

After that, choose to where you need to export the presentation, you can do this by browsing the files that use the “Save in” drop-down menu.

For the next step, click on the “File format” drop-down menu in choosing what the type of file format that you want to export the Impress presentation.

Then, name the exported presentation, do this by using the keyboard to type the name in the “File name” text box Use the mouse in order to click the “Save button” in bringing up the corresponding dialog based on the file format that you are exporting the presentation to.

For the last step, follow the on-screen wizard in order to finish the exporting process for the Impress presentation.