oiltemp.info

Imagine this: you’ve spend hours preparing the right words and the perfect power point. You’ve sacrificed sleep to memorize and practice removing the ahs and ums.

The big day comes. You begin and less than 3 minutes into the presentation, one of the executive attendees interrupts you with, “What’s the bottom line?” Another executive chimes in with, “Skip to your best slide.”

Now what do you do? You can’t think of anything to say now that your perfect order was interrupted. How do you handle this situation–or avoid it from happening in the first place?

The most exceptional presentations happen when you are present. Focusing on your memorized content means ignoring your audience. Follow these 5 simple steps to avoid this disconnect in the future.

Start with an intro that gives the audience the bottom line within 90 seconds. For example, “by the end of this presentation, you will know… “

Talk to the audience instead of the PowerPoint. Yes, your audience is reading the slide when you first put it up. That’s alright. Give them time to read it. Read in your head along with them. When you want to speak–face your audience. Make eye contact. You are the presentation; the PowerPoint is only an aid.

Prepare 2 presentations: overview and detail. If you can ask ahead of time what the audience prefers, then that’s even better. If you can’t, then start with an overview presentation, and let them ask you for the detail. If you haven’t got the detail to the level you are being asked, then say, “I prepared an overview due to time limits, and I’ll be happy to speak with you offline to cover more detail.”

Prepare for their questions instead of yours. Most presenters know if the audience will have hostile questions, if someone will play devil’s advocate, if most of the group will be afraid to ask questions, etc. Think about what the audience really wants to know. If you get no questions, say, “A question I’m often asked is… “

Watch your audience for body language. You know you’ve got them if the phones aren’t in hand, they are making eye contact, etc. You know you’re losing them if they start to shift in their seats, pick up their phones to check email, etc. Watch, and comment directly. If you’re losing them, say, “I get the feeling this isn’t the exact information you were looking for. Is there another approach I should be taking?”

Bottom line, being present with your audience means you’re having a conversation with them, not reciting or reading a power point.

Are you on the hunt for Christmas gifts already? What, it’s too early to get your gifts…think again. It pays to shop now to take the stress out of the Christmas period. It also means things could be cheaper and easier to get. Christmas is a time notorious for running out of hot toys and consequently prices get inflated out of proportion for the must have toy or toys of the year. If you are looking for Christmas presents for 5 year old girls or girls around that age here are a few ideas to get you going.

Calico critters have been a popular toy for girls around 5 years of age for a few years now. You might have heard of them as Sylvanian families. Well they have been re-branded as Calico Critters. Don’t ask me why this has been done but they still look as cute as ever and tend to melt the hearts of little girls.

Calico Critters are 6 inch toy figurines of a whole range of woodland animals. They almost look like Beatrix Potter type characters – you know – Rabbits, Badgers, Door mice and various creatures like that.

They all have families, so there will be a father and mother Rabbit and various sibling bunnies of various ages. Girls love this family aspect of the toy because it gives them an outlet to express their nurturing side. And the toys are ever so cute.

You can also get all sorts of accessories to make the critters even more adorable. The townhouse or townhome (as they like to call it in Cloverleaf Corners) is predicted to be a popular seller this year. It is a complete home for one or more Calico critters families. And the details of the house are exquisite.

The V Reader Animated E book system is a toy that girls learning to read will really cherish. The V Reader is made by Vtech that specialize in educational toys. It makes reading and spelling and learning new words more interesting and fun.

Basically you put in a cartridge and the story starts. A narrator tells the story and the animated screen changes as the story goes along. Under the animation, the words that are being used are displayed and each word is highlighted when it is spoken by the narrator.

Children can stop and have the word repeated. They can even highlight the word to get more information, like a definition on the word. There are also various word and spelling games that can be played with the V Reader. Girls love to read and this will be a constant companion as they develop the skills to start reading proper books.

Buying presents for your Dad is always a daunting task. Even starting your shopping early doesn’t always mean that you’ll hit the mark with the perfect present. As each year passes whether it’s a birthday gift, a Christmas present or a gift for Father’s Day each and every year it seems trying to find a gift for dad always takes the longest time. Even with all that time and effort you can still end up with a gift that doesn’t get opened or used and that is a pity.

Your Dad probably has the money to buy himself whatever he wants so how do you compete with that? Well the key is to try and find something that he will love that he probably wouldn’t buy for himself. Maybe he would consider it foolish to buy himself the latest MP3 player because he wouldn’t think that he could figure it out, but if you take the time to really get to understand his personality, you’ll be certain to get him a gift that will put a smile on his face and give him a new perspective on the world! Since everyone’s father is different and has different things that they are interested in, the way to ensure you get him something he will love is to get to understand and learn about the things that your father likes and appreciates.

Let’s get started. First of all give yourself time. Chat with him in a subtle way about what he likes to do. What hobbies is he interested in or is there something he has always thought about doing that he never had the time or nerve to take up?

Depending on his circumstances and age he may be starting to think more about his health and looking at a gift that would keep him active would be an excellent idea. Hobbies such as fishing, golf, hunting, etc are all great as they give your dad a pleasurable activity whilst getting them outdoors and active. What bit of kit does he need if he wants to get started in a new hobby or is there something new he has been thinking about buying but doesn’t feel he deserves it? If you can track this down and get it to him on that special day he will get a great kick out of it and give him the start he may be looking for to get involved in a new sport or pastime.

Sometime Dads just want to have fun. Many are “Big Kids” that haven’t grown up and again may feel a bit silly buying themselves a video game or games console but would secretly love someone to get one for them so they have the “excuse” to play it.

DVD and Music box sets from their era are also a great idea. What music did they enjoy in their teens? Did they grow up in the Sixties listening to The Doors or were they a big Led Zeppelin fan in their heyday? Why not give me a flavour of their youth like Kevin Spacey in American Beauty maybe they have forgotten the things they once loved. Your gift could trigger those amazing memories once again and give them that feel good factor they just may need.

Get to know and connect with the man who brought you up and loves you. Buying a special gift that has meaning shows you care and have taken the time to understand what is important to him.