Communication and Presentation Skills WHY ARE COMMUNICATION AND - PDF document

Communication and Presentation Skills WHY ARE COMMUNICATION AND PRESENTATION SKILLS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE? In today’s information -centred economy, the ability to impart information, transmit knowledge, brief others and persuade them to take required actions is one of the most crucial business skills for any manager or professional. To be able to present with authority, yet in a friendly and motivational manner is not easy. A sense of warmth, ease and naturalness we see in some professional presenters on TV is a quality some lucky and charismatic people posses. Others have to work hard to achieve it. But, it can be mastered through training and practice. This Course will do just that. It will remove fears and scepticism - even people who hate to present and speak in public will love this seminar! There is no need to be terrified! The participants will learn how to face any audience with the calm and confidence of a true professional, while delivering powerful presentations that get results. COURSE OBJECTIVES Participants will learn how to:  Write an effective speech or presentation  Speak effortlessly to any size group of listeners  Project a winning image  Influence others using powerful presentation skills  Be more confident by overcoming fear and nervousness  Sell their ideas or their business to clients or management  Persuade their listeners to take action and accept ideas and proposals At this seminar participants will:  Learn powerful communication strategies and tactics  Practice communication skills and tactics through case-studies, games and role-plays  Receive feedback on their communication skills and style  Gain skills to successfully prepare audience profiles to assist them in targeting key messages  Practice presentation skills through short and medium-length presentations  Learn how to plan, design and deliver powerful presentations  Discover strategies for handling questions & answers sessions  Evaluate each other’s presentations and receive feedback on their own presentation skills By becoming competent communicators and presenters, participants will:  Present a unified and congruent message, consistent with your company ’s values, integrity and image  Differentiate themselves and their organisation from competitors  Successfully pitch for business and win contracts  Improve your corporate communication, internal, as well as external  Enhance their career and promotional prospects

WHY IS THIS COURSE SUPERIOR TO OTHER COMMUNICATION AND PRESENTATION COURSES?  The aim of this outcome-oriented seminar is not just to deliver a professional presentation, but to win contracts, close the sale, convince, persuade and influence  The emphasis is not on the technology used, but on psychology, communication (bonding, rapport) and synergy between speakers and their audience.  Various modes of learning are used - visual, auditory and kinaesthetic.  To maximize learning and enable constructive self-assessment and feedback by others, participants will be video-taped during their presentations.  After each presentation there will be a structured self-assessment and an evaluation session with help of video analysis. Throughout the process, constructive help and guidance will be offered by the course director.  Other participants will also comment on each presenter’s performance and evaluate the quality of visuals, voice, body language, explanation of the topic, questions handling ability and all other important presentation aspects.  Some presentations will be "impromptu presentations", with only a minimal or no preparation, while for others participants will have to prepare before the seminar. For longer and group presentations participants will prepare together during the course.  Participants are welcome to bring with them overhead transparencies or presentation software and presentation files (should they wish to use a personal computer and a multimedia projector). All details, instructions and requirements will be supplied beforehand and there will be a plenty of time to prepare.  Each participant will get a DVD disc with all his/her presentations to take home, as a valuable reminder of their performance and a memento to remind them of this course and Kuwait Fund . COURSE PROGRAM: COURSE INTRODUCTION  Survey: Communication and presentation issues that are most important to you  Personal introductions - about yourself and your expectations COMMUNICATION STYLES  Levels of communication: Politeness, Opinions, Facts, Feelings, Atypical experiences, Intimacy  Psychogeometrics: 4 personality styles (triangle, square, circle, wiggle) - Which one are you?  How different personalities communicate  EVALUATION: What is your dominant communication style? Find out!  What are the characteristics of an effective communicator?  The differences between male and female communicating styles  VIDEO: Gender and communication - she talks, he talks  CASE STUDY: The story of unhappy supervisors VERBAL COMMUNICATION  3 types of people, how to recognise them and how to communicate with them: auditory, visual, kinesthetic  The foundations of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION (BODY LANGUAGE)  PROXEMICS - Use of personal and interpersonal space

 Reading and interpreting gestures, expressions, and mannerisms  How to spot the signs of deception and dishonesty!  Mirroring – a simple but powerful rapport-building strategy LISTENING SKILLS  Why is communication difficult?  Avoiding 5 common listening mistakes  What is NOT Listening  The use of SILENCE as a tool of communication PROBING - THE ART OF ASKING SMART QUESTIONS  5 functions of questions  How to ask powerful questions  Probing questions (barometric)  7 ways people use to avoid answering questions  How to eliminate assumptions that work against your interests!  Learn the most powerful question of all!  VIDEO: Level with me – honest communication COMMUNICATION ACROSS CULTURES  COMMUNICATION cultures and differences – American vs. European vs. Asian style  High context versus low context communication cultures  Formal versus informal communication style  Communication styles - direct or indirect  Haptics: touching (frequency, lengths, part of the body touched), handshake  High touching cultures versus low touching cultures  Some examples of cross-cultural differences in communication: Chinese and most Asian cultures, Arab and Middle Eastern cultures PREPARE FOR YOUR PRESENTATION  Know your A-U-D-I-E-N-C-E (Analysis - Understanding - Demographics - Interests -Environment - Needs - Customisation - Expectations)  Various strategies for presenting to neutral, undecided or informed audience – they are not the same!  Eliminate stage fright and deal with your anxiety  Perfect practice makes perfect presentation  Anticipate questions and practice your responses ORGANISE YOUR SPEECH OR PRESENTATION  Learn about 5 basic personality styles and structure your presentation to keep their interest

 NLP principles for successful presentations  3 types of people - visual, auditory and kinaesthetic - how to communicate with them  Five stages of every winning presentation: opening-preview-body-review-close  Organise your content: topical order, chronological order, experiential order, escalating pattern, pros and cons, cause- effect, problem-solution DELIVER YOUR TALK WITH CONFIDENCE AND STYLE  Discover your natural presenting style and how to use it to your advantage  Make powerful openers work for you - create favourable first impressions  Improve and control your posture, body language and movement  Use your voice - adjust its speed, volume and pitch for maximum impact  Learn 10 most persuasive words in English language and use them effectively  Utilise examples, stories, quotations, analogies and other "tools of the trade"  The ways of delivering your presentation: Memorised text, the manuscript speech, extemporaneous, impromptu, snatch-a-phrase HANDLE Q&A SESSIONS, DIFFICULT SITUATIONS AND PROBLEM PARTICIPANTS  Learn how to handle questions  7 ways of answering avoidance  How to keep in control of Q&A sessions  Discover secrets of dealing with four common situations: troublemakers, over-active participants, complaints/objections and lack of involvement  Quickly recover when your mind goes blank and get back on track. USE POWERFUL VISUAL AIDS  Decide on a high tech or low tech approach  Learn the four Cs of superior visuals: Clear, Correct, Concise, Considerate  Use the power of colour to your advantage  Using exhibits to illustrate your talk – the rules and mistakes to avoid  Critical DOs and DON'Ts for pictures, tables, graphs, symbols and cartoons PERSUADE AND WIN YOUR AUDIENCE OVER  The art of persuasion  Aristotle's ingredients for persuasion success: Ethos, Pathos and Logos  Learn 7 most powerful closing techniques for wining sales, contracts and business: The STAR close - The happy ending close - The bridge over troubled water close - The jigsaw-puzzle close - The funnel close - The scare close - The future-telling close  The aspects of persuasion: Information - Repetition - Participation - Motivation CONCLUSION  Review of the literature – recommendations for further reading  PLANNING EXERCISE: short term and long-term steps to be taken as a result of this workshop