Transform Your Presentation Skills

Presenting seems to be an area that worries many people. It has been claimed that people fear presenting more than death. Presentations can be challenging but incredibly motivating when done successfully. So what can you do to transform your presentation skills?

Plan and prepare

You would not set out to cook a meal, take a vacation or trip or build something without planning and preparing. Presenting is no different. You need to plan and prepare thoroughly. Many people launch straight into writing. Start first by getting clear on the outcome you want for you and your audience. Start to sketch out some outlines. I have found mind maps to be extremely powerful during the design phase. Do some research about the presentation topic. You can do a search on Google, read a books or magazines, ask those that you are presenting for their input and research your audience.

Practice

You might be comfortable that you understand the topic on which you are presenting but you need to practice your presentation. By practice I mean presenting out loud. Start doing it alone, then get some colleagues or friends together who will give you honest and constructive feedback and if you can, try and do a run through in the specific venue where you will present.

Use Your Nervous Energy Positively

Just about everyone is nervous before they give a presentation and nerves are perfectly normal. You have two choices at this time. You can choose to allow the nerves to get in the way of you delivering a great presentation. Alternatively, you can use this nervous energy positively to deliver a great presentation. Doing some deep breathing just before a presentation can go a long way to transforming how you deliver your presentation.

Ask for Feedback

If you want to continually improve your presentation skills, ask for feedback. The feedback that you receive will help pinpoint areas where you are performing strongly and areas where you can be even more effective. When receiving feedback, remember not to fall into the common trap of giving all the focus to those areas where you need to be more effective. You want to make sure that you are exploiting your strengths to the maximum so that you get better and better.

Transformation does not happen overnight in any area but by following these simple steps, you can take your presentation skills to the next level.

3 Winning Ways to Immediately Win Negotiations – ID Style

When you negotiate, do you assess the other negotiator’s style? Do you even take the styles by which others negotiate into consideration? Are you affable during your negotiations or stern? The image you project prior to and during a negotiation has an impact on the flow and outcome of it. Thus, (Negotiation Tip) prior to entering into a negotiation, you should assess the other negotiator’s demeanor, negotiation style, and any additional insight you can glean about him. This allows you to prepare more efficiently, based on those variables.

This article highlights 3 styles of negotiators and how to best interact with them.

. Personality Types and Styles of Negotiators

Personality type is a major factor in the style one uses to negotiate. Good negotiators know how to use different styles to affect the behavior they seek. To increase your chances of winning more negotiations, observe the following 3 styles, and determine which style you should use to enhance your position.

. I Win, You Lose: (Dogged and determined)

When negotiating with this style of negotiator, be on alert. If you’re affable and accommodating, this negotiator may take advantage of you. To assure that from happening, position yourself as a similar style of negotiator. Don’t show weakness in any form. When making concessions, make him work for them. Remember, you don’t want to be perceived as a pushover. You should also balance your rigidness against any displays of compromise he shows. Again be cautious. This may be a ploy to gain insight into how you might respond to such a tactic.

. Go Along to Get Along: (Affable)

With this negotiator, you can be a little at ease during the negotiation. This person wants to do what’s necessary to negotiate affably and will do so as long as she feels you’re reciprocating. To convey that impression, be pleasant, somewhat charming, and compassionate. You can even attempt to ‘take the lead’ in the negotiation and see how she responds. If her actions (i.e. the way she responds to your offers/counter offers) are amenable, continue down that path. Just be cautious not to ask for more than you really want. To do so could cause her to stiffen and become more rigid.

. Don’t Take Advantage Of Me: (Timid, unsure of himself)

Negotiating with this style of negotiator can be almost as difficult as negotiating with the ‘I win, you lose’ negotiator. The reason being, this negotiator is not sure of himself and may display signs of inconsistency, simply because he’s afraid of being taken advantage of. As such, even when making an offer/counter offer that is beneficial to him, you need to display sincerity through your nonverbal communication (e.g. smiling when appropriate, using a softer tonality, using open gestures with your hands, etc.)

It goes without saying that you won’t be able to win every negotiation. If you give consideration to altering your negotiation approach and style, based on the style of the other negotiator, you’ll be better positioned to succeed in getting what you want from the negotiation… and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

Learning the Art and Skill of Real Estate Negotiations

No skill better commands a higher gain than the art of negotiating. Whether you’re a real estate investor, lawyer, businessman, teacher or housewife even, negotiations are an integral part of living and are most definitely keys to success. Talk to a range of successful individuals and you’ll see that, for the most part, they have mastered the negotiating skill and can usually work things in their favor.

Not all people know how to negotiate but this skill can be learned by the person who has the willingness to study it. Coupled with the drive to succeed and a zest for learning, the individual who wishes to expand his horizons can open his doors to very fruitful real estate negotiations and deals that can change his life for the better. Not everyone is easy to deal with; hence, the art of negotiating will always come in handy as a person walks through the journey of life.

The art of negotiating is more complex than it seems. A successful negotiation is one wherein both parties can actually gain something of value. When one party loses while the other one wins, then the wrong negotiating tactics must have been employed. Good deals should always benefit both parties, as there may come a point in time when the person you’re dealing with, can greatly help you in the future.

Take the case of a real estate investor who wishes to sell a property and a buyer who is looking for a house to live in. This investor would most probably want to sell the house at a high price while the buyer would want quality and value for money. A give and take scenario will make both parties win in this situation. The real estate investor can command a high price if the house he is selling is in tip-top shape and in superb condition. The investor profits from the deal while the buyer gets the house of his dreams.

While negotiations are much more evident in real estate and business deals, they are unconsciously done every day. You do it when you’re haggling for the best deal on a second-hand car. You also do it when you’re having a job interview and want to be paid well for your expertise. It is a MUST-HAVE skill that people should learn. When done well, negotiating can translate into profits and a truly comfortable life.

Some individuals learn how to negotiate the right way when exposed to people from all walks of life. A career that allows a person to meet plenty of people greatly helps improve one’s negotiating strategies as well as readings good books and attending seminars about it. Online seminars are fantastic ways to learn the skill as these e-courses can be studied at a person’s own time and pace. There are plenty of resources in which one can learn the art of negotiating on the internet and all it takes is a considerable amount of time and dedication.

Even if you try to avoid it, negotiations are the real deal in getting what you want and providing a good future for your family. Once you learn the art of negotiating, it is a skill that you’ll always have for the rest of your life. It most certainly gives you a better advantage in whatever situation you’re in.