Internet Communications

Upper Valley Video Library

2008-07-09T15:21:00.007-04:00

Upper Valley Video Library

The Upper Valley Video Library is a great way to enhance your ability to niche-market.

Niche marketing is when you are focused on a specific topic and then become the authority on that topic. To be an authority your site or your marketing will have both depth and variety of content.

Use the Upper Valley Video Library to help in your efforts to niche market the Upper Valley!

He Wore His Best Tie but Forgot to Wear His Smile

2006-07-14T16:52:00.000-04:00

Imagine getting all dressed up for your big presentation and then standing in front of the audience with a grumpy look or a frown on your face.

Would you win the audience? I suspect not.

Furthermore, image that people comment on your nice smile but you fail to use it as part of your presentation or in your speech. If your smile is an asset then use it.

Use Your Smile!

If you use a smile when you greet your audience then you immediately set the stage in a positive light and create a comfortable atmosphere. People relate well to a smile. Your body language and facial expressions can be used in the delivery of your message or to create an atmosphere that can enable more people to be more receptive to your message.

I am a Toastmaster and Toastmasters is an organization that focuses on the teaching of public speaking I recently helped teach a Toastmasters Speech Craft course at a local business. In attendance was a woman that had a fabulous smile. She captivated the audience at the beginning of her very first speech with that wonderful smile. All the Toastmasters in attendance commented on her great smile and how it enabled her to capture the attention of the audience and relate well to the audience. If you smile and mean it then the audience will know it.

Also, a smile conveys confidence. We think that someone with a frown on their face is having a bad day. We are left to guess what might be wrong. Why put these thoughts in the heads of the people we talk with or present to. The audience will be guessing about the wrong things.

What if you could get the audience to guess about how you know so much about your presentation topic or how did you learn to present so well or what a great experience you talked about and how they could get involved. If you put these thoughts into the minds of the people in the audience then you are connecting with them in a very positive way and perhaps persuasive way. Your smile can help you to do this.

You should even smile when you talk on the telephone. Do you think that no one will notice because they cannot see you? Actually the sound of your voice is different and more upbeat and positive when you speak with a smile. Therefore, even though people cannot see that you are smiling they will still get a more upbeat and positive message if you are indeed smiling while talking with them on the telephone than if you are not. This also goes for speaking on the Internet. Smile when you speak and I assure you people will notice.

I suggest that people will remember you more and more of what you said and have a more positive image of you if you wear a smile than if you have your best or jacket on. Do not underestimate the value of a nice smile to set the tone of the conversation, speech or presentation.

People like smiles and I say give them what they like. Don’t be like the man that wore his best tie and then forgot his smile. He may have thought that no one noticed but unfortunately for him they all did.

Gary Horsman is the President of Presentations That Talk. Presentations That Talk help people to place their presentations online and then provides the technology to enable voice narration to the presentation. For more information please visit http://www.presentationsthattalk.com.

Executive Search Presentations - Better Than a Resume

2006-07-12T22:59:00.000-04:00

Image you are an executive seeking a new position and you could create a PowerPoint presentation about yourself and your accomplishments. Imagine further that you could voice narrated to this presentation using your own voice. You could add the appropriate level of emphasis and articulate your thoughts in a rehearsed and refined manner.

If you could do this then you would be playing to your strengths. Executives need to be able to use their presentation skills all the time. They must present to communicate. The must present to convince. They must present to the board or to their employees. Their voice is a well polished tool and their ability to use it is a strength that has been well developed. The ability to communicate is a matter of pride.

Today, an executive is expected to know how to use the powerful communication tools now available. Also, if an executive could distribute this well developed and perfectly presented presentation to all that needed or wanted to hear it then this executive would be fully leveraging their communication skills.

I now want to introduce you to a simple and straight-forward way to do this. The technology is called the PTT Presenter and it stands for Presentations That Talk. It starts with the creation of a PowerPoint Presentation which is then uploaded to a server and converted to streaming media. Then, by making a simple telephone call one may voice narrated to this presentation on a slide-by-slide basis.

Once the voice narration has been approved by the presenter (and multiple takes are allowed) a link to the presentation can be sent in an e-mail, or linked to from a website. It is a great way to distribute your presentation.

We All Do It but Who Does it Better?

2006-07-04T11:49:00.000-04:00

This article is about “The hook”. Newspapers do it with headlines, Television and Radio do it with the “tease” and a movie “trailer” is all about getting you to watch the movie with short scenes and teasers. A book does it with its title and then continues to do it with chapter titles. An article must do it with its title such as the one I used above.

Right before a television show breaks for a commercial that will tell you what is coming up next. They want to tease you along or hook you.

Get Their Attention

When you start the communication process you must first of all get a person’s attention. This is absolutely critical. If you do not have the attention of the audience then it does not matter what you communicate.

What is the audience concerned about?

Let’s say you are addressing a group of your employees. You are concerned about a worrying trend that relates to a losing established clients and replacing them with new ones during a time of unexpected employee turnover. What is the audience concerned about? Getting new clients? Keeping established clients? Employee retention?

This is what you could hook them with:

“I want to talk to you about who will replace you in your current position.” . . .

This will hit the nail on the head. It can suggest that they are all expendable if they do not get the job done. It can be a perfect lead into the problem with employee retention. It can start off a conversation but succession planning – important to everyone. It can be a lead into a conversation about employee development and promotion. It will certainly get everyone’s attention.

Hooks Come in Different Shapes and Sizes

There are dramatic visual hooks. I once attended a seminar on corporate communications. The consultant (about 65 years old) let us all take a break and when we came back into the room he was on the floor at the front of the room – not moving – he appeared to be unconscious. We were all alarmed and rush to see what we could do. We had all gathered around him and we tried to get him to respond and could not. He then calmly opened his eyes and asked us to be seated. He then used this example to let us know that even when we are not communicating in the traditional sense we are still communicating. He illustrated that it is actually impossible to not communicate.

This visual hook was very effective.

A humorous hook can be used but use it with caution. I do not recommend telling a joke as a hook as you never know how it will go over. A joke about mothers-in-law may not go over well with females or older women or the Japanese who show great respect to their mothers-in-laws. If you can tell a funny story about yourself then this is better but be sure it relates well to the overall point that you are making.

I once attended a meeting where the president was going to start the process of selecting a new VP of Operations. Our VP of Operations was going to retire. The VP of Operations position was vital to our corporation. At the front to the room next to the lectern was a chair and in front of the chair was a pair of shoes. The President explained to us how the process to fill the shoes of the existing VP was going to commence and he explained the objectives and the process. We all paid attention and the hook was very effective.

I once stated a speech on the corporate Japan by using the Japanese saying “The nail that sticks up will be hit down”. When I got to the word “hit” I slammed my fist on the lectern. It was an immediate attention grabber and I went on to explain how a lack of creativity is a concern and weakness within Japanese corporations.

The Hook - A Statement or Object to Get Attention

Everyone uses hooks and they best ones are memorable indeed. I remember the consultant on the floor and the empty pair of shoes even though these hooks were delivered years ago.

To see how to bring your business communications online and with voice narration visit the website of PresentationsThatTalk.com.

30 Second Communications

2006-07-04T10:42:00.000-04:00

How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds

We are all sales people. We are selling ourselves, our product or service our company or one of ideas all the time. As sales people it is vital to be able to make your point in concise terms and quickly. People judge an idea or a person on first impressions. Therefore, it only takes a few words for someone to form an impression. Often there is only time for a few words so they better be the right ones.

Why 30 Seconds?

People are busy. Strong business leaders and decision makers want to work with efficient people. People have short attention spans.

A 30-second message is an essential and basic business tool.

Think about radio and television advertisements. The basic unit is 30 seconds. They do it all the time. In news reporting the actual reporting on the event is only 30 seconds. The total time for the story will be no more than 1 minute and 30 seconds. There will be 30 seconds to set up the story, 30 seconds to make the point and 30 seconds to summarize. If the story itself cannot be compressed into 30 seconds it will not be used.

To be able to deliver your point in 30 seconds is essential and basic. You must master this to be successful.

Know Your Objective

Many people miss the opportunity to make their point simply because they do not know themselves what their objective is. Another problem is that people often have mixed objectives. Not being clear on your objective will lead to many missed or flubbed opportunities.

You must be clear on what you want to achieve.

In any situation where you want to achieve something be sure that you are clear on what you want to achieve. To be clear of your objective is the first step to making your point in 30 seconds.

You must be clear of your objective before opening your mouth or start writing.

Know Your Audience

The better you know your audience the better you will be at forming your 30 second point. If you do not know your audience then you can be significantly off the mark.

If you are vying for a promotion then who do you need to talk with? What are they like? What is important to them? Even if the interview will last far longer than 30 seconds you must be able to make your case for why it should be you in 30 seconds.

It may seem obvious but you have to communicate with the right person. This is the person that can give you what you want. Know as many facts about this person or the group as possible. Know what the audience wants from you so that you can relate strongly and identify with the audience.

Know Your Approach

The objective, audience and approach are linked together. If you clearly know your objective and know the audience then it is time to define the approach. How are you going to get there?

Let’s say that you are now in Boston and the objective is to get to LA. That statement is only a partial goal as it does not have the concept of time applied to it. If you are in Boston and need to be in LA the next day then you will have to fly. If you are in Boston and need to be in LA in 3 weeks then you have additional options.

Your approach will be determined by your objective and the audience.

Imagine you have purchased a product and now you are unsatisfied with it and the objective is to get your money back or an exchange. This is a clear objective. You must then determine who to talk to. The approach would be to state how much you respect the company and that you know that good companies, such as yours, stand behind their merchandise. This approach is simple and can be simply stated. It will also help you to stay focused.

As you think about your own 30 second message remember that it all boils down to three items.

Know what you want, know who can give it to you and know how to get it. These are the essential ingredients of every form of successful communication. A well defined 30 second message is essential to your success.

For online voice-narrated presentation support vist the website of PresentationsThatTalk.com

The Executive Got the Job!

2006-05-24T18:33:00.000-04:00

A few days ago I wrote about an executive that wanted to create a PowerPoint presentation and then to set it up online and voice narrate to it. He was set up with a PTT Presenter to do this. Visit Presentations That Talk to learn more about the PTT Presenter.

I helped (a bit) with the presentation and set up the PTT Presenter for voice narration.

The Executive did the voice narration. He rehearsed it and made couple of takes on a few slides before he was satisfied. He then sent the presentation via e-mail to the target audience.

The beauty of the Presentations That Talk system is how easy (and fast) it is to use.

This presentation was placed online and voice narrated to in a matter of minutes and special technical skill is not required. All you need is a browser and a telephone.

Visit the website of Presentations That Talk to see presentation examples and to learn more. It can be a very high-impact way to get someone's attention and to get your point across.

The Executive that just landed the CEO job thinks so.

Do You Read Out Loud?

2006-05-19T09:01:00.000-04:00

Often when you think out what you want to say for a voice narration, a speech or a verbal introduction you imagine that it will sound as good when you say it as it sounds when you think about saying it.

The lesson I have learned and it still continues to surprise me is that something that looks fine on paper may not sound as good when spoken out loud. Another point is that something written down on paper while sounding fine may be a bit difficult to say – leading to errors when spoken.

The message is to write your script and then actually say it out loud. This should be a standard part of your editing for something that will eventually be spoken.

For tips on how to put your presentations online and with voice narration and how to distribute them by e-mail, from a website or with an e-Newsletter visit the Website of Presentations That Talk at www.PresentationsThatTalk.com

Do You Ever UN-Sell Your Potential Customer?

2006-05-18T10:29:00.000-04:00

All people have to sell. We need to sell our ideas to our co-workers. We need to sell the vacation plan to the family or even where we will go out to dinner and some of us have to sell to put bread on the table.

Do you ever un-sell a potential client?

I recently interviewed someone for a job. I was over 90% certain that I would hire this person. She would have to un-sell me to not get the job. She did a rather good job of un-selling me. She told me about problems with prior bosses, she told me about a problem she had with the community and she was unclear why she had these problems. The position I wanted her to fill was customer project coordinator.

She was pleasant, presented a nice appearance and spoke well (grammar and pronunciation). During the interview she introduced negatives that I had not asked about. If she did so with the thinking that she would then tell me how she solved the problem then I could have thought of her as a problem solver - very valuable. What she did was introduce a negative that I had not asked about and then left out the solution. I felt that perhaps she was the problem. She did not get the position.

When we are responsible for selling an idea or a product or ourselves let's be sure that we do not introduce a negative that was not brought up. Something we see as a negative may not even be thought of (therefore it is probably not a concern). If we must discuss a negative then we should also have a solution or be ready to note the tradeoffs.

For example the hybrid car may not have the acceleration of an 8-cylinder but it gets 4 times the gas mileage. Moreover, if the potential customer did not raise the question of acceleration then I would not even bring it up.

Another example using the hybrid would be introducing the idea that the seats are not comfortable. If the potential customer is small I would not even bring it up. The seats will most likely be fine for small light people. If the potential client is rather big or rather tall then it is a different issue but most likely many cars will be an issue for this person and yet many will not have the gas mileage of the hybrid or be as friendly to the environment. You could say that "though the seats may not be as comfortable as in a luxury sedan, I find them comfortable and you can sit in them at half the cost of ownership and 4 times the gas mileage and know that the pollution level is a small fraction of that of a luxury sedan."

WOW!! You sold me!

Do not UN-sell someone that is talking to you about the potential acceptance of you, your idea, your product or your service. They have a want or need and think that you may have a solution. Often, there is not a perfect solution and if you believe in you, your idea, your product or your service then you should help the potential client understand and appreciate the merits just as you do.

To gain insights into how to communicate with Presentations - Online - and with Voice Narration please visit the website of Presentations That Talk!

Talking Resume Presentations

2006-05-18T09:20:00.000-04:00

Here's a new idea that I need to share with you. I took a phone call from someone yesterday that had been on the Presentations That Talk! website. The gentleman was an executive "between jobs" (as we say). He had done all the regular and typical things . . . he had polished up his resume, bought a new suit and was working with recruiters. He had a three potential positions - all at the CEO level - but one that he really wanted to nail. He loved this opportunity and he thought he was perfect for the company and for the problem/opportunity the Board wanted (needed) to address. He now needed a way to really catch the Board's attention.

This was his idea (not mine). He wanted to create a PowerPoint presentation with the following components. He wanted a Talking Resume Presentation.

1. Some biographical information explaining why he was just the right fit.
2. His suggestions/concepts on what he would do to "fix" the problem.
3. His suggestion on how he and the Board could work together to bring him into the company in the least disruptive way possible.

He had a great presentation flow already outlined and wanted help to create the presentation and script it and then he would voice narrate to it. He of course wanted to narrate it himself as one of the key values of an executive is their ability to communicate and he wanted to demonstrate this with sincerity and enthusiasm.

It is too early to tell if he will "nail" this exciting and rewarding position but his approach is different and his presentation compelling. I wish him good luck.

Consider how you could help someone land that big position or perhaps that big contract by letting them know about online voice narrated presentations. Visit the website of Presentations That Talk to see examples of Online Voice Narrated Presentations and to learn more.

To Blog. . . To Present . . . To Survey - WOW!

2006-05-17T09:19:00.000-04:00

As you know I operate the website "Presentations That Talk". This website provides the "how to" on how to set up and distribute online voice narrated presentaitons using PowerPoint as the starting point.

Now imagine using your own voice-narrated presentation in your Blog to help explain your the message. Beyond that consider setting up a survey to collect statistical feedback on the presentation.

I set up a voice narrated presentation titled "A Case for $2,000 and oz. Gold". At the end of this presentation I added a survey to understand the statistical distribution of the viewer's investment level in gold. It is interesting to see the results which I make available to all viewers that fill out the survey.

Does the statistical data indicate a continuation of the boom or that it is time for a correction? - I am surprized at the number of viewers that have actually invested some part of their portfolio in gold.

Is the data representative of the general population? - probably not.

Does the data represent the typical investor? - Hmmm?

Is the data statistically valid? - Even with only one week of data collected at the time of this writing the data is statistically valid.

Consider how you too could add a voice narrated presentation to your blog and collect statistical information on the viewers at the same time. Knowing your audiance is fundamental to moving them to the next step and the statistic feedback is thought-provoking to say the least.

To see this online voice narrated presentation on gold and to fill out the survey to see the results for yourself click on the link below.

A Case for $2,000 Gold (click here)

Here is the link to PresentationsThatTalk.com

Your Title Makes a Big Difference

2006-05-13T09:07:00.000-04:00

I recently did an experiment that was interesting and significant - very significant!

I created a single voice narrated presentation on gold investing and placed the presentation in two different places on my website (www.PresentationsThatTalk.com). In both places, one place was on the Home Page, and the second place, on the Examples Page, I duplicated the introduction for this presentation and the only difference between the two introductions was the title of the presentation.

The difference in the number of viewers viewing each "presentation"- remember the presentations are indentical - was quite significant.

The two titles were "A Hedge for Gold" and "A Case for $2,000 an oz. Gold". There was about five to one difference in favor of the title "A Case for $2,000 an oz. Gold".

Conclusion: A simple title can make a big difference.

Perhaps the fact that there was money specifically stated in the title - money has been known gets people's attention. Perhaps the word "Hedge" is a bit cryptic. Both had the word "Gold". I am not sure what the key factor (or factors) was. I do know that a title can make a difference and that it makes a great deal of sense to consider our titles well when we title an article, name a website, write an advertisement or define the name of a PTT Presenter.

If you would like to see the real world example of how I set up this experiment then please go to www.PresentationsThatTalk.com. If you want to help me understand what you think the key factor is then please write back.

Thanks

It's Easy To Present Online With Voice Narration

2006-05-11T20:52:00.000-04:00

I wanted to see just how fast I could come up with an idea, create a presentaiton and set it up online with voice narration. Therefore, I timed myself.

First, I read an article in Time Magazine about how we are in a gold bull market. This took about 5 minutes.

Next, I created an outline of the presentation using PowerPoint. I made one outline point per slide. This took about 10 minutes. I also searched the Internet for a nice image of a gold bar which Google Image Search delieved up in about 0.23 seconds.

I then rounded out the presentation and added some easy animation (simple fade in/out and some fly-in animations). This took about 15 minutes.

I was now ready to upload the presentation to the PTT Presenter online presentation system. Logging in, uploading and setting up a survey and active link to a URL from within the admin side took about 20 minutes.

The rough script took me about 10 minutes and then I practiced once to fine tune and edit it and then I dialed the telephone and 15 minutes later a fine (though simple) voice narrated presentation was ready titled "A Case for $2,000 an oz. Gold".

This was fun to do this, educational as it made me think a bit about how I wanted to present the case and what I wanted to say - this active thinking increased the educational level well beyond simply reading the article. Above all else it was fast.

When all was done and said (a bit of a reversal of a cliche) it had taken 1 hour and 15 minutes to go from concept (with no real idea) to a fully functional voice narrated presentation with an active link embeded in it and a marketing survey to boot.

For anyone interested please click on the link below to view this presentation.

http://secure.webex.com/g2.asp?id=G0F96N68

Imagine Your Presentation Online and With Your Own Voice!

2006-04-23T12:56:00.000-04:00

Now it is easy to place a presentation online and to add voice narration to it. There is exciting new technology offered by Webex that makes this easy and affordable. You can view this technology in action at the website of Presentations That Talk. This is a website dedicated to this technology and provides many useful tips and examples.

To start the process one needs to create a PowerPoint presentation. Once created this presentation can be uploaded to the secure Webex server with the click of a mouse – easy!

After a couple of minutes you will be ready to do the voice narration and this is done with the telephone. You simple have to dial a number, provide the access code via the telephone keypad and then voice narrated on a slide-by-slide basis. Again, this could not be easier.

The final step is to paste the URL (Universal Resource Locator) into your website, e-Mail or eNewsletter. The distribution is therefore also very easy.

The viewer does not need PowerPoint and in fact does not need to download anything. The PowerPoint, with the voice narration, has become a streaming media presentation – and you did not even know it!

There are fantastic technologies available today that let anyone connected to the Internet (and perhaps with a telephone) to communicate effectively by adding new dimensions to their communications repertoire. You can add impact not only with the presentation itself but also with the power of your voice.

To learn more about online presentation communications visit the website of Presentations That Talk at www.presentationsthattalk.com.

Do You Sell A Specialized Product Online?

2006-04-23T12:02:00.000-04:00

If you sell something special how to show and tell people it is special. Do you use custom images or customized PDF (Portable Document Format) documents?

A high quality custom image says a great deal about the way you think about your product. Whenever possible use high quality imagery. Use a professional photographer. Combine the high quality imagery with high quality writing and get someone to help you if you need some help.

If you are presenting something then you hope someone will be favorably impressed by your presentation. Use high quality images and use high level writing to help deliver your message. Moreover, if you make your documents available via the PDF format you accomplish many wonderful things.

You provide a format that all can view and that all will view properly. You also make a printable document available to the viewer and they can choose to print it out or not. You give them what they want only if they want it but you make it available 24-7. This is convenience. You should make you PDF with contact information and your standard branding. Never miss an opportunity to present your branding. You will also lower your cost as people only have to click their mouse to receive your document. No need to call you and have you print it and mail or fax it at your cost.

Use high quality, high-impact imagery and use PDF documents to present your special product and services.

Communicating with Images

2006-04-23T11:37:00.000-04:00

I help people set up website and help people with their presentations. I find that a key component of both of these communications tools is the imagery. A website can look real nice or rather poor just by the quality of the imagery. A presentation with lots of text or ‘bullet points” can get boring fast.

I was recently given a presentation to work on as part of a Public Relations project I am working on. The organization wants to create excitement about its service. The presentation was 16 slides. Fourteen of these were bulleted slides, one was a text slide and one was a flow chart – very boring. Many of the slide themes could have been replaced with imagery adding a great deal of color and increased impact.

Consider using high-quality imagery to make a point in a presentation or on your website. As a minimum it will make the site or presentation look better and add some excitement.

How Do You Communicate to Your Customers?

2006-04-23T10:06:00.000-04:00

The key word in the above sentence is the word customer. Now you may say that of course that is the key word – big deal. The point I want to make is that I have seen many a business do a rather poor job of communicating with their CUSTOMERS. A customer is a person or an organization (again a person) that already does business with you.

Why do you forget about them or why do you not communicate with them. Treat you customers well by communicating with them. Let them know of a new product or service that you think may benefit them. Let them know of a special offer. Give them an idea or two on a new way to use what they have already purchased from you. Let them know of new technology that can be combined with what they have already purchased from you that will make their life easier.

The short message is to communicate with you existing clients to make their lives better and you will be helping you business at the same time.