10 Winning Techniques for Gaining and Keeping Audience Attention
1. A Promise: Begin with a promise that keeps the audience expectant. For example, "By the end of this presentation, you will know how you can increase your sales by 50 percent!"
2. Drama: Open by telling an emotionally moving story or by describing a serious problem that involves the audience. Also, a long pause after a key statement, changes in vocal pitch and volume, and high intensity emotions (ie: anger, joy, excitement) go a long ways toward engaging the audience.
3. Eye Contact: As you begin, command attention by surveying the entire audience to take in all listeners. Take two to five seconds to make eye contact with as many people as possible.
4. Movement: Nothing is more boring than watching a mannequin behind a podium glued to the floor. Leave the lectern area whenever possible. Try moving towards your audience, especially in the beginning and end of your talk. Using deliberate movement such as walking to your left and right as transitions between key points within your lecture is also very effective in getting the audience to "follow" you.
5. Questions: Keep listeners active and involved with rhetorical questions. Ask for a show of hands to get each listener mentally engaged. The response will also give you a quick gauge of audience attention
6. Demonstrations: Include a member of the audience in a demonstration. Ask for volunteers. Not only will it give a great visual representation of what you're trying to demonstrate; by bringing audience members to the lectern area, you are more likely to grab the attention of the entire room.
7. Samples/gimmicks: If you're promoting a product, consider using items to toss out to the audience or to award as prizes to volunteer participants. You can also pass around product samples or promotional literature. Be careful, though, to maintain control
8. Visuals: Give your audience something to look at besides yourself. Use a variety of visual aids in a single session. Also, addressing audience concerns and questions on a white board or flip chart as you go along is also a great tool.
9. Dress: Enhance your credibility by dressing professionally. Since this is perhaps the first thing your audience will notice about you, dressing professionally makes it appear you know what you're talking about and goes a long ways towards getting your audience to listen to you initially.
10. Self-interest: Review your entire presentation to ensure that it meets the critical "What's-in-it-for-me" audience test. Remember that people are most interested in things that benefit them.
Joke of the Day: Ok to Swim Here?
__________________________________________________________________________________
While sports fishing off the Florida coast, a tourist capsized his boat. He could swim, but his fear of alligators kept him clinging to the overturned craft. Spotting and old beachcomber standing on the shore, the tourist shouted,"Are there any gators around here?!"
"Naw," the man hollered back, "they ain't been around for years!"
"Feeling safe, the tourist started swimming leisurely toward the shore.
About halfway there he asked the guy,"How'd you get rid of the gators?"
"We didn't do nothin'," the beachcomber said.
"The sharks got 'em."
Friday, November 26, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Dress for Success in the Interview
Dressing for Your Job Interview: A quick review of the basics, follow these guidelines for successful interview dress:
Men and Women
- Conservative two-piece business suit (solid dark blue or grey is best)
- Conservative long-sleeved shirt/blouse (white is best, pastel is next best)
- Clean, polished conservative shoes
- Well-groomed hairstyle
- Clean, trimmed fingernails
- Minimal cologne or perfume
- Empty pocketsno bulges or tinkling coins
- No gum, candy, or cigarettes
- Light briefcase or portfolio case
- No visible body piercing (nose rings, eyebrow rings, etc.) or tatoos
Men
- Necktie should be silk with a conservative pattern
- Dark shoes (black lace-ups are best)
- Dark socks (black is best)
- Get a haircut; short hair always fares best in interviews
- Fresh shave; mustaches are a possible negative, but if you must, make sure it is neat and trimmed
- No beards (unless you are interviewing for a job as a lumberjack!)
- No rings other than wedding ring or college ring
- No earrings (if you normally wear one, take it out)
Women
- Wear a suit with a jacket and skirt or slacks; no dresses
- Shoes with conservative heels
- Conservative hosiery at or near skin color (and no runs!)
- No purses, small or large; carry a briefcase instead
- If you wear nail polish, use clear or a conservative color
- Keep your makeup simple and natural (it should not be too noticeable)
- No more than one ring on each hand
- One set of earrings only
On a Budget?
This is not to say that you need to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe. Go for quality over quantity. One or two well-chosen business suits will serve you all the way to the first day on the job and beyond. Then, when you are making some money (and have a chance to see what the standard uniform is for the company), you can begin to round out your wardrobe. For now, no one will fault you for wearing the same sharp outfit each time you interview. If you desire some variety within a limited budget, you might consider varying your shirt/blouse/tie/accessories as a simple way to change your look without breaking your wallet.
The Power of Shoes!
One final note on interview dress: while it goes without saying that your interview clothes should be neat and clean, very few interviewees give the same time and attention to their shoes. Shoes? Yes, shoes. I am aware of at least one Corporate Recruiter who forms first impressions based solely (pardon the pun) on shoes. This person does not have a shoe fetishhe subjectively judges that those who pay attention to details like shoes are also likely to be diligent in their work life. And it is not just that persons opinion. Many have said that you can judge a person by their shoes. You will find that many ex–military officers (many of whom have found their way into management positions in corporate America) are especially aware of a persons shoes. It is not enough to be clean and pressed. Make sure your shoes are conservative, clean, and polished.
Joke of the Day
| Wittle Wabbit | |
| A little girl walks into a pet shop and asks in the sweetest little lisp: "Excuthe me, mithter, do you keep wittle wabbits?" And the shopkeeper gets down on his knees, so that he's on her level, and asks: "Do you want a wittle white wabby or a soft and fuwwy bwack wabby or maybe one like that cute wittle bwown wabby over there?" The little girl puts her hands on her knees, leans forward and says in a quiet voice: "I don't fink my pyfon really giveths a thit." |
source: http://www.collegegrad.com/jobsearch/Competitive-Interview-Prep/Dressing-for-Interview-Success/
Monday, November 1, 2010
4G Expanding
Clearwire 4G opens in NYC, L.A. and San Francisco on deck
Summary
Clearwire reached a milestone today with the launch of its WiMax 4G service in New York City–along with cities in New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida. Looks like it is finally time to trade in my old AT&T USBConnect 3G laptop card.
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