Presenting new services in social media – Porto.

Social Networks & Media – Coimbra.

Golden Social Media Trio – Maia – Portugal

Ignite Event – Porto – Portugal

Marketing Conference – Porto – Portugal

Social Media Workshop – Porto – Portugal

Hotels 2.0 – Lisbon – Portugal

INOVA GAIA – Portugal

Entrepreneur Fair – Porto – Portugal

Training social media for the young entrepreneuers in Viana do Castelo – Portugal

International Networking Week – BNI – POrtugal

At ISCAP University – PORTO

Again at ISCAP UNIVERSITY – Porto.

NET CONNECTIONS – lISBON

Social Media Day – JAPAN

Social Media Day – Manchester

I have some photos about other events held during this year, but the post is getting bigger. Well hoping to come more often to the website!

The amazing group of Portuguese JCI Trainers. Over 2 intensive days, we have outlined the major issues of any training program. Walter Labres, Ronald Govaaerts and Filipe Carrera combined forces to deliver the program and motivated everyone with an enthusiastic approach. 

At the end, the certification was done and almost getting ready launch the first step toward the Certified Local Trainer status (CLT).

Probably, my situation has cleared in my mind the importance of the voice to our daily lives. As a teacher and trainer, i was incapable of delivering lectures to my students. 

AIPTEK V10 Cinema  

3M Micro Projector

OPTOMA PICO POCKET PROJECTOR  

The University of Marc Bloch – Strasbourg was my first stop. I have the pleasure to speak for the students in Master og Marketing and Management of Sport. The feedback was excellent and i really enjoyed the moment.

A visit to the beautiful city and the desire to comeback with more time in the future. The conference was made in the University Palace – a lot of history in that city monument.

K. Loghandran was 2nd and Katherine Morrison was 3rd.

This topic came to my attention because i also face the same problems as Ric. In several training programs as well as my projects over the Toastmasters Club, i tend to speak very fast and always give a lot of content in a small margin of time. I will take this rule and put it to practice at my next training.

This basic 75% rule states that we have to prepare our speech for 75% of the total time, in order to leave the rest of time to pause, to interact with the audience and to put on a pace in an average speed. Depending on the complexitiy of the topic, you should set the appropriate pace to allow people to understand your ideas and concepts (it would be hard to define it!).   

This rule is always difficult to aplly, once every speaker faces the dramatic issue of closing it before the estimate hour to end the speech. I usually face this anxiety! What if i end up before the time is over ? Of course, as my experience is getting stronger, i can rely on my capacity to overcome these moments.

Has anyone ever faced these anxiety of a premature speech? How did you handle this situation?

On Monday, i became a Competent Communicator at my Toastmasters Club. I have reached 10 projects. Each project has its own goal. I feel even more confident since i have joined the Toastmasters. The learning by doing approach allows you to practise your speech regularly and with a real audience.

1. The Ice Breaker.
2. Organize Your Speech – Golf & Business
3. Get the the Point – My Life in Books
4. How to Say It – My 2008 Vision Board
5. Your Body Speaks – Show me who you Know!
6. Vocal Variety – Personal Marketing
7. Research Your Topic – Business Networking Websites
8. Get Comfortable with Visual Aids – Pecha Kucha
9. Persuade with Power - Car Pooling
10. Inspire Your Audience – Learn from Children

My last and most challenging project was #10. i spoke about my children and how they give us clues to become a better person. From this point on, i will approach the more advanced manuals – public relations and technical presentations.

Me and Prof. Cherubini (Director of the Masters Program)

The class of the Masters will all students.

 During the stay, i went to the main places in Rome. Of course, i had to go the St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

 A visit to the Colloseum was also mandatory. Impressive!

 and also to the Trevi Fountain. The number of people around was incredible. so many people…

In Roma, be a Roman. I was feeling a truely Italian… 

in the special website dedicated to the topic, www.brainrules.net, you can see a lot of videos with John Medina (the author of the book). Also give a close look on http://youtube.com/brainrulesbook.

Terry Gault is a Communications Trainer, Coach, and Presenter.

I think everyone in business has been in this situation: an important but overly boring presentation, which makes it hard to pay attention and absorb the information.

Here is my advice if power-point must be used:

1: Close Outlook. Close Outlook when you are showing PowerPoint slides. Otherwise, email alerts pop up.

2: Slideshow Mode

Always use the slideshow mode: it makes your slides easier to see.

3: Standing in projector beam

Always avoid standing in the projector beam, as it is distracting.

4: Bullets as hooks

Think of the bullets on your slides as hooks. By that I mean that the bullet should remind you of your talking points but also incite curiosity in your audience. Use questions, alliteration (repetition of consonants) or juxtaposition of ideas to intrigue the audience. For example:

· Why Automate Processes?

· License to Fail

· Magnet Markets

· Customers: Faithful or Fickle?

· Plan or Wing It?

· Tragedy or Triumph?

5: Use more images

Incorporate images and negative visual space. Break up all the linear text on your slides with stories, examples, images & metaphors. Otherwise, you are not engaging your audience’s right hemisphere, the brain’s center of imagination. That’s when our minds start to drift, in spite of the fact that the data may be important for us to learn and understand. Use more imagery coupled with metaphor. The image search engine that I use is image.google.com. You can save the image files you find to your hard drive and insert them into PowerPoint. Use files that are between 30 – 100K for good clarity without bloating your PowerPoint file.

6: Simplify text

Most PowerPoint slides are loaded with way too much text. Distill your slides down into simple bullet points with 4 or 6 words per bullet max. Instead, think of the bullets as hooks.

The award of the week has to be Ivan Misner’s blog. According to the blog, Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder & Chairman of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organization.

BNI was founded in 1985. The organization has over 5,000 chapters around the world. Last year alone, BNI generated 5.5 million referrals resulting in $2.2 billion dollars worth of business for its members.

The blog has great tips and ideas about business networking. It is absolutely necessary to subscribe the blog!! The insights and analysis to the importance of this powerful way to make business, will change the way you do it.

I give a couple of extra links to get you into Business Networking:

The Web’s Largest Selection of Networking Downloadables

International Networking Week

Business Networking Groups Around the World

Seminars, Training, and Coaching on Networking

Free Articles on Business Networking by one of the World’s Leading Experts

Books on Business Networking

Their target goes to the creation of a  network of confident, convincing and concise business communicators who can get their messages across to clients and colleagues either face to face or over the phone.  

The posts give great tips on many of public speaking’s  subjects, special events in presentation skills among others. Come and discuss this issues with Gavin. Check one of their last post (click here)