The Marketing Plan Handbook

by Wood, Marian Burk

• ISBN13: 9780130351326
• ISBN10: 0130351326
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

This concise, practical book is written for you if you need to give professional presentations. bull; bull;If giving a presentation makes you nervous, how can you relax? bull;How can you enhance your credibility before, during, and after your presentation? bull;How can you design slides to highlight key data and hold your audience's interest? bull;How can you improve your nonverbal image (gestures, voice, stance, and so forth? bull;How can you make sure your audience remembers the main points of your presentation? bull;How can you become a more persuasive presenter? Like all the books in the Prentice Hall Guides to Advanced Business Communications series, this book is . . . bull; bull;Brief: summarizes key ideas only bull;Practical: offers clear, straightforward tools you can use bull;Reader-friendly: provides easy-to-skim format

Table of Contents

PART I PRESENTATION STRATEGY
Analyzing Your Audience	5	(8)
Who are they?	6	(2)
What do they know and expect?	8	(2)
What do they feel?	10	(3)
Identifying Your Intent	13	(8)
Set your objective and interaction level	14	(3)
Choose the appropriate medium	17	(4)
Making Your Message Memorable	21	(16)
Emphasize key ideas	22	(5)
Be persuasive	27	(10)
PART II PRESENTATION IMPLEMENTATION
Structuring Your Presentation	37	(16)
Research and organize your content	38	(5)
Decide what to say	43	(10)
Designing Your Visual Aids	53	(30)
Select your equipment	54	(6)
Compose your message titles	60	(3)
Choose your chart design	63	(7)
Ensure consistency	70	(4)
Strive for simplicity and readability	74	(9)
Refining Your Nonverbal Delivery	83	(1)
Analyze your nonverbal skills	84	(9)
Enhance your nonverbal delivery	93	(5)
Manage your nervous symptoms	98

Excerpts

HOW THIS BOOK CAN HELP YOU If you have a specific question about presentations, turn to the relevant part of this book for guidance. For example: You're anxious about an upcoming presentation. How can you calm yourself down? You think you did a decent job on your presentation, but you're not sure if it will get the desired results. How can you come up with a presentation objective that focuses your efforts and enables you to measure your results? Your boss seemed to totally miss the point of your last presentation. How can you aim your message so that it reaches your boss? How can you make sure your key points don't get lost? You're giving a sales presentation. How can you be certain the audience will understand the benefits of your recommendation? What strategies can you use to get them to say "yes"? You're presenting to an unknown audience. What sort of first impression will you make? How can you enhance your credibility? Audience members appear to be confused, frustrated, or sleepy as they look to your computer-generated slide show. How can you design slides that broadcast your message, highlight key data, and hold the interest of the group? Someone in the audience seems to be attacking you. How can you handle a hostile audience member or hostile questions? You do a fine job discussing your ideas when you are sitting down at a meeting, but as soon as you have to stand up in front of a group, you feel awkward. What should you do with your hands and feet in formal situations and in less formal ones? If you don't have a specific question, but need general guidelines, procedures, and techniques, read through this entire book. For example: You want a framework for thinking strategically about presentations. You want to know more about the step-by-step process of creating a presentation, from collecting information and asking questions to rehearsing and delivering your talk. You want a procedure to use the next time you have to create slides or other visual aids. If you are taking a professional course, a college course, a workshop, or a seminar, use this book as a reference. You may be a skilled presenter already, but we hope you will find information in this book that will help you polish your skills. WHO CAN USE THIS BOOK This book was written for you if you need to make presentations in a business, government, or academic setting--that is, if you need to present yourself and your ideas to achieve results. You may already know these facts: Public speaking is the # 1 fear in the United States.Many people avoid giving presentations or simply suffer through them. Understanding how to prepare and practice can make presentations far less troubling. Your success is based on communication.Studies have linked career advancement with the ability to communicate. Your presentation skills are particularly noticeable--by your boss, your co-workers, your clients, and others. Presenting today is more challenging than in the past.Recent trends such as increased globalization and new presentation technologies make designing and delivering presentations more challenging than ever. WHY THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN The thousands of participants in various professional presentation courses and workshops we have taught--between the two of us, at Columbia, Dartmouth's Tuck, NYU's Stern, and Stanford business schools, as well as at hundreds of companies and organizations--tell us they want a brief summary of presentation techniques. Such busy professionals have found other books on this subject too long or too remedial for their needs. That's why Prentice Hall is publishing this series, the Prentice Hall Guides to Advanced Communication-brief, practical, reader-friendly guides for people who communicate in professiona