Listening to a speaker can be very tiring because our minds are distracted quickly due to a low concentration span, attending a presentation is a format we know and this familiarity keeps us less alert and taking in new information can drain our energy. Therefore to know how to grasp and hold the audience’s attention is vital to get your message across. How can you as a speaker make it easier for your audience and yourself?

One tool is by creating a dynamic set-up and a clear structure. This will: help you to stay focused on the message, give your audience a framework to follow your story with ease, support your personal and your audience’s objectives.

Using the ‘MY IDEAS’ model offers an easy to apply tool to develop clear, dynamic and focused presentations. This model covers the following steps:

1. M- Mind the audience;

2. Y- Your goal;

3. I- Inform;

4. D- Demonstrate;

5. E- Exchange;

6. A- Attention;

7. S- Summarise

1. M = Mind the audience. Start with the audience in mind: what are their expectations? Ask yourself:
“What will the audience have learned/observed/experienced after my presentation?” e.g. the use of 5 new tools to find new clients; “Who will benefit from my information?” e.g. international sales people;
“Why is the session important?” e.g. to identify more clients in less time; “Will this be new to them?” e.g. the tools not but the applications are.

Write your speech with the answers to these questions in mind.

2. Y = Your goal. Decide where you want to go, the goal of your presentation, start to ask yourself what you would like to achieve with your presentation: “What is it that I would like my audience to take away from my session?” e.g. knowing that I am an expert in international sales & marketing; “What is my number one central idea or outcome?” e.g My tools save time and money; “What will they have experienced, learned, heard?” e.g. How to use existing tools with my unique application methods; “When do I know that my goal has been achieved?” e.g. on my feedback form the satisfaction can be measured and when I will be referred to other clients or when they will buy my book after the presentation.

3. I = Inform. Throughout the presentation you will inform the audience and you will share details on yourself, your company, products, strategy, research cases etc. Instead of giving a long informative introductions on the sections in your presentation, try to alternate with the following elements.

4. D = Demonstrate. Demonstrating what you described in your informational parts is powerful. It will turn the abstract into something tangible. Show the audience what you speak about by demonstrating the product in the session, by showing the internet sources live on the screen, by hands-on computer study cases if possible, by showing pictures etc.

Demonstration is powerful, engaging the audience is a much stronger tool.

5. E = Exchange. When you speak to an audience, the room is full of knowledgeable people, acknowledge that expertise. Ask the audience questions: “how many of you use tool X?”, “how many of you have been working in sales more than 5 years?”, “Who found an alternative solution to this problem?”. Sometimes you can get this information beforehand, if not, use it to connect with the audience. Ask them to share with one neighbor e.g. what tools they use themselves and to share one problem with that tool. These little ‘exchange moments’ will give you a break as well to drink some water, check your notes, write down some thoughts.

Then you need to draw the audience’s attention back to your presentation.

6. A = Attention. Invite the audience to focus on the next part in your presentation and to share what they learned e.g. “I would like to ask two persons to share your experience what happened during the conversation, what did you learn from each other?”. Giving attention is important to give the audience the feeling they contribute. Thank the persons for sharing, say that these conversations can be continued during the break (networking) and continue by getting the audience to focus on you again by e.g. “Now that I covered my list of tools, let’s talk about my new application method”. You will have them waiting in anticipation with renewed energy.

7. S = Summarise tips. Implement short summaries of your tips and findings throughout your presentation. This will re-enforce your suggestions and ideas and reminds the audience where you are in your presentation. Also include the ideas you received from your audience. At the end mention your number one idea again e.g. “It was my wish to give you sales tools and new application methods. I hope these 5 alternative ideas will save you time finding new clients in the future”.

Alternating between these parts will create a lively presentation. There is no need to strictly follow the MY IDEAS order. Be creative: you can start your presentation by asking a question “Discuss with your neighbor the main bottleneck in your field” (Exchange). And then you continue with “Let’s talk about my tips to resolve these problems” (Inform).

Using the above described ‘MY IDEAS model’ will give you structure and a dynamic set-up for your next presentation. Let me know how you are getting on and if you need any help.

Any kind of negotiation needs appealing skills. To negotiate debt settlements with the creditors one has to be up to date with his arrears, interest and principal amount. So, gather all the information for liability payment from the card organisation, chart out the stats and have the information on the tips of your finger to appeal to the creditors and negotiate debt settlements.

Write down the negotiation in the form of a letter, though conversations are always better. Talk to the creditors on phone and be appealing leaving a good first impression. Do not rely on verbal agreement, they are insecure and cannot be counted upon. Have the agreements on paper with clear drawn out ideas. Do not show the eagerness to negotiate debt settlement early in stage.

Keep a track of all the investments, expenses done. Cut down on the habitual spending; assess the rate of interest and any fees that have to be paid on the regular agenda to negotiate debt settlements. Maintain equilibrium between the amount of money at hand and the arrear amount to be paid.

Pay the liabilities intelligently, have priorities, pay off the arrears with higher rate of interest giving them more attention than the amount with lower rate as they might stack up to a huge amount in the future. Use the money at hand wisely keeping future in mind. Few of the debit negotiating companies place trust on the borrowers by collecting a minimal amount of fee monthly on a condition that the borrower will pay the arrear amount in full on a future date mentioned in the agreement.

Hire a professional negotiator if affordable and put forth a proposal of repayment of liability in front of the creditors clearly charted out. Initially, one would face rejection but then the most appealing ones are always opted for. Ask for any schemes available in the organisation to negotiate debt settlements, include the same (if any) in the charted out plan. Show the creditors if opting for any loans, take help from different funding organisations or any financial sources and make sure borrowing from them is not adding up to more arrears.

Finally keep the words said, commit to the negotiation done. Check for the genuineness of the lending organisation, if they are following to the agreed requisites. Follow the agreed terms, keep up with them for future financial security.

When you negotiate, do you fear compromise? Do you know the best way to compromise in a negotiation?

Too many times, negotiators lose deals either because they don’t compromise, or they don’t know how to do so in the right way. Read this article and you’re sure to pick up some tips as to how to compromise in your negotiations.

Test Compromise Request:
Negotiation Tip: When you’re asked to make a compromise, first question the intent of the request; you really need to know why it’s being made. If you believe it stems from greed, physically display contemplation. Then ask why you’re being asked for the compromise. In so doing, you’ll gain insight into the mental thought process of the other negotiator, which will allow you to make assumptions about his future request (i.e. you can prepare for them). If you feel the compromise is unwarranted, deny it, give a reason if that’s appropriate, and move on. If you do grant it, find out what else might be associated with the request before doing so. You don’t want to make one compromise after another, not knowing when the requests will end.

Compromise Slowly:
When compromising, do so slowly. First, by doing so, you slow the pace of the negotiation. Second, you display non-verbally, that you’re ‘weighing’ the perspectives of your contemplation. In essence, you’re sending the signal that you’re not being flippant per the request and you’re giving it the thought process so do. By not compromising quickly you also send the signal that the other negotiator should be cautious about making too many requests.

Leave Room for Compromise:
When making compromises, consider alternatives to what’s being asked for and the impact that such will have on the negotiation. Just because the other negotiator ask for ‘x’ doesn’t mean he really wants it. He may be testing you to see what he can get from you. If that’s the case, in some situations you may want to make the concession (compromise) as a setup to a request you dearly wish him to grant you. In such situations, use compromises statically. Regardless, don’t be haphazard with them and always leave room for compromise.

Never Fear Asking:
When it comes to seeking more of what you want in a negotiation, don’t fear asking for it. Some negotiators feel, if they ask for too much, they might lose what they’ve already received. That can be true, but if you preference your request with humility, you can take the potential sting out of your request. The way to do so might be saying something like, ‘I appreciate getting to the point of where we are, might you be able to give ‘x’ to slightly improve the deal?’ If you make your request in this manner very few negotiators would assess you as being belligerent.

Fear not when it comes to compromising during a negotiation. There are a myriad of ways to position your request such that you gain more by doing so, while leaving the other negotiator in a positive frame of mind. Implement the thoughts above during your negotiations and more of your requests will be granted… and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!