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Its Christmas time once again, and everyone is having a shopping rush, a grocery rush, all are busy listing and preparing things for Christmas, well almost all of us waits and very much excited for this special day that is happening only once a year, so we tend to be more precise and concise with this day. Christmas is said to be the perfect day to make reconciliations, this works for almost all of us, we can’t do anything but forgive and forget during this day, heehaw.

Also this day suggest family gatherings and reunions, our relatives from different provinces and from abroad are coming home, usually the Christmas celebration is being held at our grandparents old houses, this is because most of them are not advisable to travel far and long, also this is the perfect time to see them and have some quality and quantity time with them.

As we aged our wants and needs decreases, we only want things that we usually need, and the things that we can really afford, we only rely on our personal savings, sometimes from our children’s if they have a good income and from our pensions, if we are hard working and saved a lot from during our younger years then we will not have that big problem with money when we are old.

Our grandparents usually are the ones who are giving us presents during our birthdays, when we excel in our academics and during Christmas, but it is also nice that we as their grandchildren would give something in return to them, maybe not that expensive but what matter is the intention and the tough of the gift you give. Here are some of the perfect Christmas gifts you can do and give them.

1: you can give them a Christmas cards, you can make them or you can also buy some, all you need to do is write your dedications or something that you want to say to them like thank you and I’m sorry, stuff like that, it’s simple but it means a lot.

2: you can give them a large or Big Scarf, it will be very useful for them as they can use it during cold and hot days.

3: You can also give them nice footwear, something that has a soft sole, easy to wear and comfortable.

4: you can give them a nice soft blanket, as elders usually have a decreased tolerance to cold.

5: you can give them a pain of pyjamas, blouse and polo, it will be the perfect sleeping attire for them

6: you can also give them a commode, diapers, this will be a lot of help for them they will no longer be tired of going to the Comfort room at night.

Something that cannot be bought, and is very much important, give them all you love, care, comfort and attention not only on this day but for as long as they are here with us. Loving and serving them is like serving and loving our own parents, and it is much pleasing top God’s eyes.

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.