Funny thing. One of the biggest questions in presenting is not the content, the PowerPoint or the delivery. It’s more primal: “how the heck should I start?” Learn 5 tips so you can have a strong start to your presentation.

My guess is you’ve got a big presentation looming — so without further ado, here are the five things to do to start strong!

Tip 1: Do Your Prework

Even if you are short on time, be sure to do the necessary prework to connect with your contact. In many cases someone else will be introducing you. In a hectic work schedule, getting together with your introducer is often pushed to the last minute — or doesn’t occur until you walk into the room.

To be proactive, send an email saying you’re coming to present. Give the introducer 3 key points to help him or her prepare. If you don’t have time to write, leave a brief voice mail. This alerts the person that you are on your way and will connect at the event.

Tip 2: Help Out!

Coach the person who is doing the introduction. If you have a chance, print out a copy of the introduction in advance.

Hint: one page maximum! Write it in a large, easy to read font. Emphasize key points that are specific to each audience.

This shows that you care about the success of your presentation.

Tip 3: Emphasize Tone

With or without a written introduction, take a moment to meet with your introducer. Emphasize the tone you want to create. Should the person introduce you with humor or more formally? Highlight key principles so you can guarantee a strong start for your presentation.

Tip 4: Do It Yourself

In many settings, you will introduce yourself. This requires the same kind of attention to detail that you’ve been doing when working with a contact.

Plan your introduction and specifically focus on the tone, mood, and connection to your specific audience. When you start strong and set a warm, friendly tone, your audience is much more willing to listen to the rest of your talk.

Tip 5: Be Brief

Being brief is one of the best ways to start! Instead of droning on and on about your topic or your expertise — be concise. A short and punchy opening alerts the crowd to the value of your presentation.

Practice the art of being brief by doing 3 things:

a. Write out your introduction.

Do this the old-fashioned way – with pen and paper. This helps you connect with a more conversational tone and style.

b. Practice speaking your introduction out loud.

Do any of the words sound stilted or pompous? Notice if what you have written is how you speak naturally.

c. Edit out any words that do not ‘sound the way you speak.’

Go ahead. Be ruthless. Even surgical. Eliminate any long words that are not how you naturally speak to a friend or non-expert colleague.

With these 5 tips, you can start strong and give a powerful presentation to any crowd.

Develop professional skills to give phenomenal business presentations. Start strong, tell the right story, and end strong to reach more customers and grow your business.

If you find yourself frequently delivering presentations and speeches to an audience, you might want to consider making technology your friend. Leverage on the latest technology, software and mobile applications to take your public speaking game to the next level, and look cool in the process.

Here are 3 applications that you can download and use immediately for your next presentation.

Application #1: SpeakerClock for iPhone

SpeakerClock is a practical and easy way to track the timing of your speeches and make sure you don’t go overtime. With its bright red LED digits, you can easily spot the timer even while speaking. This allows you to move around freely as the timer can be seen from a great distance. Better still, SpeakerClock uses the famous countdown clock similar to those used by TED speakers. By using this app, your timings are definitely well controlled.

Application #2: Infonet Presenter for iPhone

Infonet Presenter is an integrated presentation system and multi-purpose platform that allows speakers the luxury of displaying a buffet spread of files in a few clicks, from web content, to images, videos, podcasts, documents created by your office software, and documents sitting on your intranets. You can organize all these presentation assets in presentation folders so that during the presentation you can focus on the message, and not on technology.

Application #3: Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere allows you to engage your audience with a real-time poll. It aggregates responses from mobile phones, Twitter and web browsers. You can employ it either as a standalone polling app alongside your presentation. But if you will like to integrate it with your PowerPoint slides, all you have to do is just to download and use Poll Everywhere’s PollEv Presenter App.

Conclusion

Whether you are a busy business executive, a public speaker, or a student that delivers speeches and conducts presentations on a frequent basis, these 3 applications can help you deliver higher quality speeches. This list is non-exhaustive; there are many more software and mobile applications out there that you might find useful. Therefore, go out and explore the wonderful world of technology. The power for enhanced public speaking performance is now at your finger tips.

About The Author

“You can’t start a fire sitting down” is an old cliche that I used in graduate school to explain to the supervising professor why I taught my American history class section standing up. (I also thought to myself, “it’s harder for them to shoot a moving target.”) The professor preferred that I sit down and teach, to demonstrate more of a peer relationship with the students. At 5′ 2″ and only a few years older than the students, I thought I looked enough like a “peer” and wanted more authority – teaching while standing up helped.

I still believe that standing up while teaching and presenting is a good idea. Standing conveys confidence and authority, makes it easier to monitor the room and gauge audience reaction, helps you keep up your energy and allows you to use the full range of non-verbal communications, including gestures, posture and movement.

However, sometimes it’s not practical to stand up while presenting due to factors such as room constraints, organizational culture and the short duration of the presentation. So here are 9 tips for giving an effective presentation while seated:

1. Make Eye Contact
It’s important to make eye contact with everyone at the table. Depending on the seating configuration, it may be difficult and you may have to turn your body to make eye contact with those people seated on either side of you.

2. Speak Loudly Enough
You have to speak loudly enough so that people can understand you. And in addition to speaking over ambient noise, you also have to be mindful of making sure people on the opposite end of the table can hear you clearly, especially when you’re facing away from them to the other end.

3. Use Gestures
Yes, it is still important to use gestures when you are seated. Keep your hands empty and use them for above-the-table gestures. Try not to pick up and play with your pen, notes and water bottle.

4. Sit Confidently
Sit up straight, with shoulders back and maintain good posture as you present. Demonstrate your confidence by taking up your space at the table instead of slouching or shrinking.

5. Control Your Nerves
If you are nervous or anxious about presenting, don’t let your nerves show through your hands grasping the table or playing with a pencil. Even if you’re tapping your foot or shaking your leg under the table, the audience can see the nervousness show in the rest of your body.

6. Prepare for Distractions
A seated presentation may be considered less formal so people may think it’s okay to check email or their phones while you’re speaking. Ideally, whoever is conducting the meeting will have set up ground rules with the participants at the start, banning electronic devices of any kind during the presentations. However, if that didn’t occur and the company culture unwisely allows email/phones during meetings, then be prepared for the behavior and don’t let it shake your confidence.

7. Do You Really Need Slides?
Before you use slides, consider whether you really need them. Sometimes I think people use PowerPoint during their seated presentations only so they don’t have to make eye contact with their colleagues! Perhaps handouts would be more effective – or perhaps your presentation doesn’t need any visual aids at all.

8. Manage Questions
If you get a question, repeat it so everyone can hear it and you have a chance to think of an answer. Direct your answer to the questioner and to the whole audience, so you keep everyone’s attention.

9. Practice
Sitting at your desk and looking at your notes is not the same as sitting at a conference table and saying the words of your presentation out loud. So practice your presentation in as close to the real environment as possible.

If you follow these 9 tips, your presentation will be effective, no matter where you’re seated.

There is a myth that great speakers are born, not made. This is based on the misconception that somehow certain individuals have the innate ability to stand in front of an audience with no anxiety and give a moving, dynamic speech. The truth is, however, that great speakers generally spend years developing and practicing their art of communication. All great speakers had to learn the basics of organization, preparation, delivery and dealing with anxiety. In order to do anything well, it takes constant practice and a mastery of the basics. Speaking is no different.

One of the most important techniques you can apply to become a more confident and effective speaker is to reduce anxiety. If implemented, the following tips could help reduce your anxiety before your next presentation:

* Organize - Focus on your presentation.
* Visualize - Mentally rehearse a perfect presentation with questions and answers.
* Practice - Standing up, out loud, using visual aids.  Obtain feedback from others.
* Breathe - Sit up or stand erect, not relaxed.  Inhale deeply a number of times.
* Focus on Relaxing!
* Release Tension - Try isometric exercises.  Tighten and release your muscles.  Start with toes and end with fists.
* Move - Flex your muscles - don't lock!  Use a cordless microphone.
* Eye Contact with the Audience - Think one on one.  Connect with the audience and make yourself personable.  Use the feedback and energy you receive from your audience.

Planning your presentation is another component to becoming an effective speaker and presenter. There are essentially two steps that should be followed prior to delivering a presentation: 1) develop your objectives and 2) analyze your audience. In preparation, one must identify the values, needs and constraints of the attendees and the level of knowledge of the audience. For example, do not use slang, jargon, acronyms, or technical terms without explanation. It should also be determined in advance “what will work” and “what won’t work”. In other words, what will gain you the most favorable reaction. In order to ascertain these items in advance, you should put yourself in the shoes of the people who will be listening to your presentation.

The next phase towards improving your effective oral presentation skills is organizing your thoughts. There are a number of steps to this process:

Step #1: Brainstorm main ideas.  Use index cards or post it notes and only use one idea per card.
Step #2: State the sub points.  Ideally there should be between 2-5 sub points in your presentation.  Be specific using explanations, data and evidence to back up your points.
Step #3: State the benefits.  Specifically state the benefits before and at the end of the body of your presentation.
Step #4: Develop handouts.  Handouts should reinforce important points, summarize action items and include supporting data.
Step #5: Develop visual aids (PowerPoint slides, charts and graphs).  Visual aids should be used to focus the attention of your audience, reinforce the verbal message and to stimulate interest.  Keep in mind that effective presentations are people-centered, not media-centered.  Too many presentations rely on the media to carry the message.  While the media can certainly help, it's your interaction and rapport with the audience that makes the difference between an effective or ineffective presentation.
Step #6: Main idea preview/review sentence (i.e. Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them).
Step #7: Develop the introduction.  Get the audience to focus their attention on you, provide background information and introduce yourself - who you are and why you're qualified.
Step #8: Develop the conclusion.  Your conclusion should be persuasive like a "call to action".  Spell out what specifically they need to do, when and how.

The delivery of your presentation is another key to a successful presentation. An effective presentation should be delivered in the following sequence:

o Introduction

o Preview Sentence

o Main Ideas and Sub Ideas

o Benefits

o Review Sentence

o Conclusion

In order to come across to your audience as confident and persuasive, you should consider the way you physically deliver your points to your audience. The following are some helpful tips to help you achieve a level of confidence in delivering your presentation:

* Posture – Stand up straight, but avoid being stiff. Do not shift your weight from side to side.

* Movement – Keep yourself at least 4-8 feet from the front row – don’t pace!

* Gestures – Your presentation should be a form of animated conversation. Avoid keeping your hands in your pockets or on your hips, crossing your arms or wringing your hands.

* Eye Contact – Do not look at the back of the room or over their heads. Maintain good eye contact to build rapport, trust and confidence.

* Using your Voice – Avoid being monotone which is generally caused by anxiety. Also avoid talking too fast. When people are nervous, they sometimes trip on their words. Be cognizant of your volume. Make sure that everyone can hear you.

At the conclusion of a presentation, there is generally a question and answer session that should be prepared for in advance. To prepare for this last hurdle, you should anticipate the questions that you could potentially be asked ahead of time. The key is to prepare for the worst and rehearse your responses to such questions. The more you prepare your answers the more well versed and confident you will be. One tip you might employ during the question and answer session is to repeat the question being asked. This will give you some additional time to prepare your response. In general, we think five times faster than we speak! Whatever you do, it is important that you maintain your style. If you don’t know the answer to the question you are being asked, be honest and say that you don’t know but that you will find out. Remember to really listen to the questions, do not interrupt and make sure that you stay focused on the individual asking the question. Finally, don’t forget to thank your audience for all of their excellent questions.

If you employ these techniques, you will be on your way to becoming a more effective speaker and delivering successful presentations. For information on workshops on how you or your team can deliver more effective presentations, please feel free to contact us.

Are you and your teams giving effective PowerPoint sales presentations? Or are you guilty of putting audiences to sleep?

While sales professionals have the best intentions, poor sales presentations often stems from poor planning. It’s not that you are intentionally abusing your audience. But habits, norms and standards could be contributing to unpersuasive presentations-and equally dismal sales results.

If you even have a hunch, inkling or a gut feeling that presentation planning could be improved, you owe it to yourself to take action. Action starts with investigating the current practices for designing sales presentations.

Here are a few things to avoid in sales presentation design.

• Poorly structured stories

Killer stories are well-structured stories. If you’re noticing a rampant barrage of stories that don’t go anywhere, you have a clear problem. Your staff doesn’t understand how to build a story from the ground up.

• Multiple messages

Sadly, many PowerPoint presentations suffer from lack of clarity. You’ve seen it. Multiple messages do not focus an audience. They just produce a fuzzy blur. People aren’t sure what the point was.

• Bullet-point insanity

Showing everything in a vast ocean of bullet points is a recipe for distraction. Audiences struggle to connect with the key concepts. But they get lost in the endless onslaught of bullet points.

• Too much data

Some presenters redirect their information into different types of data charts. From pie charts to plotted lines…it can still overwhelm the audience without revealing any insights.

• Random illustrations

Seeking to balance all the bullet points, some professionals drop in photos, illustrations or cartoons at random. This might provide some visual relief…but it misses the point. Clip art is used by millions of presenters. Reusing illustrations that the audience has seen already contributes to boring presentations.

• Graphic clutter

A few presenters err on the other side of the spectrum. Graphics rule. Tons of charts, diagrams, photos, and examples for every single slide. This is different…but not an improvement.

Visual abuse throws the audience into a confusing swirl without telling a clear story.

What can you do differently to avoid alienating your audience? Transform the conversation. Use intelligent stories to structure your slides. Organize your message with pictures and words-so everyone instantly sees the point.

It’s not the fault of the software. It’s how we’re using it.

If you want to give dramatic and effective presentations with PowerPoint, use these few principles.

Transform The Story

Use a clear structure to organize your presentation story. Working with a presentation storyboard is one of the fastest ways to go from ideas to finished story. Even if you’re insanely busy and your presentation is in an hour, sketching out your essential flow will help you present with clarity and confidence.

Shift To Conversation

Tell and show your story. Make time for people to contribute ideas, share experiences and add to the discussion. While many professionals are schooled in one-directional presenting, expectations have changed.

Today’s audiences expect and demand interaction. If you’re used to presenting without encouraging participation, questions and exchanges, it’s time to stretch. Add interaction into the equation.

Add Variety

There’s nothing quite so boring as everything looking the same. If you’re in an organization that relies on PowerPoint presentations, stretch the envelope. Try different layouts. Experiment with unique ways to show information.

If everyone is using lists and bullet-points, take a different tack. Show your information with photos, pictures and diagrams.

If you have the opportunity, stretch even more. Insert a whiteboard conversation into the mix. Show a prop or model to explain ideas. Add variety within your slides…and within your entire choice of media.

Get Objective Feedback

Sometimes it’s challenging to stand out when the norms and standards are deeply entrenched. That’s when it’s smart to reach out and get objective feedback. Talk to a presentation coach. Talk to colleagues in other fields.

Find out what people are doing in other businesses, industries and organizations. The more you see what’s going on, the more you’ll recognize opportunities.

Designing effective PowerPoint sales presentations helps you stand out. The more you discover how to give exceptional presentations, the more you can expect to achieve phenomenal results.

The key to successful negotiating is what is called win-win negotiating, which means that both parties feel better off and more satisfied than they were before. The rule is that there must be a win-win situation or there is no deal. There are three purposes of entering the negotiating process.

1) All parties are satisfied.
2) All parties are committed to fulfilling their obligations.
3) All parties are willing to negotiate with each other again.

Preparation Techniques
Effective negotiating in selling begins with preparation. A very effective way to prepare is to use what’s commonly known as the Lawyer’s Method.

What’s the Lawyer’s Method? It’s simply preparing your position from the other person’s point of view. First you must outline what the other party needs and wants and what their constraints, limitations and restrictions are. Ask yourself, what does my customer ideally want to get out of this?
Then ask, what do I ideally want to get out of this?

You can also use the mindstorming method, which in this case would mean to quickly writing down 20 benefits for the other party in negotiating satisfactorily with you. Remember that the more options you have the more power you have. Know your ideal outcome and what you’re prepared to concede in advance. Don’t wing it and hope for the best. You’ll regret it later. The side that prepares more, gets more.

Rules of Negotiations
1) Everything is negotiable. Someone, somewhere set a price for a product or service and someone somewhere can change it too. One must always consider the entire package offered (service, terms, guarantees, payments, rate, etc.) and not just the price.

2) Don’t act too sophisticated. You’ll just come across as slick and untrustworthy. I remember in a book by sales trainer and author David Sandler where he proposed that the character of Columbo in the who-done-it TV series to be the ideal sales personality. Columbo, with his disheveled look, seemed as if he was incompetent, but he would end up getting suspects to say things they normally wouldn’t because he seemed so non-threatening.

3) Negotiate the price before the work starts. Never allow the other party to get away with vague comments like, “We’ll work out the details later”. This is how you end up losing deals and sometimes having to meet with lawyers.

4) Always ask for more than you want or expect. Assume that the other party has done their homework too and is expecting to negotiate.

5) Offer to meet the other party in your office or neutral surroundings.
You always feel more confident and in control in familiar territory. The other party feels more vulnerable in an unfamiliar environment.

6) Don’t become confrontational. If your customer or client is combative refuse to react in an abusive or rude manner. Resist making statements like, “I disagree with that” or “That’s unreasonable”. Instead you can say, “Do you feel that’s fair?” or “Is that something you’d go along with if you were in my shoes?” This way you put the burden on them to justify their statements.

7) Summarize all the points brought up and agreed upon. This will insure that there are no discrepancies. Then, most importantly, have all that’s agreed upon put on paper and authorized by both parties. You might say, “Let’s go over that once more to make sure we’re in agreement and then why don’t I put everything on paper.”

Congratulate them on a great deal. Always end on a good note and compliment the other party on how good of a negotiator they were.

It is a debatable topic whether anti aging products (and creams) are any good for human skin or not? Today, I am going to share with you a few facts that will help you in deciding as to whether you need to use all those anti aging and anti wrinkle products or not?

The market is literally full of these types of products. The number of brands and companies that make these products is increasing with every single day. Every time you go to your local retail store, you see lots of new products added onto the shelf. So this means that the demand is there and people are actually buying these products irrespective of the fact whether these are effective or not?

OK, if people are buying them and manufactures are making these products, then it means these products do work. I mean there is no point in saying that all these anti aging products don’t work at all. So the first thing you need to note here is that all these rejuvenating products work. If they don’t, people would have stopped buying them. However, this is not the case. These products are selling like hot cakes.

Now the question is whether it is safe and secure to use these products or not?

It depends on several factors. One thing is for sure that every single product that is available in the market doesn’t work for all the guys out there. Every cream, ointment and product has some limitations. This is due to the fact that we all have different skin textures and tones. This is the reason that manufacturers have segregated skin care products on the basis of skin types.

Not all the products are good and not all the products are bad. We have a whole lot of different brands out there, so it is not easy to compare all of them. But the thing is you have to make sure that you are on the safe side. Make sure that you don’t buy products that are made from “any” artificial preservative or something that can create problems for your skin. Now it is not easy to find out as to what is good for your skin and what’s not? For that you have to find out the ingredients and elements that are not good for human skin. It is very easy to find a potential list of all such elements and compounds. Just try finding it over internet. Make sure that the anti aging skin products that you buy don’t contain any of these elements.

Keep yourself informed – stay safe.

For most people and automobile purchasers in 2011 a vehicle – be it car, truck, SUV or van represents the second largest consumer purchaser that they will make in their lifetimes. An automobile is such a large and substantial investment due to the facts that you will be paying a good chunk of cash or total outlay in terms of monthly car credit payments on your purchase overall. True you get use and value for your money but it’s a sunk cost. Your investment in your vehicle never goes up like gold or money in the bank earning interest. It only can depreciate over time Regardless if you’re an expert who purchases several cars a year to “keep sharp” in research or negotiating skills and tactics or a rank novice out on the prowl for their first or second vehicle purchase there are tips, procedures and tactics you should be aware of and familiar with regarding the purchase of, and negotiations for your vehicle.

Firstly know your automobile well. Don’t go into the dealership or private sale “blind”. You should already have a fair range of suggestions regarding the type of automobile you need ownership of and will drive. Dozens of new automobile models are introduced and promoted each year onto the automotive marketplace. With a little bit of work and effort you should be able to narrow your choice and choices down to three or four basic brands and specific models based by yourself preferences, budget and needs. Consider the features which are of importance to your driving and transportation needs and personal preferences such as, brand, color ranges, passengers and carrying capacities, fuel rankings and efficiency, mileage ratings, trim levels and options, among others. If you know more about the specifics you want you will be able to drill down your options more rapidly. Get to the vehicle you want to negotiate for the better deal. Salespeople are like everyone else. They don’t like their time wasted. If you can get to the purchase vehicle promptly it makes it easier and less costly for all involved in the transaction. The salesperson may well be able to justify to both his manager and himself that since you were a quick deal that deal did not require a ton of time of their part, that you were a reasonable buyer to deal with – that a better deal to get you “in and out” in a flash may be the option for all.

It would help to do good research and compare models before you arrive on the auto dealer’s lot or at the private seller’s house. Don’t waste their time. Come prepared. Among the sources of information available in 2011 are browsing automobile magazines, web sites or consumer reports

When you go out to buy a new automobile it is a fact of life that you had better be prepared to negotiate. It’s a fact of life that those who negotiate get the best deals. Those who aren’t willing to enter the bartering and haggling game pay full bore retail or sometimes even more. Isn’t it better to have the cash in your pocket, wallet or bank account than theirs? In Canada and the US many people just like to go in to the store, buy the product and not haggle. Car buying many say and would like should be like going into your corner store and buying a quart of milk. Give me value and I will pay the price the price they say. Other people and car buyers it seems just love the haggling and the haggle. Yet it’s a fact of life with large purchases and capital outlays in America and Canada. Those who haggle and bargain get the best deals. Its not that you have to be offensive and overly demanding in your bargaining. Many of the who get the best deals – who pay less for premium products than most pay for entry level products simply do a good job of research. It is almost as if they keep going back asking questions. Many of these people in the end know more about the product and products than the car salespeople. In essence they would be the ones on the lot you would like to deal with and buy a vehicle from. They know their products and prices well

Know how much you can afford. Stamp your budget figure indelibly in your mind’s eye. It makes take you some time and internal or family negotiation to reach the figure. You cannot afford to get emotional with the number of vehicle. It’s like attending an auction or bidding online on eBay. Set your figure. If the potential purchase is too high and above the figure walk away. Your attitude should be that there are “plenty of other fish in the sea”. What this means is that you if you don’t get this one there will be plenty more. Again you cannot afford your ego to be involved that “you just have to have that car or truck.” Some people start with a lower stated figure then have another 10 % of say “wiggle room” to work with. It’s your choice of how you want to handle it. Regardless you have to stay within your budget grounds. That is rule number one of smart car buyers who get the best deals overall.

Before you buy a new automobile, it is a good suggestion to compare quotes from different dealers. It’s like those who seek quotes for renovations to their homes. The general rule of thumb for contractors when dealing with the trades is to seek 3 different quotes. That way you can get an estimate of the total cost and choose which one offers the best deal. Keep in mind that there is more to purchasing an automobile than the cost of the car; there’s also various fees and taxes you’ll must deal with. Some fees may be negotiable. Others are not. Some may be apparent. Others emerge only on completing the deal and paperwork. Some fees are even placed their even as negotiating ploys to give the dealer something to work down on and let the customer feel almost that they have “beat them” and little else.

Negotiate, negotiate and negotiate even more. Don’t stop.

Take the time and effort to “comparison shop”. For this reason many car dealers are now placed in “auto malls”. Auto malls make it easier to compare vehicles almost side by side… Through research, you could also save a good amount of currency in the event you know beforehand about incentives and rebates that will further slash down the cost you’ll finish up paying. For dealers it’s a better situation to have you somewhat closer on site. In days gone by once the potential buyer walked out of the door to drive across town they were gone forever. Now at least buyers who walk out of the door have a higher chance of coming back for “one more kick at the cat” so to speak.

When purchasing brand spanking new, be prepared to bargain for the best cost. Dealers are used to this, so don’t think you’re the one who will be doing it. Armed with the information regarding the automobile you need, you will be in a better position to negotiate a cost that’s fair to the dealer and affordable for you.

The question often comes up ought to you trade in and your elderly used automobile privately or trade it at the dealership as part of the deal and cash purchase plan.

Although most trade-ins will get you a lower sales price than in the event you sold the automobile by yourself, it does have some advantages. In the event you have an automobile you’d like to trade for a new automobile, ask your dealer about his best offer and then make a choice. But do this only after you’ve negotiated a fair cost for the automobile you need.

In the end remember that for most people buying or replacing a vehicle is a pleasurable experience.

Either their vehicle has become unreliable, needs expensive repairs or they do not have the luxury of personal transportation to begin with. People who buy a car arrive at the dealership without reliable transportation and leave with the luxury of new, comfortable and reliable transportation in their newly acquired car, truck or Sports Utility Vehicle. Pleasant motoring.

Marketing a product online is easier than ever. The Internet offers numerous ways to reach your target market, including blogs, social media marketing, email marketing and internet advertisements who can help with marketing a product online. It is the perfect place to start your campaign.

Internet Advertisements

Internet advertisements are one of the most costly options. However, the strategy is often the most effective. Many websites offer advertising space. If a site’s demographic is similar to your own target customer, the partnership could provide the perfect opportunity to market your product. Some websites like Facebook allow you to market through adverts and sponsored posts. You can set your target demographic on Facebook to make sure your product gets in front of the right people whenever they log in. Remember that Internet advertisements do not include your product description or other information; they simply serve the purpose of drawing potential customers to a place that does.

Provide a Point of Information

That place should be a website or blog dedicated to your company or product. This site should include a product description, pictures and a place for people to purchase your product. Product reviews or testimonials are great marketing tools to include on your website when marketing a product online. If potential customers know that others are interested in your product, they might be more inclined to make a purchase.

When marketing a product online you might also consider submitting a press release and product description to other websites and niche blogs. If you are marketing a new blender, you can contact food and drink bloggers and ask them to write up a review about your service or product.

Spread the Word

Email and social media marketing are becoming two of the most important platforms for marketing a product online. It is imperative that your company or product has a dedicated social media account. It is also important to develop a distribution list for your current customers. Both methods are great for not only drawing in new customers, but for reaching out to previous customer for repeat business.

If your product is actually a service, the key is to provide value to your potential customers when marketing a product online. If you’re trying to push your counseling services, an e-book is perfect for reaching potential customers. On your website, offer a free downloadable e-book on parenting or other related issues. Readers will value you as an expert and come to you for further guidance. Free workout videos or meal plans might be a suitable online marketing tool for someone trying to promote personal training or nutrition services.

There are several different methods to marketing a new product online; however, the goal is always the same. You want to find unique ways to capture the attention of your target market. Once you have their attention, you are in the perfect position to make a sell. Market your new product effectively online and start making money.

In your negotiations, reading body language accurately will give you a huge advantage. So, what body language gestures should you observe to gain that advantage?

This article answers that question and allows you to enhance your negotiation efforts.

Create Foundation to Accurately Read Body Language:
Since everyone’s body language can differ from others, you need to know how the person with whom your negotiating will act in a given situation. To assess this, observe how that individual acts/reacts in what’s normal for her; do this when the person is in a nonthreatening environment. Note her hand gestures, eye movement, word selection/usage, tone of speech, and general disposition. From this observation you’ll be able to compare her future displays and determine to what degree she may or may not be enamored with your offer.

Hand Gestures:
Hand gestures can give great insight into someone’s mind. To gain that perspective, observe if someone pulls their hands towards them when they’re speaking, compared to pushing their hands away. Pulling their hands towards them indicates something they want, versus moving their hands away, indicating something they don’t want.

Movement of eyes:
The movement of someone’s eyes denotes their thought process and how they’re weighing information. As an example, if you ask someone what occurred in the past, most will look up and to the left. If you ask about their future perspective, most will look up and to the right. After you’ve established the foundation for how someone uses their eye movement, you’ll have inside clues to the thoughts they’re contemplating when you pose an offer/counteroffer, based on what they do with their eyes.

Tone, Pace, Word Choice:
Always be cognizant of the tone, pace, and word choices that the other negotiator uses to convey information. As an example, if she has a monotone nature to her voice and later it becomes lilting and animated, during the latter she’s displaying excitement. When she’s in the latter state, that’s the optimum time to put forth your offer.

When she decreases the pace at which she’s speaking, she’s going into reflective mode (i.e. giving more thought/consideration to the topic). At the point she quickens her pace, she’s imagining how beneficial your proposal might be.

The word choices she uses (e.g. I think it might work vs. I know that’ll work), can also be used as a mile maker to assess and determine the viability of her accepting your offer. Thus, you must heighten your awareness of such usage.

General Disposition:
Always pay close attention to someone’s disposition and avoid negotiations when their disposition is low. If you sense someone’s disposition lowering during the negotiation, state what you’re sensing and seek their feedback. If they confirm a lowering in their disposition, ask why it’s so. Once you have that insight, choose your next steps cautiously. You don’t want to negotiate when someone is in that mental state. Also know some negotiators will use the display of a lower disposition as a ploy.

The suggestions mentioned above are simplistic, meaning there’s a lot more depth in which you need to engage to become more proficient at accurately reading and interpreting body language.
Suffice it to say, to the degree you’re accurate when reading someone’s body language, you’ll increase the probability of achieving the goals you’ve set for the negotiation… and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!