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It’s More Than Just a Presentation

Your presentation reveals a lot about you. It shows your ability to plan, communicate, and think. Here’s how to make a good impression the next time that you speak.

1) When planning a presentation, identify and write the goal for your presentation. Then study it to make sure that this represents what is expected of you. If needed, survey others by asking if this meets their needs for your presentation.

2) Plan your presentation so that it supports your goal. Make sure every point moves the audience toward accepting your goal and discard all unrelated information. Unrelated information, however interesting, distracts the audience and wastes time.

3) Think through your presentation from the audience’s viewpoint. Consider what they know, understand, and expect. Similarly, consider what they need to know. Then plan a presentation that delivers this.

4) If possible, talk with key members of your audience to determine what they expect, know, and need from your presentation. These conversations will help you win support for your ideas, gain valuable insights, and practice parts of your talk.

5) Test your presentation with members of your audience, associates, or coworkers. Then pay attention to their reactions to your main points. If they’re different from what you wanted, make adjustments to increase the effectiveness of your presentation.

6) Rehearse your presentation everywhere, anywhere, and with anyone. Rehearse. Rehearse. Rehearse. An unprepared presentation always appears unprepared. And that upsets the audience because they know their time is being wasted.

7) Rehearse your presentation with a clock. This makes sure your presentation fits into the time allotted. People dislike presentations that exceed the time limit. It also ruins the schedule for the event where you are speaking.

8) When preparing slides, overheads, or other exhibits, show only one key idea on each. Too much information confuses and upsets people.

9) Make sure that the information on the exhibit can be seen by everyone in the room. An exhibit is useless if no one can read it. And you can’t rescue a useless slide by announcing, “I know that you can’t read this.” If the information is critical, then distribute copies as part of your notes.

10) When planning slides, test each slide by asking yourself, “Why am I showing this?” Make sure that each slide supports your talk. Otherwise, leave it out.

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Finding Divine Gifts – Coming Fully Into the Present Moment

The divine is always with us and always waiting for US to recognize and welcome its presence. That is its gift to us. However, to receive this gift, we must be in the present. An important aspect for being fully in the present moment is “Completing Incompletions.” An incompletion is simply that – something that is not complete. It could be anything: unpaid bills; anger or resentment toward someone or thing; projects around the house; something you said you would do but then never did, etc.

Something in our lives that is not complete holds a portion of our energy until it is complete. At some level we are thinking about it, worrying about it, trying to figure out what to do about it. Even if you think you’ve forgotten about it and let it go, you haven’t. This is the body’s natural tendency toward integrity, toward being complete and free.

To the extent we have incompletions in our life we are being robbed of vital life force energy, energy we could be using to create an extremely fulfilling life. Incompletions also block us from receiving clear guidance from our higher selves. We’ve got part of ourselves holding the energy of these incompletions and therefore we cannot pay full attention to the divine messages trying to get through. Actually, the message that is trying to get through is “complete your incompletions.” That’s why we keep thinking and worrying about them.

When it comes to completing incompletions in relationships (whether with a mother, father, sibling, spouse, friend, or co-worker) a big part is forgiveness – forgiveness both for ourselves and others. Interestingly, forgiveness means to “give as before,” no longer withholding or holding back. (Side note: we all think forgiveness is a great thing, and I agree, however, have you ever noticed that forgiveness has judgment built into it? If you feel you must forgive someone, you have passed judgment on them that what they have done is bad, wrong, and should not have happened. Now who’s the bad guy? Interesting, yes?)

There are a couple of good metaphors that can help us better understand the importance of truly letting go of the supposed “wrongs” we believe another person has done to us. Being angry with, spiteful toward, or withholding from another person is like holding a hot coal in your own hand with the idea that you are going to throw it at them – but you never do. It just burns and burns YOU. Or, said another way, it’s like drinking poison expecting the other person to die. In these examples you can see it makes no sense. All you have to do is drop the hot coal and don’t take the poison.

Incompletions in relationships are some of the most detrimental and life-sucking ones we can experience. However, all the incompletions in our life, from the $10 you may still owe someone, to the book you borrowed and have yet to return, to the projects around the house you keep putting off. They all drain you each and every moment. For truly free and energized living you must complete these incompletions. Identifying and completing your incompletions is a key piece of my coaching system. You can experience the freedom accomplishing this can provide in your life.

Try this:

Look into all the areas of your life. What is obviously incomplete? Make a list of those things. Just making the list and getting these things out of your head and onto paper will restore some energy for you. Then look at the list and select one or two things to complete. Start with a couple of easy ones so you can build momentum, and then work up to the more challenging incompletions. As you complete things, one by one, cross them off the list with a big smile on your face, then take on the next one that feels right – until you’ve crossed them all off the list.

Notice the amazing energy restored at each step along the way, and the exponentially rising access to major good mojo!

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Still Looking for a Wedding Anniversary Present?

If you still don’t have any selections for an anniversary present for your beloved spouse, there are modern and traditional gift lists that recommend fitting presents and materials for each year of marriage that can be your guide. Wedding anniversary gifts by year are a sign of eternal love and connection you share with your love one.

Here is a catalogue of some of the most vital wedding anniversaries and their themes, both traditional and modern. The traditional 1st anniversary gift is paper. Cotton is the gift material for a married couple’s second anniversary. The traditional 3rd anniversary present is leather. An ideal gift for the fifth year is wood. While candy or gifts made of iron is the gift traditionally given for a sixth anniversary. Wool and copper are both considered traditional 7th anniversary presents. Bronze items and pottery are the gifts conventionally given for the eighth anniversary. Presents made of willow and pottery items are gifts given for a ninth wedding anniversary. And both tin and aluminum are deemed traditional 10th anniversary presents.

Crystal is the traditional 15th anniversary gift while it is traditional to give china for your 20th anniversary. The traditional 25th Anniversary present is Silver. For your 30th year, Pearl it is. The traditional, as well as the modern gift, for a 40th anniversary is Ruby. Diamonds are traditional anniversary gifts in both the sixtieth and seventh-fifth year of your marriage.

Giving your loved one a present as suggested by the record of traditional marriage anniversary gifts by year can be an extraordinary symbol that they will definitely value. As evidenced in the list above, traditional anniversary presents for the early years of marriage are economical and more sensible than gifts for the later years. The traditional list may also seem somewhat boring for the early years, but it doesn’t have to be if you use your imagination. Try to consider creative interpretations of gift themes in addition to the traditional perception. So if a wife is looking for a present for her spouse and she wants a traditional yet modern anniversary gifts by year for him, she can gift her husband a pair of boxers made out of cotton for their 2nd year anniversary.

Modern anniversary gifts are alternative ideas to the traditional item list. But whether giving a token gift of cotton (2nd), wood (5th), iron (6th) or tin (10th), or a more luxurious traditional anniversary present of silver (25th), gold (50th) or a diamond (60th), it is acknowledging a couple’s anniversary is what really matters.

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