Ten Tips for an Awesome Presentation

We are all familiar with presentations. Now, I am sure that we can tell a good one from a bad but I am here to offer you some tips on how to make sure your presentation is one of the good ones.

Ten Tips:

1. Don't abuse your visuals- keep them simple and don't put too many words on them because the audience is there to listen to you not to read your slides.
2. Look at your audience- don't single out one person and stare at them the whole time. Try to make eye contact with many of the people.
3. Show your personality- you need to show some character while you are presenting to keep their attention.
4. Make then laugh- even though education is the most important part of the presentation, you need to make them laugh because it will keep them alert through the presentation.
5. Talk to your audience, not at them- interact with them and don't just talk at them, they will appreciate it and pay closer attention.
6. Be honest- even if they don't want to hear the truth, tell them it anyway. It's better to be honest then to sugarcoat everything.
7. Don't over prepare- prepare enough so that you are comfortable with the presentation but do not over do it because if you do you will become to dependant on the outline and if you miss something or mess up you will be lost and it won't sound natural.
8. Show some movement- show some gestures and move around. Don't stand in one place for to long.
9. Watch what you say- try not to say "umm" or "uhhh" because it can get quite annoying and your audience will tune out because it will seem like you do not know what you are talking about.
10. Differentiate yourself- do something different than other presenters to make an impression so that your audience will remember you.

"10 Tips for a Killer Presentation." Quick Sprout I'm Kind of a Big Deal. 17 Apr. 2009 http://www.quicksprout.com/2007/09/01/10-tips-for-a-killer-presentation/

Communicatin an Accounting Error

As we all know, dealing with so many numbers brings mental errors. When something is found to be wrong it not only needs to be corrected, but explained to your corporation or client. When projecting the error to your audience be sure to answer such questions as:

1. What type of error is involved?
2. What entries are needed to correct the error?
3. How are the financial statements going to be restated?

Presenting this material through a speech at a meeting, powerpoint, and so on should be adequate. You must keep the lines of communication open to your client or business is important. They may not understand the numbers but they do need to know why something is wrong and how it can be corrected.

Selecting the Best Medium to Communicate

With all of the technology available today there are times when it may be difficult to decide what the proper medium is in a professional setting. Is it appropriate to email a client to share complex information about their taxes? Do you phone them to deliver news about their negative cash flow? Technology has brought tremendous advantages, but it has also created some gray area in communication. The following are a few general guidelines to follow in order to select the best medium for the situation:

Face to Face

• Communicating bad or confidential news
• The communication would benefit from reading body language and eye contact
• You have questions that you need immediate response to
• You want to maintain or reestablish a relationship

Phone

• Quick, clear delivery and understanding (i.e. confirming lunch appointment)
• Make an initial introduction in a personal way
• Asking for a favor

Email

• Share complex information that does not need discussion
• Confirming details, information, directions, etc.
• Convey information without interrupting the other person
• Communicate over different time zones
• Make announcements to large group of people

Remember to always consider your audience, purpose and desired result from the communication. Clearly describe the information and any required follow-up you may require. Be professional and ethical even if the medium you chose may seem to be more informal.

http://www.businesswritingblog.com/business_writing/page/2/

Oliu, Walter E., Brusaw, Charles T., Alred, Gerald J. (2007). Writing That Works (9th edition). New York: St. Martin's.

Dont Send the Wrong Signals

Make sure what your trying to say and your body language match. Otherwise you can confuse your peers and a snowball effect of miscommunication can occur! In this example Jane is confident about her presentation but her facial expression makes her boss unsure. And then when her boss wants to tell her that the presentation went bad his expression of joy is does not match his actions.

Finding An Accounting Job In The Real World

After graduation, degree holders assume they wont have to lift a finger trying to find a job; the job will find them. In some cases, that is true. However, for most people, finding a secure accounting job can be a bit of a challenge.
Just because your degree is in accounting, doesn't mean you have to be an accountant. There are plenty of other options. Such as,

• Financial Planner
• Auditing Clerk
  
• Tax Specialist
• Budget Analyst
• Financial Examiner
  
• Tax Accountant

You can also find work at government offices, corporations, and public accounting firms. Another option could be to start your own business after becoming a certified CPA.

There are many search engines online that can be very helpful to you when searching for a job. Here are some examples:

http://www.accountingnow.com
http://www.accounting.com
http://www.jobsinthemoney.com
http://www.accounting.jobs.com
http://www.careerbuilder.com
http://www.monster.com

Avoding the Billion Dollar Mistake

As promised you can learn to avoid the common characteristic of not listening effectively by paying close attention to the following. To truly listen to your speaker you must try to fully understand what is being said. According to management guru Stephen Convey, there is a difference between listeners. There are those who listen with the intent to reply and those that listen to understand. Without truly understanding someone else’s perspective, communication clarity gets lost.

With these differences in mind, there are a few steps that can lead us towards communicating effectively. But remember that these steps are just techniques and therefore can only take you so far. They will only work if you truly have the sincere desire to understand. No one person has the answers to everything. Once you come to that conclusion you will realize that it is crucial to understand what others are saying. Only you can grasp the entire scoop of a concept instead of just your own perspective.

Step One: Completely focus on the other person. Put all your thoughts and feelings on the back burner. Before listening, mentally say to yourself, “I want to understand what this person is saying.” Simply listen with the focus to understand, and nothing else.

Step Two: Restate the other person’s idea out-loud in your own words. By paraphasing we can accomplish two things: You demonstrate that you truly understand. And the other party will know that you do. This way there is no evidence of a miscommunication because you can validate the concept and the other party can verify it.

According to Stephen Convey, “"agreement" is not part of these steps. Paraphrasing does not mean agreeing.” Remember that when you are paraphrasing, do not mock your speaker. Although differences of opinions occur, it is normal and can be constructive. They can help build a bigger more well rounded picture.

Purposed listening eliminates second guessing and much misunderstanding. But again—you have to want to understand. With understanding you can conquer any task. Without it, you're missing the mark, and not really listening.

7 Mistakes That Could Cost Your Firm Billions

According to Dan Bobinski, there are seven common mistakes that lead the workplace into communicating incorrectly. Dan Bobinski is a training specialist, author, and an accomplished keynote speaker. He's been the president of Leadership Development, Inc., providing workforce and management training to Fortune 500 companies as well as smaller, regional concerns for more than eighteen years. One of his article is dedicated to one of the most important aspects of communicating, listening. Although there is no thorough research, Cognisco, an employee assessment firm reports that misunderstandings between workers and managers cost firms $37 billion a year. In order to communicate effectively and reduce misunderstandings a closer look needs to be dedicated towards the seven most common mistakes during listening.


Mistake #1: “Filtering” Filtering occurs when your mind sifts through the speaker's words, and only tunes in closely when you hear you agree with. A filterer commonly replies to someone else's statements with "yeah, but…."


Mistake #2 : “Second Guessing” When second guessing your speaker you usually miss important details because you are too busy imagining their hidden motives for saying what they're saying, and trying to figure out what those hidden motives are.


Mistake #3: “Discounting” Discounting occurs when you don’t respect your speaker. What the speaker is saying could be 100% accurate, but a discounter will either internally or publicly scoff at what's being said. This mistake is very negative because, you could completely blind yourself to the perfect solution to a problem because of your own in differences.
Another form of discounting can occur when you neglect the content because the person speaking is not a good public speaker.


Mistake #4: “Relating” Relating happens when you continually try to find references from your own background and compare them to what the speaker is saying. This comparison activity leads towards blocking your ability to actively listen.


Mistake #5: “Rehearsing” Rehearsing occurs when you are simply waiting for the speaker to finish talking so that you can start talking again. While your speaker is talking you are thinking about your own phrasing for the next sentence you want say.


Mistake #6: “Forecasting” Forecasting occurs when you take an idea from the speaker and your mind deviates ahead of the topic. This can stem from being bored with the subject matter, or simply because one's mind automatically thinks ahead.


Mistake #7: “Placating” Placating occurs when you agree with everything your speaker said just to avoid conflict. This is one of the worst mistakes commonly made.

These 7 mistakes are characteristics that affect every person. Regardless of profession, no single person is exempt. But rest assure there is a solution. Stay tune for the next post to learn how you can avoid these common errors.