The Art of Presentation in a Meeting

The Art of Presentation at a Meeting

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Being the lead for presentation at a meeting is a talent that requires an array of developed communication skills. In order to be effective, you must be aware of the elements of a good presentation. Here are some tips to help you at your next meeting.

Clear speaking voice

There may not be a more effective lullaby than that of someone lecturing you with a voice that makes Ben Stein sound like a motivational speaker. In order to keep your audiences attention, you must be loud, assertive, confident, and most importantly, coherent.

Take these strategies and apply them twofold if your audience consists of your boss and/or clients you wish to impress. Strong presentation skills instills confidence in the eyes of your audience that you are confident in what you are speaking about as well as caring about your subject.

Plan out your presentation

It is important to prepare a well-structured schedule for your meeting; an order of business. This means that you want to have a mental list or a notebook of what you would like to discuss in which order. Keep the notebook beside you or even in your hands while you’re speaking. It does not look unprofessional as long as you do not read straight off of the pages. On the contrary, it may actually look more professional since you have prepared yourself quite well beforehand.

However, it is unprofessional to have a presentation that doesn’t transition well from one subject to another. If there is a lot of content in your presentation, then you may want to practice beforehand to become familiar with your arrangement.

Lead with your strongest and most exciting idea

One thing to always keep in mind if you are going to be presenting in front of a somewhat large audience, is that most people are most likely bored before you even open your mouth. Nobody is necessarily excited for their upcoming eleven hour long meeting.

Surprise them with an entertaining and/or interesting opening line. Open with something that catches their attention right away and makes them sit up in their seats. For instance, try something like this: “Who wishes they could turn back time? Who wishes they could find a way? Let me introduce you to my invention of the time machine!” Obviously a time machine would be interesting enough on its own, but that’s beside the point. Once you have caught their attention, introduce your strongest point first. For example, try: “My time machine is better than your time machine because mine will have a cup holder!” Assuming that your opposition has also invented this revolutionary machine, you have one-upped them!

What’s the significance?

There’s no need to beat around the bush when hosting a meeting. Try to get your point across right from the start. Start your presentation by stating the goals in chronological order you wish to accomplish by the end. As mentioned prior, lead off with your strongest idea and go from there. Be sure to explain the motivation behind your ideas and how they are directly beneficial to your business. It is great and all if you have a great idea, but what if it doesn’t help your business. What then would be the point?

Recollection

Be sure to make your presentation one to remember. What’s the point of having one if nobody remembers anything from the session a week later? Be confident that your attendees paid attention and made use of your ideas.

For example, sometimes a slogan can prove an effective strategy for grabbing someone’s attention. Even if it is lame, it will be effective since it is remembered for being such. “Don’t dwell on the past, dwell from the past!” This is still fairly negative, but clever! The point is that you want to keep their attention throughout your presentation.

Having a strange hook line may actually end up being the most important part of your presentation since it may be the only thing that anyone remembers a month after the meeting. If this is the case, you will want it to be something that reminds them of your presentation day; something to ring a bell. Like mentioned earlier, “don’t dwell on the past, dwell from the past!” has a humourous connotation, and so will be remembered because it makes those who say it laugh.

In brief, be sure to up your presentation skills in order impress your bosses and coworkers, make a contribution to your business, and improve your communication skills as well. Someone with strong presentation skills is someone who tends to be successful overall as well.

If you’re prepared to put your presentation chops to the test, then why don’t you book your next meeting here at Toronto Meetings? You’ll get all the best tech in a room set up just how you need it. Book Today! 

Getting Back On Track One Meeting At A Time

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Getting Back on Track One Meeting at a Time

 

It’s time to get back on track, one meeting at a time.

With COVID-19 becoming seemingly more manageable with every precaution put in place, businesses worldwide are beginning to consider the next steps to get their 2020 back on track.

The main component of taking that next step is proper planning.

So, what is the best way to plan? Getting together!

While most of the world are waking up from their Zoom hangovers, alternatives to digital communication are now strongly being considered.

But why reinvent the wheel?

Instead of trying to come up with a creative way to get everybody on the same page, businesses should consider what they know best; hold a meeting.

Like many aspects of our lives, what we once knew as normal is now nearly opposite.

The same can be said for traditional meetings where planning, training, discussion, and social interaction could prove to be exactly what businesses worldwide need to recreate the company wide synergy that seemingly fell off a cliff in mid-March.

Yes – meetings have garnered a bad reputation over years past as being time-wasting gatherings, but in the post-pandemic 2020 they may be the most effective way of getting things done.

This 2020 article from Robin, titled The Meeting Room Isn’t Dead outlines tips for businesses who are considering moving forward with post-pandemic meetings.

But, what do you do if you were put in a position to downsize your physical footprint as a result of the crippling pandemic?

Where planning a meeting in your in-house boardroom was as easy as sending an email, more thought must be put in place to ensure that companies are in a setting that will help them make the best of their time.

Toronto Meetings can provide that setting. Our meeting rooms are exactly what you need to kickstart your company into a bounce back third quarter.

With direct access to Union Station via the PATH network, our location makes it easy for you and your guests to arrive at your meeting room without ever stepping outdoors.

Industry leading technology and our wide variety of meeting and training rooms, makes Toronto Meetings the ideal choice for any off-site meeting requirements.

Our extensive Catering Menu, which includes both hot and cold meals, will all be singularly packaged and individually labelled to reduce the spread of germs and mitigate the risk of contamination all while presenting delicious selections for all of your guests.

With COVID-19 protocols such as daily disinfecting, 2-meter distance between attendees, reduced room capacities, optimized HVAC, and readily available disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizers, we’ve put ourselves at the forefront for the safe practice of off-site meetings.

For more information about our meeting and training rooms, as well as securing your next space, feel free to call 416-214-1840 or email meetings@rostiegroup.com.

It’s time to get back on track, one meeting at a time and Toronto Meetings looks forward to servicing your meeting room needs.

Phone Etiquette

Phone Etiquette in a Meeting

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Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Twitter, emails, text messages, phone calls. Need I say more? It’s safe to say that our lives are consumed by information that arrives to our devices by the second and we’re helpless against its power.

At one point in time, this information could very well wait until we were done completing simple tasks like driving, eating and trying to fall asleep at night. Meetings are no exception to the rule.

The typical boardroom table 15 years ago would have consisted of a few coffee cups, pads of paper with pens scattered everywhere, whiteboard markers and people eager to hear what one another had to say about a particular topic.

Oh, how things have changed.

The typical boardroom table in 2018 consists of a Starbucks coffee at every seat, accompanied by; you guessed it, a cell phone. Pads of paper and one’s favourite pen are now a thing of the past.

Note taking is done digitally and sneaking in a text or two is the norm.

Although environmentalists will praise this new trend, it does come at a cost to business owners.

Where managers, directors and presidents used to have the full attention of their employees, they are now competing with the likes of a device, similar to mind control technology from your favourite 1960’s sci-fi movie.

As CBC noted in a 2013 article people find this trend to be rude and disrespectful, with one person going as far as saying that cell phones are now considered the “cigarette of this decade”.

So what can we do about it? Ban cell phones from meetings? Have everyone put their phones in the middle of the table? Create phone breaks?

Truthfully, I don’t think there will be a simple fix.

One can only hope that society will begin to control their phone usage habits and recognize the right time and place to compose their next 140 characters.

If you’re looking for a space to hold your (hopefully distraction free) meeting. Then see what rooms we have available here at Toronto Meetings, and Book Today!