Thursday, December 3, 2009
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2009
5 techniques for effective presentation
In any good presentation you should be prepared to move from one of your main presentation points to another smoothly and neatly. And there's the challenge. Your audience doesn't have the benefit of headings, sub-headings or paragraphs to guide them. Their understanding of your presentation has to be guided by you with clear organization and speech. Without well-delivered transitions from one part of your speech to another, your presentation will appear jumpy at best, or disorganized at worst. To help you, there are five simple techniques that you can use.
- Pauses. These are the fundamental punctuation marks of your presentation. Short pauses, medium pauses and long pauses equate to commas, periods (full stops), and paragraphs. When you use them well your audience understands the transition from one point to another.
- Emphasis. When you emphasize a word or a sentence you signal a transition from one part of your presentation to another; from one point to its successor.
- Lists. A listing of a few points can be a most effective way to move from one section of your presentation to another. You can outline the list briefly and then you can address each of the list points in turn. Each section is neatly partitioned by its place in the list. Do remember to take care, though, with PowerPoint bullet lists -- they should not be used too liberally.
- Repetition. When you repeat a word or a sentence you add emphasis to its position in your speech. You signal its importance for your audience and you manage the progression from one point to the other.
- Questions. You should try to use a rhetorical question to mark a transition in your presentation. You might begin your presentation with a brief outline of your subject or its context. And you might then follow with a rhetorical question or questions that get to the critical substance that you want to address. Your answers to your own questions add up to the main points of your presentation.
When you focus on the key transition from one section of your presentation to the next you can achieve a smooth delivery style. Your audience will appreciate the effort that you take in marking out the important points, signposting your argument and signaling the key stages.
Andrew Ivey is the Principal Trainer at Time to Market. His company runs presentation and public speaking skills training courses throughout the UK. Using a network of over 40 training centres the company supports half-day and full-day training courses and seminars for executive presenters of all abilities. You can get more information andpresentation skills tips by signing up for their regular newsletter, "Telling it Straight." Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Ivey |
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The greatest marketing campaign in history:apple iphone
Apple's campaign to launch the iphone may be one of the most successful marketing campaigns ever !
Prior to the product's release
*2/3rd of the US population was aware of the device
*The hype surrounding the introduction was phenomenal.
*Over the six months prior to the product’s introduction it was the subject of 14,000 articles, 311,000 blog posts and it generated 69 million hits on Google
Marketing experts feel that the iPhone campaign even surpassed such legendary marketing efforts as the introduction of the Mustang by Ford in 1964 and Microsoft’s launch of Windows 95. The iPhone generated more pre-sale media coverage than any other product, according to Al Ries, a leading marketing strategist. (Bloomberg.com) “Ask yourself how many companies can announce a product six months in advance and not just sustain public interest but even build the frenzy. It’s staggering to me,” commented Jeremy Horwitz of iLounge. (NY Times)
How did Apple do it? They not only created a revolutionary product, but they also were able to create an incredible amount of buzz, through a highly effective teaser campaign. Steve Jobs introduced the product at Macworld Expo prior to the launch. Apple didn’t give the product to the press initially, so they had to write about it and then they wrote about it again when they were given the product just prior to the launch. (Michael Stelzner’s Blog)
Apple then utilized video clips on the Internet and a breakthrough TV commercial that ran during the Academy Awards called “hello” with stars like Marilyn Monroe saying “Hello” to announce the release in June. Subsequent ads showed close-ups shots demonstrating what people can do on the phone. “It gave me the sense that I was actually experiencing the product,” said Matt Wills from the advertising firm Martin Agency. “They’ve spent some money on advertising ($100 million according to JupiterResearch), but certainly not a lot,” according to Ries. “The PR, the hype, the publicity, it makes the advertising more visible.” (Bloomberg.com)
The formula for Apple’s extraordinary success is really quite simple. They produce ground-breaking products that consumers want and no one is better at advertising and marketing them.
Prior to the product's release
*2/3rd of the US population was aware of the device
*The hype surrounding the introduction was phenomenal.
*Over the six months prior to the product’s introduction it was the subject of 14,000 articles, 311,000 blog posts and it generated 69 million hits on Google
Marketing experts feel that the iPhone campaign even surpassed such legendary marketing efforts as the introduction of the Mustang by Ford in 1964 and Microsoft’s launch of Windows 95. The iPhone generated more pre-sale media coverage than any other product, according to Al Ries, a leading marketing strategist. (Bloomberg.com) “Ask yourself how many companies can announce a product six months in advance and not just sustain public interest but even build the frenzy. It’s staggering to me,” commented Jeremy Horwitz of iLounge. (NY Times)
How did Apple do it? They not only created a revolutionary product, but they also were able to create an incredible amount of buzz, through a highly effective teaser campaign. Steve Jobs introduced the product at Macworld Expo prior to the launch. Apple didn’t give the product to the press initially, so they had to write about it and then they wrote about it again when they were given the product just prior to the launch. (Michael Stelzner’s Blog)
Apple then utilized video clips on the Internet and a breakthrough TV commercial that ran during the Academy Awards called “hello” with stars like Marilyn Monroe saying “Hello” to announce the release in June. Subsequent ads showed close-ups shots demonstrating what people can do on the phone. “It gave me the sense that I was actually experiencing the product,” said Matt Wills from the advertising firm Martin Agency. “They’ve spent some money on advertising ($100 million according to JupiterResearch), but certainly not a lot,” according to Ries. “The PR, the hype, the publicity, it makes the advertising more visible.” (Bloomberg.com)
The formula for Apple’s extraordinary success is really quite simple. They produce ground-breaking products that consumers want and no one is better at advertising and marketing them.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Research: Australians Have the World's Biggest Homes
by Reporting: Belinda Goldsmith, Editing: Miral Fahmy
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/108274/study-australians-have-the-worlds-biggest-homes
Australia has overtaken the United States, the heartland of the McMansion, to boast the world's largest homes, according to a report by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
© Reuters/Mick Tsikas
Research commissioned by the bank's broking arm, CommSec, shows the Australian house has grown on average by 10 percent in the past decade to 214.6 square meters (2,310 sq ft) -- nearly three times the size of the average British house.
By contrast, the average size of new homes started in the United States in the September quarter was 201.5 square meter (2,169 sq ft), down from 212 square meter (2,282 sq ft), with the average U.S. home shrinking for the first time in a decade due to the recession.
In Europe, Denmark has the biggest homes, which takes into account houses and flats, with an average floor area of 137 square meter, followed by Greece at 126 square meter, and the Netherlands at 115.5 square meter.
Homes in Britain are the smallest in Europe at 76 square meter. But according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistic issued by CommSec, while Australian houses are getting bigger, so are the families.
The number of people in each household has risen to 2.56 from 2.51, the first such rise in at least 100 years.
"It makes sense. Population is rising, as is the cost of housing and the cost of moving house, so we are making greater use of what we've got," CommSec's Craig James said in a statement widely reported in the Australian media.
"Children are living at home longer with parents and more people are opting for shared accommodation ... Generation Y is already baulking at the cost of housing, choosing to stay at home longer with parents."
Copyrighted, Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/108274/study-australians-have-the-worlds-biggest-homes
Australia has overtaken the United States, the heartland of the McMansion, to boast the world's largest homes, according to a report by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
© Reuters/Mick Tsikas
Research commissioned by the bank's broking arm, CommSec, shows the Australian house has grown on average by 10 percent in the past decade to 214.6 square meters (2,310 sq ft) -- nearly three times the size of the average British house.
By contrast, the average size of new homes started in the United States in the September quarter was 201.5 square meter (2,169 sq ft), down from 212 square meter (2,282 sq ft), with the average U.S. home shrinking for the first time in a decade due to the recession.
In Europe, Denmark has the biggest homes, which takes into account houses and flats, with an average floor area of 137 square meter, followed by Greece at 126 square meter, and the Netherlands at 115.5 square meter.
Homes in Britain are the smallest in Europe at 76 square meter. But according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistic issued by CommSec, while Australian houses are getting bigger, so are the families.
The number of people in each household has risen to 2.56 from 2.51, the first such rise in at least 100 years.
"It makes sense. Population is rising, as is the cost of housing and the cost of moving house, so we are making greater use of what we've got," CommSec's Craig James said in a statement widely reported in the Australian media.
"Children are living at home longer with parents and more people are opting for shared accommodation ... Generation Y is already baulking at the cost of housing, choosing to stay at home longer with parents."
Copyrighted, Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Steve Jobs on why Apple doesn’t do market research
By Joshua Porter
http://bokardo.com/p/1408
I’ve heard it said again and again, but I had never seen an actual quote in which Steve Jobs says that Apple doesn’t do market research. I finally found one.
It comes care of this excellent article arguing why you can’t innovate like Apple.
Here it is:
“We do no market research. We don’t hire consultants. The only consultants I’ve ever hired in my 10 years is one firm to analyze Gateway’s retail strategy so I would not make some of the same mistakes they made [when launching Apple's retail stores]. But we never hire consultants, per se. We just want to make great products.”
Jobs elaborates on how Apple designs for themselves. (I wrote about the same idea here.)
“It’s not about pop culture, and it’s not about fooling people, and it’s not about convincing people that they want something they don’t. We figure out what we want. And I think we’re pretty good at having the right discipline to think through whether a lot of other people are going to want it, too. That’s what we get paid to do.”
The source of this is an interview with Fortune Magazine. The entire sequence is worth reading.
Another data point:
Jonathan Ive in a recent interview (also worth reading) explaining how Apple’s primary goal is not to make money, but to make great products.
“Apple’s goal isn’t to make money. Our goal is to design and develop and bring to market good products…We trust as a consequence of that, people will like them, and as another consequence we’ll make some money. But we’re really clear about what our goals are.”
It seems to me that Apple has a pretty clear story here: “Make the very best products. Business will follow.”
http://bokardo.com/p/1408
I’ve heard it said again and again, but I had never seen an actual quote in which Steve Jobs says that Apple doesn’t do market research. I finally found one.
It comes care of this excellent article arguing why you can’t innovate like Apple.
Here it is:
“We do no market research. We don’t hire consultants. The only consultants I’ve ever hired in my 10 years is one firm to analyze Gateway’s retail strategy so I would not make some of the same mistakes they made [when launching Apple's retail stores]. But we never hire consultants, per se. We just want to make great products.”
Jobs elaborates on how Apple designs for themselves. (I wrote about the same idea here.)
“It’s not about pop culture, and it’s not about fooling people, and it’s not about convincing people that they want something they don’t. We figure out what we want. And I think we’re pretty good at having the right discipline to think through whether a lot of other people are going to want it, too. That’s what we get paid to do.”
The source of this is an interview with Fortune Magazine. The entire sequence is worth reading.
Another data point:
Jonathan Ive in a recent interview (also worth reading) explaining how Apple’s primary goal is not to make money, but to make great products.
“Apple’s goal isn’t to make money. Our goal is to design and develop and bring to market good products…We trust as a consequence of that, people will like them, and as another consequence we’ll make some money. But we’re really clear about what our goals are.”
It seems to me that Apple has a pretty clear story here: “Make the very best products. Business will follow.”
Guest Speaker Session
Hi
This is to inform all the marketing students that the Leadership Forum will be having a guest speaker session on Tuesday, 10th December at 5 P.M in E-25. The speaker is Mr Abidoon Nadeem, CEO of Mind Blaze Technologies. Please be on the look out for flyers for details. All students are encouraged to attend.
Thank you.
This is to inform all the marketing students that the Leadership Forum will be having a guest speaker session on Tuesday, 10th December at 5 P.M in E-25. The speaker is Mr Abidoon Nadeem, CEO of Mind Blaze Technologies. Please be on the look out for flyers for details. All students are encouraged to attend.
Thank you.
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