Are you an entre­pre­neur or small busi­ness owner? Have you been asked to present at a pro­fes­sional con­fer­ence? Giv­ing a great sem­i­nar can increase your busi­ness, your sta­tus, and your mem­o­ra­bil­ity. Yet most pro­fes­sion­als don’t feel 100% com­fort­able with their abil­ity to develop and deliver an effec­tive seminar.

Here are 3 tips to ensure your “Sem­i­nar Success.”

1. Choose three points you MUST get across.
Before devel­op­ing visu­als of any kind, or even an out­line of your talk, deter­mine its three most essen­tial points. These points must mean some­thing to your audi­ence, not just be sales incen­tives. Design your pre­sen­ta­tion around these points. Stick to them.

2. Don’t waste time with fluff.
Grab your audi­ence from the get-go. Don’t bother to tell them how nice it is to be there, or men­tion the weather. The first three min­utes are essen­tial to your suc­cess. Make these min­utes count by mak­ing them mean­ing­ful to the audience.

3. Con­clude with a call to action.
It’s not enough to leave peo­ple excited. Chal­lenge them with a con­crete action. Also offer a “real” resource (a free con­sul­ta­tion, an arti­cle, some­thing that will help them–no strings attached.)

Sem­i­nars are a prime mar­ket­ing tool. Fol­low the tips above and make the most of this opportunity!

Read more arti­cles about Pre­sen­ta­tion Skills. Learn about Guila Muir’s Pre­sen­ta­tion Skills Workshops.

Guila Muir is the pre­miere trainer of train­ers, facil­i­ta­tors, and pre­sen­ters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thou­sands of pro­fes­sion­als improve their train­ing, facil­i­ta­tion, and pre­sen­ta­tion skills. Find out how she can help trans­form you from a bor­ing expert to a great pre­sen­ter: www.guilamuir.com

© 2008 Guila Muir. All rights reserved.
You may make copies of this arti­cle and dis­trib­ute in any media so long as you change noth­ing, credit the author, and include this copy­right notice and web address.

Related posts:

1. The Smell of Cof­fee: A Poten­tial Learn­ing Tool?
2. Train! Facil­i­tate! Present! Vol­ume 5, #1
3. How to Blow Your Cred­i­bil­ity From The “Get-Go”
4. If You Want to Learn—Get Your Body Moving
5. “I Thought I Would Die!” How to Deal With Stage Fright

Tags: Facilitation Skills, facilitator training, group facilitation, instructional design, meeting facilitation, Presentation Skills, presentation skills workshop, public speaking, Train the trainer, train the trainer training, train the trainer workshops, trainer development, trainer training, training courses, workshop facilitation

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