The lecture – presentation method of training scores quite low when measured in terms of knowledge retention. If this is so, then why do so many trainers use it? Partly because this is the way they learned themselves. We tend to use the methods that were used on us. Fora Train the Trainer Skills Workshop(online or on site),that teaches you the art of designing interactive training modules, it will require moving beyond the narrow confines of simply presenting information – and an occasional brainstorming session. It will require you to fully engage your participants in a holistic cycle of learning, which will involve gap analysis simulations, experiential activities, varied approaches to giving input, reflection, anchoring practice, testing and realistic application activities. In other words, participants have to be fully involved with the material they’re learning. And they have to interact with it through a variety of learning methods that they can then use in their own trainings. An Interactive train the trainer course(online or on site)inGermanywill guide participants step-by-step in developing material for every stage of the learning cycle. 

An intensive train the trainer online seminarwill also guide participants in how to use PowerPoint and other visual-support material in a way that is truly visually oriented. That means, users of PowerPoint have to understand how the brain is hard-wired to “see” information and then develop visuals that are consistent with that cognitive hard-wiring. Visuals will need to be visual and not text based. This seems obvious. Nevertheless, over 80% of all trainings use text on over 80% of their slides which totally overloads the learner. The mind simply cannot process too much text without crashing. Leaving aside the abundance of research that substantiates this, it is enough to ask yourself, how successful are you at processing text slides when someone is presenting information to you? How long does it take before you get bored, irritated, and can no longer focus, let alone forget what the slide was about? For most people, learning from text slides is a futile endeavor. The basic rule of using visual support is this: it should make complex or complicated ideas easier to understand. They can’t make it more difficult – which is what text slides do. They should be visual and memorable, and if possible, pleasant to look at. 

If you are a trainer who would like to raise the effectiveness of your training to a significantly higher level, then try to find an interactive train the trainer course(online or on site, in English or German) that shows you how to structure you own training in ways that involve and engage your participants in interactive learning. It should be a train-the-trainer seminar(online or on site) that takes you beyond the standard lecture and moderation method, to one that helps you design experiential and interactive training modules. For more information, contact info@ip-academy.de.

How you may ask. 

A good and effective presentation training in Germany (online or on site) will show participants how to structure a talk in story form. Why? Because our minds our hard-wired to hear stories, which humans have been usingfor tens of thousands of years. Our memory works best when we first understand the context, or the problem involved. Memory is also activated if the audience can experience an emotional response to what is being said.  A good story, even for marketing and sales, and for scientific and inspirational talks, does this. It makes an ordinary presentation, into a Effective Training. 

This is also the kind of seminar needed by many sales professionals who are looking for a sales presentations training workshop (online or on site) in Germany.It is one that not only will teach the participant how to structure and write presentations, but it will also give that sales professional lots of hands-on practice at delivering it as well. You will also need to learn how to use your voice properly which includes using intonation, varying your tempo and pitch, include pauses – and most of all, speak freely and authentically. 

But there is one final necessity in an effective presentations training workshop. It needs to guide you on how to adapt your presentation to different cultures around the world. Culture is like a foreign language, so you need to speak in the cultural language that your audience understands. Without that cultural fluency, your audience may miss your entire message. 

Key to finding a good Persuasive Public Speaking Skills Seminar in Germany is to make sure you search for one where you will learn to structure, write, create tension, use PowerPoint correctly (without much text) and specifically adapt your message to the culture of your audience.  A Powerful Presentations Skills Training Seminar in Munichwill prepare you to get your message across convincingly while engaging your audience with their minds and emotions. For more information, contact info@ip-academy.de

Certain colors and combinations of colors can have special significance in different cultures. A white bridal gown is the symbol of purity in the West, while in India it’s the color red. Green is associated with Islam in Saudi Arabia, money in the United States, and a symbol that a man’s wife is cheating on him when worn as a green hat in China. The Egyptians associate yellow with mourning; the Thais connect that emotion to purple. And the list could go on.
 An important consideration to look at when discussing cultural color associations, however, is the meaning objects and context give to them. On a personal level, if you ask someone to name their favourite color, they usually respond with blue or green or whatever. But when asked if they would want that color to be the color of their teeth or bathtub, they usually decline. It turns out that their favourite color is fine as long as it is restricted to a very narrow list of things or left as an abstract concept.

Likewise, many cultures have learned to associate particular colors with a specific object in a specific context. With other objects of the same color – a different response might be generated, or none at all. A red rose, a red-shaped heart, and a red traffic light may provoke a certain reaction, whereas red poinsettias, a red pocket knife, and a flashing red light atop a fire truck will bring about another.

After more than two decades of holding international presentation seminars, I have not found any significant link between colors used in a PowerPoint presentation and colors that might otherwise convey a special meaning in the speaker’s own culture. So even though white carnations are associated with death in Japan, Japanese business presenters have no problems displaying charts on a white background while wearing a white shirt and occasionally using a white handkerchief to gently pat their slightly perspiring foreheads.

Rather than look at color from a cultural perspective, it may be better to consider it from an optical point of view. And hopefully, it is clear that I'm talking about true visuals (i.e. graphs, charts, pictures, diagrams, etc.) and not text slides which are disturbing in every culture. We could ask, what will be clearly seen and easy for the eye to distinguish? What colors will provide good contrast and fall comfortably on the retina (i.e. blue, grey, green, crimson, black, etc.)? Your international audience ultimately will want your use of color to be helpful in elucidating your point and to make your ideas immediately comprehensible. They understand that slides used during a business presentation have their own context, which should insulate a speaker against any unintentional misuse of color - and culturally associated meaning.

At the International Presentation Academy, we offer a 2-day Presentation Skills Training in English (Munich, Germany) as well as a Presentation Skills Course for Leaders - Munich where we guide you step-by-step, with numerous examples, in developing, writing and delivering a Powerful Presentation every time.  The workshops are very hands-on with lots of personal feedback. Every participant will learn the helpful methods in this program – that will serve you throughout your career. We invite you to join our Presentation Skills Training in house course – (Germany) with our proven methods. It is one of the premier programs for advanced presentation skills workshop in Germany and internationally. For more information, contact: info@ip-academy.de 

A presenter may have years of experience, but they know that there's always still room for improvement. Even companies with the most well-known brands - still conduct training to let their employees and influencers stay apace with present demand. With learning comes more confidence, and with more confidence, comes an even more compelling message. It is a virtuous circle.

Here's How a presentation skills training in house course – germany can help you

Most speakers or trainers, who help their audience develop skills, believe that any skill is an ongoing development process. They know how to present well, nevertheless, they also take coaching or training from time to time to fine-tune these skills. There's always more to learn about how one can follow more practical skills to making effective and Presentation Skills Training in English. These include: 

·         Structuring your presentation so that it is structured tightly, flows smoothly, and engages the audience

·         Connecting with audiences more closely through a clearly articulated purpose statement

·         Helping you develop an even more relevant topic around the needs of your audience

·         Speaking persuasively, with intonation and pauses for greater impact.

·         Using elements of story-building to make your presentation memorable

·         Breaking away from PowerPoint Karaoke – and making truly visual-friendly slides.

A good workshop will help you learn how to make presentations in general. But a great workshop will also get you to practice on a real presentation connected to your work – and make sure it’s perfect before you leave. No matter what level you find yourself on, we will take you to the next level and beyond. This is what you can expect from the IP ACADEMY when it comes to Presenting in English or attending one of our Presentation Skills Course for Leaders - Germany.

We conduct a 2-day presentation seminar that helps our participants learn effective ways of making powerful and memorable presentation. The seminar will also work with you, step-by-step, to help you write a presentation and deliver it like a pro. And of course, you will get specific feedback from the trainer for every one of the many practice presentations you will give during the workshop – which also includes some filmed presentations. For more information, contact us at info@ip-academy.de.

Likewise, many cultures have learned to associate particular colors to a specific object in a specific context. With other objects of the same color – a different response might be generated, or none at all. A red rose, red-shaped heart, and a red traffic light may provoke a certain reaction, whereas red poinsettias, a red pocket knife, and a flashing red light atop a fire truck will bring about another.

After more than two decades of holding international presentation seminars, I have not found any significant link between colors used in a PowerPoint presentation and colors that might otherwise convey a special meaning in the speaker’s own culture. So even though white carnations are associated with death in Japan, Japanese business presenters have no problems displaying charts on a white background while wearing a white shirt and occasionally using a white handkerchief to gently pat their slightly perspiring foreheads.

Rather than look at color from a cultural perspective, it may be better to consider it from an optical point of view. And hopefully it is clear that I’m talking about true visuals (i.e. graphs, charts, pictures, diagrams etc.) and not text slides which are disturbing in every culture. We could ask, what will be clearly seen and easy for the eye to distinguish? What colors will provide good contrast and fall comfortably on the retina (i.e. blue, grey, green, crimson, black, etc.)? Your international audience ultimately will want your use of color to be helpful in elucidating your point and to make your ideas immediately comprehensible. They understand that slides used during a business presentation has its own context, which should insulate a speaker against any unintentional misuse of color – and culturally associated meaning.

Other tips related to visual support

-          Only when necessary (ask yourself: “Do I really need a slide here?”)

-          It must be predominantly visual (photos, graphs, charts, images, etc.). Bullet point and  “labels” (with a few words) are fine. Long and many text sentences, on the other hand, are not considered visuals.

-          Use especially to make complex or complicated ideas easier to understand. 

-          Not too complicated (audience should look up and understand straight away). Use the blend in function when necessary. Keep in mind that the threshold of objects on a slide is very low (usually no more than 5).

-          Objects and print should not be too small. Audience members in the back should be able to see see it. 

 

At the International Presentation Academy, we offer a 2-day Presentation Workshop in Munich (Germany) that will guide you step-by-step in the skill of developing your presentation. We will show you how to use the story-structure that is easy to follow and intereteing, deliver with impact, and design viewer-friendly slides that help participants speak freely. For more information, contact us at info@ip-academy.de

 

In part 1 of this 2-part blog on storytelling we looked at why storytelling has been a part of the development of humans for much, much longer than recorded history. Many in the field of historical linguistics theorize that embedding knowledge into stories was, for 10s of thousands of years, the way that knowledge was passed down to subsequent generations in a way that was memorable. In other words, linking numerous ideas, facts, names of objects etc. could be more efficiently retained in memory if they were linked together by the adhesive medium of a story. But can the principle of storytelling be applied to business, both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations? Though the word “storytelling”, to some, might carry an element of frivolity to it, it should be clear that what storytelling is mostly referring to is the story structure. It is a type of DNA found in any good presentation – which includes the problem (or challenge) that a protagonist (or company) is facing – followed by the steps taken to solve that problem. This can also include the missteps along the way in the presentation the solution that ads some tension along the way. 

 Not-for-profit organizations

Research has found that charity organizations that present “the needs they are trying to address with their missions” to potential donors with just facts, statistics, and a basic description of the situation, usually do poorly in raising much needed finances. However, those that present those facts and statistics in a compelling story, raise significantly more money for their causes. Why? Because stories “fulfill a profound human need to grasp the connecting thread running through life —not merely as an intellectual exercise, but within the parameters of personal, emotional experience.” An example of this can be found in the wildly successful fund-raising campaign of “Charity Water”, an organization founded by Scott Harrison - whose mission it is to bring clean water to those communities around the world that suffer terribly from the lack of it. The singular tool he uses is his power to make his important appeal through storytelling (many of which can be seen on YouTube). 

The power of stories – in the context of business - is best explained by Robert McKee –a respected screenwriting lecturer who is not only an award-winning writer and director, but was also a professor at the USC School of Cinema and Television in Los Angeles. He is perhaps the authority on storytelling for for-profit businesses. What follows is an edited and abridged transcript of Robert McKee’s conversation with the Harvard Business Review.

 

Stories have been implanted in you thousands of times – your mother and father told you stories as a child, you’ve read good books, seen movies, attended plays, and followed a character’s story over numerous episodes on Netflix. What’s interesting is that human beings naturally want to work through stories. Cognitive psychologies describe how the human mind, in its attempt to understand and remember, assembles the bits and pieces of experience into a story. 

 

Once again, we are cognitively wired to listen to stories. It’s how we remember; we tend to forget lists and bullet points. In the final analysis, stories do the heaving listing for you when it comes to involving your audience emotionally while making your message memorable to them. It’s more than a leader can hope for. 

 

At the International Presentation Academy, we offer a 2-day Storytelling Workshop in Munich (Germany) that will guide you step-by-step in the skill of developing a story for your product or service presentation - or for senior managers and team leaders who need to inspire their colleagues. We will show you how to use the story-structure, as well as help you with content. We also offer a Storytelling Workshop in English – Munich (Germany) and Storytelling Coaching in Munich, Germany (and online if needed). For more information, contact us at info@ip-academy.de