Rasheed Ogunlaru is a leading life coach, speaker and business / corporate coach.

If this is the situation of you then this video will definately help. If you’re also on this path check out my Your Life, Your Business workshop which I run one a month at the British Library’s Business & IP Centre which will help you.

Rasheed Ogunlaru is a leading life coach, motivational speaker and business coach. He is also among the speakers at the Professionals Bootcamp at the British Library on 28-29 May 2012.

By stepping back you can arrive at a place of greater clarity, understanding and peace. This video invites you do just that.

Rasheed Ogunlaru is a leading life coach, motivational speaker and business corporate coach. He specialises in helping people find lasting fulfilment in all areas of their lives and is auther of The Gift of Inner Success.

I caught up with him for a chat just yesterday. Not only was I impressed by his remarkable life storu and business journey, but he’s also a tremendous human being which to me is far more important. He understands that life itself if a gift and can come and go in a moment. This is important to remember in business in our career so that we can go about doing what it is that we are truly passionate about.

If you’re a entrepreneur and know where you’re going and need some inspiration to help you bridge the gap to get there apply for a one-to-one with Stephen at the Library. See the link for full details.

Rasheed Ogunlaru is a leading life coach, motivational speaker and business coach. He is also the life / business coach partner to the British Library’s Business & IP Centre where he runs Your Life, Your Business - an inspiring monthly workshop for business owners.

Rasheed is a leading life coach and motivational speaker.

Here we chat about his life, the challenges of the music and what it was like supporting a musical legend, the likes of which don’t come around that often.

When giving a presentation it is essential to be clear, strategic and focused on delivering an engaging, informative and entertaining presentation that gets results. So be clear on what your objective is, who the audience is and what their objectives are and to deliver a clear, crisp, compelling presentation that achieves that.

There are many different styles of presenting from impromptu, intuitive talks where you speak from the heart with no props through to detailed training presentations, delivered with slides, supporting technology and handouts. There is no right or wrong the needs of the event, audience, organisers and relevant parties – and the presenter should shape that.  Overall preparation, interaction, visualisation, keeping it simple and being oneself are essential especially if you are new to presenting or nervous about it.

Great presenters are personable, professional and deliver in an engaging way. It can be easy to fall into the trap of ‘trying to be someone else’. The secret of being a good presenter is being yourself and giving the audience what they want and need in an engaging, entertaining and memorable way. Presenting well – and excelling in presenting – often involved learning the ‘rules’ and best practice and applying or dispensing with them as apt to you, the situation and the audience.

The tips below relate to the specific advice I gave the two directors I was working to. Much of this will apply to any presentation – but depending on the nature of the presentation you need to give you may need to tweak / ditch / apply that to these tips…and that is what presenting is all about. There is no one way it must be tailored and made to fit.

In advance:

*Be strategic: who, what, why, where and when…consider this event/presentation from all perspective, you, the audience, others…what do they want from the presentation and what are their needs, goals, aspirations

*Ask the organisers about the number / nature of attendees; the room layout, technology and support on the day; who your contact will be on the day; if possible get an image of the room you’ll be delivering in or if it’s nearby visit it in advance.If they provide a laptop send them your presentation in advance

*Ensure your presentation is clear, crisp and concise: have an image on each slide and do onto overload with text. Use simple clear fonts and ideally do not mix more than two fonts

*Decide if you’re going to provide them with a copy of your slides for delegates to have in their packs and send them across in good time to the organisers to print / copy.

*Let the organisers know any other requirements you have e.g. .pen/ paper for delegates etc.

*Pack all the materials that you need in advance: handouts, business card, other materials and your presentation (and a backup eg on a memory stick)

*Visualise your presentation  going well, visualise yourself engaging with the audience and visualise warmly addressing their questions and answers

*Practice your presentation or speech if you wish or need to – if there is technology involved practice with it before hand and check what help / support will be on hand.

On the day

* Bring your presentation on a USB stick (just in case) + any handouts, material etc

* Arrive early, mingle with the delegates (and other presenters) and learn about them; why are they there and what they’d like from the event and from your presentation

* Get into the room early: familiarise yourself with it; get comfortable; re-arrange the furniture if necessary; check that the laptop or any technology works, ensure you have water or any other things that you need

*Engage the audience from the get go: why are they there; what would they like from the session

*Your voice: passion, projection, the apt pace and variation is important.

* Technology should support, not hamper you. Sometimes it will fail. You must carry on.

*Engage the audience throughout: even if it’s just raising hands ’how many of you?…’

* Keep the presentation clear, crisp and concise

*‘Dance around your presentation’ deliver the talk that the audience want rather than the one in your head

*Avoid jargon – keep language as though speaking to an intelligent 12 year old.

*Stick to time, allow time for questions

*Let them know you’ll be around for a while and happy to answer any questions. Also let them know how they can contact you afterward.

*Above all be personable and professional and above all be yourself

Follow-up

*So the presentation is over, now what? You should be clear why you were there in the first place and if you have executed well there should be opportunities to follow.  Immediately after and the day after an event are the best time to follow up ‘while the cookies are still hot and everyone has the appetite’.  Have that follow-up chat, get the feedback, pass on that information they asked for, book in that meeting, send that email, pick up the phone and call. Be mindful of any protocol, pleasantries, personalities and best practice depending on your circumstances.

Overall

Basically there is you, your content, your audience …and the linked objectives. If you are yourself, if you arrange / deliver your content clearly, warmly, simply and in an engaging and entertaining way you will probably win the day. Be it that I’m coaching a singer to perform, a professional for a job interview, an entrepreneur for a pitch or presentation – or if I’m training someone to appear on TV I know that the start and end is getting ‘you’ to be yourself, getting you comfortable about your material, presenting still and your message – and getting you to engage with your audience.  If you keep these things in mind and if you keep it clear, crisp, concise and compelling you will be well placed to become a good performer.  Of course some people are blessed with more of an aptitude, style, voice or personality that lends itself to presenting …but these tips and insights will help even the most nervous people become competent and effective. And as with most things most people perfect their presenting skills and craft over time with experience.  

When it comes to protecting your ideas – that too can be a mindfield – from copyright to patents and design rights. One of the places in the UK that can really help is the British Librarys’ Business & IP Centre, where I run my Your Life, Your Business each month workshop as their business coach partner. The library have a team of experts as well as workshops on protecting your ideas and they’ve produced this really useful video to help give you an overview and introduction to protecting your ideas.

 For more details and tipson protecting your ideas visit the British Library Business & IP Centre website

Rasheed Ogunlaru is a leading life coach, speaker and business / corporate coach.