The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 48: April/May 2020 | Page 31

Authenticity: Be true to yourself in presentations by Chris Dawes, Open Dawes Training Authenticity has become something of a buzzword in recent years. Consumers and voters want their businesses and politicians to be ‘real’ and this trend probably has a lot to do with social media. So it is remarkable that, in the face of this, in a public speaking situation so many of us become someone completely different. How many times have you seen a friend, colleague or a member of your team take to the stage, or stand up to address a meeting, and you find you barely recognise them? Equally, when called on to speak in public, do you subconsciously morph into a different version of yourself? It is common for us either to exaggerate or go within ourselves; for whatever reason – be that nerves, or imposter syndrome – the act of public speaking can somehow diminish us. At Open Dawes Training, we specialise in public speaking and presentation training, and we help people overcome this all too common issue. We help our clients to understand that when they speak in public – whether in a formal presentation, or at a meeting – they need to be true to themselves. Indeed, we help them to become the very best version of themselves. After all, if you are chatting to someone down the pub, or within your family, you are having a conversation. Public speaking is no different. Our message is stand up and be yourself and never wear a mask – it’s difficult to maintain and you will be found out! Nobody can be you, better than you can. What an advantage that is, and nice to know you aren’t asking any more than that of yourself! How to remain authentic in public speaking 1. Use your own voice – there’s no need to sound ‘posh’ or adopt a ‘telephone voice’ because that will be hard to keep up. 2. Never wear a mask because it if slips, you’re exposed. 3. Forget this is a presentation, simply regard it as a conversation, just as you would have with your family and friends. 4. Relax and share. You’re not preaching, or dictating, but just sharing your knowledge and expertise for people to take as much, or as little, as they wish. 5. Nobody can be you better than you, so it really shouldn’t be that difficult. You’re not being asked to swim the Channel or jump into a shark tank. Be yourself – you’re fantastic at it! Finally, try to recapture your inner child. Remember when you were carefree and joyous, and had no qualms or hang ups? If you can get back to that, you’ll be a winning public speaker. We’ll develop this theme in our next feature… Open Dawes Training has more advice on presentation and public speaking on its website, including the popular Facebook Live posts, at: For more information contact Managing Director Chris Dawes or the team on 01793 238259 or email: [email protected]. For more info: www.opendawestraining.co.uk www.opendawestraining.co.uk/blog/ Open Dawes Training runs CPD accredited public speaking and presentation training on a one-to-one or group basis, either inhouse or at the Swindon training centre. There is no magic - get the basics right By Paul Holmes, PCH Business Support Running, growing, developing your business takes hard work and focus. In most cases getting the basics right and smart thinking makes the difference. I am still surprised by established businesses struggling with those basics. Often business owners are running flat out, simply to stand still. There aren’t enough hours in the day to stop and think so those basics get missed. That’s how most businesses run, right? SADLY YES! HOWEVER THERE IS ANOTHER WAY! Eventually there will be a dawning realisation that the business, even with a nice list of customers and clients, has little profit. YOU’RE BUSY YET NOT MAKING ANY MONEY, WHY IS THAT? Often there’s three separate things happening: 1. You haven’t really costed the product/ service. Look again at your real costs against the price charged on paper, then ask should you be able to make profit? On numerous occasions, I’ve seen experienced owners stunned when they realise they don’t make any money. These are often highly credible companies with an intelligent owner, simply drowning in their day jobs. Set yourself target profits on everything you do (10%, 15% 50%) you decide, and build that profit into the costed product upfront. Everything sold should have this as a basic profit. The only exception can be something at a lower profit, if strategically the sale opens the door to interesting opportunities. 2. Secondly, cost the client. Run a P&L on them, particularly for a service. Challenging customers can take more time, have more questions, require more attention than planned. If this time is not factored into the price, profits dwindle and quickly become losses. Ensure you take this into account in the price and ensure you control the time! Get these things right and your business has a much better chance of being successful. As I said there is no magic, however if you get the basics right your business could start to feel magical again. Next time I’ll look at designing the business without you in it – giving you time to plan for growth. If you would like help (or a little of my kind of magic!) to ensure your business makes a profit, or works so that it can run without you, then please contact me for a free discovery session. Find out more about my monthly support packages and other services visit: www.pchbusinesssupport.co.uk email: [email protected] or call: 07715008521 3. Thirdly, what gets missed most by business owners is not including the cost of running the business in the product pricing. Calculate overhead rates for your business and include in the price calculation. THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2020 31