How to Keep Your Job and 4 Ways to Get it Done

Management, presentations Add comments

This is an all-to-familiar scene in business today. Mid level and upper management executives are being terminated. Lets face it, it is not a pretty scenario out there.

What can an executive do to mitigate the risk of being made redundant or at the very least make themselves extremely marketable if they do fall prey to the chopping block?

It is my opinion that today’s business leaders need to lead from “C-Level” management all the way to the shop floor foreman. Tough economic times will test the resolve of any leader.

Just what makes a good leader?

Someone who can communicate effectively, concisely and passionately to the people they are responsible to. Those people include the employees, the customers, the shareholders and any other stakeholders involved.

Throughout human history, the power of effective communication has always been the one skill and the one trait of good a leaders Great communication skills open the opportunity for great leadership.

Is communication that important? Can good communication carry one to the top? Look where good communication skills took a junior senator from Illinois in 4 short years.

So you still have a job . . . for now. What can you do? What should you do? Should you do anything? Some recent surveys of business leaders showed that around 87% of them thought they were effective presenters. The survey did not stop there. The survey went on to ask the people who the business people were leading if they agreed. 17% of them did.

If you want to stand apart from the crowd or you want to lead your organization through these difficult times, start sharpening your presentation skills.

Here are 4 things you can do right now to get you on your way to improving your presentation skills so that you stand head and shoulders above everyone else.

1. Change your attitude. First, don’t hide in the shadows, but rather seize the opportunity to speak whenever and where ever you can. Also, don’t take lightly the opportunity to present. Having an opportunity to present can send your career to the stratosphere or it can sink you to unrecoverable depths. So in simple words, don’t try to wing it! You are not that good and even if your are, treating the opportunity with the seriousness it commands will take you a long way.

2. Plan properly. Before you do anything else, plan properly and intelligently. Get focused about your topic, your message and your desire for action after you have finished. Ask the 6 crucial questions and get focused on the opportunity at hand. Read up on the latest trends in presentations. Cliff Atkinson’s “Beyond Bullet Points”, Nancy Duarte’s “slide-ology”, Garr Reynolds “Presentation Zen” are a few great books to start with.

3. Practice. Practice speaking in public as much as you can. You can practice in front of a mirror however I suggest you join a local speaking group. Toastmasters is a great venue and offers a safe environment for you to make mistakes and get some valuable feedback. Visit several local clubs and pick the one that will offer you the best challenge while providing a safe venue to make mistakes. You can also find a speaking coach depending on your level of comfort and experience.

4. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Make sure that you bring your “A” game to the front of the room. Visualize yourself deliving the presentation to the group in the board room or whatever the venue may be. See youself answering questions with ease. See the audience sitting on the edge of their seats and applauding enthusiastically when you finish. Remember this is an opportunity for you to stand out and lead during such economic turmoil.

Start now to keep your job. Start now to move your presentation skills to another level.

Now its your turn. Do you agree? What do you think is the most important thing you can do to keep your job? Feel free to comment.

Hang in there, this is going to be a journey.

M.J.

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