Just before I went on Christmas leave, I tried to set-up an out of office at one of my clients (where I have an email address). I am used to setting it up in Outlook, which is a very simple procedure. However this client is running a rather old version of GroupWise (v7).

The help file in Outlook explains how to create an out of office in exactly 49 words, while the GroupWise help file took over 500 words to completely confuse me (I never managed to get it working in the end).

My point is twofold. Firstly that GroupWise is probably the worst email system in the world. Secondly, their help file is far to confusing. It managed to confuse a very experienced computer user.  If I was confused,  I really feel sorry for the regular user. It should not take 500 words to explain such a simple task.

Ok, here is the lesson. Are you ever a GroupWise help file when you communicate? Do you give complex, confusing messages that make no sense? Or are you Outlook, providing short, effective and powerful messages?

For your reading pleasure, here are the instructions for both products (good bedtime reading).

Here is how you do it in Outlook:

Turn an Out of Office Assistant rule on or off

To turn out of office rules  on or off, on the Tools menu, click Out of Office Assistant.
In the Status box, select or clear the check box next to the rule you want to turn on or off.

Here is how you do it in groupwise version 7:

To create a vacation rule

• Click Tools > Rules > New.
• Type a name in the Rule Name box, such as Vacation Rule.
• Click the When Event Is pop-up list, then click New Item.
• Next to And Items Are, select Received. Make sure no other item source is selected.
• Do not make any selections under Item Types.
• Use Define Conditions to add specific information to your rule. The following are examples of using Define Conditions.
• If you want to set up the dates during which the rule is in effect. Click Define Conditions > click Delivered in the first drop-down list > click On or After Date in the second drop-down list > in the date field, select the date you are leaving on vacation. Click the End pop-up list > click And. On the new line, click Delivered in the first drop-down list > click On or Before Date in the second drop-down list > in the date field, select the date you are returning from vacation > click OK.
• If you want to make sure you reply only to items that are sent specifically  to you (and not to list servers or newsgroups). Click Define Conditions > if you have already specified information in this dialog box, click the End pop-up list > click And. On the new line, click To in the first drop-down list > click [ ] Contains in the second drop-down list > in the next field,  type your name as it displays in the To field of a mail message.
• If you want to make sure that you do not reply to items from yourself (possible through delayed delivery). Click Define Conditions > if you have already specified information in this dialog box, click the End pop-up list > click And. On the new line, click From in the first pop-up list > click [x] Does Not Contain in the second drop-down list > in the next field, type your name as it displays in the From field of a mail message > click OK.
• If you want to reply to internal items only. Click Define Conditions > if you have already specified information in this dialog box, click the End pop-up list > click And. On the new line, click From in the first drop-down list > click [x] Does Not Contain in the second drop-down list > in the next field, type @ > click OK.
• Under Then Actions Are, click Add Action, then Reply.
• The Reply dialog box is displayed, showing Reply to Sender selected (you cannot select Reply to All). If you want your reply to include the sender’s original message, select Include Message Received From Sender. Click OK.
• Type a message, for example:
• I will be out of the office from September 3-September 10. If you need assistance during this time, please contact Martha Robbins at extension 1234.
• Click OK.
• Click Save. Verify that the rule has a check mark next to it, indicating that it is enabled, then Click Close.
• Rules that trigger a reply (such as this vacation rule) keep a record of who a reply has been sent to, and make sure that a reply is sent only once to that user.

For completeness sake, here is how Google’s Gmail does it (36 words).

1. go into Settings->General
2. then scroll down to Out of Office AutoReply
3. Fill Subject and Message

Every time you leave your office set Out of Office AutoReply on, when you’re back turn it off.

Image from Flickr

As a speaker, there are many things that can go wrong, and potentially derail your presentation. It is not a case of it something goes wrong, but of when it will go wrong.

The difference between a minor incident and a major catastrophe comes down to one simple thing: preparation. Some of the things that can typically happen are:

Equipment failure

Computers crash, projectors stop working. Mains power trips. And my favourite, laptop and projector refuse to speak to each other. There are very few presentations that really require PowerPoint, so be able to give your presentation without the equipment if necessary. Arrive early, and give yourself plenty of time to set-up and ensure that all is working fine.

Equipment lost in transit

When traveling to conference venues, you pass through many environments were equipment can mysteriously disappear. Have a backup copy of your presentation with you (in a separate bag to your laptop). Finding a spare machine to borrow is easy; finding another copy of your presentation is far more difficult. Travel with as little equipment as possible (it also makes the traveling easier), and ensure in writing that the conference venue has the necessary equipment.

Microphone batteries die

I insist on new batteries in my microphone (NEW, not freshly charged). Spoiling a $500 presentation for a $2 battery is just plain silly. Keeping a few AA, AAA and 9volt batteries close at hand will quickly rescue you when batteries die.

A little bit of extra preparation will go a long way to ensuring that you give an effective and trouble-free presentation.

Guest post by Zander Smith

A good politician gives lots of speeches. A great politician has the oratory skill to use his speeches to motivate, inspire, and convince people to follow him. The recent American presidential race showed the world the importance of giving a good speech, the importance of having great oratorical prowess. Barack Obama a black motivational speaker inspired millions of Americans to follow him to the White House during the course of the 2008 presidential campaign.

Most Americans have never met Barack Obama and they never will. They do feel connected to him because of the power of his pre-election speeches. On the campaign trail Obama used style to give meaning and believability to his words. This often ignored trait of great orators made Americans feel as if they knew Barack Obama personally and they believed what he had to say.

Obama is an expert at using rhythm and cadence during his speeches to involve his audience. Frequent pauses during his speeches allow the audience to participate by cheering, clapping, and chanting. It also gives listeners the chance to actually absorb what he is saying. Experts note three advantages to using well placed pauses during a speech.

-A pause will allow the speaker to take a breath and gives the audience a chance to respond

-A pause during which the audience responds lets people feel connected to the speaker – they are participating in what he has to say

-A pause which lets the audience respond shows the speakers generosity – he allows others to speak and does not take all the time for himself

Delivering a good speech is very difficult task. Bob Proctor, a great orator, breaks a speech down into 3 simple parts. First, tell the audience what the speech is about by introducing your material. Next, give the audience the meat of your material. Third, review what you have said in steps 1 and 2. The second step of any great speech is practice. A great orator will know his stuff. Study all of your information. The better acquainted you are with your material the better you will feel when sharing it with your audience.

Barack Obama’s campaign trail speeches, and his presidential speeches, are excellent examples of the above three advantages. Instead of following the modern, just the facts style of many of today’s orators Obama looked to the great speakers of the past for inspiration. Barack Obama may be a “new” style candidate but he has taken full advantage of “old school” techniques when speaking in public.

Zander Smith, Site Representative Great Black Speakers Member of Great speaker motivational society

Source: http://www.submityourarticle.com/a.php?a=53912

Andrew Dlugan, custodian of the list to top public speaking blogs, has just updated the list to include the Twitter profiles.

You can view the update list here.

Thanks Andrew for the update.

Guest post by Tom Antion

I’m darn good at selling at the back of the room. In fact, just this month I did three speaking engagements at multi speaker events and I outsold all the other speakers put together. What’s unique about this is the way I do it is not obnoxious and high pressure. Today I want to give you a low pressure technique that can give you way more sales than when you nervously wait till the end of your talk to suggest people buy your book.

What I want you to do is put a copy of your book on the chair of every attendee at your event. You will put a note in the book that says something like, “You don’t have to buy this book. We are just going to use it during the presentation.”
Yes, I know this is a scary thing to do. I know you’re thinking, “What if everyone just walks out the door with all my books?” Relax . . .this won’t happen. People are generally honest.

You will pick the two best parts of the book and read them from stage as you are teaching a related point. You might use the three best parts if you are speaking for several hours.

Here’s what will happen. You’ll sell three times as many books and you’ll hardly have to even mention it’s for sale. Just put a box in the back of the room at your table and mention that you’ll be at the table if anyone wants to take the book home with them it will be 20 bucks (or some round number). Also, tell them you will personalize it for them.
The idea here is that instead of just “selling” your stuff, show the value of it and you’ll sell way more than you ever have before.

Tom Antion is a professional speaker with over 2700 paid speeches to his credit. He is the founder of the largest public speaking membership site on the Internet, and the author of the best selling professional speaker course of all time “The Wake ‘em up Video Professional Speaking System“

Use these when preparing your speeches, and you will give a great and engaging presentation.

1. Be prepared
2. Be concise
3. Be engaging
4. be authentic
5. Be aware
6. Be involved

What other bee’s should I add to the list?

On Monday evening, I ran a PowerPoint Karaoke contest at the Cape Communicators Toastmaster Club. This is the first one that I have ran, and it was a fantastic evening!

We had about 10 people who were each given a random deck of PowerPoint slides, and they were given about three minutes to present a presentation using their slides. It was all in good fun, and we had some very interesting takes on the topics.

It is a great way to both practise your impromptu speaking skills, and to have some practise with PowerPoint.

Here is how I did it:

1. Draw for random speaking order
2. Draw for random topic order – I didn’t want to be too nasty and give somebody a topic that they knew absolutely nothing about, so they could select topics beforehand. I also gave them 3 minutes to prepare – basically while the previous speaker was speaking. If you are feeling nasty, give them a topic just before they speak, and let them go – much as for a Toastmasters table topic session
3. Each speaker got 3 minutes to speak. Timing lights at 2, 2.5 and 3 minutes
4. I used the Toastmasters Table topics contest form as a “judging form”
5. You are basically pretty free to make up the rules, so the above is what I did; feel free to adapt and let me know what works for you.

Here are all the decks that I used:

Each deck was approximately 5 slides long. Note that they are not “real” slide decks, but made up to give the speaker something to play with. Some of the topics are a little off the wall.

• Overview
• Are you in the right job?
• Are computers scaring us?
• Where will you work next year?
• Exponential growth
• Modern Goal Setting
• Motivating Others
• Understanding your customers
• Teambuilding
• Marketing for beginners
• Social networking for idiots
• Tips for making email friends
• Finding a good mate

Many people have asked me for a copy of the slides so that they can present the Karaoke contests at their own clubs, so here they are. Please feel free to steal and disseminate. My only request is to let me know how it goes.

Please note that I have created these slide decks from a variety of publicly available material and slides that I have built up over the years. If I have inadvertently used copyright material, please let me know and I will remove it.

Finally, thanks so much to Imation for sponsoring the event. They gave us memory sticks and  tee shirts as prized. The sticks are 1 gig, and about 1cm square – really cute. They also gave me an amazing remote wireless projector adapter. This little device plugs into your USB port on one end, and the projector on the other, and voila, you have a wireless projector!

Leave a comment and let me know how your session goes!

You have heard of Karaoke

You have heard of PowerPoint

But, have you heard of PowerPoint Karaoke?

Cape Communicators Toastmasters Club

would like to invite you to a PowerPoint Karaoke Contest

You could even make the Finals,
and win a grand prize of up to $5000!

So, here is the deal:

• You will be given a set of about 10-15 PowerPoint slides
• You will have about 3 minutes to give a presentation using these slide
• We will videotape your presentation, and give you details on how to upload it to YouTube
• From then on, it is up the the USA sponsors to determine a winner from all uploaded videos

Detailed contest rules are here.

Come along and compete, or come along and watch; it promises to be loads of fun!

When: Monday 19 October, 7:00 for 7:30pm
Where: Cape Communicators Toastmasters Club, Huis Der Nederlanden, Central Square, Pinelands
Cost: R40 for non-members (cash bar, but no snacks)
RSVP: Lois Strachan Lstrachan@martech.co.za, 082 859 6567 (by 16 October please)

Think of it as Table Topics for PowerPoint!

Here is an interesting technique that will both improve your thinking skills, and provide an unusual form of entertainment: PowerPoint Karoake. Basically, you have to present an impromptu PowerPoint presentation. From how I understand it, you are given a deck of slides, and you need to present an unprepared presentation using the slides (also known as Battle Decks).

You have to deliver a PowerPoint presentation about an unfamiliar topic, with slides you’ve never seen, to an audience eager to heckle and laugh at you. If you’re in your underwear, you’re having a nightmare. If you’re clothed, it’s called PowerPoint Karaoke

This is serious business, there are loads of prizes, including a grand prize of $5000. Unfortunately, the contest is only available to USA and Canada residents, but I still think that it could be quite a fun event to host anyway.

If you look on YouTube, there are over 125 different PowerPoint karaoke video’s, here are a couple that I enjoyed.

See you on the stage.

Here is a six-part conversation by some of the World Champs of Public Speaking. These are the guys that you get to hang out with if you attend the Toastmasters International Convention.

Here is a six-part video – Conversation with the Champs. For many more free educational videos from Darren, check out his YouTube site.

Anyway, here are the videos – enjoy!