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If you struggle with time management, try this technique 

Managing time doesn’t work, but this does…. 

 Imagine this… a typical day begins 

You made a plan. The report is due in two days and there is no way you can miss the deadline. The day starts well, you beat the alarm by 15 minutes and by 6:30am you are at the office, pumped and determined. You throw yourself into routine. Coffee while the computer boots up, check emails and answer the priorities. The one you missed yesterday takes an hour to sort. The office around you is starting to fill.  

Coffee is a normal environmental habit that affects our time management
What environmental habits could you kick?

And then just like that… 

You need another coffee to help focus, but the phone rings. It’s that one client you can’t ignore, and you must action the request. Another hour has vanished and your line manager beckons from across the room. He has a problem from yesterday, you need to polish it off. Another hour is lost. You want coffee, a little peace and quiet, and the kitchen is now rammed.  

What were you thinking! 

There is a buzz. Another 40 minutes vanish. By the time you get back to your desk there are 2 missed calls and 5 emails with the dreaded red exclamations. You resign yourself that all is lost.   

Try a different approach 

The biggest sacrifice we must make is the belief we manage time like Zeus. We think in pure blocks of hours. Undermining our efforts are the unknowns of daily life, compounded by the unconscious security of environmental habits. Have you ever considered that you might be addicted to familiarity and routine? 

Forget time, it’s all about space 

You don’t manage time, you manage space. Control what you allow into your space with a referee – your diary. Never again do I say “yes” or “no.” Rather, say “let me check my diary, see when space is available.” Space has no boundaries it only has priorities:  

  • Urgent (day) 
  • Must do (3 days) 
  • Limited (1 week)
  • Unlimited (< week) 

The referee never suggests a time frame. Experience of a task will give you an estimation, yet it is space alone that is vital to complete objectives. In today’s slick culture, driven by the multi-tasker, it isn’t possible for a working professional to allocate hours. Too much can happen in one day. So, we prevent invasion by allocating space that achieves a goal, not a time frame.

Using a diary is essential for good time management
Manage space, not time

Try these simple techniques: 

  • The sign on the door – Do not disturb. 
  • The phone switched to voice mail – “I am currently engaged to meet a critical deadline, please leave a message.” 
  • The automatic email response – I will reply asap 
  • The diary that never leaves your side – keep that referee close by 
  • Phone calls made to book regular space to clients and colleagues – get ahead  
  • Send a postcard – “I am working from a coffee shop today” 
  • Fill your space with productivity, efficiency and performance. Take control, claim your space and never look back…. 

If you’re interested in improving your time management skills, be sure to check out our time management training courses.

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Effective Presentation Skills 

If you’ve been asked to speak at a presentation then it may already be making you nervous. The idea of standing on stage and addressing dozens of people can be daunting, but there are a couple of skills that you can learn in order to make the entire experience a lot more manageable. 

Creating a narrative for your presentation 

If you’re addressing an audience about something like a product or service you offer, then you can design it to include some kind of narrative. Stats and figures are important and often necessary for a presentation but if you frame them by making them follow a narrative, they’ll be much easier to remember and it can hook your audience if you manage to create a story that carries the purpose of your presentation. 

Understanding your audience before planning your presentation 

Even if you have to give a presentation about the same thing in two different places, the audience that will be attending will have a drastic impact on the approach that you should take. For instance, if your audience will be filled with consumers then using technical jargon probably isn’t ideal. However, if you know that your presentation will have investors and specialists in attendance, then you can use technical terms to help get your message across. 

Be a More Confident Public Speaker

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Designing visual elements to go with your presentation 

One of the best ways to lift your presentation to the next level is to include visual elements such as slides and videos to help you get your message across. For example, instead of just listing statistics, you could give your audience graphs and charts to help them visualise the numbers. Videos can also help you explain something with ease but producing one will take a bit more time. If you have a lot of time before your presentation, then we recommend including several images and videos if possible to make your presentation more engaging.  You may also consider participating in our advanced presentation skills training London course to learn how to prepare yourself for delivering a professional presentation.

Picking the right time to interact with your audience 

People often don’t realise just how important interaction is during a presentation. Whether it’s a short question and answer segment at the end or speaking in a conversational tone to your audience, it’s vital that you get their attention by making the presentation include them in as many ways as possible. You don’t want to overuse this because it can tire your audience if you interact with them too much during your presentation. 

 Hiding your nerves and turning it into enthusiasm 

Another important presentation skill to possess is to turn your nerves into enthusiasm. It’s normal to be nervous when you get up to speak and it will show in your body language and the way you talk. You can take your nerves and turn that energy into excitement and passion by speaking louder, adding some personality, moving your body more or even adding emotion to your speech. 

Below, we’ve included a helpful infographic that can give you some advanced tips to take your presentations to the next level. 

Infographic about advanced presentation skills
Advanced Presentation Skills Tips