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When I give a presentation, should I use my notes?

This is a commonly posed question. Let me start by saying there is nothing wrong with using notes, although if you watch a TED Talks speaker you will notice they present without the use of slides, visual aids or notes. However, not all of us are aiming to be a world class speaker. In my opinion, using notes is far preferable to memorizing your speech. If something unexpected happens and you lose your place, you can find yourself in a ‘panic’ situation where everything you ever knew about your topic flies out of your head. It can also be difficult to come across as authentic if you are repeating the same message, word for word.

If you are going to use notes, there are some things you should think about.

1. Don’t try to hide the fact that you are using notes, but don’t necessarily draw attention to it either. Type in large font. The last thing you want to do is fumble with your glasses, so you can see what your notes say.

2. Keep to one page or one index card so you don’t need to shuffle or rearrange them.

3. Put your notes on a lectern or table. This way you can pause to refer to them without anyone knowing what you are doing.

4. Be comfortable with pausing. You may find yourself distanced from your notes and have to walk over to the lectern.

5. If you don’t have a table or lectern at your disposal, put your paper on a portfolio or heavy notebook and carry that. It is common to feel nervous when talking in front of people and it is common to find yourself shaking. The tiniest movement will be easy to see if you are holding only a piece of paper. This is not the way to instill confidence. The weight of the portfolio will help to keep your notes still.

6. Never speak while you are glancing at your notes, unless you are reading a quote or statistics Notes can limit interaction and eye contact with your audience, so pause when you are looking down and then resume speaking when you can re-establish eye contact.

7. Be wary of using slides as your notes. When you are nervous you may find yourself turning towards your slides and beginning to read them. Slides are meant to support you not the other way around.

The system I follow when creating a presentation is as follows.

1. Write the speech word for word.

I like to read what I’ve written as I go along. What works fine on the printed page for our eyes, doesn’t necessarily sound good to our ears.

2. Rearrange the ideas if they don’t seem to flow, or fail to make logical sense.

3. Highlight key words for idea and story prompts.

4. Create PowerPoint slides if they are needed.

5. Practice, practice, practice.

6. If you choose to use notes create them from the key words you highlighted.

If you decide not to use notes, it is much better to memorize the flow of your presentation, as well as key stories and then talk from the heart choosing your wording and phrasing as you go.

Notes can be an important safety net. Taking a moment to collect your thoughts, sip some water and glance at your notes won’t take anything away from your presentation, or your credibility as a speaker.

Should you use notes? The decision is yours. But if you do, use them wisely.

Many people have lost their jobs and the problem with the credit crunch has made it harder for people to get more credit. If you have this problem financially, you may have to ask for some help with your debt. By using negotiation, you may be able to help yourself to get out of this debt problem.

There are lots of ways to negotiate a lower rate for your credit card debt. If your debt has be already been moved to one of the third party collection companies because of lack of payments, it will be easier to negotiate with them. The reason it is easier for you is they have less money to lose, because they probably bought your debt for pennies on the dollar. You will have to call them to explain your problem and once they realize your are willing to pay them something , they will be a bit nicer to you. You may be able to reduce a balance of $3,000 to $1,500 with a lump sum payment. I know $1,500 can be a lot money, but negotiating debt down takes lump sum payments.

The most important thing for you to remember, is to be talking to the person whom is authorized to do this. Make sure of this before starting your negotiation. The first person who answers the phone will not be authorized to make the deal with you. You will have to ask for the manager or the account supervisor. Keep insisting on this no matter what they tell you. If you should strike a deal, ask for the offer in writing and tell them once you receive the offer, you will send them the payment by register mail.

If the above route is too much for you, I have something else. These credit card companies and collection companies will negotiate the fees they charge. Even debt consolidation services will make phone calls to ask for the late fees to be waived. Look at this this way, even if they say no, so what? These companies will waive fees if you just ask them to. Interest rates are lowered if you just ask, sometimes it is just a point or two. That reduced in interest allows you to pay more money to the principle balance instead. You can even ask for you minimum payments to be smaller. Just remember that once you renegotiate something, you have to keep up with whatever deal you made or chances are, it will revert back to a much higher rate and payment.

So lets recap what we have just read. Third party collection companies my be easier to negotiate with, because they bought your debt for pennies on the dollar. When you are trying to strike a deal make sure you are speaking with someone who is authorized to do so. Even if you can not negotiate your debt down, the fees would probably be easier to renegotiate than the balance owed. Once you make a deal, do not break it or everything may revert back to higher rates and fees.