Attention- Grabbing Presentation Skills – PowerPoint Slide Success Strategies – “Attack of the Killer Deer”

Dave Hill - Presentation Skills Article

It was just another day out at the zoo in Austin, Texas. I left my kids seated on a bench to rest as I walked a short distance away to look at some animals in an enclosure. I must have been distracted and out of earshot for a while, because when I turned around, a “horror scene” was unfolding. My kids were cowering as a “ferocious” young deer came along to check if they had any food. I am not sure if the deer got out of its enclosure or if it was allowed to wander, but it certainly made for a captivating black and white photo. If you look carefully, you can feel the emotions coming out of the picture. The deer, with its head slightly bowed in a submissive posture is slowly inching towards my kids. My son is cowering behind his sister with his eyes focused. He appears to be nudging or pushing her towards the deer with the voice in his head saying, “Take her, take her now, she will taste good!”

This article discusses success strategies for visual slides such as this.

20 considerations to maximize the effectiveness of a PowerPoint slide through design:
1. The slide wording should clearly identify the point you are trying to make.
2. The wording should be in a “headline format” to grab the audience attention and make them curious (it doesn’t need to be a complete sentence).
3. Make the text short, taking up no more than two lines. Use a heading font size that is clear to see (~ 40 point).
4. The headline will be more effective if it includes a conclusion to frame the problem and a possible solution in the audience’s mind.
5. The text does not contain acronyms that may cause audience members to lose track while they are mentally trying to work out the meaning.
6. The slide design should tend to promote conversation. Wouldn’t the slide above make you somewhat intrigued and feel a need to get more details?
7. The graphic needs to relate to the text, and should be easy to correlate to the words (the one above could be more effective with higher definition).
8. People should be able to relate to the picture.
9. Refrain from:
• Slides that are full of words (and presenters that read word for word directly from the screen and even use the laser pointer to “bounce” from word to word).
• Too many points (one point at a time is ideal in many cases).
• Bullet points that are too wordy.
10. Know your material, practice, practice, practice (practicing in your head is not effective, practice out loud).
11. The background colors and font colors should be easy to see (this slide would work more effectively in a dark room – always consider the room lighting when developing slides). As a presenter, you want the focus to be on you rather than your slides. It can be beneficial to have a white background and dark font to allow the slide to be visible and maximize the level of room illumination.
12. The background is not too busy (the background is there to compliment your slide and to help illuminate the content rather than be the center of attention).
13. The font types are not too busy (use clear font types such as Arial and Times New Roman).
14. Use wording or sentence emphasis coloring sparingly. The coloring can be used to focus attention to a word or to highlight structure such as headline, points, and sub-points. The coloring could be further emphasized by putting the word in italics.
15. Use animation sparingly, the most effective use is to have your point and sub-points appear one at a time (on click) to keep the audience focused, to prevent them from reading ahead and tuning-out your voice.
16. Refrain from using the automatic timer in animation, as it can easily disrupt your flow if delays are encountered such as someone asking a question.
17. Overuse of visual and audio animation can be annoying and erode the image of professionalism.
18. Check your spelling and grammar.
19. Get peer review to make sure your presentation is on target for the specific audience. Let your presentation sit for a while, and then come back to it to see if you still think the scope and content is on target.
20. Use a consistent background as much as possible. Reasons to use a different background might be:
a. To highlight a major section change in your presentation
b. To make a specific slide more visible (i.e. to make a photo or other visual stand out)

Considerations to maximize the effectiveness of a PowerPoint slide through delivery:
1. Use the “B” button on the keyboard to blank out the screen to help focus the attention on you when you are telling a story (and if the slide visual does not compliment your story or relate to the train of thought). Another reason to blank out the slide would be if you are going to take some other action such as walk into the audience for discussion purposes, or move to a flipchart to clarify some details, etc.
2. Determine where you are going to stand and present from (left side from the audience view is preferable).
3. Determine what physical actions and movement will be required relative to the room configuration (is the flip chart in a suitable location so you are not walking through the projector light?).
4. Do not stand in front of the projector light.
5. Set the slides up so you can activate everything using a click of a remote. It can be distracting if you have to keep fiddling with a keyboard to get slides to advance or videos to play. It can also be unnecessarily distracting to have to give instructions to an assistant at the keyboard.
6. Face the audiences when you are talking, make eye contact, and engage them.
7. Don’t stay trapped by a laptop and keyboard.
8. Change presentation modes to keep the audience attention (slides, flip-chart, questions, video, stories, humor, physical props, etc.).

Final notes
1. Develop a presentation outline/table of contents (early on in the presentation) so that the audience understands how the information you are giving is pieced together.
2. Keep a camera with you when you may have opportunities to take photos that might be useful in the future. Keep focused on the kind of things you present on, and build a file of photos for use in your slides.
3. Gather your personal stories and develop a story file so that you can illuminate your slides by incorporating relatable personal information.
4. Beware of copyright restrictions when using images from sources such as “Google Images”. In Google Images you can do an advanced search and filter to identify ones with no copyright restrictions or minor requirements.
5. A cheap source for royalty free photos is www.istockphoto.com. These lower definition quality photos are very adequate for PowerPoint purposes and cost under $2 in most cases.
6. See my previous article on success strategies for linking videos in a previous article at this link.

I would appreciate any feedback or personal stories on taking PowerPoint presentations to the next level. Please use the comments section below, or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com. Let’s help each other succeed.
Thanks,
Dave Hill

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, etc.)
http://www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2010 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved.

Attention- Grabbing Presentation Skills – Get Noticed and Promoted –“As You Slide Down the Banisters Of Life, Make Sure The Splinters Are Facing the Right Way!”

Dave Hill - Presentation Skills: Get Noticed and Promoted

My first introduction to public speaking was when I went to a speech competition back in Ireland that my dad was competing in. It was May, 1980, and this was not to be a good evening at all. We arrived at the hotel in Dublin where the competition was being held, and it was in a very rough area of the city. In the hotel, there were signs everywhere that said, “Ladies, watch your handbags”- a sure sign that there were pickpockets prowling in the area. The evening was memorable for three things: the beer was bad, my dad did not place in the competition, and my coat was stolen and my wallet and car keys were in the pocket.

I will sum up my first public speaking experience with the saying, “As you slide down the banisters of life, sometimes the splinters are facing the wrong way!”

Fast forward another 18 years, and this time I am doing public speaking night classes at a local community college. My engineering job requires me to regularly present information to upper management. I am not comfortable; in fact, I am terrified. I am so stressed that I do not get to sleep well the night before I present, and I am presenting poorly. I am so worn out with lack of sleep that I cannot answer questions even though I have the detailed knowledge in my head.

During the presentation skills night classes, I learned a lot about public speaking. At the end of the class I was knowledgeable on the subject but it was not an end point. I needed a forum to put my knowledge into practice, and hone my skills. As someone who has been training technical people on presentation skills, I encourage trainees to take the initiative to join a public speaking club as I did over 12 years ago, and strive for excellence. When you “slide down the banisters of life”, you can sometimes choose which way the splinters are facing! Public speaking excellence is a choice, and in many cases, a means to get noticed in a very positive way.

This article focuses on cost effective ways to grow your presentation skills knowledge and confidence level to where it becomes a habit. Toastmasters International is a worldwide public speaking organization with thousands of public speaking clubs that are run by its members. The cost is about $60 for the first 6 months and about $40 every 6 months after that. Most clubs have weekly meetings which last an hour. Is a $60 investment to develop yourself into a great speaker, reduce your anxiety when presenting, and set yourself up for potential promotional prospects worth it for you?

What are 13 key benefits?
1. It is cheap, structured, and it works
2. You can turn up as frequent as your schedule permits (I do a lot of out of town travel, so I attend whenever I can)
3. Different clubs have different meeting times ranging from early morning, lunchtime, evening, etc.
4. The meetings are designed to give people as much opportunity to speak as possible
5. You get assigned a mentor
6. Attendees at meetings are assigned duties ahead of time (duty holders describe their duties at a meeting, this is used as another opportunity to help people get comfortable speaking in front of others)
7. Prepared speeches or presentations are generally 5 to 7 minutes in length (there are typically two or three speakers who present speeches that they have developed and practiced)
8. Your prepared speech can be a workplace speech or presentation that you want to get feedback on
9. Every prepared speaker gets a formal evaluation where you will be coached on what you do well and one or two things to focus on for improvement
10. There is a table topics part of the meeting to help speakers speak “off the cuff” for a few minutes
11. There is an “Ah Counter” to indicate when distracting filler words are being used such as ah, um, so, etc.
12. There is a “Posture Monitor” who indicates when nervous gestures are being used
13. Additional benefits from joining a Toastmasters club is that the club structure is designed to build leadership skills and listening skills

How do I find the most suitable club?
1. Go to http://reports.toastmasters.org/findaclub/ to locate a club in your area (you can even search by zip code, day of the week, time of day). Note: some clubs are listed in the “Club Status” as “closed” which means that the membership is confined to a specific company or organization (most are identified as “open to all”)
2. It is critical to visit several clubs to determine which one will provide most value to you
3. Search for clubs that have been in existence for several years and preferably have a membership base of over 25 members, and have over 15 people turning up at meetings
4. Ask them how many Distinguished Club Program (DCP) points they received out of 10 in the previous year. DCP is a formal measurement of criteria that can indicate how strong a club is and how successfully its officers are managing it. A total of 7 points or higher can help identify stronger clubs
5. Choose a club that best fits your needs as a speaker, and your character. Some clubs are somewhat formal, others are more relaxed and incorporate a lot of fun
6. When you are close to making a final decision, visit the club numerous times to make sure it will meet your needs and that your time is going to be invested in the best possible way
7. Ask the club officers who would be an exceptional mentor (get the best, this is a huge benefit to have someone knowledgeable keep you focused, give you feedback, and help you set and achieve goals)

What do I need to do to accelerate my progress at a Toastmaster club?
1. Turn up at meetings
2. Decide how often you want to speak…prepare, prepare, prepare…and speak often (I chose to speak monthly at first)
3. Set goals with your mentor and complete them on time
4. Listen to evaluators, learn who the exceptional ones are, and do not be afraid of asking for the best evaluator when its your turn to deliver a prepared speech
5. Go to Toastmasters educational sessions outside the club (local conferences etc.)
6. Enter competitions where you can push your capabilities and get comfortable speaking in front of larger audiences and people you do not know
7. Use the club to find your speaking niche; it’s a safe place to push the boundaries and learn from your mistakes

Why have I continued to maintain membership in Toastmasters for 12 years?
1. I have fun at the meetings. My dad had the same experience, he stayed in Toastmasters into retirement; it became one of his hobbies
2. Mentoring people gives me great satisfaction; watching people change from stressed speakers to exceptional confident speakers is an invigorating experience.
3. I use my speaking time to get feedback on the effectiveness of my content, speeches and humor that I will use in presentation skills training and keynote speeches.
4. Videotaping my speeches helps me produce training materials and also allows me to critique myself later on.

I would appreciate any feedback or personal stories on taking presentation skills training to the next level. Please use the comments section below, or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com. Let’s help each other succeed.
Thanks,
Dave Hill

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, etc.)
http://www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2010 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved.

Attention Grabbing Presentation Skills – Get Noticed and Promoted –“Presenting To Hostile Audiences”

Dave Hill - Presentation Skills Article

In May 2005, I was at a review meeting at the corporate office in a conference room. People were taking turns to present technical information to upper management for approval. The person speaking before me was presenting on a very unpopular subject. His presentation dragged on and on, and I could feel the negative energy level rising in the room. I had gone to this meeting feeling relaxed; the information I was presenting would benefit the company and help implement new regulatory safety requirements. I had also brought along the two page procedure which described the process for implementation. It was short and to the point. The concept I was presenting was logical and was already being implemented informally at the company’s chemical plants. I felt it would only take a short time to get the nod of approval. That was the plan…the result was very different.

I stood up and gave a short outline of my proposal and its benefits to the organization. At the same time, one of the executives who were visibly infuriated by the previous speaker quickly scanned through my procedure. He then aggressively flung it on the table and declared, “This is rubbish“. He then picked it up from the table and threw it down again, repeating, “This is rubbish“. The room with 20 of my peers and numerous executives went deadly silent. My boss and I looked at each other, and I immediately stated that I would address the concerns outside the meeting. Ah yes, another fine day at the corporate office. I went back to my office after the meeting; I was furious and humiliated. The vice president of my department came to my office a few minutes after the meeting and sat down to talk to me. I think he was trying to understand if I was angry enough to quit. I was very close. Less than a month after the disastrous meeting, my safety procedure was approved as written, and a few months after that at the company Christmas party, the executive came up to me and stated, “I have been told that an apology would be in order“. Somehow this did not make me feel much better.

This story leads into this week’s article on using persuasion techniques to help gain consensus on the concept you are presenting.

10 Success strategies for persuading potentially hostile audiences
1. If people suspect that they are being “tricked” or “coerced”, you could break the bridge of trust and set yourself up for failure for future presentations.
2. When your presentation has been developed, consider reviewing it with your peers to make sure the content is fine tuned to your audience and their level of understanding.
3. If differences in opinion or conflict are a possibility, you can open with remarks such as, “I realize that many of you today may have issues with what I am presenting. It is important for me to tell you that I have spent a lot of time trying to see this issue from your viewpoint. We may not agree on everything, but we do have common goals. How we can get to the common goals is what my presentation is about today“. This can help the potentially hostile audience understand that this is not a one-sided viewpoint. It sets the scene for a decision making partnership.
4. It can be very beneficial to identify common ground at the beginning of a presentation. This sets the stage for possible agreement. On the contrary, if you were to start off on an unpopular topic that immediately hits a nerve; you run the risk of emotional conflict that can remain throughout your presentation.
5. Use respected sources of information wherever possible to build credibility.
6. Identify any “fuzzy logic” in your presentation such as statistics that are hard to nail down. This can help the audience trust that the information you are bringing to the table is not lop-sided. You might say, “One of my challenges in putting together this presentation was to give you specific, hard facts to help you make good decisions; however, I must be honest and tell you that some of the examples are based on limited data, but I still feel they are relevant“.
7. Provide supporting information in your presentation to demonstrate that other successful people in industry or in the community (that the audience can relate to) are either in agreement of the concept you are presenting or are practicing it. This will help deflect the perception that what you are presenting is radical or nonsensical.
8. Arrive early to the meeting and take time to have conversations with as many audience members as possible. Use humor where possible to diffuse tension. Try to remember people’s names as it can be beneficial to be conversational with them during the presentation using their names. An example would be, “John, I have heard you talk about this and I respect your views. Similar views are shared by Steve and Michael, and I feel that we can all reach a reasonable conclusion with some minor changes”.
9. Build your credibility wherever possible, let the audience know how much experience you have with a subject, dress like a professional, and have the posture and speaking skills that will help build your credibility.
10. When conflict is potentially going to cause emotional barriers for progress, it can be very beneficial to build allies. If possible, meet with some audience members one-on-one ahead of time to explore the potential resistance, and to make your case in a non-explosive/emotional forum. If someone in the audience helps support your concept, this can be a huge benefit to gaining consensus as a group.

I would appreciate any feedback or personal stories on presenting to potentially hostile audiences. Please use the comments section below, or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com. Let’s help each other succeed.
Thanks,
Dave Hill

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, etc.)
http://www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2010 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved.

Attention Grabbing Presentation Skills – Get Noticed and Promoted –“Videos That Can Get You In Trouble”

Dave Hill - Presentation Skills Article

Recently, I conducted a two day technical training course on industrial accident investigation. I spent a lot of time preparing for this session. There would be 20 people being trained and I wanted to make sure that everything would go smoothly. Since the training was on a fairly dry technical subject, I worked creatively to insert my personal stories and humor to help illustrate my points. I also had some funny photos and some linked videos that would lighten up the training session, give the trainees a break from the technical details, and help them understand the importance of the information. As someone who has been involved in investigated accidents over a period of nearly 18 years, I have a strong passion to share my knowledge on preventing repeated accidents.

I arrived one hour early at the training session to make sure the room was set up in a workshop type layout as I had requested. The handouts and other training materials needed to be put at each of the tables, and most importantly, I had to make sure the room projector and audio system would work smoothly. As someone who has been doing public speaking and training for over 10 years, I understand the importance of arriving early to deal with any unplanned events, particularly problems with projectors, audio systems, microphones, etc.

I had been informed that there would be a ceiling- type projector to show my PowerPoint slides, it would be connected to a computer and a powerful built-in audio system so the audio in my videos could be clearly heard. There would be a USB port on the computer where all I had to do was to plug in my memory stick containing the PowerPoint file and the linked videos. I had tested the memory stick on two computers prior to traveling to check that the videos would automatically play when I advanced my presentation slides. I always set up my videos to automatically appear and play with a single click of my handheld remote, so that I am not fussing around a computer keyboard. I also travel with my own remote control so that I am familiar with the slide “advance”, “reverse” buttons etc. and I know that the batteries are new.

When I was shown how to work the room computer and ceiling projector, I plugged in my memory stick and started clicking through my slideshow to get to a slide that had a linked video. The video would not play. I wasted no time as experience has taught me that videos failing to play on a computer usually means that it does not have enough memory or that the file is located too “deeply” on the hard drive (putting the file on the desktop or on a memory stick usually solves the file location issue). I immediately went to my back-up plan to connect my own laptop to the projector using the auxiliary connector that was available for this purpose. This worked well, the videos played, but I now had the problem of getting the audio system connected to my computer so the videos could be heard. The tech person tried to get the audio system to work by plugging in the room speaker audio connection but it failed to operate. My back-up plan was to plug in my portable speakers which were just loud enough to project to the back of the room.

Everything I have learned about video failure has been learned the hard way. The saying it’s not a matter of “if” the failure will happen; it’s just a matter of “when” holds very true in this case. The biggest disaster I have seen was many years ago when three professional speakers were giving a panel presentation on public speaking skills. They had brought a DVD to play on the laptop (which was being supplied by someone else) to play some of their speech material to support their points. The DVD “choked” on the laptop; it played a few seconds and then would “blank out” as the computer memory was not adequate to run it. After a few minutes of frustrating attempts to get it to play, they had to give up and complete the panel discussion without it.

10 success strategies for presentations that utilize linked videos
1. Spend time learning how to link videos in your presentation software (“custom animation” in MS PowerPoint) and have them play automatically in “full screen mode” when you advance the slide on the click of a remote button. Keep the video entry and exit simple. Choose the option to have it “appear” rather than using some of the other animation options to “fly in and out”, “spin in and out” etc.
2. Make sure your videos add value to your presentation, illuminate your points, and relate to your content. Make sure the video content is appropriate for the audience, and that you are complying with copyright restrictions
3. Make sure your linked videos are not so large that they overwhelm your computers capability
4. Set up a computer file that includes your presentation and the linked videos. If you want to move your presentation from computer to computer this will reduce the risk of having to re-link the videos to the slides. To prevent your video from becoming inoperable, do not file your presentation too “deep” into the layers of your computer hard-drive filing system. Use the desktop or a memory stick.
5. Learn the tricks to get a computer to link to a projector. Most projectors I have used require me to press the “F8” keyboard key multiple times to get my laptop to connect to the projector.
6. Find out ahead of time if someone will be available to help you set up the audio-visual equipment and deal with any problems. A phone call to this person to explain your needs and to identify experience level may be beneficial.
7. Arrive at least one hour early to set up and test the equipment. If you are testing the volume in an empty room, remember to increase it to take into consideration the effects of the room being full of people and also the potential for background noise such as air-conditioning fans, etc. If the audience cannot hear the video sound, it will be annoying to them.
8. Develop back-up plans for anything that can go wrong. Bring your own projector, laptop, extension cords, spare remote batteries, and audio speakers etc. as a backup. Have your training session designed so that you can still conduct your training session if there is equipment failure (work off the handouts etc.).
9. Test, test, and test your presentation on multiple computers ahead of time.
10. Develop a checklist of everything you need to do (testing, etc.), so you do not forget anything.

Final Note: Equipment failure causes undue stress that can be avoided by simple knowledge, preparation, testing, and backup plans. Why start off your presentation stressed due to equipment malfunctions? Maintain your image of professionalism with the aforementioned tips.

I would appreciate any feedback or personal stories on incorporating videos into presentations. Please use the comments section below, or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com. Let’s help each other succeed.
Thanks,
Dave Hill

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, etc.)
http://www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2010 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved.

Energized Employees Power Your Profits – “How I Smuggled 2000 lbs of Contraband Past the Canadian Customs Officer”

In July, 1994, I was living in London, Ontario, in Canada with my wife. We did not have any kids at that time, and were able to do things like woodworking classes. The other woodworking students had all decided to do small projects such as spice racks, small wooden boxes, and coffee mug racks. We, on the other hand, had other ideas. We would turn up with what seemed like half the Amazon rainforest strapped to our car as we had decided to make a full-size workbench with 10 drawers, 2 cabinets, and included dove-tail type joint connections. We were so into woodwork that I even gave my wife a portable table-saw as a wedding anniversary gift. Here was my engineer logic, “She loves woodwork, it’s our anniversary, and it will make her happy”. About 20 years later, I feel she is nearly ready to forgive me!

Sometime after that, we had a phone call from Buffalo, New York, USA. The person calling was an old Jewish friend of the family whose husband had died recently. She was offering us his 100+ years old woodworkers’ workbench, a huge solid piece of oak that was in great condition. Even all the parts of the vice were made of oak and perfectly preserved. We told her we would arrive at her house on the weekend and bring it back to our house in Canada to provide additional working areas for our numerous projects.

We arrived at her house and she was in a grumpy mood. She was still bitter over the fact that in her husbands will, he had requested that he be buried with his first wife back in Israel. She angrily stated, “He’s dead, I’m the boss now, he’s buried here in Buffalo and I will be beside him for eternity when I go!” Following that outburst, we went to the garage to view the workbench; it was a piece of woodworking art. It was beautifully constructed, and had all the signs of being built and used by a professional woodworker. The workbench seemed to weigh a ton; we struggled to inch it bit by bit out of the garage, over to my old Ford Tempo. We slowly turned the workbench upside down, and gently removed two legs by removing wooden dowels and tapping the joints. We managed to insert about 1/4 of it into the trunk of the car. There was still about 10 feet of it sticking out from the rear of the car, so we had a complicated rope system stretching all the way to the front bumper to keep it in place.

We said our good-byes and the minute I took my foot off the clutch, the car’s front started to rise. I had to “work the clutch” to get the car moving and simultaneously keep the front wheels on the road. Driving very slowly, we arrived at the tiny Canadian Customs Booth at the Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls as the sun was going down. It was a miserable, drizzling day, and I was tired. The customs officer slid his booth window to the side and asked me, “Anything to declare?” I answered, “No,” and he immediately waved me on. As I took my foot off the clutch carefully to move the car forward without doing a “wheelie”, I noticed my wife glaring at me and rolling her eyes. We got away from the bridge and she shouted at me, “Nothing to declare…what about the workbench, Einstein?” I drove on thinking to myself, “I need to get better focus”. So what about that customs officer? He is paid to look for people smuggling things into the country and the 10 feet of “contraband” workbench sticking out of the car was not exactly “hidden”! I imagine it was just another tough day at the office for him!

This week’s article focuses on energized employees. Are your employees fully engaged in their work tasks or are they just doing the minimum? Is there a lot of activity rather than actual achievement? Does your workplace have a culture of candor where people are focused, participating, and speaking up at meetings, or are they non-active participants unless they are asked a question? If your employees are not fully engaged, this can have a huge negative impact on your bottom line. Another erosion of profits can be the extra burden that is imposed on workers when others are not towing-the-line. To put this in perspective, a friend who was going to retire in a year or two is handing in her notice today. She told me that her coworker is not doing as much as he could, and she is worn out having to do extra work. This sudden resignation is going to hurt the company in many ways. There will now be an extra burden on everyone else. Elevated stress levels can impact loyalty, and a destructive cycle of resignations can easily evolve.

Top 10 things companies can do to keep employees empowered and engaged:
• Create a culture of respect and trust
• Empower employees to come up with solutions rather than just problems, give them ownership
• Know the employees and treat them as human beings rather than just workers
• Conduct honest performance reviews and implement a measured corrective action plan to encourage employees to improve engagement and achievement
• Implement programs that will build camaraderie and team spirit amongst employees
• Establish a recognition and reward program that will encourage employees to put in the extra effort
• Regular communications to employees
• Develop a forum where employees are empowered to provide ideas. Allow them to give feedback on tasks that are of questionable value, that are robbing them of time
• Make sure that personal and professional development opportunities are available including multi-functional cross-learning
• Look for ways to bring fun and energy into the workplace

I would appreciate any feedback or personal stories on empowering and energizing employees. Please use the comments section below, or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com. Let’s help each other succeed.
Thanks,
Dave Hill

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, etc.)
http://www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2010 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved.