Content of a Business Communication Course

Business communication is one of the most essential ingredients to succeed and build your business acumen. As the online knowledge dispersion has become a reality of broad day light, things have become more complex. In complexity of the things, one of the most important problems raised is the fact that it has become relatively difficult to establish a proper way to determine which one of the bouquet of business communication courses is the right course for you. Here we will discuss some of the major pillars of a vital business communication course that will have a significant impact on your ability to effectively communicate.

The first of all the business communication skills that has the most significance is the basic presentation skills. All the other skills come after the development of this skill. Usually all the other skills' development are strongly dependent on the skill of presenting your subject matter effectively. Most of the courses teach about the theoretical aspects of the course. This hasn't been the much appreciated approach by the experts. Presenting to a larger audience is not in fact of thing to teach but to do. A good communication course will help you with a lots and lots of presentations to the audience. It is very hard to learn presenting without presenting. Therefore look for this key thing in a course that how many sessions or presentations are you going to give. The more they are, the better of you really are.

One of the other very important parts of communication skills building process is public speaking. Public speaking is different from ordinary presentation. In public speaking you are not sure about the size of the audience or the type of audience you are going to face. The difference between simple presentation and public speaking is like presenting something to a typically anticipated type of audience VS to an audience you can't anticipate about. Public speaking further bolsters your confidence and refines your presentation skills.

Apart from the physical appearance you are also taught the negotiation and persuasion skills. In corporate world, moving isn't that much easier. You have to go extra stretch to fight for your company's share of any deal be it the labor unions, suppliers or any other stakeholder. Lastly the written part is also very important. We cannot just focus on things that are oral but we have to formally communicate within and outside an organization. Therefore you have to be taught about writing effective business proposals, reports, and email writing.

Filter out the contents of any communication course to see it has all the basics discussed above to make it really worth of your time and money.

William King is the director of UK Wholesalers Directory and Wholesalers Dropshipping Directory. He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

"Would You Repeat That?" - 5 Communication Challenges For Credit Card Agents

Most credit cardholders know that the credit card industry made a decision to outsource call-in service centers to overseas locations where English is the second or third language. That decision was made to save operational costs on labor. Yet, what is the ongoing impact on North American credit cardholders?

This article discusses the five most common communication problems that negatively impact North American credit card customers today as a result of the outsourcing of customer service centers.

While these problems could have been predicted had credit card industry decision makers studied the literature on the complexities of language proficiency and culture, they didn't. Now the industry is grappling with makeshift solutions to extreme customer dissatisfaction.

The Customer's Need - Quick Financial Solutions

In each of the five examples below, a credit cardholder has called his credit card company, or is responding to a new credit offer, in hopes of finding a financial solution to a financial problem. He may need a new credit card so he can pay medical bills. He may need to get his car fixed so he can get to work. He may need a balance transfer in order to reduce his interest rate and avoid bankruptcy. Yet, whatever his need, it is likely that any problem or delay in getting that financial solution in place will cost him time, frustration and money.

Yet, as ubiquitous as credit card transactions have become, their success in providing quick financial solutions for credit cardholders depends upon precise written and oral communication. This includes the accurate keying in of all relevant information and the conveying of accurate interest rates, financial terms and repayment obligations, all of which become part of a legally-binding contract between the credit card customer and the company with which he does business.

The Agent's Job - More Complex Than Realized

The job of credit card agent is, sometimes, mocked because of the low pay it commands. However, to do the job well requires that an agent be an expert oral communicator with superior reading skills who can answer a customer's questions while quickly sorting through what is, sometimes, confusing, duplicated or poorly organized on-line information.

These complex language skills, however, have been misunderstood, underestimated and undervalued, as illustrated by five common problems that occur when an agent does not have them.

The Five Most Common Problems

1. Overlooking Account Restrictions

An agent overlooks a "restriction" on a credit card account and the transaction fails.

A restriction is something that prevents or limits the use of a credit card. The most common restriction results from the fact that a credit card has not yet been "activated." The procedure for activating the card usually requires that the customer call a specific 800 number that is listed on the new card and confirm, through an automated system, that he has received the card.

A customer can also place a restriction on a card, such as a dollar amount limit for individual transactions. Yet, sometimes, a customer will opt to put a restriction on his account and then forget that he has done so.

It is up to the agent to scan the account for restrictions and make sure there is nothing to prevent the transaction from going through. Yet, noticing the presence of those restrictions requires fast, careful and accurate reading.

Overseas agents, more than North American agents, tend to overlook restrictions, such as when a new account has not yet been activated.

2. Spelling Errors

An agent makes a spelling error in the documentation for the "receiving" account in a balance transfer transaction and it fails to go through.

Should the company name or address of the receiving account be misspelled, the transaction will fail. Misspellings most often occur because overseas agents are not familiar with American geography or place names. Common mistakes: "J C Penney" is spelled "J C Penny" or MA is used as the abbreviation for the state of Maine instead of ME.

3. Sending Money To An Account That Cannot Receive It

An inexperienced agent does not know a transaction is not possible.

Some bank checking accounts allow direct deposits from credit card companies, others do not. An inexperienced overseas agent, unfamiliar with U.S. banks, often will not have access to this information. He will, subsequently, attempt to send money to a bank account that cannot accept it.

4. Misreading An Offer

A balance transfer offer is read incorrectly and a customer is either trapped in a high rate or assessed an unexpected fee

Based upon his reading of on-screen offer #5, the agent believes that a customer will pay 0% interest on his balance transfer for 12 months if he opts for offer #5, and he tells the customer so. A more accurate reading of the documentation reveals that offer #5 has a provision which will require that customer to pay 18% interest on his balance transfer.

While there was a balance transfer offer with an introductory interest rate of 0%, because the information can be poorly laid out, confusing and even duplicated, the agent misreads or misses the fine print and selects the offer with an 18% APR by mistake.

Or, the agent chooses the offer that requires an upfront fee for a balance transfer.

Or a 3% fee is part of an offer that the customer, inadvertently, chooses because the agent either a) did not read that part, b) read it but did not understand that the customer would be billed a fee, and/or c) did not convey to the customer that the fee was part of the offer.

5. Selection Of Wrong On-Screen Offer

An agent selects the wrong on-screen offer by mistake.

After reading the terms for a couple of credit card offers to the customer, the agent means to go back and choose the offer that the customer indicated he wanted. However, since the onscreen offers look alike and there can be duplicate offers on-screen, the agent inadvertently chooses the wrong one.

A Customer's Nightmare

Those within the credit card industry who find themselves trying to help a distressed customer after one of these "deals" has been transacted, and the money moved from lender B to lender A, describe the process as "a nightmare" for the customer, and very difficult for any agent trying to assist him.

In most cases there is no remedy for the customer, who can be on the hook to pay money he doesn't have, yet the customer often spends hours on the phone waiting to speak with agents, explaining his problem, and being transferred from one department to another, day after day, until he gives up.

At that point, should the customer be able to pay off or transfer his balances to a different credit card lender and extract himself from the one with which he is now furious, he will take his business elsewhere and never come back.

Credit card companies, therefore, are learning a hard lesson in how language works and how important effective communication can be. For the credit cardholder who has been burned, they cannot learn it too fast.

What Effective Verbal Communication Requires

Effective communication requires significant give and take between conversing parties. Agents must pick up subtle language cues when they are listening to customers, as customers are not always explicit.

For the agent attempting to work in a "second language", it may take years before he can communicate well enough to be able to recognize those cues. Since language and culture are inextricably bound, some cues may be very difficult to learn without a direct experience of North American culture. However, the subtleties that the agent misses can be vital details in completing financial transactions correctly.

It should, therefore, be no surprise that credit card companies receive millions of complaints each year from customers who say they were not able to understand the overseas agents they spoke with and/or that those agents seemed unable to understand them.

Companies Experimenting With Solutions

As a result, those credit card companies that make the most extensive use of offshore outsourced customer service (and some very large credit card companies only use outsourced customer service) are acutely aware of the problem and are currently experimenting with what they hope will be solutions.

These experiments include funneling calls into a type of "clearing house," sorting them according to technical difficulty, and then transferring each customer to a call center that, from past experience, can provide the necessary assistance.

However, these experiments will not involve abandoning the outsourced customer service model any time soon. The tens of millions of dollars that credit card companies save by buying offshore service at $4.00 an hour will not be abandoned lightly.

Instead, look for more strategies that involve directing balance transfer inquiries away from agents who, potentially, may experience communication difficulties and shifting those inquires toward centers with balance transfer specialists who have "proven ability" in these transactions. These balance transfer specialist centers will, most likely, be in North America.

Summary

Customers are experiencing inconvenience and financial loss due to the overseas outsourcing of credit card service centers. Miscommunication with overseas credit card agents whose first language is not English is a significant problem and negatively impacts financial transactions.

The credit card industry is aware of the situation and is searching for solutions that will decrease incidents of miscommunication and increase customer satisfaction. The attempts by different credit card companies to solve this problem are likely to be varied and may have uncertain results.

If you are looking to transact a balance transfer, whether on a brand new credit card account or on an existing account, you must be aware of this problem and I suggest you follow the strategies outlined in my article Credit Card Balance Transfers - How To Avoid Disaster.

Also, be aware that an ounce of kindness or humility will often be repaid many times over by an agent who will then go out of his way to be helpful. So remain polite and respectful when calling in for assistance. When a tense conversation can be toned down with humor, do so as long as the agent understands you are not making fun of him.

My final recommendation is one I've made in other articles, however, it deserves repeating.

Should you be concerned that you are not being properly understood by the overseas agent who is facilitating your legally-binding balance transfer or other credit card transaction, you can ask to be transferred to a North American agent.

However, do not request to be transferred to an agent in the United States because that will exclude Canadian call centers. Yet, in this industry as a whole, the best customer service comes from Canada. Canadian agents have a strong and established reputation for knowledgeable, effective service in the credit card business, so if you can land one to work on your balance transfer, consider yourself lucky.

©2009 Clyo Beck. The author exerts her moral rights.

Clyo Beck is the co-author of Money Saving Credit Card Secrets, an indispensable and practical guide on to how to avoid credit card hassles and save money. It's the best investment any credit card user can make.

For more free tips, or to preview the first four chapters of Money Saving Credit Card Secrets without cost, visit http://www.moneysavingcreditcardsecrets.com

What is a Senior Move Manager?

Senior Move Managers are professionals who specialize in assisting older adults and their families with the emotional and physical aspects of relocation and/or "aging in place." A Senior Move Manager (SMM) can help you develop an overall move or "age in place" plan. This might include helping you decide what modifications need to be made to your current home for you to remain there safely. If you conclude that a move is better for you, your senior move manager can help you determine the optimal community and unit that will best serve your needs.

Whether you decide to move or age in place, your SMM will help you organize and sort through your belongings, arrange for the profitable disposal of unwanted items, and arrange shipments and storage where needed. If you decide to age in place, your SMM will have knowledge of vendors who can add safety items such as ramps or grab bars and can help you prepare your home for live-in help if that is indicated. If you decide to move, your SMM will create a floor plan for your new home, interview and oversee packers and movers, unpack and set up your new home, and coordinate related services such as cleaning, waste removal, selecting a realtor, or preparing a home for sale.

Senior move managers have expertise in resources and approaches that save money and reduce stress. Imagine how nice it would be to go away for a long weekend and return to your new home with everything unpacked and put away, your pictures hung, the bed made, and the refrigerator full! That sounds like the perfect cure for the exhaustion you fear.

Be sure to choose a senior move manager who is bonded and insured. Also, be sure the person you choose specializes in working with older adults and their families and is not simply a moving company employee. Household transitions are difficult for everyone, but even more so for older adults who have accumulated a lifetime of possessions that often won't fit in their new home. An expert, affordable, and compassionate senior move manager can help you to navigate this important life transition.

2009 LifeBridge Solutions, LLC. All rights reserved.

Sheri Samotin is a Certified Professional Coach and the founder of LifeBridge Solutions, LLC. LifeBridge Solutions offers family transition coaching, daily money management, household transition services, and estate administration support. Sheri is a member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers. Visit us at http://www.LifeBridgeSolutions.com.

Prospecting For MLM - An Industry Expert's Formula For Off-Line Team Building

It always seems intriguing to me when I hear Network Marketers say that they've exhausted their list and don't have any more warm market to talk to, so they get discouraged instead of developing their marketing skills and going out turning cold market prospects into their warm market. Everyone has experience with turning cold market into their warm market, whether they know it or not because I'm sure you've been in a romantic relationship prior to now (if you're not currently in one) and I'm sure you can concur that at one point your mate was cold market and you converted them into your warm market.

I've discovered that a lot of individuals try to hide behind their computers and enroll new business partners into their group without picking up the cell phone and connecting with their potential team members. We can't ever forget that no matter how powerful leveraging the Net can be for your business, people do business with folks that they like and trust, so there's no way around management meeting new individuals and establishing a rapport with them.

Prospecting for MLM and the Law of Averages

And so with that in mind we have to move as many people through our funnel as humanly possible, online and offline. Most folks dread Offline prospecting for MLM for a lot of reasons but let me be the first to advise you, from experience, that when you combine offline prospecting for MLM and the leverage you get from using the internet something absolutely enchanting arises(and you're going to hear me reiterate this a good deal). One other advantage you get from putting into action offline strategies when prospecting for MLM is that you can build a large downline right in your local area which will give you an increased rate of retention because you can develop more of a community type environment for your downline.

Today I'm going to supply you with a synthesized edition of the Prospecting for MLM- Method for Offline Downline Building and you can start putting into action these procedures into your business immediately, for little or no Cost at all....

1. Tracking down Hometown Networking Groups: (Ex. Meetup.com, BNI (Leads Networking Group) and your local Chamber of Commerce.) With Meetup.com search for your city then type in words like home business, network marketing, MLM, Internet Marketing or anything else you have an interest in that's similar to your business. Register with those organizations that appeals to you and make it your business to go to the gatherings and start networking. You do not want to be at the event trying to recruit people right then, you just want to accumulate business cards and follow up with them within just 24-48 hours while you and the event is still fresh in their minds.

2. Gathering Offline Leads: (Ex. Bandit Signs, Post It Notes, Drop Cards, Business Card Fish Bowls at Restaurants etc.) For the time being, I'm just simply gone focus on the business card fish bowls at restaurants. It's really quite simple... You need to visit local restaurants and ask if it's cool if you can sponsor lunch once per month for a business card drawing. Place a fish bowl at the restaurant with the drawing details. It ought to say something like, "Drop Your Business Card to Enter to Win a 100 % Free Lunch." Call up the lucky winner and tell them that they won a free meal on you! Find out what they do and ask if they are open to earning money in addition to what they're currently doing. Get in contact with additional participants to tell them that they didn't win and see if they're open to generating much more money as well.

3. Local Meetings: As you are aware, you want to have as many home meetings and hotel meetings occurring in your organization as possible, but outside of those meetings, do everything you have to do to get a local restaurant owner on the team and get going holding regular meetings at the restaurant. This is great for the restaurant's business and it's very good for your business. Maybe if you do the fish bowl technique you can establish relationships with local restaurant owners and see if they're open to earning extra money. Word of advice: Several restaurant owners aren't earning the money they were making ten or even five years ago, so many of them will be open to new income opportunities.

4. Standard Prospecting For MLM (Calling Leads): Most individuals will never pick up the cellphone, so this alone will separate you from the bunch and develop you into an expert when it relates to prospecting for MLM. Here is one good example of how I would do it:

Above all as you may already know, when prospecting for MLM, you want to start bY building rapport...

-Hi, is this (first name)? How are you? I'm calling you because you responded to some advertising I did about generating income from the comfort of you home, is this correct?

- Great! Is now a good time to speak, do you have a few minutes?

-Awesome! What do you do?

-How long have you been doing that?

- Do you like it?

- Have you actively been searching for income opportunities?

- Has something recently changed in your life that has you open to new opportunities?

- What type of income are you currently accustomed to generating?

- What are your income goals for the next 3 months?

- Because I'm seriously looking for folks that are serious about generating a $10,000 per month income, does this sound like you?

- I have a presentation that goes into detail about my company. It's about 20 minutes. How soon could you spend 20 minutes on my website watching the presentation?

5. Creating T.E.A.M Synergy & Community: E-mail or send out a text blast to your downline when you recruit a brand new business partner welcoming them to the squad and introducing them to everyone else. When you get a new rep immediately introduce them to another individual in a leadership position, in addition to anyone else on the team that is "like them." Hold challenges with your organization! If you're holding local meetings, buy a trophy and engrave, "World's Best Prospector," on it. Bring it to your meetings and present it to the man or woman that brings the most guests for the week.

Prospecting for MLM is without question fun if you disassociate yourself from the end results because you have no control over the results, only the actions. To Access FREE Trainings on Mastering the Art of Prospecting and generating 20-30 Leads Per Day for your business, Click Here.

Biomedical Experts - Novel Social Networking Site For Biomedical Scientists

This resource is new in the block. It is the equivalent of 'my space'-the popular social networking sites for high flying internet users.

The power to connect with global collaborators, browse over I million experts profile is the high point of this resource driven site.

Biomedical experts give leveraging opportunities for biomedical scientists who can now network among themselves and collaborate on research work irrespective of their location world wide.

With its debut in April 2008, biomedical experts avail scientists in the life sciences profile and explore scientific expert network.

Biomedical experts bring the right researchers together and allow them to grow their professional network. The site prides itself as the first literature -based social networking platform for the life-science research community.

With biomedical experts, biomedical researchers connects to each other through the display and analysis of co-authors with whom each investigator works to publish scientific papers.

According to the owners of the site, 'The comprehensive system of pre-populated expert profiles, coupled with the ability to analyze all associated professional connections within the co-author network, allows scientists and researchers across organizations the ability to share data and collaborate in ways never before considered.'.

Experts are from over 1,800 institutions in more than 137 countries.

Profiles are generated from 11 million publications in more than 6,500 journals.

You now have the opportunity as a biomedical professional or expert to connect, communicate and collaborate with the experts in your field globally.

The major benefits of users is the power of profiting from the multiple brains brought together.

Other benefits include:

- Analysing expert profiles of more than 1.4 million scientists.

- Exploring your personal network starting with your direct co-authors and moving on to the co-authors of your co-authors

- Identifying researchers with the expertise you need in your broader network through easy-to-use search interface

- Cultivate and grow your professional network

- Connect with other researchers whom you have identified via Biomedical Experts (BME) site.

Currently, the network consist of more than 60,000 experts. There is no charge for joining as sign up in free. However, while the network is free for all, it is most beneficial to researchers who actively publish in biomedical journals.

The site is powered by collexis, a highly reputable firm with more than ten years experience in powerful knowledge discovery solutions and text miming applications with World Health Organisation and Mayo Clinic as clients among numerous others.

Prospective users are required to painstakingly read the user agreement before joining. It is mandatory for you to abide by the user agreement once you consent to it.

Benard Solomon is a biomedical internet expert and published author. His book 'Simple Steps To Biomedical Internet' is available for Free download at http://biomedicalinternet.blogspot.com

Increase your income with these effective communicative skills 9

(1) Increase understanding of the professional vocabulary. When you master the vocabulary and jargon of your professional work environment, you increase your chances for promotions and raises. You know the jargon to tango with leaders and move up the ladder. Learn the vocabulary for your work and thus surrounding jobs. In this way, when there is a need for a person to fill out, you'll be the best candidate for the position. This will increase your changes of learning perform other jobs within your working environment. But make sure that the vocabulary and the jobs perform you for are above your current level.

(2) Improve the understanding of the attributes, analogies, idioms and Proverbs with respect to your professional jargon. It goes back to learn the vocabulary. Once you have mastered the vocabulary of your current position and the positions above your level, you must understand and tell stories related to your profession with attributes, analogies, idioms and proverbs. This will help you keep your story to tell, sharp and bright. In addition, tell stories using these characteristics will strengthen your results submission. After all, stories is a key attribute in any profession. However, effectively tell stories, one must learn how to use analogies, attributes, idioms and proverbs relating to your profession.

(3) Improve the skills of auditory memory. Memory skills are very important across all environments especially our professional environment. As we age this skill starts to weaken for some people, but there are many ways to improve and strengthen this jurisdiction. A way to refine this jurisdiction is to visit your local library and order a book on a subject or the object you have never hard of before, reading this unknown subject your brain grow new synapses. Growth of synapses plays an essential role in increasing the skills of memory. Following continuous training in your local community college is another way to improve your memory. Remember, you are never too old to learn new concepts.

(4) Effectively communicate your ideas and feelings through verbal expression. Mapping of Word is an excellent strategy to help you organize your ideas and feelings to effectively maximize the performance of your communication collectively.

(5) Use of appropriate vocabulary in your environment (e.g., social and work). Remember, that each environment has its own jargon; to do not mix your social vocabulary in your work environment and vice versa. Always use professional vocabulary in your workplace, do not call someone "honey" or "baby" in your professional environment. It is impolite, non-professional and tacking.

(6) Increase your Word find skills. Strengthen your vocabulary is a way to increase your Word find skills. Play board games that have a set of words, it is another way to increase your Word find capacity. Crusaders are an excellent tool to increase your Word find skills.

(7) Use correct grammatical structure. When you are in your professional environment speak and write as a professional by using the correct grammatical structure. If you need assistance in this field, you can buy a grammar book in your local bookstore.

(8) Speak in complete sentences. Leave people guessing or assuming that you mean. Learn to speak in complete sentences; This will help you to effectively convey important messages across your environments. "Say what say you and say what you say." This saying comes from people who demonstrated difficulty conveying messages concisely.

(9) Improve your soft skills (e.g., eye contact, facial expressions, gestures and taking conversational Tower). Improve your skills of business etiquette. When you implement business in your work environment, becoming a more sympathetic labels.

What are your strengths? Know your strengths and reflect your optimal skills within your professional environment and among professionals. Yes, we all have weaknesses that we need to improve on, but always to play to your strengths.

Read your industry trade sheets, become an expert in reading magazines past and present. You become the person "go - to" to your place of work; people will be the value of your opinion and Advisor. "Readers are leaders".

Cynthia Willis, m.ed., CCC - SLP won the identification information higher than necessary to practice speech therapy in private practice. Cynthia Willis obtained the certificate of clinical competence (CCC) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), which she is a member. Ms. Willis has a North Carolina State Board of Examiners for speech-language pathology and Audiology license. It has completed its first year of undergraduate studies at Brooklyn College, a University of New York (CUNY); transferred to Fayetteville State University, where she obtained a degree of Bachelor of Arts (BA) in "Speech and theatre" and minored "Sociology" (studied multiculturalism and subcultures). Ms. Willis obtained his Masters in education (m.Ed.,) of the University of Central North Carolina where she studied the "Communication Disorders".

To contact Ms. Willis visit: http://www.perfectlyspeaking.com

Presenting Complex Information - 10 Simple Rules Every Subject Expert Needs to Know

An authority or expert has instant credibility on the podium. But many experts giving technical presentations fall into the trap of overwhelming the audience with too much content.

They fill in every moment of the talk with data and facts. The charts and statistics become a security blanket. Being an effective communicator requires that you understand the listener's ability to absorb information. These 10 simple rules will help you give a talk that connects with an audience, moves them to action and leaves a positive impression.

1. Do your research. Talk to other experts, especially inside your own organization. Ignoring them might bruise the egos of co-workers who have a stake in the topic. Know what the audience expects. Research their existing level of knowledge about your topic. Make sure your content is relevant to the audience.

2. Choose one 'big idea' or main thesis for your talk or presentation. Don't try to put too many ideas into your speech. Research shows that people remember very little from speeches, so just give them one big idea to hang onto. What is the one idea you want the audience to hear, remember, and act on?

3. Choose a 'destination point' for the talk. When people leave the room what will they do or feel differently than they did before you started presenting? Before you know where you want to take the audience, you need to be honest about your own hidden assumptions and the audience's current situation.

4. Aim to make three main points in the talk. Use three related words or phrases to grab attention, encapsulate, summarize. The number three is interesting - we easily remember three things. Beyond this it becomes progressively more difficult to remember. Three items act as a powerful unifying format. Examples:

Three key themes that together cover a wide area.
Three items that act in sequence to get to a desired goal.
Two problems and a solution that resolves the problem.
Two actions or objectives and a solution that will result from achieving these.

5. Create the speech Abstract first. Focus your content in your own mind. If you cannot (or choose not to) do this, the chances are that your thinking isn't clear enough for the audience to understand your purpose.

6. Construct a logical argument. There is no reason to give a speech unless you have an argument to make. A speech should never be confused with normal conversation such as "Nice day, huh?' The speech argument is an explanation of why one believes something to be true.

State the Big Idea that forms the content of your argument.
Ask the question: Why is my interpretation of the evidence true?
List, in order of importance, all the reasons why you find the interpretation persuasive.

7. Start with an outline. Once you have a clear outline, writing the details is relatively straight forward, almost like filling in the blanks. Within each section of the speech:

State the question you are answering
Support the premise with examples, stories, statistics.
Tie-in each of the section premise to the speech thesis.
Transition to the next question.

8. Avoid burying the audience in raw data. Subject experts can overwhelm an audience with too much data. Less is more. Give each statistic a context that makes it relevant to the audience. Numbers alone are often meaningless and diffcult for the audience to grasp.

9. Include a human element. No matter how 'dry' your topic, look for ways to humanize it. Including stories and case studies enables you to engage the audience and raise levels of motivation, acceptance, and approval.

10. Conclude with a call to action. State what the audience has to do, change or think after your talk. Many speeches avoid a call to action. Even in an educational presentation you want to ensure the audience knows what you want them to do. It can be something as simple as 'read the new accounting regulations'.

Following these rules will minimize the chance that the audience will mentally check-out during your talk. They will still respect your expertise, and remember more of your speech the next day.

Ian Griffin writes speeches and training materials for CEOs and senior leaders in Silicon Valley and around the world. His website and blog on executive communications and professional speaking is http://www.exec-comms.com